The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism: a qualitative study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an extensive deterioration of many industries including the global tourism industry. There has been a strong need for psychology-informed research on tourism that investigates the impact and implications of the pandemic. This chapter is based on a qualitative study that included 60 individuals, recruited through snowball sampling method, 10 females and 10 males from three age groups. Participants were sent an online survey, querying their feelings and thoughts regarding tourism during and after the pandemic, to investigate the psychosocial impact of the pandemic on the population's tourism-related representations, decisions, and emotions. The data was subjected to thematic analysis that would reflect the social representations of the participants and the effects of the pandemic on these representations. Findings were discussed from social and clinical psychology perspectives, particularly via Maslow's and Fiske's theories and the discursive psychology perspective that aim to unfold decision-making processes and motivation underlying human actions.