Tourists' engagement and willingness to pay behavior during COVID-19: an assessment of antecedents, consequences and intermediate relationships

Purpose This study identifies antecedents and consequences of destination brand engagement (DBE) that have redefined the tourists' behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, it assesses the impact of social media interaction and destination authenticity on DBE and DBE's effect on tourists' willingness to pay (WTP). Further, it examines the mediating role of affective attitude and the moderating role of perceived risk between the associations of DBE and WTP. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 436 respondents through a structured questionnaire from selected tourism destinations in India. Structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) is employed to empirically examine the formulated hypotheses. Besides, hierarchical second-order confirmatory factor analysis is also deployed to analyze certain constructs as higher-order factors. Findings Social media interaction and destination authenticity elevate DBE, and DBE enhances affective attitude and WTP. Affective attitude mediates the relationship between DBE and WTP. Hence, the association between tourists' engagement and spending behavior becomes crucial under elevated affective attitude conditions. Finally, perceived risk during the pandemic dampens the association between DBE and WTP. Practical implications The findings may provide newer insights to the tourism companies, marketers and policymakers to create targeted strategies to minimize the risk perception and improve engagement levels of the tourists, which can yield economic returns in the long run. Originality/value Based on the cues from protection motivation theory (PMT), this study develops a DBE framework and identifies the factors affecting its sustenance in the pandemic hit tourism sector. Further, suggesting implications to ensure safety measures in the tourism industry that may assist in establishing economic resilience.