Abstract:

This study aims to reveal if individuals’ preferences of tourism type change after COVID-19. Its other purposes are to understand how participants position visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel in their previous and current travel priorities and to determine the most significant effects of the pandemic on life, tourism motivation and expectations from travelling. In 2021, interviews were conducted with 18 Turkish travelers who traveled regularly before the pandemic. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants and a structured interview technique was utilized. Content analysis was used in the interpretation of the wide-ranging qualitative data to identify the most frequently recurring themes. Findings show that demand in VFR travel and health tourism increased after the pandemic, while options such as sea-sand-sun tourism, cultural tourism and business travel lost the interest. Results such as longing for relatives and friends, escape from unknown destinations, disturbances such as anxiety caused by psychological turmoil, the lack of trust in COVID-19 measures in businesses, statements that the duration will be kept short even if plans are made to participate in different tourism types other than VFR travel, the desire to be safe in terms of health, and to hold cash against the outbreak of a new crisis in the future came to the fore under three main categories: (1) emotional turmoil, (2) involvement in tourism, (3) the family and friend effect. Consequently, the current paper recommends that comprehensive research examining the relationship between reunion travel and VFR travel in the future. Additionally, new studies supported by the psychology discipline are needed to interpret the risk perception and emotional ups and downs occurred during COVID-19.

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