The COVID-19 pandemic may be considered as the most significant disruptive event for human travel since the Second World War. The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill, and tourism has been one of the worst affected of all major economic sectors. There is much evidence that the impact and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will be unprecedented and that COVID-19 will be different and transformative for the tourism sector.

While it is difficult to speculate what precisely the aftermath of COVID-19 will be on the travel and tourism industry, even more than before, governments and tourism industry stakeholders need to consider the costs, risks and impacts of global environmental dangers on travel and tourism. Our research aims to assess the influence of COVID-19 on the South African travel and tourism industry from both demand- and supply-side perspectives. Current projects include:

• Assessing the influence of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry towards regeneration
• Exploring the contemporary risk perception associated with tourism: A survey of intended post-crisis travel behaviour
• Predicting post-COVID-19 pandemic travel behaviour in South Africa: Towards repositioning South Africa as a tourism destination of choice
• An assessment of tourists behavioural response and adaptation to Covid-19