Travel Bubble: Risk Anxiety, Risk Attitude and Intention to Travel During Covid-19 Outbreak

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the tourism industry in Malaysia decline drastically. The outbreak has continued for almost two years and has decreased local and international tourist arrivals. The decline is because of the Movement Control Order (MCO) execution, and safety precautions were issued when travelling. Nevertheless, the impressive rate of deterioration in pandemic transmission gives a new shade to domestic tourism. The Tourism Ministry has put forward an initiative that can revitalise the economic sector in the country by introducing the travel bubble destinations among Malaysians. With that, the main purpose of this study is to explore the travel bubble risk anxiety, risk attitude, and intention to travel among Malaysian when COVID-19 is still plaguing the nation. A self-administered survey was conducted online using a snowballing technique. The data collected was keyed in and analysed according to the objectives of this study. The main findings of this study highlighted that those respondents would feel anxious and worried about their safety when participating in the travel bubble. Statistical significance also revealed the respondents’ intentions to travel during the COVID-19 outbreak. Further discussions of the findings were also highlighted to deliberate the implications of the study.

Travel motivation and intention mediated by destination image of Quezon province

“…The table reveals that many respondents want to experience a new lifestyle during the new normal; after being cooped up at their place for nearly two years, they want to explore and enjoy leisure activities away from home. Contradicts with the result of the present study, Langgat et al (2021), emphasized that travelling to any destination involves risk and uncertainty; hence, people must evaluate a variety of factors, such as attributes of the products or destination, potential negative results, necessity, and values.…”