Effects of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemia on the Number of Tourist Arrivals in Hong Kong: A Comparative Analysis with Figures of Last Five Years

Recently, the whole world has faced a new type of coronavirus. The virus, called Covid-19, which was first seen in Wuhan, China and started to spread rapidly to other countries, has come to a halt all around the world due to its high spreading rate and being a deadly virus. In the face of the situation that has turned into a universal public health crisis, some countries have reduced their commercial relations with other countries and even international travel restrictions have been introduced in many countries. Since almost all countries close their borders and stop international travel, international tourism activities have also lost their dynamism. In this study, the first effects of the novel coronavirus on tourism were tried to be determined. For this purpose, the number of foreign tourists coming to Hong Kong from some countries and continents in January 2020 was compared with the data of January of the last five years with the help of graphics. As a result of the research, it has been determined that the number of foreign tourists visiting Hong Kong in January 2020 has decreased significantly compared to January of the last five years. In addition, when compared with the SARS virus seen in 2003, it was observed that the novel coronavirus had more negative effects on airway transportation and the number of passengers coming to Hong Kong.

Yeni Koronavirüs (Kovid-19) Pandemisinin Hong Kong'a Gelen Turist Sayısı Üzerindeki Etkilerinin Son Beş Yılın Verilerine Göre Karşılaştırmalı Bir Analizi

Son günlerde tüm dünya yeni tip bir koronavirüsle karşı karşıya kalmıştır. İlk kez Çin'in Wuhan kentinde görülen ve diğer ülkelere hızla yayılmaya başlayan kovid-19 adlı virüsün gerek yayılma hızının yüksek olması gerekse ölümcül bir virüs olma özelliği taşıması nedeniyle tüm dünyada hayat neredeyse durma noktasına gelmiştir. Evrensel bir halk sağlığı krizi haline dönüşen durum karşında bazı ülkeler diğer ülkelerle olan ticari ilişkilerini azaltmış ve hatta pek çok ülke de uluslararası seyahat kısıtlamaları getirilmiştir. Hemen hemen tüm ülkelerin birbirlerine sınırlarını kapatması ve uluslararası seyahatleri durdurması nedeniyle özellikle uluslararası turizm faaliyetleri de dinamikliğini yitirmiştir. Bu çalışmada yeni tip koronavirüsün turizme olan ilk etkileri tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla 2020 yılının Ocak ayında bazı ülke ve kıtalardan Hong Kong'a gelen yabancı turist sayıları, son beş yılın Ocak ayı verileri ile grafikler yardımıyla kıyaslanmaya çalışılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda Hong Kong'u 2020 yılının Ocak ayında ziyaret eden yabancı turist sayısının son beş yılın Ocak aylarına göre ciddi oranlarda azaldığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca 2003 yılında görülen SARS virüsü ile karşılaştırıldığı, yeni tip koronavirüsün havayaolu taşımacılığı ile Hong Kong'a gelen yolcu sayısı üzerinde daha olumsuz etkiler yarattığı görülmüştür.

PDF

___

Acar, Y. (2020). The Novel Coronavirus (Covıd-19) Outbreak And Impact On Tourism Activities. Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research, 4(1), 7-21.

Çeti, B. & Ünlüönen, K. (2019). Evaluation of the Effect of Crisis Due to Epidemic Diseases on the Tourism Sector. The Journal of Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Faculty of Tourism, 22(2), 109-128.

Jung, H., Park, M., Hong, K. & Hyun E. (2016). The Impact of an Epidemic Outbreak on Consumer Expenditures:An Empirical Assessment for MERS Korea, Sustainability, 8(5), Article No: 454.

Mao, C., Ding, C. G. & Lee, H. (2010). Post-SARS tourist arrival recovery patterns: An analysis based on a catastrophe theory. Tourism Management, 31, 855-861.

Maphanga, P. M. & Henama, U. S. (2019). The Tourism Impact of Ebola in Africa: Lessons on Crisis Management. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 8(3), 1-13.

McAleer M., Huang B.W., Kuo H.I., Chen C.C., Chang C.L. (2010). An econometric analysis of SARS and Avian Flu on international tourist arrivals to Asia. Environmental Modelling and Software, 1, 100-106.

Noy, I. & Shields, S. (2019). The 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Epidemic: A Retroactive Examination of Economic Costs. ADB Economics Working Paper Series, 591, 1-16.

Pavli, A., Tsiodras, S. & Maltezou, H. C. (2014). Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): Prevention in travelers. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 12, 602-608.

Qiu, W., Chu, C., Mao, A. & Wu, J. (2018). The Impacts on Health, Society, and Economy of SARS and H7N9 Outbreaks in China: A Case Comparison Study. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018, 1-7.

Rodríguez-Morales A. J., MacGregor K., Kanagarajah S., Patel D. & Schlagenhauf P. (2020). Going global–Travel and the 2019 novel coronavirus. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 33, 1-5.

Ruiz Estrada, M. A., Park, D. & Lee, M. (2020). The Evaluation of the Final Impact of Wuhan COVID-19 on Trade, Tourism, Transport, and Electricity Consumption of China. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1-13.

Teitler-Regev, S., Shahrabani, S. & Guziker, O. (2013). The effects of economics crises, epidemics and terrorism on tourism. International Journal of Business and Applied Sciences, 1(1), 84-89.

Verikios, G., McCaw, J., McVernon, J. & Harris, A. (2010). H1N1 Influenza in Australia and its Macroeconomic Effects. Centre of Policy Studies, General Paper No. G-212, 1-29.

Verikios, G., Sullivan, M., Stojanovski, P., Giesecke, J. & Woo, G. (2011, June). The Global Economic Effects of Pandemic Influenza. In 14th Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis.

Wilder-Smith, A. (2006). The severe acute respiratory syndrome: Impact on travel and tourism, Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 4, 53-60.

Ying, T., Wang, K., Liu, X., Wen, J. & Goh, E. (2020). Rethinking game consumption in tourism: a case of the 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak in China. Tourism Recreation Research, 1-6.

Zeng, B., Carter, R. W. & De Lacy, T. (2005). Short-term Perturbations and Tourism Effects: The Case of SARS in China. Current Issues in Tourism, 8(4), 306-322.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Census and Statistics Department (2020). Visitor arrivals by country/region of residence (Hong Kong Tourism Board). https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp130.jsp?productCode=D5600551 Accessed on 28/03/2020.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Civil Aviation Department (2020). Air Traffic Statistics. https://www.cad.gov.hk/english/statistics.html Accessed on 09/07/2020.