From destination choice to departure: analysing French tourists’ behaviours facing health risks from COVID-19

During a pandemic, individuals react both cognitively and emotionally, leading them to adopt self-protective behaviours. Governments, meanwhile, face a delicate balancing act between safeguarding public health and mitigating the socioeconomic impact. In the tourism industry, this translates to reducing infection risk while minimizing mass cancellations. Past research suggests that providing updated information can help achieve these objectives. This study examines two pre-departure behaviours of French tourists in response to health risks from COVID-19: (1) seeking or not seeking information about COVID-19 indicators and protective measures at the chosen destination; (2) continuing with the planned stay or cancelling it. Seeking information and cancelling trips are voluntary actions driven by various factors, including tourists’ emotional state, particularly their worry about contracting and transmitting COVID-19. We find that worry motivates both behaviours, with worry about contracting exerting the strongest influence. Information-seeking, regardless of whether analysed as ordinal or nominal, tends to promote cancellations. This suggests a potential conflict between public health and tourism objectives. Our findings highlight the critical need for tourism managers to reassure tourists about health safety and tailor communication strategies accordingly. In this vein, we discuss some propositions that could be considered in the event of future pandemics.