The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many challenges for almost all branches such as the hospitality and tourism sector. People began to change their beliefs and values regarding tourism and traveling and governmental restrictions impeded tourism activities in rural regions in Upper Austria. The present study’s aim is to identify the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on tourism destinations in rural regions in Upper Austria. The results of a systematic literature search show different development scenarios for the tourism sector in Upper Austria, but based on the findings, it can be assumed that tourism will completely recover from the crisis. However, tourism is assumed to change in future, since, due to changed believes and preferences, other strategies and measures are required in order to attract tourists. Future research should concentrate on the unevenness of Upper Austria’s rural regions, as the results indicate that peripheral, small and rural regions might play an important role in the tourism sector during crises situations. It is also recommended to conduct further research in order to provide better insights into the various variables that hinder or foster tourism development, especially in rural and peripheral regions in Upper Austria.