Recovery of domestic tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic: An experimental comparison of interventions

During the persistent COVID-19 pandemic, tourism destinations try to restore intention to visit by implementing recovery marketing strategies on domestic tourism markets. Within a risk acceptance framework, this research compares the effectiveness of measures a destination can undertake to encourage domestic tourists to visit during or in the immediate aftermath of a lingering public health crisis. We conduct a sophisticated randomised experiment with 666 Australians that tests causal effects on intention to book of 11 manipulated factors, including different communication messages, hygiene measures, discount and cancellation policies and framework conditions. The factors were informed by theory and qualitative interviews conducted with industry experts and potential tourists. The study finds that the presence of international visitors and a surge in COVID-cases decrease domestic tourists’ booking intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Positive effects on booking intentions can be obtained from retentive advertising, discounting and flexible cancellation policies.