The Impacts of COVID-19 on the Visitor Attendance of Cultural and Natural Heritage: A Case Study of the South Moravian Region

Abstract

Tourism is one of the world’s most affected sectors by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article deals with the assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the visitation of the South Moravian Region, including important cultural and natural sites, based on the analysis of empirical statistical data in the last decade and the calculation of the year-on-year change in attendance between 2019 and 2022. According to the results, the number of visitors to the South Moravian Region in 2020 fell by almost half, including a decrease of a quarter of visitors to cultural monuments compared to 2019. On the other hand, visits to natural areas with no restricted access increased by a fifth after 2020, but natural areas with restricted access fell by more than 40%. From 2021, attendance of the South Moravian Region began to increase slightly, and in 2022, it reached ninety percent of the level before 2019, including attendance at cultural and natural sites. The results of the research confirmed the growing trend in visitors to the South Moravian Region, including cultural and natural monuments, which were significantly influenced by the impact of COVID-19 on tourism after 2020, with a recovery of tourism in 2022.

Assessing the Long-COVID Impact on Heritage Organisations

“…The United Nations World Travel Organisation, and the European Cultural Tourism Network amongst others, published guidance for tourism recovery [76] as communities required tourism to restart so that their local economy could recover [34]. The impact was less severe in rural tourism areas [36] and countries with lower dependency on tourism [77]. Research across 20 European countries shows that camping grounds, motorhome and trailer parks had the least negative impact, and holiday short-stay accommodation was impacted less than hotels [59].…”

“…Research across 20 European countries shows that camping grounds, motorhome and trailer parks had the least negative impact, and holiday short-stay accommodation was impacted less than hotels [59]. Limited mobility encouraged domestic visitation and longer stays [77]. The extra demand for outdoors spaces, however, caused over-tourism in some nature sites, causing management problems [34].…”

“…The moto 'Visit your local park, Protect the NHS, and Save Lives' demonstrates the importance that open spaces had during the pandemic [114]. Nature sites had a marked increase in visitor numbers; however, this created staff shortage issues, littering, and erosion [68,77]. It is important, therefore, for all sites to consider and calculate their visitor carrying capacity [137] including the management of visitor volumes in historic cities [138].…”

“…But the increase in online content was not easy. The need for increased use of digital technologies faced limited digital skills and small digital budgets [77]. The urgent increase in digital services was delivered by staff having to take new responsibilities [46].…”

“…Haq and co-authors see digital engagement of virtual tours and online interactions as an extensive multisensory experience, an online tourism sector [75]. An increase in digital engagement is expected, for a lasting hybrid visitation [77].…”