Abstract
Tourism is widely recognized as the best alternative for improving the financial situation of disadvantaged neighbourhoods and villages, given that they have the necessary capacity for the growth of tourism. However, the COVID epidemic had far-reaching consequences for human life everywhere it appeared. But the COVID epidemic had a significant effect on human life all across the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse effect on many parts of the world economy, but it is undeniable that the rural tourism sector has been particularly affected. The purpose of this research was to examine the impacts of the COVID pandemic on rural tourism by comparing the field both before and after the pandemic occurred along three key social, economic, and environmental dimensions. Survey methodology was employed for this quantitative research. Participants in rural tourism were used as the study's population sample. A confirmatory factor analysis reveals a favorable fit between the model's constructs. The study found that the presence of COVID had a negative effect, such as lessening the beneficial effects of tourism on the economy and society, which were emphasized by both experts and rural customers. Those engaged in rural tourism claim that the natural aspects of popular tourist areas earlier and after COVID were distinct, and the lack of tourists in this region has led to a significant reduction in the negative effects on the environment.
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Abbreviations
- COVID:
-
Coronavirus disease
- CFA:
-
Confirmatory factor analysis
- CEE:
-
Central and eastern European
- SEM:
-
Structural equation modeling
- SC:
-
Standard coefficient
- NNFI:
-
Non-normed fit index
- NFI:
-
Normed fit index
- GFI:
-
Goodness of fit index
- CFI:
-
Comparative fit index
- AGFI:
-
Adjusted goodness of fit index
- RMR:
-
Root mean square residual
- IFI:
-
Increasing fitness index
- RMSEA:
-
Root mean square error of approximation
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Conceptualization, IM and SKV; methodology, VPG; software, PS; validation, AKP, PS and BH; formal analysis, GWA; investigation, AKP; resources, GWA; data curation, PS; writing—original draft preparation, GWA; writing—review and editing, BH and VPG; visualization, IM; supervision, IM and VPG; project administration, GWA.
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Muda, I., Vohra, S.K., Gangwar, V.P. et al. Evaluation of economic, environmental, and social impacts of COVID on rural tourism. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04884-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04884-z