Quantifying the COVID-19-affected tourism education in China: a potential crisis in tourism recovery

Human resources is a crucial factor in supporting the development of tourism as a labour-intensive industry. This research enhances the understanding of China's tourism education associated with the spread of COVID-19 and its implications for tourism recovery. Initial findings imply that: COVID-19 had a profound lagging negative effect on the intention to apply for tourism-related majors of examinees, which is severe challenging for tourism recovery, and the impact was more pronounced in typical tourism-dependent cities than in non-tourism-dependent cities. The MICE Economics and Management was least affected, while the Sports Tourism was most affected.