The Influence of Chinese Tourists’ Risk Perception on Outbound Travel Intention in the Post-Pandemic Era: The Mediating and Moderating Effect

In the post-pandemic era, the risk perception of Chinese tourists is an important factor affecting their outbound travel behavior, which may be influenced by their trust in destinations and previous travel experience. This study constructs a moderated mediation effect model to explore the relationships among risk perception, destination trust, previous travel experience, and outbound travel intention. A total of 480 valid questionnaires were distributed through social media, travel forums, travel agencies, etc. SPSS22.0 and Lisre 8.5 software were used for data analysis. The study found the following results: the risk perception of Chinese tourists has a significant negative impact on their outbound travel intention. Trust in destinations plays a partial mediating role between risk perception and outbound travel intention. Previous travel experience negatively moderates the negative relationship between risk perception and outbound travel intention. Additionally, previous travel experience negatively moderates the mediating effect of risk perception on outbound travel intention through destination trust. The findings highlight the need to enhance destination trust and address risk perceptions to encourage outbound travel among Chinese tourists in the post-pandemic context.