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The 50 USA states each approached the challenges of COVID-19 as they felt best for their people and their economy. This research evaluates the impacts of the decisions made by the individual states as this relates to their hospitality and tourism industry. As the title of this paper suggests, those states making the hard decision to impose strict restrictions often found their tourism industry to have suffered most during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Letter updates and expands a study conducted during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. That study confirmed the applicability of Plog's model of Allocentricity and Psychocentricity within the context of the pandemic, as Allocentrics were found to be much more open to travel during the first 4 months of the pandemic, as the theory would predict. The current research, employing the identical survey instrument and research method, extended the data collection for an additional year as the pandemic evolved. This has allowed a far more extensive examination that confirmed and expanded the earlier findings, providing significant value to both academics and practitioners while again affirming the value of Plog's model for destination marketers during a period of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism and politics are symbiotic. This research, conducted before the impacts of COVID-19 were evident to most Americans, provides insight into the influence one's political persuasion has upon their view toward travel issues related to the disease. The key finding: political tribalism was highly evident, with Republicans, the more conservative USA political party, significantly more supportive of closing the country's borders to those visiting from places where the virus was apparent than were Democratic respondents. Republicans were also considerably less supportive of governmental financial support to hospitality and tourism providers negatively impacted by the then evolving pandemic. Documenting this early glimpse is valuable, helping us better prepare for similar episodes that may follow by depoliticizing actions that are based on health science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to destinations. Even those with thoughtful and comprehensive crisis management plans likely have struggled to navigate this difficult period. This research, based upon an application of Plog's Model of Allocentricity and Psychocentricity and utilizing data collected during the early stages of the pandemic, provides insight regarding consumer attitudes toward vacation and VFR travel from early in the pandemic when no end to the crisis was in sight. The research provides strategic guidance to tourism marketers as they look for solutions during future challenging times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research, conducted during the COVID‐19 pandemic, applied Stanley Plog's seminal tourism Model of Allocentricity and Psychocentricity and discovered surprising relationships between one's Plog classification and their political attitudes and travel behaviors during the crisis. Though expecting Plog's Allocentrics to have the more politically liberal views and Psychocentrics to be more conservative, we found the opposite to be true. Two previous datasets were revisited, each confirming the relationship. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This applied tourism research note considers employment growth and volatility in the hospitality industry, using hospitality, that is, lodging, as surrogate for the broader tourism economy. The research, with data collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, is relevant to communities concerned with balancing the economic opportunities presented by tourism development with the employment impacts of the industry. Findings suggest that employment trends in the industry are far from stable. Based on US data over a recent 5-year period, it was determined that hospitality employment was significantly more volatile than was the national economy. The industry's growth, however, significantly outpaced the broad economy. The research considers the implication of these findings, adding to the tourism economics academic literature while providing important insight for communities as they consider tourism as part of their future development plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airbnb was able to recover faster than hotels from the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research note examines whether Airbnb's success resulted from tourists feeling safer in Airbnbs due to their greater opportunities for social distancing. Nearly 9500 U.S. adults were surveyed between March 2020 and July 2021, and asked the degree to which they would be concerned about staying in a hotel or Airbnb, within the context of the pandemic. Very similar levels of concern were associated with both lodging types, even as this concern decreased as the pandemic unfolded. The similar levels of concern towards hotels and Airbnbs suggest that other factors better explain Airbnb's comparatively rapid recovery from the pandemic. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. • Americans felt similar levels of concern towards hotels and Airbnb during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Concern towards hotels and Airbnb decreased as the pandemic progressed. • Older Americans were comparatively more concerned than younger Americans about Airbnb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]