Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Prospects for Edutourism Demand in South Africa

Abstract

This paper discusses the outcomes of an exploratory study into the obstacles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and a post-COVID recovery in the South African educational tourism sector. By reviewing the challenges and the key technological innovations developed and implemented during the pandemic, this study established that, while the COVID-19 restrictions significantly impacted the viability of every business in the edutourism sector, the use of important technological platforms (like social media, virtual reality, mobile apps, computer-based technology and virtual reality/augmented reality [VR/AR]) helped the sector remain resilient. However, the current paucity of empirical data in this regard suggests an investigation, the motivation for the current study, which assumes an inductive approach. This paper highlights the challenges, trends and prospects of COVID-19-related revival strategies for South Africa’s edutourism sector, with the ensuing debates contributing to increasing academic debates on the subject, while highlighting both practical policy-related input and theoretical contributions.

Keywords

• covid-19 pandemic
• edutourism
• resilience
• south africa
• pandemic response