Predictors of Changes in Travel Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Tourists’ Personalities

Autor: Marius I. Stupariu, Tin Lukić, Tamara Jovanović, Marius Drugaş, Aleksandar Valjarević, Vasile Grama, Alexandru Tiba, Alena Gessert, Miroslav D. Vujičić, Alina Stoica, Cezar Morar, Liudmyla Niemets, Biljana Basarin
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume 18
Issue 21
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 11169, p 11169 (2021)
ISSN: 1660-4601
Popis: This study investigates travel behavior and psychosocial factors that influence it during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a cross-sectional study, using an online survey, we examined changes in travel behavior and preferences after lifting travel restrictions, and how these changes were influenced by exposure to COVID-19, COVID-19 travel-related risk and severity, personality, fear of travel, coping, and self-efficacy appraisals in the Romanian population. Our results showed that participants traveled less in the pandemic year than the year before—especially group and foreign travel—yet more participants reported individual traveling in their home county during the pandemic period. Distinct types of exposure to COVID-19 risk, as well as cognitive and affective factors, were related to travel behavior and preferences. However, fun-seeking personality was the only major predictor of travel intention, while fear of travel was the only predictor of travel avoidance. Instead, people traveled more cautiously when they perceived more risk of infection at the destination, and had higher levels of fear of travel, but also a high sense of efficacy in controlling the infection and problem-solving capacity. The results suggest that specific information about COVID-19, coping mechanisms, fear of travel, and neuropsychological personality traits may affect travel behavior in the pandemic period. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Databáze: OpenAIRE