Travellers’ Attitude and Intention towards post Covid-19 Travel: The Moderating Role of Traveller Personality Type

Abstract

COVID-19 has crucially changed the motivations, attitudes, and behaviours of travellers. This study explores the shifts in travel attitudes after the COVID-19 pandemic and how these changes affect the intention for upcoming travels. It investigates the moderating role of the traveller personality in forming the relationships between travel attitude’s antecedents and future travel intention. The study adopts the deductive approach and employs the quantitative method to achieve its aim. It compares the perceptions collected via a questionnaire from random travellers from three countries: UAE, Egypt, and Jordan. PLS-SEM is used for data analysis. It is revealed that protection motivation intentions, destination selection factors, and travel patterns/ arrangements predict travel attitudes post the pandemic. Cautious travellers are highly concerned with protection intentions and destination selection post-epidemic compared with normal travellers. Findings help us understand the shifts in travel attitudes and intentions after the pandemic. Understating the influence of the epidemic on tourists’ attitudes and intention to travel post-pandemic is strongly needed to accelerate tourism recovery and ensure a safe travel environment for tourists. Theoretically, the study responds to the research calls for examining the changes in travel motivations, attitudes, and behaviours. Practically, the study profiles travellers based on their travel personality (i.e., cautious versus normal travellers) and identifies the characteristics of each category. This will help destination marketers and service providers to adopt the relevant strategies to meet the tourists’ needs, expectations and fears in the post-pandemic new normal.