PERCEPTION OF TOURIST TRAVEL DURING THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC

This study examined the relationship between the intention to travel in 2022 and the conditions that the tourist destination must meet during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the influence of socio-demographic factors on the significance of the conditions that the tourist destination must meet during the specific health crisis, as well as the connection between vaccination and the intention to travel in 2022. The data was collected through an online survey on a convenience sample of 265 respondents in the period from March 2nd, 2022 until May 17th, 2022. The results show that the oldest respondents pay more attention to the importance of the conditions that a tourist destination must fulfill in relation to the youngest respondents, just as pensioners pay more attention than others, employees, and especially students. When analyzing the individual factors of the significant conditions that a tourist destination must fulfill during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, two factors stand out: "Staff should be vaccinated" and "Food establishments must comply with health protection rules", in relation to the remaining three factors that show less important: "Accommodation units must comply with health protection rules", "The infection rate of the area should be less than 3 per 1000 inhabitants" and "Other tourists should be vaccinated". The results also show that the importance of the conditions that the tourist destination must fulfill is related to the fact that the staff should be vaccinated and other tourists should be vaccinated, but there is no relationship between the other variables and the variable "To what extent do you think you will travel in 2022 in the context of the current situation with by the COVID-19 pandemic?".