This book explores how the recent COVID‑19 pandemic not only brought the tourism industry to an unparalleled halt but also generated long‑lasting and devastating effects on global trade. The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, spread worldwide in a matter of weeks, affecting four continents. The current mobility culture, supported by recent technological breakthroughs, has paradoxically been both a main carrier and a main victim of COVID‑19. The paradox of mobility culture lies largely in the fact that we now move faster, yet this increased speed generates further global public‑health risks. Travel bans and restrictions changed not only the security and safety protocols at transport hubs and airports, but also our travel behaviour. Although the effects of the pandemic on the tourism and hospitality industry have been widely examined by scholars, less attention has been paid to the changes in travel behaviour that occurred during the Virocene. This edited volume will be of interest to scholars, postgraduate students, and professionals in the fields of mobility theory, sociology, anthropology, social geography, and tourism.

Maximiliano E. Korstanje is Senior Researcher at the University of Palermo, Argentina.