IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TRAVEL INTENTION: THE CASE OF ŞIRNAK, TURKEY

Abstract

Outbreaks such as COVID-19 cause great losses to the tourism industry. In particular, the decrease in people's travel mobility is effective in these losses. Perceived risk to people's safety also affects their intention to travel. Considering the behavior of individuals under conditions of social instability is necessary both economically and sociologically. For this reason, in case of major epidemics such as COVID-19, it is an urgent necessity for scientists to examine behavior in society. With this understanding, this research empirically examined whether individuals' COVID-19 attitudes affect their travel behavior. The research was carried out in Şırnak, Turkey. Research data was collected through online questionnaire and purposeful sampling method. The database of the research consisted of 480 participants. The result of the research indicated that COVID-19 attitudes did not affect travel intentions. This finding does not support the results of similar studies in the literature. In the conclusion, this remarkable finding of the research and its possible reasons were discussed.