Resumo

MATIZA, Tafadzwa  e  SLABBERT, Elmarie. The marketing profile - leisure travel motivation nexus: A mediation taxonomy of the perceived safety of domestic tourism in the era of COVID-19. JCMAN [online]. 2023, vol.20, n.1, pp.295-322. ISSN 1815-7440.  http://dx.doi.org/10.35683/jcm22029.196.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Considering the COVID-19 outbreak as the first post-digital era pandemic, the influence of tourism marketing on the travel motivation of the contemporary tourist may invariably be susceptible to the crisis-induced subjective safety perceptions of tourists. A discernible gap exists in empirical evidence of the paradigm shift in tourist behaviour due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explores the influence of South Africa's marketing profile on the intrinsic travel motives of domestic tourists as mediated by the perceived safety of travel and tourism activities during the pandemic DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A cross-sectional deductive study was conducted. Data were generated via a novel self-administered online survey conducted by iFeedback. Data from the final valid sample of 427 domestic tourists were analysed primarily utilising exploratory and confirmatory factor, as well as mediation analyses FINDINGS: The empirical evidence extends the behavioural economic theory within tourism marketing by establishing a positive partial mediating effect of safety perceptions in the domestic destination marketing-travel motives nexus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also corroborate the value of information symmetry via various marketing and non-marketing media in mitigating risk perceptions and promoting the safety of travel and tourism activities in South Africa RECOMMENDATIONS/VALUE: Key recommendations emanating from the study include maximising marketing spending on an integrated, multi-channel marketing strategy - prioritising mass crisis communications and recovery-oriented marketing while promoting a tourism value proposition that instils trust and confidence in the tourist that domestic travel and tourism activity is safe. To promote domestic tourism, it is also recommended that tourism practitioners develop bespoke domestic tourism products that innovate contact services, such as booking and check-in procedures, to adhere to contemporary health and safety protocols beyond the era of COVID-19 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: The study's findings have significant managerial implications for tourism marketing. First, there is a need to repair or re-imagine the image of South Africa as a domestic tourism destination. Second, there is an urgent need to socially re-engineer tourist behaviour via social marketing-oriented crisis and post-crisis communications. These managerial interventions will mitigate the perceived risk associated with domestic travel and tourism and safeguard tourists from the actual health-related risk JEL CLASSIFICATION: M31, D91, Z33, Z38

Palavras-chave : COVID-19; Domestic tourism; Parallel mediation; Perceive safety; Travel motives.

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