IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i12p7165-d836481.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Travel Motivation during COVID-19: A Case from Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Kumar Bhatta

    (Kyushu University Institute for Asian and Oceanian Studies, Motooka 744, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan)

  • Prakash Gautam

    (Faculty of Business Administration, Soka University, Tangimachi 1-236, Hachioji 192-8577, Japan)

  • Toshinori Tanaka

    (Kyushu University Institute for Asian and Oceanian Studies, Motooka 744, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan)

Abstract

The tourism industry is one of the most affected industries by the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding travel motivation is necessary for the tourism movement, even in the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this quantitative study aimed to explore travel motivation and its determinants. We collected 181 samples through a web-based questionnaire survey of the Nepali people in January and February 2021. The data were analyzed using a probit regression model through two different travel companion perspectives, i.e., traveling with friends and traveling with family members. We found that travel motivation, attributes, travel purpose, and transport mode preferences differed in companion groups. Specifically, those who want to travel with friends are government employees, 20–29 years of age, set health and wellness purposes, choose the bike for transportation, are less willing to visit homestay and agritourism, and want to travel for around one week. Those who plan to travel with family members use the coach to travel, choose rural destinations, including villages, and spend around two weeks. Based on these findings, we suggest that the Nepalese tourism destination and public transport companies make tourism packages targeting the groups. Since both groups showed interest in visiting rural destinations, we can say that tourism in rural destinations may revive earlier than urban tourism after the pandemic. However, a low-risk travel environment should be ensured for traveling to attract more tourists during and the post-disaster.

Suggested Citation

  • Kumar Bhatta & Prakash Gautam & Toshinori Tanaka, 2022. "Travel Motivation during COVID-19: A Case from Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7165-:d:836481
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7165/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7165/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Louise Twining Ward & Jessie F. McComb, 2020. "COVID-19 and Tourism in South Asia," World Bank Publications - Reports 34050, The World Bank Group.
    2. Sheth, Jagdish, 2020. "Impact of Covid-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits return or die?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 280-283.
    3. Backhaus, Andreas, 2022. "International travel in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of German school breaks," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    4. Li, Xun & Gong, Jian & Gao, Baojun & Yuan, Peiwen, 2021. "Impacts of COVID-19 on tourists' destination preferences: Evidence from China," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    5. Michał Roman & Arkadiusz Niedziółka & Andrzej Krasnodębski, 2020. "Respondents’ Involvement in Tourist Activities at the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-21, November.
    6. Anson T. H. Ma & Alice S. Y. Chow & Lewis T. O. Cheung & Karen M. Y. Lee & Shuwen Liu, 2018. "Impacts of Tourists’ Sociodemographic Characteristics on the Travel Motivation and Satisfaction: The Case of Protected Areas in South China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-21, September.
    7. Jaume Garcia & Catalina Juaneda & Josep María Raya & Francesc Sastre, 2015. "A Study of Traveller Decision-Making Determinants: Prioritizing Destination or Travel Mode?," Tourism Economics, , vol. 21(6), pages 1149-1167, December.
    8. W. Michael Hanemann, 2003. "Willingness To Pay and Willingness To Accept: How Much Can They Differ? Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 464-464, March.
    9. Lin, Yi-Hsin & Zhang, Chrystal, 2021. "Investigating air travellers’ travel motivation during a pandemic crisis," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    10. Li, Junxiong & Nguyen, Thi Hong Hai & Coca-Stefaniak, J. Andres, 2021. "Coronavirus impacts on post-pandemic planned travel behaviours," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chang-Young Jeon & Hee-Won Yang, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tourists’ WTP: Using the Contingent Valuation Method," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-14, August.
    2. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    3. Walters, Gabby & Magor, Thomas & Kelly, Sarah & Wallin, Ann, 2022. "Cruising through a pandemic: Or not?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Parvaneh Sobhani & Hassan Esmaeilzadeh & Seyed Mohammad Moein Sadeghi & Marina Viorela Marcu, 2022. "Estimation of Ecotourism Carrying Capacity for Sustainable Development of Protected Areas in Iran," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Elena Bonel & Mauro Capestro & Eleonora Di Maria, 2023. "How COVID-19 impacted cultural consumption: an explorative analysis of Gen Z’s digital museum experiences," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2023(2), pages 135-160, June.
    6. Roberta Capello & Andrea Caragliu, 2021. "Regional growth and disparities in a post‐COVID Europe: A new normality scenario," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 710-727, September.
    7. Mauro Bambi & Daria Ghilli & Fausto Gozzi & Marta Leocata, 2021. "Habits and demand changes after COVID-19," Papers 2107.00909, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2022.
    8. Peluso, Alessandro M. & Pichierri, Marco & Pino, Giovanni, 2021. "Age-related effects on environmentally sustainable purchases at the time of COVID-19: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    9. Shunying Zhao & Qiang Yang & Hohjin Im & Baojuan Ye & Yadi Zeng & Zhinan Chen & Lu Liu & Dawu Huang, 2022. "The impulsive online shopper: effects of COVID-19 burnout, uncertainty, self-control, and online shopping trust," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-15, December.
    10. Yu, Jingru & Xie, Ningke & Zhu, Jiangtao & Qian, Yiwei & Zheng, Sijing & Chen, Xiqun (Michael), 2022. "Exploring impacts of COVID-19 on city-wide taxi and ride-sourcing markets: Evidence from Ningbo, China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 220-238.
    11. Viktória VIDA & Péter POPOVICS, 2020. "Impact Of The Covid-19 On Behaviour: A Survey Of Different Aspects Of Life Of The Hungarian Population," CrossCultural Management Journal, Fundația Română pentru Inteligența Afacerii, Editorial Department, issue 2, pages 161-174, December.
    12. Pilar Jiménez-Medina & José Miguel Navarro-Azorín & Clara Cubillas-Para & Andrés Artal-Tur, 2022. "What Safety and Security Measures Really Matter in the Post-COVID Recovery of the Hospitality Industry? An Analysis of the Visitor’s Intention to Return in Spain," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-12, July.
    13. Chung-Wei Kuo, 2021. "Can We Return to Our Normal Life When the Pandemic Is under Control? A Preliminary Study on the Influence of COVID-19 on the Tourism Characteristics of Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    14. Kochaniak, Katarzyna & Ulman, Paweł & Zajkowski, Robert, 2023. "Effectiveness of COVID-19 state aid for microenterprises in Poland," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 483-497.
    15. Hasan Bakhshi & Salvatore Novo & Giorgio Fazio, 2023. "The “Great Lockdown” and cultural consumption in the UK," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(4), pages 555-587, December.
    16. Mainardes, Emerson Wagner & Coutinho, Ananda Raquel Silva & Alves, Helena Maria Batista, 2023. "The influence of the ethics of E-retailers on online customer experience and customer satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. José F Baños-Pino & David Boto-García & Eduardo Del Valle & Inés Sustacha, 2023. "The impact of COVID-19 on tourists’ length of stay and daily expenditures," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(2), pages 437-459, March.
    18. Xiaohua Qin & Xingming Li, 2021. "Evaluate on the Decoupling of Tourism Economic Development and Ecological-Environmental Stress in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.
    19. Liu, Hongfei & Liu, Wentong & Yoganathan, Vignesh & Osburg, Victoria-Sophie, 2021. "COVID-19 information overload and generation Z's social media discontinuance intention during the pandemic lockdown," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    20. Herjanto, Halimin & Amin, Muslim & Purington, Elizabeth F., 2021. "Panic buying: The effect of thinking style and situational ambiguity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:12:p:7165-:d:836481. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.