Chapter 19 Tourist Destinations and Instagram Communications Driving Sustainable Tourism Recovery: The Case of Coronavirus Pandemic

This chapter will deal with the issue of how to communicate about tourist destinations in times of crisis, with particular reference to the current coronavirus pandemic. Having affected the whole planet, the COVID-19 pandemic has determined and will also cause serious consequences in many different industries in the next future. It will have a heavy negative impact also in the tourism sector, especially regarding the visitors' perceptions of danger and the current suspension of travels. Today many nations and geographic areas are still in lockdown, but efforts are already being made, in some cases, to adopt recovery marketing strategies in order to reassure consumers and to prepare them for the future reopening of the destinations. In particular, some forms of communication adopted through Instagram by various destinations will be examined and the different strategies will be compared to assess their strengths and weaknesses.