The impact of COVID-19 on the regional tourism flow network: an empirical study in Hubei Province

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had an unprecedented impact on global tourism, and the tourism industry has not recovered from the effects of the pandemic in most countries. Previous studies have researched the impact of epidemics on the number of tourists, but research on their impact on the tourism flow network is still limited. This research focuses on Hubei Province as a case study by obtaining tourism flow data for 2019 and 2020. This study used network analysis methods to research the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism flow network and its recovery after the pandemic. The results show that COVID-19 has a substantial short-term impact on tourism flow, with a recovery period of approximately 20 weeks. However, there are differences in recovery in various regions. The tourism flow network in large cities and areas severely affected by the pandemic recovered slowly, while rural and natural scenic spots recovered faster. Simultaneously, the attraction radiuses of tourist destinations shrank significantly, and tourist markets became more concentrated. Meanwhile, destinations in the suburbs, rural areas, and small cities obtained new opportunities in the short term. Finally, this research provides suggestions for the recovery of tourism after the pandemic.