Tourists' motivation towards destination visit intention post-pandemic: scale development and validation

ABSTRACT

India is a huge attraction for tourists all over the world visiting different destinations with different motives. The Indian tourism sector was performing incredibly till the recent pandemic changed the overall tourism environment. The motivation for travelling has changed substantially and this change in behaviour and motives calls for insightful research. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the travel behaviour and motivation of tourists in post-pandemic situations. Primary data was collected from 345 tourists who had availed of the services of travel agencies pre-COVID or had made an enquiry. The six factors relating to destination choices in the new normal were discovered as health and hygiene, safety and security, accessibility and connectivity, information about destination, travel risk perception, and value for money. The findings will assist various tourism stakeholders in India to develop their policies and attract more domestic and foreign tourists.