Academic impressions pertaining to the "new normal" in tourism education and practice in accordance with digital technology and creativity

PurposeThe aim of this study is to explain the educational practices that emerged with the concept of "new normal" in an overview. In line with this goal, the experiences of academics who are experts in their fields have been utilized.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on both academic and trade literature. Interviews with representatives from schools providing tourism education in North Cyprus were conducted online and in-person. The qualitative research method in the form of the interview method was employed in the research. The research participants consist of 15 academics working in the field of tourism education. Additionally, concerning the selection of these participants, sector experience and applied lecture status were taken into consideration. As the second dimension of the research, an extensive literature review was conducted and the subject was expanded by explaining it with examples from around the world.FindingsIt has been revealed in the research that educational institutions and tourist businesses have to constantly renew themselves technologically. The findings obtained from academics include the innovations they use in the "new normal" tourism education in applications such as Hybrid/BL - Blended Learning, VR - Virtual Reality, Artificial intelligence, LMS & In-class response systems, API-based software systems in the courses they teach. The common opinion of academics who want to provide a better education is that educational institutions should always be infrastructurally prepared for such emergencies.Originality/valueThe global COVID-19 pandemic created economic destruction in many countries and brought life to a halt. In the tourism sector, one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 problem, various restrictions were imposed on touristic activities. While this situation caused a decrease in demand in the tourism sector, it paved the way for great technological changes and resulted in the adoption of new educational practices in institutions providing tourism education. This paper traces these new development in the face of the pandemic crisis.