“Staycation” attitudes and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: an analysis of Twitter social media data across different international regions

Author Information

Michael Lang, National University of Ireland, GalwayFollow
Manik Lochan, National University of Ireland, GalwayFollow
Nanda Kumaran Unni Nair, National University of Ireland, GalwayFollow
Venkatesh Srinivasan, National University of Ireland, GalwayFollow
Ankith Kumar Makam Venugopal, National University of Ireland, GalwayFollow

Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Michael Lang is an Associate Professor in Business Information Systems at the School of Business & Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway. He obtained his Bachelors degree from University College Dublin, Higher Diploma and Masters degree from NUI Galway, and PhD from University of Limerick.

Manik Lochan is a Business Intelligence Analyst with MiFinity. He obtained his Bachelor of Technology degree from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, India and his M.Sc. in Business Analytics from National University of Ireland, Galway.

Nanda Kumaran Unni Nair is a graduate of National University of Ireland, Galway where he completed his M.Sc. in Business Analytics in 2021 under the supervision of Dr. Michael Lang.

Venkatesh Srinivasan is a Data Analyst with Spanish Point Technologies. He obtained his Bachelors degree from Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering and Technology, India and his M.Sc. in Business Analytics from National University of Ireland, Galway.

Ankith Kumar Makam Venugopal is a Service Delivery Engineer with SAP. He obtained his Bachelors degree from SJB Institute of Technology, India and his M.Sc. in Business Analytics from National University of Ireland, Galway.

Abstract (150 Words)

This study investigates public disposition and attitudes in various parts of the world towards staycations, based on analysis of social media data extracted from the Twitter platform for the period from March 2020 to March 2021. The findings reveal regional trends and variations amongst holiday-makers across the UK/Ireland, USA/Canada, and New Zealand/ Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analytical procedure involved sentiment and content analysis, using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modelling technique to explore similarities and differences between different regions of the world.