Personal Spatial Mobilities after the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Speculative View

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article attempts to speculate on possible post-COVID-19 pandemic scenarios for daily and periodic touristic personal mobilities. Post-COVID-19 pandemic mobilities are assumed to reflect people’s basic needs for mobilities, their pre-pandemic, and pandemic mobility experiences, as well as societal-economic forces pushing for changes in mobility patterns. The article begins with explorations for the basic personal push and pull triggers for both daily and touristic mobilities, which can be assumed to have remained unchanged during and after the Coronavirus crisis. We then assess the significances of the COVID-19-related lockdowns, with some special attention given to new mobility habit formations, highlighting the differences between macro-societal imposed habit formations, typical to the pandemic, as compared to individual voluntary habit formations, typical of routine habit formations by individuals. It is speculated that the pre-COVID-19 physical and virtual mobility mix for social contacts will continue, added by virtual group meetings. Post-pandemic shopping will present growth of virtual, as compared to physical, shopping. Home-based work, which was modest before COVID-19, will become widely adopted following the end of the COVID-19 crisis. Finally, we argue for a post-pandemic increased need for touristic vacations, and daily leisure activities at times of more extensive home-based work.