Communicating COVID-19 Policies on Tourism Company Websites : A content analysis of tourism company websites in Sweden

Abstract: COVID-19 has taken a major toll on the tourism industry. Traveler confidence has decreased as travel restrictions and fears regarding the virus have increased. As tourist destinations rely more on local tourism to survive the current crisis, communicating COVID-19 procedures is vital to mitigate tourist ́s safety concerns. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use content analysis to identify COVID-19 policy initiatives highlighted within tourism company websites and to compare regions to identify differences in website communication content. The study analyzed 100 various tourism company websites throughout Sweden. The findings and the supporting literature indicating that the websites should have information available about booking policy, operation limitations, social distance policy, and customer/staff responsibility to properly communicate their COVID-19 policies. Overall, the tourism company websites in this study were lacking in the communication of COVID-19 policies. To ameliorate communication of COVID-19 procedures, this study offers recommendations for tourism firms to incorporate.