The effects of risk and uncertainty perceptions on tourists’ intention to visit former epicenters of COVID-19 post-pandemic: Evidence from China

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on leisure tourists’ risk and uncertainty perceptions. Despite the importance of tourists’ perceived risks and uncertainties in their decision-making, there is a lack of research that simultaneously tests the effects of these two factors as different and multiple-dimensional constructs. Thus, this paper investigates the different roles of various risk and uncertainty perceptions in leisure tourists’ decision-making and develops a more comprehensive model that incorporates the relevant factors. To test the model, this empirical study adopts partial least squares structural equation modeling with SmartPLS 3.0 for data analysis based on 386 valid samples obtained via a questionnaire survey in China. The findings of this paper suggest the necessity for concurrently considering the different effects of perceived risks and uncertainties in future research and practice in travel and tourism management.