EVOLUTION OF TRENDS AFFECTING THE TOURISM INDUSTRY: BUSINESS CHALLENGES IN THE FUTURE

Abstract

Tourism is a global industry that develops all over the world and whose economic and social phenomenon is reflected on the whole society; tourism is undoubtedly much more than a business system. At the same time, in this decade, the tourism industry faced the biggest crisis so far (the COVID-19 pandemic), which pointed to the need for the development of resilient and sustainable tourism. The paper investigates the trends that determined the development of tourism in this and the future period, the changes in the tourist market that were additionally initiated and intensified due to the pandemic, and that determined the trends present after the end of the pandemic period and restrictions on the traveling of tourists, too. The challenges that business stakeholders in tourism and the management of tourist destinations have to deal with in a highly competitive environment are explored: demographic trends, sustainability, digitization, accessibility.

Keywords

• tourism
• trends
• tourism planning
• sustainability.