Motivators and Inhibitors of Inbound Tourists to Select India as a Travel Destination During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Click Here:Access Full Text

Tourist behavior is extremely susceptible to disruption by crisis and pandemics at the destination. Currently, tourism is rigorously encountering novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Hence, it is crucial to understand the behavior of tourists in such a pandemic situation to comprehend the strategic planning for the survival of the industry. The present research, therefore, investigates the travel behavior of inbound tourists to India following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic with emphasis to understand factors motivating and inhibiting tourists select India as a tourist destination. The study also examined the difference in tourist perception regarding these factors based on demographic features.
The study used tourists’ responses conveniently collected through a web-based self-administered survey questionnaire. The collected data processed and analyzed by using suitable statistical tools with the help of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The study discovered important motivators such as accessibility enrichment, media coverage, and sympathy & courage, whereas the inhibitors were noticed as accessibility breakdown, inherent discomfort, and extrinsic affairs along with the significant difference in perception as per demographic features of respondents. The study provides implications for industry players that help in search of revival and resilience strategies for the comeback of the tourism sector of the country.

Keywords: Tourist Behavior, COVID-19, Motivator, Inhibitors, Revival

View PDF