Covid-19: Pandemic-Resilient Strategies for Mobility in Smart Touristic Cities

Abstract

Reshaping future resilient cities in light of the consequence of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as a global pandemic that affects all sectors, particularly tourism, has become an urgent matter. It is a major priority to assist touristic cities to lift quarantine procedures and resume tourism activities in line with epidemiological and health standards. Therefore, the ease of travel and tourism must be weighed against reducing the risks of the spread of the virus. In regard to the difficulty and risk of mobility during this pandemic period, finding a way out will not only allow urban tourism mobility in the world to return to the previous "normal" state, it will also initiate a crisis-resistant future, especially for smart touristic cities that use information and communication technologies. This study aims to develop pandemic-resistance strategies to respond to various crises and unexpected disruption by devising integrated indicators for a smart touristic city to resist pandemics in the urban mobility sector. The study follows an analytical deductive method that begins with a literature review of smart and resilient urban tourism mobility and the potential impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on medium to long term. It studies the most appropriate strategic responses of tourism mobility policy makers in the post-COVID-19 era and inventory possible opportunities to take advantage of that pandemic crisis. In addition, it analyzes some examples of touristic cities that had proven successful in times of pandemics to find smart, resilient, and more human-centered strategies that can be applied to the urban tourism mobility sector.