Current Trends and Issues of Luxury Tourism. Empirical Research on Supply and Demand Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Tourism is fundamental to economic development generating a continuous flow of people and investments, contributing to regional development, producing national and international wealth and stimulating the transfer of resources between countries. The benefits of tourism must contribute to the economic and social development of regions and citizens in all respects. Beyond the ultimate refinement, luxury is a way of life. Due to the quality of the services offered by luxury hotels, the prices charged by them are higher, because both the quality of the products and the service are at a higher quality level. Lately, luxury tourism has placed a great deal of emphasis on personalized services, which give guests an added comfort as well as confidence. The aim of this article is to review the recent research on current issues of luxury tourism market generated by the Covid-19 imposed restrictions. The main findings show that the sector changes as a result of government anti-Covid initiatives will almost certainly have an impact on the overall demand and supply of tourism products. Increased wealth disparity may lead to further fragmentation of the tourism market, with a corresponding rise in prices for both affordable and luxury locations.

Keywords

• tourism
• hospitality industry
• luxury tourism market
• development
• covid-19 impact