Association rules on the COVID-19 variants of concern to guide choices of tourism destinations

This study was aimed to extract association rules on the pattern of incidents of the COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) within geographic areas. The association rules mining technique was deployed on the World Health Organization’s data on COVID-19. Five rules were extracted that show which VOC is likely present within a territory given that a particular VOC has already been confirmed present. The extracted rules give an idea on which VOC tourists should expect in a territory, even when not formally confirmed by authorities. The rules will guide tourists on the choices of tourism destinations to ensure their safety.