The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world hard, costing more than three and half million lives. Governments around the globe are not in a consensus position on the most appropriate response to the pandemic. This study utilizes an economic model to assess choices and compare outcome of public health policies using China as a case study. A lax policy could have costed the country up to 97% of inbound tourism revenue; reduced real gross domestic product by 11% and decreased employment by 15%. Analysis shows that the appropriate prevention and control policy of the Chinese Government have mitigated the impact of COVID-19 significantly for both tourism and non-tourism sectors. Importantly, the article highlights that the substantial negative impact on investment in tourism will slow down the sector’s recovery. The article calls for strong tourism-focused response policies for a speedy recovery.
ChangXWangBDongY (2018) A study on beijing online tourism commodities based on taobao data. In: Annual Report on Beijing Tourism Development by Beijing Tourism Association. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press of China.
6.
China National Tourism Administration (2007) Sample Survey of Domestic Tourism in China 2007. Beijing: China Tourism Press.
GHSIndex (2020) Global Health Security Index 2019. Nuclear Threat Initiative. Washington D.CLondon: Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Maryland; and The Economist Intelligence Unit. https://www.ghsindex.org/
HaiWZhaoZWangJ, et al. (2004) The short-term impact of SARS on the chinese economy. Asian Economic Papers3(1): 57–61.
15.
HallCMScottDGösslingS (2020) Pandemics, transformations and tourism: be careful what you wish for. Tourism Geographies22(3): 577–598. DOI: 10.1080/14616688.2020.1759131.
HorridgeM (2000) ORANI-G: A general equilibrium model of the Australian economy. Centre of Policy Studies/IMPACT Centre Working Papers Op-93. Monash University.
18.
IoannidesDGyimóthyS (2020) The COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity for escaping the unsustainable global tourism path. Tourism Geographies22(3): 624–632. DOI: 10.1080/14616688.2020.1763445.
19.
JaipuriaSParidaRRayP (2020) The impact of COVID-19 on tourism sector in India. Tourism Recreation Research46(2): 245–260. DOI: 10.1080/02508281.2020.1846971.
20.
JooHMaskeryBABerroAD, et al. (2019) Economic impact of the 2015 MERS outbreak on the republic of Korea's tourism-related industries. Health Security17(2): 100–108.
21.
KuoH-IChenC-CTsengW-C, et al. (2008) Assessing impacts of SARS and avian flu on international tourism demand to Asia. Tourism Management29: 917–928.
22.
LeeJ-WMcKibbinWJ (2004) Globalization and disease: the case of SARS. Asian Economic Papers3(1): 113–131.
23.
MandelAVeetilV (2020) The economic cost of COVID lockdowns: an out-of-equilibrium analysis. Economics of Disasters and Climate Change4: 431–451. DOI: 10.1007/s41885-020-00066-z.
24.
MaoC-KDingCGLeeH-Y (2010) Post-SARS tourist arrival recovery patterns: an analysis based on a catastrophe theory. Tourism Management31: 855–861.
25.
MasonPGrabowskiPDuW (2005) Severe acute respiratory syndrome, tourism and the media. International Journal of Tourism Research7: 11–21.
PhamTDwyerLSuJ, et al. (2021) COVID-19 impacts of inbound tourism on Australian economy. Annals of Tourism Research88: 103179. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103179.
36.
PineR.McKercherB. (2004) The impact of SARS on Hong Kong’s tourism industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management16(2): 139–143.
QiuWChuCMaoA, et al. (2018) The impacts on health, society, and economy of SARS and H7N9 outbreaks in China: a case comparison study. Journal of Environmental and Public Health Electronic Resource. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2018/2710185/
41.
ShanYOuJWangD, et al. (2021) Impacts of COVID-19 and fiscal stimuli on global emissions and the paris agreement. Nursing in Critical Care11: 200–206. DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-00977-5.
SigalaM (2020) Tourism and COVID-19: impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research. Journal of Business Research117: 312–321.
44.
SkareMSorianoDPorada-RochonM (2020) Impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry. Technological Forecasting & Social Change163: 120469.
45.
SongHGartnerWCTasciAD A (2012) Visa restrictions and their adverse economic and marketing implications-evidence from China. Tourism Management33: 397–412.
VasiljevaMNeskorodievaIPonkratovV, et al. (2020) A predictive model for assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economies of some Eastern European countries. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity6: 92. DOI: 10.3390/joitmc6030092.
56.
WalmsleyTRose AWeiD (2021) The impacts of the coronavirus on the economy of the United States. Economics of Disasters and Climate Change5: 1–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41885-020-00080-1.
57.
WHO (2021) WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. https://covid19.who.int/(accessed on19 02 2020).
58.
WilliamsCC (2020) Impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on Europe’s tourism industry: Addressing tourism enterprises and workers in the undeclared economy. International Journal of Tourism Research23: 79–88.
59.
WuJTLeungKBushmanM, et al. (2020) Estimating clinical severity of COVID-19 from the transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China. Nature Medicine26: 506–510. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0822-7
60.
XingHYuH (2018) Business model innovation of beijing’s traditional travel agencies in the sharing economy. Annual Report on Beijing Tourism Development by Beijing Tourism Association. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press of China.
YangYLiuZ-HQiQ (2014) Domestic tourism demand of urban and rural residents in China: does relative income matter?Tourism Management40: 193–202.
63.
ZengBCarterRWDe LacyT (2005) Short-term perturbations and tourism effects: the case of SARS in China. Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics8(4): 306–322.
