Back to a Post-Pandemic City: The Impact of Media Coverage on Revisit Intention of Macau

ABSTRACT This study examines tourists’ revisit intention by extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with three additional constructs: media coverage as well as macro and micro-destination image. Drawing upon the TPB, an integrated model was proposed to examine the effect of media coverage, the TPB core constructs, and destination image on tourists’ revisit intention. Data collected from 265 residents of Guangdong Province, China, was used to test the model regarding their intention to revisit Macau. The SEM results indicate that media coverage significantly impacts prospective tourists’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, macro-destination image, and micro-destination image. In contrast, all constructs except micro-destination image are essential determinants of their revisit intention. Notably, a significant negative impact of macro-destination image on revisit intention has been disclosed. Lastly, this study explores the mediating effects, and the subjective norm is the most significant mediator. Practical implications for tourism development under public health crises are also discussed.