The influence of prospective event spectators’ risk-taking tendency on COVID-19 risk perception and information-seeking: the case of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Abstract

ABSTRACT Due to the risk of COVID-19, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were staged without spectators for the first time in modern Olympic history. Health risks, including pandemics such as COVID-19 and SARS, have caused a serious concern for event participants, stakeholders, and tourists. While seeking information on risks posed by particular destinations is an essential step when making travel decisions, especially during a pandemic, there is limited sport tourism research that scrutinized the relationship between prospective travellers’ health risk perceptions in the specific context of COVID-19. This article examines the relationship between prospective spectators’ risk perception toward COVID-19 and their information-seeking about the virus, with a specific focus on the moderating effect of spectators’ risk-taking tendency in the context of their intention to attend the Games. The study involved a survey of 240 South Korean and 286 American prospective spectators. Prospective spectators perceived COVID-19 as a source of severe risk, significantly decreasing their intention to travel to the destination. This study found positive associations between COVID-19 risk perception and information-seeking and between information-seeking and intent to attend. The results imply that information-seeking regarding the pandemic in the host region is an important predictor of prospective spectators’ attendance because seeking information demonstrates an intention to attend despite a perception of high risk. Furthermore, this paper makes a cross-national comparison of the implications of the moderating role of an individual’s risk-taking tendency.