Compensatory Travel Post COVID-19: Cognitive and Emotional Effects of Risk Perception

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented and devastating impact on the travel and tourism industry worldwide. To sustain tourism organizations in the post-pandemic period, it is crucial to understand the factors that maintain, boost, or diminish the potential demands of international travel. With faith in the industry’s resilience, travel and tourism organizations are counting on the prospect of compensatory travel. However, little is known about the factors affecting potential demands and compensatory travel intention in a post-pandemic world. Hence, this study attempts to conceptualize compensatory travel and to investigate tourists’ cognitive and emotional processes that link risk perception about COVID-19 and compensatory travel intention. The findings support the proposed dual-processing model of suppressing and accelerating travel desire caused by COVID-19. The effect of travel desire on compensatory travel intention is also found.