Does Perceived Control Matter in the Early Days of COVID-19 in USA? A Protection Motivation Approach Examining Hospitality and Tourism Service Patronage

ABSTRACT

Based on the protection motivation theory (PMT), this study examined behavioral intentions within the hospitality and tourism industries in the early days of the pandemic. We examined the intentions to participate in regular hospitality and tourism-specific services using data from 1,100 US participants collected in early May 2020. The results from the structural equation modeling indicated that perceived knowledge of COVID-19 positively influenced perceived vulnerability and perceived severity. Perceived control over COVID-19 was negatively influenced by only perceived severity, but not by the perceived vulnerability. Additionally, a significant positive effect of perceived control over COVID-19 was confirmed on the intention to travel by air and intention to go on vacations, but not on the intention to visit restaurants.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• pandemic
• protection motivation
• hospitality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).