PurposeThis study aims to investigate the effect of tourists' anxiety levels regarding pandemic on their intention to travel and intention to destination visit as a reflection of risk perception.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a quantitative research design. Multivariate statistical methods were used because they predict cause and effect relationships. The data collection process was completed in 32 days between March 20 and April 20, 2020. Smart-PLS software was used for data analysis.FindingsAccording to the study results, the level of concern tourists have about the COVID-19 outbreak directly affected their intention to travel and indirectly affected their intention to visit destinations.Research limitations/implicationsAccording to the results of the study, people's anxiety levels about COVID-19 will negatively affect their travel behavior after the pandemic. Such results suggest that when potential travelers' pandemic-induced anxiety levels increase, their travel intention after the pandemic will decrease. In addition, there is a positive relationship between people's intention to travel and post-COVID-19 touristic visit intentions. Therefore, as people's travel intentions increase, so do their destination visit intentions. Another important theoretical implication of this research is that people's pandemic-induced anxiety levels have been shown to negatively affect their destination visit intention through the mediating variable of travel intention.Practical implicationsA multidimensional and stakeholder engagement process needs to be followed to decrease the influences of the pandemic on destinations. Destination management organizations (DMOs) can take an active role in crisis periods to encourage stakeholder participation while attracting tourism demand in the post-COVID-19 era.Originality/valueThis study is important for its topical relevance and for providing specific theoretical and practical implications concerning tourists' travel behavior.

PurposeThis study examines the relationship of COVID-19 with the tourism industry in the context of news coverage. More specifically, this study analyzes the relationship between COVID-19 and subsectors of tourism throughout different periods of the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research techniques were applied, and content analysis used, to analyze the collected data. The news contents obtained cover two one-week periods: March 5–12, 2020, and April 5–12, 2020. The content analysis method and MAXQDA program were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe research findings reveal that tourism and news related to COVID-19 were heavily connected with the travel industry during March 5–12, 2020, with concentrations slightly favoring the hospitality industry. In the period of April 5–12, 2020, the strong relationship between tourism and travel continued. During the latter period, the hospitality and the events industries were both subjects of relevant news.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examined the news during a short period of time. In addition, the sample of the study does not represent all news in all media. Examining different media outlets and different news cycles may produce different results.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to examine the relationship between the pandemic and the tourism industry from a macro perspective in the context of news coverage. The study provides implications for policy-makers, tourism planners and industry.

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PurposeSince the first moment of the pandemic, national and international travel restrictions are in place to reduce human mobility. This actual situation makes the tourism industry one of the areas most affected by the pandemic. Many microeconomic factors (households and firms) were adversely affected by the pandemic, and this situation brought about macroeconomic contraction. Naturally, governments seek to sustain production and employment by offering financial packages to reduce the negative economic effects of the pandemic. Given such information, the study aims to examine the financial policies implemented by countries to support the tourism industry during the pandemic period.Design/methodology/approachContent analysis, which is a technique of qualitative research method, was applied in the analysis process of the data. Assessments were made based on data published by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on the financial and monetary policies implemented by countries to support the tourism industry. The data were analyzed using the MAXQDA qualitative analysis program.FindingsAccording to the results of the study, countries support the tourism industry financially in terms of credit and liquidity. Also, tourism investments are encouraged by tax breaks and low interest rates.Originality/valueIt is aimed to determine what issues the financial and monetary policies published by the UNWTO focus on to solve the problems in the tourism sector. In this way, it is thought that the study will reveal the problems experienced by tourism enterprises during the pandemic period with a holistic perspective.

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