The impact of COVID-19 on China's tourism industry and the future development of China's tourism industry

Abstract

The global tourism market was hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020. The Chinese tourism industry was severely affected during the outbreak as China was the initial site of transmission and strict anti-epidemic policies were enforced for a period of up to three years. Using data analysis, questionnaires and interviews, this study investigates how COVID-19 has affected the Chinese tourism industry from the perspective of three tourism industry components: tourists, the tourism service industry and travel agencies. The findings show that COVID-19 influences the tourism industry to a large extent, both in terms of policy and in terms of people's psychology. It was also found that although the behavior and motivations of most individuals were more negatively affected by the epidemic, a small number of individuals in each of the above-mentioned tourism constituents were resistant to the negative effects of the epidemic. Based on the results of this study, recommendations are also made for the sustainable development of China's tourism industry in the future.