Despite the global impact of COVID-19, studies comparing the effects of COVID-19 on population mental health across countries are sparse. This study aimed to compare anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown among adults from 11 countries and to examine their associations with country-level COVID-19 factors and personal COVID-19 exposure. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults (≥18 years) in 11 countries (Brazil, Bulgaria, China, India, Ireland, North Macedonia, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, United States). Mental health (anxiety, depression, resilient coping, hope) and other study data were collected between June–August 2020. Of the 13,263 participants, 62.8% were female and 51.7% were 18–34 years old. Participants living in Brazil had the highest anxiety and depression symptoms while participants living in Singapore had the lowest. Greater personal COVID-19 exposure was associated with increased anxiety and depression symptoms, but country-level COVID-19 factors were not. Higher levels of hope were associated with reduced anxiety and depression; higher levels of resilient coping were associated with reduced anxiety but not depression. Substantial variations exist in anxiety and depression symptoms across countries during the COVID-19 lockdown, with personal COVID-19 exposure being a significant risk factor. Strategies that mitigate COVID-19 exposure and enhance hope and resilience may reduce anxiety and depression during global emergencies.

Hosting sporting mega-events involve considerable investment in and significant engagement with local communities. This paper contributes to the burgeoning literature about sporting mega event’s socio-geographical impacts on tourism, employment, urban regeneration, and socio-economic and cultural benefits. Within the context of 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, we assess, utilizing interview data from local communities, the impact of the construction of the 2014 World Cup’s opening venue, ‘Arena Corinthians’ soccer stadium, in Itaquera, as well as other infrastructure developments more widely in the East Zone of São Paulo. The results point to the diversity of opinions among the resident community about the real legacies resulting from this sport mega-event.

The concept of inequalities has been widely explored in academia and in the leisure literature. Indeed, in its first issue, Leisure Studies published a piece from Rosemary Deem on ‘Women, leisure a...

This study is part of an extensive research project entitled “The Brazilian’s Leisure”. The aim of this paper is to identify in a broad manner how Brazilians’ use their leisure time based on their education, income and social class. The work was accomplished through empirical research and, whilst using broad reasoning procedures, comparisons were drawn between the representation of leisure and its actual activities. This paper specifically discusses the variables relating to education, income and social classes present from the data collected. It was identified that such variables have a distinct influence on the manner in which Brazilians spend their leisure time, and that it contributes to the rise of inequality when it comes to leisure.

O presente artigo oferece uma perspectiva sobre o turismo no Brasil, analisando os principais desdobramentos com foco no período de 2000-2019. Trata-se de um artigo de opinião com reflexões de acadêmicos do turismo brasileiro. Os tópicos relacionados ao turismo, cobertos neste artigo, incluem economia, política e planejamento, marketing, transporte, meio ambiente, gastronomia, hospitalidade, lazer, entre outros. Como principal conclusão, considera-se que o Brasil não conseguiu se posicionar como destino de renome internacional, já que desde a década de 1990 os esforços para apoiar o desenvolvimento do turismo regional obtiveram sucesso apenas moderado. As crises econômicas, a instabilidade política, a violência e a corrupção foram entraves que afetaram consideravelmente o setor de turismo. A falta de uma abordagem coordenada entre os vários níveis de governo, a escassez de dados de turismo e uma campanha de marketing supra-governamental de longo prazo, entre outros fatores, fizeram com que o país perdesse várias oportunidades importantes na década de 2010 para se estabelecer como um dos principais destinos turísticos no mercado global.

Urban transformations help shape new opportunities and create/re-create awareness in everyday living environments. It is not transformation in the infrastructural sense, but transformation in the form of a service industry producing socio-economic change that can result in inclusion and exclusion of people in the community, thus affecting the everyday living environment. Within this, we need to consider the tourist gaze and how users who visit/tour vulnerable living environments report perceptions of their experiences on forums such as TripAdvisor, which helps researchers frame understandings of commodification, opportunities/awareness and even authenticity (each addressed in this paper). This paper evaluates TripAdvisor posts of ‘Rio’s Rocinha Favela Tour’. In many respects, the notion of commodification, and even authenticity, runs through each theme, but the analysis and data posted to TripAdvisor challenges us to consider how a favela becomes a consumer product or a tourist attraction. The Rocinha Favela tour is widely publicised to prospective visitors as a chance to experience a living and working favela, the focus of the first theme presented in this paper. Given Rocinha has become a popular attraction in Rio, this leads to the second theme: opportunity or awareness. Opportunities do exist for people in the community to get involved in tourism, and turning the favela into a product helps shape and maintain awareness. The third theme builds on and relates to the previous two, but focuses more on the semblances of authenticity that emerges. To link the points highlighted in this paper, a discussion of soft power concerns relationships bonded through economic and cultural influence. Because favelas have become distinct attractions, it is cultural appeal and a different (residential) side of the city that persuades travellers to visit. Online and social media platforms for more than a decade now have played an important role today in projecting images and promoting authentic experiences based on user-perceptions, and this paper looks at how the users communicate their experiences.