A rebound in nature-based tourism intentions during the COVID-19 era

Abstract

Nature-based tourism (NBT) intentions that changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic are different from those not only before the COVID-19 but also during the COVID-19 period. We recruited 558 American participants over two time periods in 2020 and 2021 and compared their NBT intentions by adopting the health belief model (HBM). The results for 2020 indicated that intrapersonal barriers negatively influence attitudes and NBT intentions; however, they did not exert significant effects on the attitudes of the 2021 batch, partially confirming changes in the relationship between study variables. Moreover, NBT intentions increased in 2021 compared to those in 2020, but the extent of the increase differed by demographic variables. NBT intentions were higher among those who were under 40 years of age, married, and highly educated. This study is novel as it used HBM to elucidate NBT intentions as a protective behaviour during the ongoing pandemic and offered valuable contributions to the implementation of expeditious marketing strategies to promote NBT to potential tourists.