Exploring the impacts of the Covid-19 national lockdown on outdoor recreationists’ activity and perceptions of tourism

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic had an unprecedented effect on tourism and outdoor recreation across the world in the year 2020. In New Zealand, a national lockdown for a period of 5 weeks confined New Zealanders to their local neighbourhoods and severely limited their freedoms to participate in tourism and outdoor recreation. This project aimed to investigate the impacts of the national lockdown period on outdoor recreationists’ activity and perceptions of tourism. Through 20 qualitative interviews with outdoor recreationists, it became apparent that the lockdown period had a number of impacts. These included substantial increases in walking, the emergence of adapted forms of outdoor recreation, and an overall sense of renewed appreciation for tourism and recreation in New Zealand’s great outdoors. This report discusses these findings along with some implications and directions for future research.