Tourist destination choice on five priority destinations of Indonesia during health crisis

Abstract

Destination choice is an important component of measuring tourism competitiveness. Although various studies have been conducted to analyze factors influencing destination choice, exploration during a health crisis (i.e. pandemic) has not been widely carried out. Besides, understanding the behavior of domestic tourists in choosing destinations during a pandemic can help tourism/destination managers prepare marketing plans to maintain destination resilience in facing a pandemic. This research was conducted to analyze the factors that influence domestic tourists in choosing tourist destinations during a pandemic. Five priority destinations in Indonesia with different characteristics were used as sample locations, while 609 domestic tourists from large cities in Indonesia were selected as respondents in this research. The results show that health and hygiene are the main factors in destination choice, while destination image and experience have no effect on tourist choices during a pandemic. Therefore, a perception of a safe destination with minimal risk of transmission needs to be built during a pandemic to increase the chances of tourists choosing a destination. This research is useful in building a tourism management strategy towards a destination that is resilient to pandemics.