Interpreting emotional insights and behavioral intentions of travelers based on push and pull motivations during Covid-19

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to interpret the travel motivations of travelers in India amidst the coronavirus pandemic. It takes into consideration the “push and pull motivational forces” of travelers, translating their emotional insights and behavioral intentions based on these forces. Design/methodology/approach - The research design consists of a mixed-mode approach of study inclusive of semi-directive interviews of 231 participants from India. The statistical computing language R has been used to conduct sentiment analysis. Findings - The results obtained show that “fear” and “sadness” are the prevalent emotions among the travelers due to the coronavirus outbreak based on the results of sentiment analysis. While, positive emotions of “trust” and “joy” were missing comparatively. These emotions along with other traveling constraints amidst coronavirus acted as the intrinsic push factors and extrinsic pull factors affecting their travel motivations. Originality/value - The study throws light on the practical and theoretical implications of such travel motivations, emotions affecting these motivations, leading to travelers' behavioral intentions. The work adds to the limited works of tourism literature amidst the coronavirus outbreak.