Affective forecasting and travel decision-making: An investigation in times of a pandemic

Marion Karl, Florian Kock, Brent W. Ritchie and Jana Gauss

Annals of Tourism Research, 2021, vol. 87, issue C

Abstract: People mentally simulate future events, visualise themselves in these events, and then make predictions about how they would feel. This process is referred to as affective forecasting. Tourism lends itself toward affective forecasting because holiday experiences are not tangible and difficult to judge upfront. The authors conceptualise and empirically examine the mental simulation and affective forecasting in tourist decision-making. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a proof of concept, they employ an experimental research design to demonstrate that affective forecasting can mitigate risk perceptions and travel decision-making in times of a pandemic. The findings highlight how affective forecasting can be leveraged to predict and change travel behaviour in the aftermath of pandemics, though implications reach beyond this context.

Keywords: Affective forecasting; Prospection; Episodic future thinking; Travel decision-making; COVID-19 threat scale; Coronavirus/COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:anture:v:87:y:2021:i:c:s0160738321000013

DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103139

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