What influences tourist behaviors during and after the COVID-19 pandemic? Focusing on theories of risk, coping, and resilience

Abstract

The threat of the COVID-19 pandemic poses risks and stress to travelers over the long term, impeding tourism demand recovery. This study aims to explore the behavioral consequences of potential tourists' personal perceptions of travel risks in pandemic threats. This study integrates risk communication and stress coping theory to address the research objectives and identifies interventions for psychological resilience. A sample of 1,179 potential adult travelers residing in Korea was surveyed online through quota sampling by age, gender, and region of residence, utilizing structural equation modeling to validate the proposed research model. The results showed that the two types of risk perception (personal- and societal-level) had different effects on problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. It was also found that coping strategies, through psychological resilience, can change travel intentions during and after a pandemic. In particular, in terms of short-term stress relief, individuals using emotion-focused coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic have been shown to express a willingness to respond to negative emotions more quickly. Insightful implications for the recovery of tourism demand in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies for managing crises in the tourism industry are provided.