Reorienting DMO efforts to improve sustainability and reduce the perceived crowding of tourists visiting a destination

Abstract The present research analyses the changes that the Covid-19 pandemic has generated in the attitudes and behaviour of tourists in relation to sustainability and their perception of crowding. The aim is to understand the new needs and feelings of consumers so that companies and tourist destinations are able to adapt their offer to the new demands. For this purpose, qualitative research was carried out by means of six focus groups, with a sample of 44 individuals. The focus groups were analysed with NVIVO software in order to identify the main themes, perceptions and feelings of the interviewees in relation to sustainability and crowding. The main results show that, although concerns about sustainability and rejection of the crowds increased during the pandemic, these concerns have again become less important to tourists once it has ended. Although sustainable and less crowded tourist destinations are generally preferred, the reality is that post-Covid tourist behaviour has not changed that much after the pandemic has ended. The conclusions obtained will be useful for companies, public administrations, destination management organizations and tourist destinations to know, understand and be able to adapt their offer to the trends and new demands of the post-Covid tourist.