What Drives People to Travel during a Pandemic: The Role of Media Information and Trust in the Government

ABSTRACT

In order to better understand of travelers’ risk perception and travel decision in pandemic, this study examines the role of media information and the effect of trust in the government on travel decision making based on the social amplification of risk framework. We perform a structural equation model using 1,156 samples collected through an online survey. The most notable findings are that the exaggeration and volume of media information play significant roles as moderators in the relationship between risk characteristics and perceived risk. In addition, the results reveal that trust in the government completely mediates the relationship between perceived societal risk and travel intention. Based on the findings, this study provides implications for the risk management and travel decision-making process during pandemic crises.

KEYWORDS:

• Social amplification of risk framework
• government trust
• media information
• travel decision
• pandemic diseases

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from Kyung Hee University in 2021 (KHU-20210138).

Disclosure Statement

The authors and research company conducting the online survey for this study declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Kyung Hee University [KHU-20210138].