‘I Just Want to Go Home’: Emotional Wellbeing Impacts of COVID-19 Restrictions on VFR Travel
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. VFR Travel
1.2. Identity, Home and Place Attachment
1.3. Human Needs and Differential Tourist Gazes
2. Methods
Sampling and Data Collection
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Safety, Love and Belonging
3.2. Emotional Impacts
3.2.1. Wellbeing Impacts
3.2.2. Coping Strategies
3.3. Performing Connectivity
3.4. The Post-Covid Tourist Gaze
4. Conclusions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Conflicts of Interest
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Interview and Survey Questions |
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Where is “home” for you? (your parents)? * Even though you live in England, what is your level of identification/identity in relation to your homeland/your parents’ homeland? (options ranged from “Strongly identify” (if someone asked my identity, I would name that country first), to “Low level identify” How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect you and your family? ** What worries did you have about your/your family’s health? ** Can you talk about your emotional responses to the pandemic (during lockdowns/restricted travel) ** During “normal times” how often do you visit your homeland/your parents’ homeland? * During COVID Lockdown, can you describe how it felt NOT to be able to travel to see friends and relatives? How did COVID restrictions around travel to see friends and relatives affect your wellbeing? Do you think living in a different country made COVID experiences worse? If so, how? ** Can you talk about how being able to see your family abroad regularly matters to your own sense of identity, love and belonging? ** What strategies did you use to cope with not being able to travel to see family? Have you been on a Visiting Friends and Relatives trip since restrictions have ended? Can you describe what the experience of being able to travel to see family again felt like? Do you think you looked at your family or your homeland in a new or different way this time, compared to other visits in the past? Can you discuss that a little? ** Based on your answers so far, can you comment on the importance of VFR to you, personally? |
Emotion/Theme | Most Commonly Expressed Phrases/Words |
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Negative | Awful, dreadful, suffocating, sad, devastated, angry |
Loss of Control | Helpless, frustrated, stuck, trapped, locked-in “knowing that I could not go and that I was blocked in the UK was a bit overwhelming”. |
Separate | Isolated, lonely, apart |
Anxiety | Insecure, worried, stressed, afraid |
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Kelly, C. ‘I Just Want to Go Home’: Emotional Wellbeing Impacts of COVID-19 Restrictions on VFR Travel. Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3, 634-650. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030039
Kelly C. ‘I Just Want to Go Home’: Emotional Wellbeing Impacts of COVID-19 Restrictions on VFR Travel. Tourism and Hospitality. 2022; 3(3):634-650. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030039
Chicago/Turabian StyleKelly, Catherine. 2022. "‘I Just Want to Go Home’: Emotional Wellbeing Impacts of COVID-19 Restrictions on VFR Travel" Tourism and Hospitality 3, no. 3: 634-650. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030039