Revenge travel: nostalgia and desire for leisure travel post COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has hampered consumers’ psychological well-being and the travel industry. Secondary evidence suggests a revenge travel phenomenon. This study theorizes and empirically demonstrates that nostalgia helps consumers cope with pandemic distress and cultivates the desire for leisure travel. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework, consumer perceived severity of COVID-19 (stimulus) triggers nostalgia (organism), which increases the desire for leisure travel (response). The effect of nostalgia on desire to travel is robust when manipulated via a marketing communication (ad-hoc experiment). This study further explains travel pursuit heterogeneity with the interaction of a consumer’s approach-avoidance motivation system and traveler personality.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• nostalgia
• travel pursuit heterogeneity
• tourism recovery

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1. https://www.census.gov/householdpulsedata.

2. https://www.mmgyglobal.com/mmgytravelintelligenceinsights/.

3. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-logistics-and-transport-infrastructure/our-insights/ready-for-check-in-lessons-from-the-German-travel-recovery.

4. https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/travel/fine-hotels-resorts/get-inspired/global-travel-trends#section-1.

5. https://www.mmgyglobal.com/mmgytravelintelligenceinsights/.

6. tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput.

7. https://www.mmgyglobal.com/mmgytravelintelligenceinsights/.

8. https://theharrispoll.com/revenge-travel-is-real/.

9. https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/consumer-confidence.

10. https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenfriedman/2016/08/02/why-nostalgia-marketing-works-so-well-with-millennials-and-how-your-brand-can-benefit/#19d885ab3636.