The purpose of World Tourism Week, which is celebrated every year on April 11-22; is to remind that tourism has no color, language, religion, or race and to emphasize the unifying power of tourism, which is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world, between societies. Tourism Week was celebrated on the second Monday of March from 1977 to the first half of the 1980s, but with the effect of climate change, weather conditions, and the opening of the tourism season started to be celebrated as the week of April 15-22 since 1983 [1].
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) [2] defines tourism as "the travel and accommodation activities of individuals to a place other than their place of residence, for a period not exceeding one year, for leisure, business or other similar purposes". According to Urry [3], being a tourist is one of the characteristics of the modern experience. While tourism was a viable activity for people in developed countries from the 1950s to the 1980s; It has turned into an activity where more people have the opportunity to perform with several factors such as developments in information and transportation technologies, digitalization, and regulations in working hours. However, there has been a significant increase in the number of tourists and the tourism sector has expanded spatially and periodically.
World Tourism Week, which was previously celebrated as the opening of the tourism season, is now in parallel with the above-mentioned developments; It is celebrated to spread and disseminate tourism to a whole period, as well as raise awareness of the public about what needs to be done to provide the highest income from tourism [1]. One of the most important types of the tourism sector is the urban tourism sector. The European Commission (EC-European Commission) [4] defines urban tourism as "tourism activities offered to visitors in towns and cities". When it comes to the 'city', tourism activities that can be done cover a wide range of activities such as getting information about the history and culture of the city, shopping, taking advantage of entertainment opportunities, getting information about and experiencing the gastronomy, industrial heritage, the lifestyle of the society in question, and participating in artistic activities. According to a study by the European Commission [5], the urban tourism sector is becoming a type of tourism that tourists prefer more and more. On the other hand, the fact that cities compete with their values, cultures, and originality, in short, their "locality" in the era of globalization, brings about the emergence of various inequalities in urban space. In cases where egalitarian steps are not taken regarding the distribution of rights; Many socioeconomic and spatial problems such as urban segregation, poverty, and gentrification will also arise. In particular, the activities that constitute the "supply factor" in the increase in the importance of urban tourism aim to present the outdated and devalued areas in the city to the global market with various revitalization, renewal, and transformation projects, thus creating new rent areas from the urban space.
In addition to all these trends, the Covid-19 virus, which emerged in December 2019 and spread all over the world since then, has emerged as an event that negatively affects the tourism sector as well as human health. Several measures taken in holiday and accommodation places during the pandemic process have also led to the change or restriction of holiday activities. In addition, the closure of touristic businesses during the pandemic period damaged the country's economy and caused many people to become unemployed. Therefore, it can be said that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the restructuring of the tourism sector. However, in this process, the need for vacation and tourism did not disappear altogether, but only postponed or restricted. The fact that many countries offer tourism incentives or facilitating steps has enabled the tourism sector to continue in some way. The biggest change in the tourism sector, which continues its existence with certain changes, is the differentiation in the tourism and holiday understanding of individuals with the Covid-19 virus. Under normal conditions, economic and social preferences come to the fore in the travels of individuals between different places, while psychological preferences have become important during the epidemic period. Along with these, the change in the understanding of modern tourism and the development of more locally focused and sustainable tourism activities are among the predictions [6].
Although the tourism sector has entered a restructuring process with the Covid-19 pandemic, it will continue to be one of the most important sectors in the world economic system. Happy World Tourism Week to all of us, with the hope that tourism, which meets the needs of individuals for socializing, seeing different places, getting to know, experiencing, and having fun, will show a reliable, healthy, sustainable, and people-oriented development.
