TY - JOUR

T1 - The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on tourists’ personal prestige – an experimental study

AU - Kuhn, Friedericke

AU - Kock, Florian

AU - Lohmann, Martin

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.

PY - 2022/7/1

Y1 - 2022/7/1

N2 - Purpose: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has drastically affected the public discourse on tourism in news reporting and on social media, potentially changing social perceptions of travel and its utility for conspicuous consumption. Prestige enhancement is a common tourist motivation, yet, as tourists have been portrayed as irresponsible and even dangerous during the pandemic, the benefits of travel for personal prestige may have been affected. The purpose of this study is to monitor changes in tourists’ personal prestige during the early pandemic in 2020. Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed an innovative study design implicitly measuring the personal prestige of tourists shown on experimentally manipulated social media posts. Three measurement waves were issued to compare the personal prestige of tourists just before, during and after the first lockdown situation in Germany. Findings: Differences regarding evaluations of tourists’ prestige were found for prestige dimensions of hedonism, achievements, wealth and power, suggesting that prestige ascription to tourists has been affected by the changing discourse on leisure travel. Originality/value: This study contributes to the discussion of the socio-psychological effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on customer benefits of leisure travel. It exposes possible impacts of the pandemic on tourisms’ value for conspicuous consumption and prestige enhancement.

AB - Purpose: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has drastically affected the public discourse on tourism in news reporting and on social media, potentially changing social perceptions of travel and its utility for conspicuous consumption. Prestige enhancement is a common tourist motivation, yet, as tourists have been portrayed as irresponsible and even dangerous during the pandemic, the benefits of travel for personal prestige may have been affected. The purpose of this study is to monitor changes in tourists’ personal prestige during the early pandemic in 2020. Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed an innovative study design implicitly measuring the personal prestige of tourists shown on experimentally manipulated social media posts. Three measurement waves were issued to compare the personal prestige of tourists just before, during and after the first lockdown situation in Germany. Findings: Differences regarding evaluations of tourists’ prestige were found for prestige dimensions of hedonism, achievements, wealth and power, suggesting that prestige ascription to tourists has been affected by the changing discourse on leisure travel. Originality/value: This study contributes to the discussion of the socio-psychological effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on customer benefits of leisure travel. It exposes possible impacts of the pandemic on tourisms’ value for conspicuous consumption and prestige enhancement.

KW - Covid-19

KW - Pandemic

KW - Prestige enhancement

KW - Social effects

KW - Tourism discourse

KW - Business psychology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116129094&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1108/IJCTHR-02-2021-0035

DO - 10.1108/IJCTHR-02-2021-0035

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85116129094

VL - 16

SP - 238

EP - 258

JO - International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research

JF - International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research

SN - 1750-6182

IS - 1

ER -