Tourism Crisis Events Affecting Intention towards Forest-Based Health Tourism: A Structural Equation Model

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 21st century, various tourism crisis events have negatively impacted the global tourism industry. This study proposes a research model grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response theory to explore how external stimuli influence individuals and help identify factors influencing elderly individuals’ willingness to participate in forest-based health tourism during and after tourism crisis events, considering the global aging trend. From 20 December 2023 to 15 January 2024, we collected 429 valid questionnaires from Chinese older adult participants engaged in forest-based health tourism in Guizhou Province. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and bootstrapping techniques were employed to analyze data. The results indicate that tourism crisis events, primarily in the form of geological disasters, are significant antecedent variables influencing the willingness of Chinese older adults to engage in forest-based health tourism. Furthermore, destination image and perceived value serve as individual mediators and function as chained mediators. The results enhance our understanding of the complex relationship between tourism crisis events and the willingness of older Chinese adults to travel while also revealing deeper underlying mechanisms.