Residents’ risk perceptions, willingness to accept international tourists, and self-protective behaviour during destination re-opening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates factors influencing residents’ risk perceptions of COVID-19 pandemic, their willingness to accept international tourists, and self-protective behaviour during destination re-opening during the pandemic. Drawing upon the concept of Protection Motivation Theory, and using a face-to-face quota sampling survey of 521 valid responses from residents in a world class tourist destination in Phuket, the structural equation modelling results prove the PMT model is powerful enough to explain risk perceptions of local residents in accepting international tourists when reopening a destination during the pandemic. Furthermore, this study confirms the negative influence of risk perception on intention to accept international tourists and the positive influence of risk perception on actual self-protective behaviour of residents. In addition, the role of risk perception as the mediator between PMT factors, willingness to accept international tourists, and self-protective behaviours is confirmed in this study. The article concludes by presenting academic and practical discussion and implications based on the findings.