How COVID-19 Affected Portuguese Travel Intentions—A PLS-SEM Model

Eulália Santos (), Margarida Freitas Oliveira and Fernando Oliveira Tavares
Additional contact information
Eulália Santos: Higher School of Education and Social Sciences, CI&DEI, Polytechnic of Leiria, Campus 1, Rua Dr. João Soares, Apartado 4045, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal
Margarida Freitas Oliveira: CEOS.PP—Polo Coimbra (ISCAC) & Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL-ISCTE), Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra Business School, Quinta Agrícola—Bencanta, 3045-231 Coimbra, Portugal
Fernando Oliveira Tavares: REMIT—Research on Economics, Management and Information Technologies, Department of Economics and Management, Universidade Portucalense, 4200-027 Porto, Portugal

Tourism and Hospitality, 2024, vol. 5, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: COVID-19 was a defining moment of the 21st century, causing major disruptions to tourism and global mobility. Travel patterns have changed significantly, influencing people’s perception of travel. This study aims to explore how COVID-19 affected the travel intentions of the Portuguese. The research is based on a questionnaire administered to 762 individuals, using structural equation modeling with partial least squares. In general, individuals have a reasonable perception of fear of the consequences of COVID-19, risk, and travel behavior and do not appear to have anxiety or fear of traveling. As for their intention to travel, they seem to have intentions. The results of this analysis demonstrate that fear of traveling, and travel behavior directly influence travel intentions and, indirectly, through fear of the consequences of COVID-19, anxiety, fear of traveling, and perceived travel risk. This study is particularly relevant for entities that manage and monitor the travel intentions of their clients and consumers, especially in the travel and tourism sector. It aims to more effectively meet the needs and desires of travelers, in addition to formulating strategies that promote the recovery of tourism in the post-pandemic period. The added value of research lies in its potential to guide strategic decision-making and policy formulation.

Keywords: anxiety of COVID-19; intention to travel; risk of traveling; fear of traveling; travel behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/5/3/39/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/5/3/39/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jtourh:v:5:y:2024:i:3:p:39-671:d:1438274

Access Statistics for this article

Tourism and Hospitality is currently edited by Mr. Philip Li

More articles in Tourism and Hospitality from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().