Using the Health Belief Model to examine travelers’ willingness to vaccinate and support for vaccination requirements prior to travel

Courtney Suess, Jason Maddock, Tarik Dogru, Makarand Mody, Seunghoon Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Data from a survey of 1478 travelers and multistep group structural equation model analysis revealed that the Health Belief Model constructs of cues to action (trust in third-party information sources), perceived severity of and susceptibility to COVID-19, and beliefs about the protection benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine, subsequently elicited willingness to vaccinate and beliefs that others should vaccinate prior to travel and enhanced support for pre-travel vaccination mandates. Also, significant differences in the perceived protection benefits of the vaccine and willingness to vaccinate were found across groups of travelers who travel more or less frequently and those with and without a prior positive test for COVID-19. The study provides a theoretically informed understanding of the dynamics that may enable the success of important health-related travel policy in the wake of COVID-19 and future pandemics and identifies the communication mechanisms that must be leveraged by governments and travel authorities in enforcing policy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number104405
Pages (from-to)104405
JournalTourism Management
Volume88
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2022

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • COVID-19 vaccination
  • Health Belief Model
  • Regulation
  • Willingness to vaccinate

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Development
  • Transportation
  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
  • Strategy and Management

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