The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism demand for destinations: an analysis of spatial heterogeneity from a multi-scale perspective

ABSTRACT

This study explores the spatial heterogeneity of COVID-19 on tourism demand at different spatial scales. The results indicate that at the macroscale, cities with developed economies and mature tourism sectors are more affected while the differences in impact are further expanded at the mesoscale. At the microscale, cultural scenic destinations or well-known attractions are far more affected than natural and religious ones. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the impact of COVID-19 on tourism demand is characterized by the “Heihe-Tengchong Line”, which is mainly affected by factors such as population density, economic level and foreign economic relations.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• tourism demand
• public health event
• spatial heterogeneity
• geo-detector

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Huaqiao University’s Academic Project Supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant Number: 20SKGC-QG03] and Major Project Funding for Social Science in Fujian Province Social Science Planning [Grant Number: FJ2020Z003].