Tourist Behavior, Travel Anxiety, Electronic Word of Mouth Perception, and the Travel Intentions of Muslim Tourists after the Covid-19 Pandemic
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Abstract
This qualitative study was designed to investigate the effects of tourist behavior, travel anxiety, and electronic word-of-mouth perception on the travel intentions of Muslim tourists living in the 14 southern provinces of Thailand after the COVID-19 pandemic and included four hundred participants. This research used an online questionnaire to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to examine the factors that affected travel intention, including percentages, standard deviations, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that Muslim tourists placed a high value on travel safety, with a high level of perceived electronic word-of-mouth communication and travel intention, but the survey revealed that they had a low level of travel anxiety.
The results from the stepwise multiple regression analysis showed a statistically significant effect of electronic word-of-mouth perception, travel anxiety, travel expenses, length of travel per time period, and traveling after the COVID-19 pandemic on travel intentions. Thus, the government and private sectors related to tourism should focus on safety and cleanliness. Furthermore, operators in the tourism industry should strive to improve the perception of their services by providing adequate facilities for Muslim tourists.
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