How multifaceted trust influences travel intention amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from China

ABSTRACT

Tourist trust is a crucial determinant of travel behavior amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a thorough investigation of the multidimensional trust structure and the diverse impacts of each sub-dimension on travel behavior during COVID-19 is currently under-researched. To fill this gap, this study proposed a two-level, five-dimensional trust construct and further examined its impact on risk perception and travel intention. The moderating effect of travel motivation was also examined. Using data from 634 online survey participants in China, we conducted a hierarchical regression analysis and found that interpersonal, government, and enterprise trust are negatively associated with prospective tourists’ risk perception, which in turn increases travel intention. Moreover, high-level travel motivation enhances the negative influence of most multifaceted trust dimensions on risk perception while attenuating the negative influence of risk perception on travel intention. Our results have theoretical and managerial implications.

KEYWORDS:

• Multifaceted trust
• risk perception
• travel intention
• travel motivation
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Social Science Foundation of China [grant number 20BJY204].