Influence of traveller risk perception on the willingness to travel in a major epidemic

Abstract

This paper aims to disclose how the willingness to travel is affected by the risk perception and travellers'familiarity with the destination in a major epidemic. First, a questionnaire was prepared with the commonly used dimensions of traveller risk perception and verified through a preliminary survey. Then, a formal online questionnaire survey was carried out, receiving 860 valid questionnaires. The survey data were subject to analysis based on structural equation model (SEM). The results show that, under COVID-19, the traveller risk perception is negatively correlated with the willingness to travel, and the traveller familiarity with the destination regulated the negative correlation. It also unveils the traveller risk perception is enhanced by the number of changes of transport vehicles, the length of travel time, and the degree of epidemic impact on the destination, but suppressed by the risk tolerance of potential travellers. The main contribution of this research is to introduce risk perception of the particular situation of COVID-19. The research results enrich traveller decision-making mechanism and offer countermeasures to revitalise tourism industry after a major epidemic.