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Tourism and Hospitality
Special Issues
Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) Travel in a Post-COVID World
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Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) Travel in a Post-COVID World

A special issue of Tourism and Hospitality (ISSN 2673-5768).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2022) | Viewed by 17210

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Elisa Zentveld

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Tourism and Management, Federation University, Ballarat, Australia
Interests: visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel; family tourism; family violence

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel is a significant form of travel worldwide. Consistently, researchers have highlighted how little research has been undertaken in the field of VFR travel despite it representing such a large form of tourism in many countries around the world. VFR travel has been identified as representing the largest form of travel in many different countries. It is also the oldest form of travel. Still, research in the field has been undertaken on a relatively small scale given its size, whereby scholarly research on this topic commenced just over three decades ago. 

COVID-19 has impacted travel in a significant way, and VFR travel has been identified as a first-mover ‘market’. Whilst many forms of tourism are considered a luxury and have been paused, reconnecting with friends and family has become a priority for many people. 

It is important to generate new knowledge relating to VFR travel that can stimulate thinking amongst tourism researchers and also assist tourism practitioners in a COVID and post-COVID world. Accordingly, this Special Issue is timely as it is important for scholarship and industry. 

For this Special Issue, Elisa Backer (Elisa Zentveld – who publishes under the surname of Backer) is serving as Guest Editor. 

Papers are invited from new and existing researchers in VFR travel. VFR travel relates to many aspects, and researchers are invited to consider the following topics (this is an indicative rather than exhaustive list of themes):

  • The relationship between VFR travel and events in a COVID and post-COVID environment
  • Marketing to VFR travelers
  • Size, profiles, and characteristics of VFR travelers
  • The relationship between VFR travel and migration
  • Case studies in VFR marketing campaigns by industry
  • Cultural components relating to VFR travelers
  • Push/pull theory of VFR travel
  • The role and impact of the VFR host in VFR travel
  • The profiles and characteristics of visiting friends versus visiting relatives
  • Impact of VFR travel on quality of life (QoL)
  • Relationship between VFR travel and commercial accommodation
  • Connection between VFR travel and tertiary education
  • VFR travel in crisis/disaster recovery
  • VFR travel and second home travel
  • VFR travel and social tourism.

Dr. Elisa Zentveld
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Tourism and Hospitality is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • VFR travel
  • visiting friends and relatives
  • COVID-19
  • tourism
  • family tourism

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 246 KiB  
Article
Life and Family Travel in the Time of COVID-19: Pandemic in England 2020
by Anthony V. Seaton
Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3(4), 931-946; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3040060 - 12 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1735
Abstract
This reports an exploratory attempt at a real–time account of COVID’s physical and social impacts on society, particularly family behavior, as the pandemic spread through England during 2020. Particular focus is on its effects on movement, travel and social relations and the contradictions [...] Read more.
This reports an exploratory attempt at a real–time account of COVID’s physical and social impacts on society, particularly family behavior, as the pandemic spread through England during 2020. Particular focus is on its effects on movement, travel and social relations and the contradictions for many in the way these were personally experienced, compared with media representations of national life during COVID. The study started with a sketch of historical pandemics in order to situate COVID contextually in relation to pandemics of the past. This was followed by a year-long, mixed-methodology, qualitative survey combining: diary observations, participant observation, unobtrusive observation, interviews, and oral reports by, and from, observer-informants at different locations in England. The results are reported in tabular form as 10 tracked outcomes, alongside each of which are notes, suggesting how actions might be derived as responsive measures to them in managing future pandemics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) Travel in a Post-COVID World)
13 pages, 1546 KiB  
Article
Chinese VFR Travel in Budapest: The Hosts’ Roles
by Rita Song-Agócs and Gábor Michalkó
Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3(3), 720-732; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030044 - 23 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2154
Abstract
In recent decades, there has been a dynamic growth of Chinese outbound tourism to the Central and Eastern European region, and Hungary has been one of the most visited countries. This increase in demand is linked, in part, to the important Chinese diaspora [...] Read more.
In recent decades, there has been a dynamic growth of Chinese outbound tourism to the Central and Eastern European region, and Hungary has been one of the most visited countries. This increase in demand is linked, in part, to the important Chinese diaspora in Hungary whose members play the role of hosts in VFR travel. This paper aims to explore the social relations—guanxi—within the Chinese diaspora living in Budapest and its influence on VFR travels back and forth China. Results of the survey with 202 Chinese immigrants reveal the strong nexus between migration and VFR travel. The Chinese hosts who have been living in the country for two decades behave differently in their guanxi compared to those who have settled in Budapest recently. The article provides several practical contributions to local destination management organizations and tourism service providers to successfully reach Chinese hosts, such as providing commissions, coupons, and getting discounts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) Travel in a Post-COVID World)
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15 pages, 281 KiB  
Article
VFR Travel in Turkey during and Post-COVID-19
by Elisa Zentveld, Günay Erol and Ebru Düşmezkalender
Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3(3), 651-665; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030040 - 14 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2804
Abstract
Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel is a significant component of travel across the globe. Whilst COVID-19 impacted all travel in all countries, its impact on VFR in certain cultures was particularly pronounced. Aside from reconnecting socially with friends and relatives, in some [...] Read more.
Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel is a significant component of travel across the globe. Whilst COVID-19 impacted all travel in all countries, its impact on VFR in certain cultures was particularly pronounced. Aside from reconnecting socially with friends and relatives, in some cultures, certain ceremonies and rituals were compromised, meaning a complex choice for residents between focusing on global health information (e.g., avoiding contact, especially with elderly who are at risk) and disobeying significant cultural rituals that signify respect and importance. Whilst most VFR travel research has focused on western countries, this research examined the impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions and health warnings on VFR travel in the country of Turkey. The significance of COVID-19 to VFR travel in Turkey is explained, and implications for the future are put forward. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) Travel in a Post-COVID World)
17 pages, 683 KiB  
Article
‘I Just Want to Go Home’: Emotional Wellbeing Impacts of COVID-19 Restrictions on VFR Travel
by Catherine Kelly
Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3(3), 634-650; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030039 - 13 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2467
Abstract
The COVID-19 global pandemic has had a profound impact on the taken-for-granted familial connections bound up in VFR travel. This paper examines the emotional impacts on diasporic migrants who could not travel to their homeland for extended periods of time. It considers pre-pandemic [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has had a profound impact on the taken-for-granted familial connections bound up in VFR travel. This paper examines the emotional impacts on diasporic migrants who could not travel to their homeland for extended periods of time. It considers pre-pandemic VFR patterns and assesses new meanings attributed to post-pandemic renewed travel. The lived experiences, patterns and emotions of seventy mainly UK-based participants were examined in this study. The research approach used both Maslow’s hierarchy of needs analysis and Urry’s tourist-gaze as conceptual frames for assessing these emotional experiences. The research showed that for many diasporas, the need to travel home is central to a sense of personal and place-identity as well as emotional security. The impacts of the pandemic in terms of wellbeing and emotional health were keenly felt by study respondents. Furthermore, contrary to much prior VFR research, this pandemic related study showed that in this instance, it is the “people” of VFR rather than just the “place” (of home) that are most valued. The removal of the right to VFR travel reinforced the centrality of family connections, especially in times of crisis. A mindful, VFR gaze emerges, rooted deeply in Maslow’s basic human needs pillars of safety, love and belonging. This was shown to be a highly tuned post-COVID-19 gaze, where familiar touchstones of home helped to restore depleted emotions through performances and practices of connectivity. The unique global pandemic experience of a world full of migrant mobile diaspora brought to an abrupt halt, emphasizes the need for tourism research to focus on the emotions embedded in the inherent human-place connections of VFR travel. The longitudinal-temporal legacy of COVID-19 on this form of tourism requires future research attention for both the tourism industry and tourists themselves. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) Travel in a Post-COVID World)
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17 pages, 313 KiB  
Article
Does Destination, Relationship Type, or Migration Status of the Host Impact VFR Travel?
by Elisa Zentveld and Mohammad Yousuf
Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3(3), 589-605; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3030036 - 28 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2173
Abstract
Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel hosts play a key role in influencing the trip characteristics of their VFR travel parties and the decisions and activities within those travel parties. However, how those trips are shaped in terms of travel decisions and activities [...] Read more.
Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel hosts play a key role in influencing the trip characteristics of their VFR travel parties and the decisions and activities within those travel parties. However, how those trips are shaped in terms of travel decisions and activities is not well understood. This is the first quantitative study examining the hosting of VFRs by examining how migration, relationship type (VF versus VR), and destination type impact the characteristics and activities of VFR travel parties. The objective was to examine the extent of influence of different characteristics of VFR hosts on individual VFR travel decisions and activities. Estimation models were developed and tested through regression analysis to examine the impact that the characteristics of hosts have on decisions and activities within VFR travel. Such findings have provided a systematic framework for examining the multifaceted role of VFR hosts. The generalisability of the estimation models developed and tested in this study can be replicated and adapted in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) Travel in a Post-COVID World)
15 pages, 293 KiB  
Article
The Child Tourist: Agency and Cultural Competence in VFR Travel
by Johanna Annerbäck and Anna Sparrman
Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3(2), 451-465; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3020029 - 17 May 2022
Viewed by 2531
Abstract
In this article, we meet a seven-year-old boy, Matti, who was adopted from his birth country in Africa by a family in Sweden. We meet him together with his family as they are planning a family adoption return trip to his birth country [...] Read more.
In this article, we meet a seven-year-old boy, Matti, who was adopted from his birth country in Africa by a family in Sweden. We meet him together with his family as they are planning a family adoption return trip to his birth country and again after their return. We argue that an adoption return trip is a form of family travel and/or visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel. By methodologically using a so-called children’s perspective we are primarily focusing on Matti and how he talks about the return trip. We explore some key concepts from child studies through Matti’s relational encounters in the world. By presenting agency and cultural competence as something that is enacted in practice, we show how they are enacted through the dependencies between Matti, his mother and his sister. The analysis shows that cultural competence and agency are fluid in the sense that they can be changed by how topics of discussion are woven through one another. Staying with Matti’s lived practices makes it possible to elaborate on and demonstrate different forms of competence and agency that are important for understanding children as tourists and children’s roles in family travel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) Travel in a Post-COVID World)
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