An Empirical Assessment of Students’ Tourist Preferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic from a Gender Perspective: Evidence from Poland

Jan Zawadka (), Jarosław Uglis, Magdalena Kozera-Kowalska, Anna Jęczmyk, Joanna Pietrzak-Zawadka and Monika Małgorzata Wojcieszak-Zbierska
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Jan Zawadka: Department of Tourism, Social Communication and Counselling, Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Jarosław Uglis: Department of Law and Enterprise Management in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Magdalena Kozera-Kowalska: Department of Law and Enterprise Management in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Anna Jęczmyk: Department of Law and Enterprise Management in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland
Joanna Pietrzak-Zawadka: Institute of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, 15-351 Białystok, Poland
Monika Małgorzata Wojcieszak-Zbierska: Department of Economics and Economic Policy in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznań, Poland

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-22

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to reveal the tourist preferences of students during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on differences between genders. This study was carried out in January 2021 and relied on the CAWI technique with a questionnaire distributed on social media. The snowball method was used to reach a wider audience. Valid questionnaires were retrieved from 870 respondents, primarily women (66.8%). The results demonstrate that tourist activity was witnessed despite the pandemic, but it differed between men and women. The latter travelled more often and for longer periods, and they chose August and September from the summer months. Although most travelling students sought active recreation, female students more frequently decided to be less active or opted for passive leisure during their stays. Unlike men, women sought safety and therefore mostly opted for individual apartments or hotels; staying with family or friends was a much less popular scenario for them, primarily because they feared it could expose their loved ones to the virus. For the whole group covered by the survey, sanitary and epidemiological restrictions, the reduced availability of attractions in tourist destinations, and increased prices were the main inconveniences that they faced when travelling in 2020.

Keywords: tourism; tourism demand; consumer behavior; preferences; gender; academic youth; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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