Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourist plans: a case study from Poland

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on the tourism market worldwide. The aim of the paper was to present the tourism plans of Poles during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research conducted showed that the prevailing pandemic had a significant impact on touristic travel plans. However, the vast majority (over 75%) of the respondents plan at least one tourist trip, which will last from 5 to 7 days. During a tourist trip, the respondents plan to use different forms of accommodation. They considered their own cottage /second house and camping site to be the safest facilities, while hotels or resorts were indicated as the least safe facilities. In order to ensure safety during the stay, the respondents expect specific actions to be taken by the operators of the accommodation facilities, i.e.: availability of hand sanitizers, disinfection of rooms and generally available equipment in the facility as well as compliance with restrictions concerning social distance and the wearing of masks. This article contributes to the evolving literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on development of tourism sector.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• tourism
• tourism activity
• tourist behaviour
• tourist plans
• Poland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 PLN 4.48 - average EUR exchange rate according to the National Bank of Poland as of 26th May 2020.