Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Academic Travels

Sari, Ferika Ozer; Avci, Nilgün; Nazli, Murat; Curkan, Samet Can

doi:10.2478/ejthr-2023-0002

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to reveal the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the domestic and international travel activities of Turkish academicians for academic reasons and to get insights into academicians’ opinions about how this pandemic would affect academic studies by preventing travel and socialising. An email interview technique is used. Collected data were analysed by using MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020. As a result of content analysis, 70% of the respondents declared that their academic travel plans were cancelled due to this pandemic. The study emphasised that virtual travels seem to increase accessibility and equality for many academicians, especially those with travel restrictions.

References

Achten, W. M. J., Almeida, J., & Muys, B. (2013). Carbon footprint of science: More than flying. Ecological Indicators, 34(2013), 352–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.05.025
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Ackers, L. (2008). Internationalization, mobility and metrics: A new form of indirect discrimination? Minerva, 46(4), 411–435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-008-9110-2
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
BBC. (2020). Coronavirus: Hong Kong hospital staff strike to demand closure of China border. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-51349154.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Beaverstock, J. V., Derudder, B., Faulconbridge, J. R., & Witlox, F. (2009). International business travel: Some explorations. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 91(3), 193–202.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Bidmon, C., Meath, C., & Bohnsack, R. (2020, June 24). Organizing a virtual conference changed the way we think about academic exchange. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01896-3
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Bourdieu, P. (1975). The specificity of the scientific field and the social conditions of the progress of reason. Sociology of Science, 14(6), 19–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901847501400602
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Caset, F., Boussauw, K., & Storme, T. (2018). Meet & fly: Sustainable transport academics and the elephant in the room. Journal of Transport Geography, 70(2018), 64–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.05.020
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Chinazzi, M., Davis, J. T., Ajelli, M., Gioannini, C., Litvinova, M., Merler, S., Piontti, A. P., Mu, K., Rossi, L., Sun, K., Viboud, C., Xiong, X., Yu, H., Halloran, M. E., Longini, I. M., Jr., & Vespignani, A. (2020). The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Science, 368(6489), 395–400. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba9757
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Cohen, S. A., Hanna, P., & Gössling, S. (2018). The dark side of business travel: A media comments analysis. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 61(2018), 406–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2017.01.004
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Cranford, S. W. (2020). I may not have symptoms, but COVID-19 is a huge headache. Matter, 2(5), 1068–1071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2020.03.017
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Davey, L. (1991). The application of case study evaluations. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 2(9), 1–2.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
DeWeese, J., Ravensbergen, L., & El-Geneidy, A. (2022). Travel behaviour and greenhouse gas emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study in a university setting. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 13(2022), 1–9.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Espino, C. M., Sundstrom, S. M., Frick, H. L., Jacobs, M., & Peters, M. (2002). International business travel: Impact on families and travellers. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(5), 309–322. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oem.59.5.309
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. (2021). COVID-19 situation update worldwide, as of week 21. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution-2019-ncov-cases
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Gerring, J. (2007). Case study research: Principles and practices (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Glover, A., Strengers, Y., & Lewis, T. (2018). Sustainability and academic air travel in Australian universities. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 19(4), 756–772. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-08-2017-0129
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Gössling, S., Scott, D., & Hall, C. M. (2021). Pandemics, tourism and global change: A rapid assessment of COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1758708
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hall, E. (2007). Alternative futures for academic conferences: A response to Bonnett. Area, 39(1), 125–129. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20004595
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hancock, R. D., & Algozzine, B. (2006). Doing case study research. Teachers College Press.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hopkins, D., Higham, J., Tapp, S., & Duncan, T. (2016). Academic mobility in the Anthropocene era: A comparative study of university policy at three New Zealand institutions. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(3), 376–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2015.1071383
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Hunter, J., Corcoran, K., Leeder, S., & Phelps, K. (2013). Is it time to abandon paper? The use of emails and the Internet for health services research—A cost-effectiveness and qualitative study. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 19(5), 855–861. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2012.01864.x
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
International Congress and Convention Association. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the international meetings industry survey report: Research Group of CIMERT. https://www.iccaworld.org/dbs/asiapacific/files/CIMERT/CIMERT%20Survey%20Report.pdf
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Ivanova, M., Ivanov, I. K., & Ivanov, S. (2021). Travel behaviour after the pandemic: The case of Bulgaria. Anatolia, 32(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2020.1818267
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Jack, T., & Glover, A. (2021). Online conferencing in the midst of COVID-19: An “already existing experiment” in academic internationalization without air travel. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 17(1), 292–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2021.1946297
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Jackle, S. (2021). Reducing the carbon footprint of academic conferences by online participation: The case of the 2020 Virtual European Consortium for Political Research General Conference. PS: Political Science and Politics, 54(3), 453–461. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096521000020
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Klöwer, M., Hopkins, D., Allen, M., & Higham, J. (2020). An analysis of ways to decarbonize conference travel after COVID-19. Nature, 583(1), 356–359.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Leary, A., & Abbott, B. (2020, January 31). U.S. imposes entry restrictions over coronavirus. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-k-reports-first-coronavirus-cases-as-china-allieslimit-ties-11580467046
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Lee, B., & Saunders, M. N. K. (2017). Conducting case study research for business and management students (1st ed.). Sage.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Mahroum, S. (2003). Brain gain brain drain, an international overview. Austrian Ministry for Transport Innovation and Technology, Alpbach, Austria.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Mair, J., & Frew, E. (2018). Academic conferences: A female duoethnography. Current Issues in Tourism, 21(18), 2160–2172. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2016.1248909
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Neuburger, L., & Egger, R. (2021). Travel risk perception and travel behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020: A case study of the DACH region. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(7), 1003–1016. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1803807
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Parker, M., & Weik, E. (2014). Free spirits? The academic on the aeroplane. Management Learning, 45(2), 167–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507612466210
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Sage.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Phelan, A. L., Katz, R., & Gostin, L. O. (2020). The novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China: Challenges for global health governance. JAMA, 323(8), 709–710. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.1097
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Sánchez-Cañizares, S. M., Cabeza-Ramírez, L. J., Muñoz-Fernández, G., & Fuentes-García, F. J. (2020). Impact of the perceived risk from Covid-19 on intention to travel. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(7), 970–984.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Schwarz, M., Scherrer, A., Hohmann, C., Heiberg, J., Brugger, A., & Nuñez-Jimenez, A. (2020). COVID-19 and the academy: It is time for going digital. Energy Research & Social Science, 68(2020), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101684
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Shelley-Egan, C. (2020). Testing the obligations of presence in academia in the COVID-19 era. Sustainability, 12(16), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166350
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Smidvik, H., Mollaoglu, E. P., Bergeling, E., & Olsson, F. (2020). Digital solutions replacing academic travel during the corona pandemic—What can we learn? Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Stebbins, R. A. (2001). Exploratory research in the social sciences. Sage.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Urry, J. (2002). Mobility and proximity. Sociology, 36(2), 255–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038502036002002
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Urry, J. (2003). Social networks, travel and talk. The British Journal of Sociology, 54(2), 155–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/0007131032000080186
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
World Health Organization. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Situation report. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200401-sitrep-72-covid-19.pdf
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
World Tourism Organization. (2020). World Tourism Barometer. UNWTO, 18(4), 1–36. https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/wtobarometereng.2020.18.1.4
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Wynes, S., Donner, S. D., Tannason, S., & Nabors, N. (2019). Academic air travel has a limited influence on professional success. Journal of Cleaner Production, 226(2019), 959–967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.109
Search in Google Scholar Back to article
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Sage.
Search in Google Scholar Back to article

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Academic Travels

Abstract

Paradigm

My account