Irit SHMUEL, Hadassah Academic College, Israel
Michael SOFER, Dep. of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Irit AMIT COHEN, Dep. of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Silo SHIFF, Dep. of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Yaron MICHAEL, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Anat TCHETCHIK, Dep. of Geography and Environment, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an ongoing global crisis. The unprecedented shock has been particularly devastating for the tourism industry which suffered due to a reduction in ground and air traffic, stringent border controls, and mandatory social distancing. We investigate this phenomenon and its derived socio-economic effects on cultural tourism in a northern peripheral area of Israel, which includes a small urban municipality, Beit She’an town, and a regional council, Valley of Springs (a rural municipality). The closure of heritage sites and almost every kind of public cultural venue has led to the absence of domestic and intranational tourists, layoffs of workers and a collapse of businesses.
In order to understand the impact of the pandemic on the area and the survival strategies that were adopted, surveys were conducted among two local stakeholders’ groups: business owners and residents. The findings show that nine out of ten businesses have been affected, yet few have received governmental support. A large share of business owners believes that if the current situation continues, their business can be sustained only for several months. Residents reported that during the pandemic, they avoided public spaces and gatherings, visiting cultural sites much less often than before the pandemic. It is clear that both groups have to readjust their perception of tourist spaces and activities and mode of operation.
The changes that took place in tourism activities following the pandemic have led the owners of cultural tourism-related local businesses, as well as tour guides, to innovate and adopt new ways to operate their activities. These new initiatives and survival strategies may have far-reaching implications for cultural tourism in the region and its characteristics. The findings yield several recommendations regarding how to deal with similar crises in the future so that tourism activities at heritage sites will be minimally harmed.
Mots clés : Covid-19|Cultural tourism|rural development|Israel|survival strategies
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