Threat of infectious disease during an outbreak: Influence on tourists' emotional responses to disadvantaged price inequality

Abstract

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has negatively influenced the global tourism industry. Despite the documented negative impacts of diseases on tourism demand and people's perceived health risk, researchers have seldom examined the psychological responses of tourists travelling during an infectious disease outbreak. We therefore conducted three studies to examine this key aspect, and our findings indicate that tourists have a strong negative emotional reaction towards disadvantaged tourism-related prices in response to a high (vs low) infectious disease threat. Furthermore, risk aversion acts as an underlying mechanism driving this effect: tourists are more risk aversive under the threat of an infectious disease, which consequently magnifies their negative emotional reaction. At last, theoretical and practical implications of these findings for tourism are discussed.