COVID-19 implications for tourism: shifts, trends, challenges, and opportunities

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant global decline in tourist arrivals. The economies of several developing Asian countries that depend highly
on international tourism as a crucial source of income have been severely affected. Against such an exogenous shock, what are the implications for the tourism industry and, in particular, the industry in Asia? The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature specific to COVID-19 that was produced in the first six months of the crisis to reveal the critical themes, trends, and gaps from diverse fields of tourism research that may impact the future of the industry. Using data from sixty-seven journal articles retrieved from the leading twenty-four tourism journals, we identified 1,707 related terms. The quantitative contextual synthesis revealed three main clusters (ramification, adaptation, and transformation) and five associated subclusters (impact, effect on stakeholders, response, outlook, and recovery solutions). The findings provide quantified support for new and often overlooked research areas in which we believe additional work should be undertaken. Based on the literature, we discuss the implications of the pandemic on Asia. Overall, the findings imply that the tourism industry must continue responding, adjusting, and adapting with resiliency to COVID-19.