COVID-19 Effects on Tourism Events, Technology Acceleration and Future Research Directions

Abstract

The tourism industry remains profoundly uncertain due to the post-COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic continues to hit hard in the global tourism and tourism events. The local tourism industry is assisting with relaxing the blow, governments have taken an amazing prompt move to re-establish and re-initiate the sector while supporting occupations and tourism businesses. Many countries are now developing measures to construct a stronger tourism economy post COVID-19 pandemic. These include incorporating planning that intends to help the sustainable recuperation of the travel and tourism events industry, promoting the digital transition and move to a greener tourism system, and rethinking the tourism and tourism events for the future. Digital transformation is changing the way people live, travel and work. It has opened up new opportunities for tourism events businesses to compete in global markets. This chapter aims to explore the rethinking of tourism and tourism events framework with the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of technology acceleration and its impact on tourism events. This study uses a method of research to synthesize existing literature, and concepts that are being explained in the context of digital transformation in the tourism events industry, and future research direction with the ongoing uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter offers several recommendations for rethinking the development of the tourism model, global value ecosystems, digital acceleration trends in tourism events and identifies a number of key policy considerations to foster technology acceptance and use in the tourism and tourism events industry.