The study examined the relationship between perception of COVID-19, travel risk perception and travel behaviour among travellers in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)an important tourism market and, after Italy, the second region in Europe that was impacted by COVID-19. Data were collected at two points of time: the sample of the study in Period 1 (n = 1158) was collected at a critical point in time in the beginning of March 2020, when Italy was already massively affected by COVID-19; the sample of the study in Period 2 (n = 212) was collected two weeks later, when Europe has seen immense impacts and COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Cluster analysis was performed and defined three unique clusters in both periods with distinctive characteristics. In addition, results revealed a significant increase in risk perception of COVID-19, travel risk perception and travel behaviour over a short period of time.

The pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has profoundly affected the global leisure and tourism industry, with international travel bans affecting over 90% of the world’s population. Widespread restrictions on community mobility have resulted in a projected decline of international tourism arrivals up to 30%. The rapid development of Virtual Reality (VR) and its effectiveness in the simulation of real-life experiences provides an opportunity for virtual holiday making especially when actual travel is not possible. Based on a quantitative study with 193 participants, the role of VR as a substitute for physical travel during the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 was examined, more specifically by looking at the relationship between perceived risk to travel and technological acceptance of VR. The findings suggest that tourists use VR as a travel substitute during and even after a pandemic. However, perceived risk does not play a significant role when it comes to using VR.

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