ABSTRACT
When considering trends and issues in global tourism, it is critical to consider the area of Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel. Too often, VFR travel is overlooked in strategic discussions about tourism, perhaps because VFR travel is regarded as a segment of tourism that cannot be influenced, or perhaps because it is seen as being of negligible benefit to the core tourism industries in a destination. In other words, VFR travel is an area of tourism that is often taken for granted. This chapter aims to explain why VFR travel should not be taken for granted, and in what ways it is critically important in relation to tourism issues and trends.
This chapter addresses four key matters. Firstly, it outlines in what ways VFR travel is highly relevant; especially in the years moving forward from the COVID-19 pandemic that consumed the world. Secondly, it explains the way in which VFR travel data are tracked and interpreted and how that influences VFR travel in scholarship as well as in practice. The chapter also discusses the definition of VFR and how misunderstanding of the definition in both scholarly circles and in tourism industries has limited the development and adoption of VFR travel. Fourthly, the chapter highlights the major trends and issues and outline what this may mean for scholarship and tourism industries.
