UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOURAL INTENTION OF EXPERIENCING VIRTUAL TOURISM DURING COVID-19: AN EXTENSION OF THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR

Purpose – The overall purpose of this study is to assess consumers’ behavioural intentions regarding virtual tourism COVID -19 using the TPB. This work sought to assess the applicability of TPB utilising its foremost constructs, i.e., attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control, with the inclusion of perceived security. Design/Methodology – A web-based questionnaire was utilised to gather the data that was randomised. A link to a Google form was posted on the websites of travel companies offering virtual tours and other social networking sites from August 1, 2021, to September 15, 2021, resulting in 408 usable responses. The data were analysed via SEM using the programmes AMOS and SPSS, and statistical analysis was performed for the proposed hypotheses. Approach – This paper presents the latest findings and important details about consumers’ behavioural intentions regarding virtual tourism in a bid to provide insightful details for the tourism and travel sector in general and for travel agencies offering virtual tourism packages in particular. Findings – Research findings suggest that subjective norm and perceived safety influence people’s behavioural intentions toward virtual tourism as an alternate to on-site tourism. 52% of the variance in behavioural intention toward virtual tourism during the Corona virus period was explained by the factors as a whole. Originality – This study lends to the evaluation of consumer interest in virtual travel by linking the TPB variables to perceived safety, making it a novelty of its kind. So far as the authors are aware, no previous work in the Indian context has evaluated TPB by including a measure of perceived safety in its attempt to shed light on Indians’ behaviour toward virtual tourism.