Vicarious travel: the covid-19 tourism experience paradigm: (examining attitudes and risk perceptions)‎

Abstract EN

With COVID-19 travel restrictions and home quarantines, vicarious travel has emerged as a safe physical travel alternative and a refuge for relaxation, stress relief, and escapism.

This study aims to examine Egyptians' attitudes towards vicarious travel and their willingness to adopt it amid and post-COVID-19 while investigating Egyptians' travel risk perception, travel planning behavior, and travel intentions amid the pandemic.

Data were collected using an online questionnaire and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for statistical data analysis.

Findings show that there is a significant correlation between travel risk perception amid COVID-19 and the willingness to experience vicarious travel.

Furthermore, findings reveal that attitude towards vicarious travel has a positive impact on travel intentions.

Overall, the study sheds the light on vicarious travel in the context of crises and introduces a concise definition for this often-overlooked concept in tourism literature.

Study insights should be of value to academia and tourism authorities.