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Communication Management Forum

In addition to the health situation, the coronavirus pandemic has affected all segments of society. The economy and social life have entered a state of dormancy, interpersonal relationships take place under the influence of physical distance or have been transferred to the digital world, business travel has proved unnecessary in the world of teleconferencing, people's social lives have changed, young people are changing patterns for finding a partner, new practices have been introduced in the education system, the psychosocial health of individuals is under threat. At all levels, the pandemic has completely changed the outlook and functioning of the entire world. The question is in which direction will societies develop in the future, how will citizens behave after the pandemic, how will interpersonal relationships be established, but also how will employers and employees, whose attitudes have partially changed, behave?

One of the most affected economic activities is tourism. Due to the pandemic, the tourism industry has found itself under unprecedented pressure around the world. Most domestic and international travel has been canceled, leading to a significant reduction in revenue and liquidity problems for all of those involved in tourism, and the question arises as to how to reactivate the tourism sector in the future. Is the solution in launching a series of economic measures for the gradual and coordinated launch of tourist services and providing special support to tourism companies or will the solution be sought in the transformation of mass tourism towards more individualized tourism, and priority given to sustainable destinations in the future, all supported by a series of marketing campaigns that will refer tourists to new models of tourist destinations?

In search of safety, people have begun turning to sources of credible and reliable information. In statements by the World Health Organization (WHO), addresses by national pandemic headquarters, doctors' statements, expert predictions, media reports, and even statements by politicians and companies racing to find an effective vaccine, they began to search for a benchmark for their own position in a changed society. Therefore, the importance of responsible and timely communication of all stakeholders who have taken on the role of creators of public opinion proved to be crucial. The question remains who to trust?

With the appearance of the pandemic, the consumption of media by media users also increased. On the one hand, people began to develop their own attitude towards the pandemic with the help of media reports and in accordance with their own media competencies, to filter and interpret certain news as reliable or fake, which could very well affect their reactions toward the entire pandemic. On the other hand, part of the population has become dependent on the media as the media has become the only available educational tool at all levels of education - from kindergartens, primary and secondary schools to higher education and lifelong learning. Educational workshops from all parts of the world have become available to everyone regardless of place of residence. The question is what position will the media assume after the pandemic, will they be able to defend themselves against fake news and sensationalism, or will they succumb to the pressure of profit and look for new sources of news in the world of sensationalism?

Aiming to bring together a wide interdisciplinary circle of researchers, the fourth edition of the conference, Communication Management Forum 2021, is tasked with answering the question of what awaits us after the end of the pandemic. Is the picture of the post-pandemic world positive or negative? What have we learned from the pandemic to become a better, healthier and happier society, but also more successful employees? Will the world continue to function as if nothing happened or will we, based on the knowledge and experience gained, make use of everything that has proven useful in the pandemic? This raises key questions:

  • What has changed in the past year? What has remained the same?
  • What positives have we learned from the pandemic and can we apply in the future?
  • What new practices have we introduced and which ones have we returned to?
  • How much have occupations, economic activities and the way they function changed during the pandemic?

The answers to the previously asked questions are found in an interdisciplinary approach that, as a scientific basis and explanation, offers a symbiosis of sociology, psychology, communication, political and education sciences, economics and marketing. Combining knowledge from all of these disciplines leads to a qualitative shift that results in the creation of a broader understanding of the changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as how the overall situation will affect all spheres of human life with emphasis on interpersonal relationships, education, communication, as well as tourism as an important branch of the economy.