Delineating the South African domestic tourist's behaviour amid a crisis: A psychographic segmentation approach

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic forced transformational thinking regarding resilience and sustainability strategies to ensure the future of the tourism industry. Domestic tourism is predicted to recover first, emphasising the importance of profiling crisis-induced domestic tourist behaviour through market segmentation. Purpose: The research was conducted from a developing country perspective focusing on South African domestic tourists. A multi-psychographic segmentation approach was applied. Based on South Africa's marketing and media profile, perceived risk factors induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the perceived safety of domestic travel and tourism activity, domestic tourists were profiled. Methods: An online questionnaire was employed from 2020 to 2021, and 427 responses were included in the analysis. Exploratory Factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were performed to identify the segments based on the identified factors. Results: Four discernible domestic tourist segments emerged: Psychocentric, Traditional idealist, Apprehensive and Despondent domestic tourists. Each segment differed significantly based on their rating of the segmentation bases;thus delineating the heterogeneity of domestic tourist behaviour amid a crisis. The results show that a generic marketing approach is not feasible for domestic tourism in South Africa. Conclusion: It is vital to understand domestic tourist behaviour during a crisis to project and manage it proactively. This research addresses this urgent need. Marketing the country to South Africans requires dynamic and distinguished marketing efforts based on the perceptions of domestic tourists.

The destination media profile and tourist travel intentions: the mediating effect of COVID-19 induced perceived risk

Information symmetry is a critical antecedent to tourists' consumptive decision-making and conative behaviour, especially in times of crisis and uncertainty. The present study is novel in its interrogation of whether COVID-19 induced perceived risk has an intervening effect in the destination media profile - travel intentions nexus of tourists. The quantitative study adopted a cross-sectional approach. Data was generated via an online survey of a purposive-convenient sample. The respondent-driven snowball sampling approach resulted in a final international sample of 323 potential tourists. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, linear regressions, and simple and parallel mediation analyses were employed. As it emerged from the study, a destination's media profile, directly and indirectly, influences the conative behaviour of tourists. At the same time, destination media profile has an apparent direct effect on perceived risk-oriented information symmetry. A partial diminishing intervening effect of COVID-19 induced risk is also established in the indirect relationship between destination media profile and tourists' post-crisis travel intentions.

Tourism is too dangerous! Perceived risk and the subjective safety of tourism activity in the era of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the risk associated with tourism and induced a paradigm shift in tourist behaviour. The study explores the nexus between COVID-19 induced perceived risk the subjective safety associated with tourism activity. A cross-sectional deductive study was conducted. Data were generated from a respondent-driven snowball sample of 323 potential tourists from all over the world. The key findings indicate perceived physical, psychological and social COVID-19 pandemic induced risk negatively influenced the overall subjective safety associated with tourism activity. Moreover, further analysis indicated heterogeneity in the influence of the perceived risk on specific tourism activity. Tourism practitioners are provided with timely empirical evidence-based insights that contribute to a better understanding of tourists' evolving behaviour.