Global Risk, Local Attachment: Investigating Tourists' Staycation Intention During a Pandemic

Despite the recent rise in the interest toward proximity tourism determined by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a paucity of studies in the tourism marketing domain examining what may lead tourists to purchase a staycation experience, i.e., a vacation within a 50-mile drive radius from home. In an attempt to advance marketing knowledge on this topic, the present study investigates a possible psychological mechanism underlying tourists’ intention to take a staycation experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we proposed a chain of effects through which the perception of risk felt by individuals during the pandemic may enhance their staycation intention via their feeling of attachment toward their local community, with the moderating effect of individuals’ perception of control over the COVID-19 disease. Results revealed that the reluctance to risk felt by individuals during the pandemic enhances their attachment toward the local community, which in turn increases their intention to take a staycation experience. However, this path holds only when participants reported a low level of perceived control over the COVID-19 disease. Theoretical and operational implications related to the staycation phenomenon are also presented.