The impact of political decisions on the tourist accommodation occupancy - Central Europe in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Tourism is one of the most dynamically developing branches of many national economies, remaining to this day one of the most important industries in the world. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, or to be more precise, radical measures introduced by most governments to prevent its spread, have led to its collapse. The aim of the article is to look at the changes in the occupancy of tourist accommodation facilities (which resulted from political decisions) and to indicate which of these decisions seem most justifiable and relevant. When it comes to the research area, Central Europe was chosen as it is a region which, in the last few years, has recorded annual increases in international tourist traffic. Based on the results of the study conducted, we may state that all Central European countries have recorded a decrease in the occupancy of tourist accommodation facilities in the period from March to June 2020 (a decrease of app. 85% in comparison to the same period last year). Among the least affected by the crisis are Austria, Switzerland, and Slovenia. The situation in the so-called Alpine countries is due to the fact that their governments decided to unfreeze the economy quite early.