Identification of tourists’ dynamic risk decision-making: a crisis communication lifecycle perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is a scarcity of research exploring the mechanisms behind tourists’ risk decision-making from the lens of the crisis communication lifecycle. Based on crisis communication lifecycle and construal level theories, this study reveals how tourists’ risk decision-making dynamically responds to the stages of the destination crisis communication lifecycle and examines the moderating role of psychological distance. The findings from three studies suggest that (1) tourists’ risk decision-making exhibits a U-shaped change tendency as the crisis communication shifts from one lifecycle stage to the next, with perceived risk mediating the influence of the crisis communication lifecycle on tourists’ risk decision-making; (2) psychological distance moderates tourists’ responses to the crisis communication lifecycle, with varying risk decision-making response patterns at different scales of distance. This research unveils the complex response of tourist risk decision-making in times of crisis, offering guidance for setting crisis communication agendas for tourist destinations.