An assessment on the news about the tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study examines the relationship of COVID-19 with the tourism industry in the context of news coverage. More specifically, this study analyzes the relationship between COVID-19 and subsectors of tourism throughout different periods of the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research techniques were applied, and content analysis used, to analyze the collected data. The news contents obtained cover two one-week periods: March 5–12, 2020, and April 5–12, 2020. The content analysis method and MAXQDA program were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe research findings reveal that tourism and news related to COVID-19 were heavily connected with the travel industry during March 5–12, 2020, with concentrations slightly favoring the hospitality industry. In the period of April 5–12, 2020, the strong relationship between tourism and travel continued. During the latter period, the hospitality and the events industries were both subjects of relevant news.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examined the news during a short period of time. In addition, the sample of the study does not represent all news in all media. Examining different media outlets and different news cycles may produce different results.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to examine the relationship between the pandemic and the tourism industry from a macro perspective in the context of news coverage. The study provides implications for policy-makers, tourism planners and industry.