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Restarting the mass tourism industry relies on the success of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign which requires individuals' voluntary participation to reduce health risks to hosts and visitors. This study identifies segments of Italian residents based on vaccine confidence at the early stage of a voluntary mass vaccination programme. Using a survey held with 3893 Italian residents, two COVID-19 vaccine confidence clusters were identified. These clusters were compared and revealed significant differences in response and self-efficacy, vaccine adoption, travel behaviour and involvement in the tourism industry.

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With the release of several COVID-19 vaccines, hopes for ending the pandemic have emerged. However, the uptake of the vaccines is largely voluntary and depends on the intentions of the public. From a social marketing perspective, this study takes the case of Italy to identify and test factors that are likely to increase COVID-19-vaccine intention. A sample of 3893 respondents was collected throughout Italy and a model empirically tested by structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that a social marketing campaign for undertaking COVID-19 vaccines should educate the public, going beyond just safety and efficacy, and create positive social norms by combatting misinformation on various platforms, including social media. Furthermore, it was found that economic hardship from COVID-19 does not automatically translate to vaccination intention and that social marketing campaigns should particularly target economically vulnerable and important segments. Also, instilling a craving for travel could potentially stimulate citizens to undertake COVID-19 inoculation. Finally, contributions and implications for social marketing COVID-19 vaccines in Italy and elsewhere are addressed.

No abstract