COVID-19 AND FUTURE TRAVEL DECISIONS: HOW DO THE DESTINATION-CHOICE-BASED MOTIVATORS REDEFINE TOURIST’S CHOICES?

  • Bipithalal Balakrishnan Nair Woosong Univeristy, Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5381-4073
  • Satyajit Sinha School of Travel and Hospitality Management Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v10i2.4919

Keywords:

COVID-19, Travel Behaviour, Factor Analysis, Crisis

Abstract

 COVID-19 has heavily influenced people all around the world and forced us to acclimatise to a New Normal. Post-COVID-19 scenarios are predicted that impose specific criteria on travel choices that could change the present tourism equilibrium. Addressing these impulses is crucial for travel destinations for their resilience and recovery. This paper presents preliminary insights into present travel decisions and speculates about potential future, post-COVID-19 choices. An online survey of 449 participants used to investigate the underlying dimensions of destination selection motivations, and to explore the significant differences between the characteristics of travellers in destination-choice-based motivators (DCBMs) for destination selections post-COVID-19. Three motivators for the choice of destinations were derived: accessibility and discounting, health and hygiene, and the history of low incidences of COVID-19. Results also identified interrelationships between travel history and destination selection motivators: participants who had undergone a prolonged quarantine period were highly motivated by ‘accessibility and discounting’ and ‘health and hygiene’ factors. In contrast, people with no international travel experience were more concerned with low COVID-19 incidences in the destination(s).

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Author Biographies

Bipithalal Balakrishnan Nair, Woosong Univeristy, Korea

Bipithalal Balakrishnan Nair works as Assistant Professor at Sol International School Hospitality Management Department (SIHOM), Woosong University, South Korea. She obtained her PhD in Tourism Management from the Institute of Tourism Research (INTOUR), University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom. She is a transdisciplinary researcher in Tourism Studies with particular interests in postcolonialism and colonial nostalgia, in worldmaking normalisations, and creative management/development practices in the representation of peoples and places.

 

Satyajit Sinha, School of Travel and Hospitality Management Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India

Doctoral student

School of Travel and Hospitality Management

Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India

References

Published
2020-12-16
How to Cite
Balakrishnan Nair, B., & Sinha, S. (2020). COVID-19 AND FUTURE TRAVEL DECISIONS: HOW DO THE DESTINATION-CHOICE-BASED MOTIVATORS REDEFINE TOURIST’S CHOICES?. ENLIGHTENING TOURISM. A PATHMAKING JOURNAL, 10(2), 306-322. https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v10i2.4919
Issue
Vol. 10 No. 2 (2020): July-December
Section
RESEARCH PAPERS
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