Post-COVID-19 crisis travel behaviour: towards mitigating the effects of perceived risk

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and its potential influence on tourist behaviour in the short- to medium-term. While the influence of the pandemic on tourist’s perceived risk and its impact on their future travel behaviour is understandably yet to be established, the present paper discusses the potential nexus. Additionally, this paper provides tourism practitioners with some recommendations for mitigating the effect of potential heightened perceived risk on travel and tourism decision-making post the COVID-19 crisis. Design/methodology/approach The present paper synthesises contemporary academic literature on perceived risk and post-crisis tourism with emerging information associated with the unfolding COVID-19 crisis. Findings This paper draws empirical evidence from studies related to previous health crises and their impact on tourism, as well as tourist behaviour. By discussing previous studies within the context of the on-going COVID-19, it is possible to anticipate the influence that perceived risk associated with the pandemic may have on the post-crisis behaviour of tourists. Also, short-term measures to mitigate the effects of risk on tourism are posited to guide practitioners in the future recovery of the sector. Research limitations/implications The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented and on-going crisis for the global tourism industry. Hence, the present paper serves as a primer to a broader discussion within the tourism discourse and provides theoretical direction for future tourism research. Practical implications Key to the recovery of the global tourism industry will be encouraging both domestic and international tourism activity. However, while the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on tourist behaviour is yet to be substantiated, previous research predicts a situation of heightened perceived risk and the potential cognitive dissonance that may negatively influence tourist decision-making. To mitigate this potential effect, governance, augmented immigration policy, destination media profiling, recovery marketing and domestic tourism will be critical interventions. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to discuss the potential influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the post-crisis decision-making process of tourists and their conative behaviour. As a primer to further empirical research, this paper sets a pertinent research agenda for academic inquiry within an evolving and increasingly uncertain global tourism market.

Risk Perception, Preventive Behavior, and Medical Care Avoidance among American Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Risk perception is the most significant predictor of preventive behaviors during the pandemic (Majid et al, 2020). Strong evidence has been found in several pandemic contexts, including severe acute respiratory syndrome, influenza A H1N1, Middle East respiratory syndrome, Ebola virus disease (Majid et al, 2020), and COVID-19 (Matiza, 2020), indicating higher risk perception leads to more preventive behaviors. The fear of COVID-19 exposure was associated with medical care avoidance (Czeisler et al, 2020).…”

The Sustainability of Using Domestic Tourism as a Post-COVID-19 Recovery Strategy in a Distressed Destination

“…These challenges vary from one country to another. Generally, the aspects of perceived health, social and psychological risks top demand challenges, while the supply side is confronted with challenges including deficits, low occupancies, job losses, company liquidation, and human capital depletion [ 1 , 2 , 7 ]. Based on this, the objective of this study is to examine the sustainability of using domestic tourism as a recovery and resilience building strategy using both demand and supply-side views in a destination with ongoing political and economic challenges.…”

What Can Drive Consumers’ Dining-Out Behavior in China and Korea during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

“…Meanwhile, perceived risk may aggravate anxiety and have a negative effect on behavioral intention [18], which may also lead to perceptions of psychological risks. Human emotions such as fear, guilt, and empathy are critically influential responses to their behaviors, and in terms of food issues, fear caused by uncertainty might be more salient than other emotions [4,35].…”

“…So far, most of the studies have mainly focused on consumers' food consumption behaviors during the lockdown [5,[15][16][17], and many scholars only investigated changes of consumers' traveling behaviors under the pandemic [1,18], but insufficient studies have investigated how people's daily food consumption behavior has been affected after the lockdown or how their behavioral patterns of dining out have been changed under the new normal context. Therefore, in the light of this new context, we intended to examine whether consumers have really adapted to the new normal life, and how their food consumption behaviors have been influenced by factors such as subjective norms, perceived physical and psychological risk, enjoyment, restaurant precautionary measures, and so on.…”