Redemption of travelers’ spoiled identity in a time of health crisis: The role of empathy and social distance

Abstract

One consequence of an epidemic is the attachment of a spoiled identity to travelers from pandemic areas (hereafter referred to as “travelers”), resulting in severe damage to their psychological health. Guided by the stigmatization process model, this study examines the impact of tourism practitioners' perceptions of illness labeling toward travelers, social identification with travelers, and effects of spatial stigma. The moderating effects of empathy and social distance on this relationship are also analyzed. The results of a questionnaire survey of 754 tourism practitioners showed that illness labeling toward travelers negatively influences social identity with travelers and this leads to spatial stigma. Tourism practitioners’ empathy and the social distance between them and travelers are found to moderate the relationship between illness labeling toward travelers and spatial stigma. Finally, this study further finds that the two moderators are found to be more effective in alleviating social stigma than moral stigma.