From Epidemics to Pandemic: Tips from the Past

The World Tourism Organization proposed to examine studies on previous infectious disease outbreaks (epidemics), in particular the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic of 2002–2004, to better managing the impact of the COVID-19 on the tourism industry. We followed this suggestion by analysing tourism-related literature concerning previous outbreaks. We consequently identified the differences and similarities between past epidemics and the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluated recovery strategies previously adopted by tourism destinations, and suggested a research agenda to facilitate the tourism destinations’ recovery. To provide theoretically grounded research suggestions, which are urgently needed by the tourism industry, only contributions from high-quality peer-reviewed journals were considered in this literature review.