Transactional stress-coping configurations in nature-based tourism destinations

Abstract

Stress-coping relationship is essential for tourists' psychological outcomes and tourism destinations' sustainability. In this study, we explore tourists' encountered stressors, their stress appraisals, and coping strategies against different perceived stress in nature-based tourism destinations. Moreover, we compare the transactional stress-coping process under varying COVID-risk perceptions and family structures. In-depth phone interviews (n = 50) and on-site tourist surveys (n = 444) were conducted in Leiqiong UNESCO Geopark, China. Findings reveal that tourists' coping strategies for stress are associated with different stressors and vary greatly among tourists with different risk perceptions and family structures. Intense coping strategies (e.g., confrontive coping and planful & preventive problem-solving) are more likely to be employed against COVID-related stress, particularly by tourists with high-risk perceptions and tourists traveling with children. Our findings expand the transactional theory of stress by adding stress-coping configurations and provide effective strategies to mitigate multiple types of stress in nature-based tourism destinations.