Risk Perception in the Post COVID-19 Pandemic Era: An Analysis of Tourist Accommodation and Travel Behavior in the New Normal Era

Abstract

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, research on travel risk perception has been dominated by the study of health risks as a significant factor that influences tourists’ purchase behavior toward tourism and hospitality products, such as accommodation selection. However, research on other travel-risk-related factors remains limited. This study aimed to fill this gap in the literature. Through exploratory factor analysis, the study explored various risk perception factors toward staying in tourist accommodation among tourists during the easing of travel restrictions in Indonesia. Through a survey of 411 foreign and domestic tourists, the study identified 22 risk items and categorized the items into the following 5 dimensions of risk perception: potential loss risk (six items, 39.9% variance), psychological risk (five items, 9.1% variance), health risk (four items, 5.7% variance), social risk (three items, 5.3% variance), and financial risk (four items, 4.7% variance). This study is one of the few studies on risk perception that proposes a multi-dimensional approach rather than a single-dimension approach to risk perception in the hospitality context. These findings may enhance the literature on travel risk perception amidst the crisis and contribute to tourism recovery strategies in the post-pandemic era.