Applying the extended theory of planned behavior to understand domestic tourists’ behaviors in post COVID-19 era

Abstract

The study aims to develop a new framework that explains domestic travelers’ behavior to Ho Chi Minh City by applying the extended TPB to evaluate and validate the influence of significant variables on travel intention and lead to increasing tourist behavior in post COVID-19 era. This study empirically examines the factors impacting domestic tourist behavior by using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. The data were collected from 473 domestic travellers who visit Ho Chi Minh City in the post COVID-19 period. The empirical finding is that the extended TPB with two additional constructs variables consisting of trust and risk perception has a significantand positive impact on travel intention and in turn leads to increasing tourist behavior in post COVID-19 period. The primary value of this paper is that it tested the extended theory of planned behavior to prominently explain and understand tourist behavior in post COVID-19 period.