The Impact of Disaster of a National Airline on the Nation’s Tourism: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

This study contributes to the area of tourism research by investigating the process by which the air disaster of a national airline affects tourists’ attitude and intention to fly the airline as well as attitude and intention to visit the country. A survey with potential Chinese tourists on visiting Malaysia and flying Malaysia Airlines was conducted. Results show that intention to visit Malaysia is positively affected by attitude toward visiting Malaysia and intention to fly Malaysia Airlines. Attitude toward visiting Malaysia is positively affected by attitude toward flying Malaysia Airlines and negatively by perceived risk of visiting Malaysia. Perceived risk of visiting Malaysia is, in turn, negatively affected by subjective knowledge about Malaysia and attitude toward flying Malaysia Airlines, and positively by perceived risk of flying Malaysia Airlines. Intention to fly Malaysia Airlines, on the other hand, is positively affected by attitude toward flying Malaysia Airlines. Attitude toward flying Malaysia Airlines is negatively affected by perceived risk of flying Malaysia Airlines, which is, in turn, positively affected by usefulness of (negative) public opinion. The theoretical contribution, managerial implications, limitations, and future research direction are also discussed.