The social crisis aftermath: tourist well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak

Abstract

While travel has long been resorted to as a pursuit for tourists’ well-being, this purpose has been brought into question by the sudden public health emergency of COVID-19, when many tourists found themselves unwelcome in a destination. This study aims to explore the psychological consequences of discriminative experiences through a survey with tourists from the epicenter in China. Building on social identity theory, a conceptual model is proposed to test how perceived discrimination during the pandemic could devastate travel-induced well-being through aroused anxious sentiment. In addition, response styles theory postulates that repetitive dwelling on negative thoughts will prolong the depressive process. The results reveal that worries over COVID-19 trigger ruminative responses to the depressive symptoms and exacerbate discrimination-induced anxiety, whereas active social media participation serves as a means of distraction to buffer the negative effects of psychological distress. The results provide a new perspective by which to view threats to travel-induced wellness, while informing tourism authorities of the buffering mechanisms during a crisis to reconcile tourist anxiety and rumination. This research contributes to sustainable tourism literature that seldom investigates the threats to well-being in public health emergencies, and it sheds light on responsible recovery of travel in the post-COVID world.