Exploring the Spanish Tourists’ Intentions to Travel to Zones That Have a Low-Impact of COVID-19 by Taking into Account Their Cognitive and Affective Risk Perceptions About the Pandemic

Abstract

[Abstract]: In the current context in which tourism is beginning to recover, this study examines the worldwide trend of tourists traveling to destinations with a low impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in a country such as Spain, which is highly dependent on tourism activity. By employing the SEM methodology and an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), which includes the cognitive and affective dimensions of perceived risk about the pandemic and past behavior, the results show the positive effect that past behavior and the core variables of the TPB have on the behavioral intentions of Spanish tourists, despite the negative impact that their cognitive risk perception has on these core variables. The study’s findings have useful practical implications for tourism authorities and stakeholders in Spain and other countries that are also highly dependent on tourism.