COVID-19 and the acknowledgement of children as stakeholders of the tourism industry

摘要

There is a dearth of academic research in tourism involving children (Canosa et al., 2018; Séraphin and Gowreesunkar, 2020). Tourism and hospitality research to date have focused almost exclusively on adults’ perspectives, often overlooking, if not neglecting, the views of children and young people (Canosa et al., 2018a). Many academics are now supporting the fact that children are as important as adults in academic research in tourism (PoriaandTimothy, 2014; Radic, 2017). Despite all the negative impacts of the breakout of COVID-19, the pandemic has also provided opportunities to reviews old practices, and adopt more suitable and up to date one (Prideaux et al., 2020), among these are the opportunity to empower children as tourists while informing them about the impacts of COVID-19, and measures to remain safe. The guided walk developed for young consumers in Winchester is the example that is discussed in this study. This study not only contributes to address a gap in the literature but also provides an example of a strategy put in place to empower children to be the tourists of the future (Cullingford, 1995).