Emerging space tourism business: Uncovering customer avoidance responses and behaviours

Abstract

Space travel involves complicated processes, and the potential tourists may avoid these trips at any stage due to various risks and costs. The avoidance intention has serious implications for both the tourists and the services. Applying a push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework, we modelled space tourist’s avoidance intention. We developed a model that investigates the direct effect of the push, pull, and mooring factors on avoidance intention. We evaluated the moderation role of the mooring factor with the associations of the push and pull factors with the avoidance intention. We also assessed the necessity of the push, pull, and mooring factors with avoiding space tourism. Using configurational modelling, we explored algorithms that explain the conditions where tourists avoid space tourism. Space tourism avoidance intention is increased by the push factor and decreased by the push and mooring factors. The mooring factor moderates the impact of the pull factor on the avoidance intention.