Does Risk Awareness of COVID-19 Affect Visits to National Parks? Analyzing the Tourist Decision-Making Process Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

This study aimed to determine whether risk awareness of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) affects visits to national parks. We analyzed the tourist decision-making process during the current pandemic using the theory of planned behavior as a framework, adding variables relevant to the pandemic, such as risk perception and risk reduction behavior, to the model. Based on a literature review, we developed a research model describing the impact relationship between risk perception, the theory of planned behavior, and risk reduction behavior and tested nine hypotheses. Results of a survey of 555 visitors to two national parks supported eight of the nine hypotheses. Although the results are limited, they reaffirm the usefulness of the theory of planned behavior in explaining tourism behavior. This work is significant in that we would be able to extend the scope of subsequent research beyond a discussion of the direct effects on optimistic perceptions (bias) and risk reduction behavior as well as visit intention, by explaining the probability even in unprecedented crises such as COVID-19. Humans may be negotiating the constraints (COVID-19) or embodied tourism need through the personal bias. Furthermore, we discuss the theoretical implications of the results for tourism behavior research.