A shift in attitudes and priorities of Turkish domestic tourists as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected not only the health of communities but also their daily practices and behaviors. The aim of the study was to investigate the attitudes and priorities of Turkish domestic tourists regarding post-COVID-19 travel. The priorities of female respondents with respect to service quality/prices were found to be significantly more affected by the pandemic than those of males while male respondents had significantly higher expectations regarding the response of tourism businesses than females. With increasing age and decreasing income levels, respondents were significantly more likely to be concerned about the risk associated with travelling and their priorities concerning service quality/prices were more likely to be affected by the pandemic situation. Respondents with low levels of education were significantly more likely to declare a shift in priorities and had higher expectations regarding the response of tourism businesses compared with the rest of the sample. The author also considers the implications of the study for tourism business managers and researchers.