RESUMO
This study examines the COVID-19 vulnerability and subsequent market dynamics in the volatile hospitality market worldwide, by focusing in particular on individual Airbnb bookings-data for six world-cities in various continents over the period January 2020-August 2021. This research was done by: (i) looking into factual survival rates of Airbnb accommodations in the period concerned; (ii) examining place-based impacts of intra-city location on the economic performance of Airbnb facilities; (iii) estimating the price responses to the pandemic by means of a hedonic price model. In our statistical analyses based on large volumes of time- and space-varying data, multilevel logistic regression models are used to trace 'corona survivability footprints' and to estimate a hedonic price-elasticity-of-demand model. The results reveal hardships for the Airbnb market as a whole as well as a high volatility in prices in most cities. Our study highlights the vulnerability and 'corona echo-effects' on Airbnb markets for specific accommodation segments in several large cities in the world. It adds to the tourism literature by testing the geographic distributional impacts of the corona pandemic on customers' choices regarding type and intra-urban location of Airbnb accommodations.
RESUMO
During the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak, countries adopted different strategies in order to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, ranging from recommendations to limit individual movement to severe lockdown measures. Regarding higher education, university studies were shifted to digital solutions in most countries. The sudden move to online teaching affected students differently, depending on the overall mitigation strategies applied. Severe lockdown and closure measures caused a disruption of their academic and social interactions. In contrast, recommendations to limit activities probably did not change students' life to a great extent. The heterogeneity of the policies adopted in three countries (Italy, Sweden and Turkey) gives us an opportunity to assess the effects of lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic on university students' performance. We employ a difference-in-differences approach by exploiting the fact that Italy and Turkey experienced national lockdowns, while Sweden never applied nationwide mandatory restrictive policies. We use administrative data from universities in the three countries to estimate the probability to pass exams after the spread of COVID-19 pandemic (and the shift to distance education), with respect to the previous comparable period. We find that the pass rate decreased with the shift to online teaching. However, lockdown measures, especially if very restrictive as those applied in Italy, helped to compensate such negative effect. A possible explanation is that students took advantage of the huge increase in the time available for their studies, given the impossibility to carry out any activity outside the home.
RESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic affected travelling in general, and the leisure mobility and the spatial distribution of travellers in particular. In most parts of the world, both domestic and international travel has been replaced by restrictive policies and recommendations on mobility. A modal shift from public transport towards private cars and micro-mobility was also observed. This study seeks to trace the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for leisure mobility. We use a unique Swedish database containing daily mobility patterns of pseudonymised mobile phone users, combined with a survey on vacation transport behaviour. By contrasting mobility patterns for selected holiday days during the unaffected summer of 2019 with corresponding dates in 2020 and 2021, we are able to model and detect the pandemic effects on tourism and recreational mobility. Moreover, by identifying the general mobility patterns, we analyse whether and how the transport mode has changed. Using data on the spatial distribution of recreational amenities, we identify locations that were favoured during the pandemic. In Sweden, even though the pandemic decreased in spread and severity during the summers, most travel restrictions were still enforced, international vacations uncommon, and larger vacation spots, such as amusement parks and cultural institutions, were closed down. Swedish vacation homes in remote or rural areas were quickly booked. This change in recreational behaviour, where less populated areas, open air and nature recreation were favoured over indoor or crowded urban cultural activities, was more substantial in 2021 than in 2020. This result shows how policies can effectively be developed, so that Swedes respond properly to recommendations and adjust their vacation plans.