Travel behaviour prediction amid covid-19 underlaying situational awareness theory and health belief model

Abstract

Travel and tourism have been hard-hit by COVID-19, and people have been forced to cancel travel plans due to governments being forced to implement travel bans to curb infection dissemination. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of situational awareness for adopting health-protective behaviours such as postponed travel plans. We used the theory of situational awareness (SAT) coupled with the health belief model (HBM) to analyze health-related behaviors. Data from a cross-sectional survey of 705 Pakistani and international adults were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling, during the peak of the COVID-19. The results confirmed that perceived understanding of COVID-19 cause influences perceived severity, understanding of contracting COVID-19 influences perceived susceptibility, and perceived understanding of COVID-19 prevention influences both perceived barriers and perceived benefits. The results further showed that perceived understanding of COVID-19 prevention is a strong predictor of self-efficacy, which ultimately influences health-protective behaviour. In addition, the sentiment analysis revealed that as COVID-19 continues to rise, people are becoming more sentimental and avoiding travel, even during festivals. The outcome of this study demonstrates that situational awareness has an effect on the postulates of health-protective measures and plays a key role in the implementation of protective measures such as canceling travel plans to ensure protection.