The pandemic has become a major mental stressor to people, thwarting people’s travel demands. Yet there is a lack of investigation on the influence of more general mental constraints on travel. This study explores the impact of the centrality of traumatic events on travel fear and examines the possible mechanism and boundaries of this relationship. The findings show traumatic event centrality has a positive impact on travel fear. Travel involvement and travel frequency during the pandemic can make this relationship stronger. Intrusive rumination mediates the relationship between traumatic event centrality and travel fear. This study makes a pioneering effort on the impact of traumatic experience in the context of tourism, introducing the concept of traumatic event centrality in the growing body of pandemic tourism research. Moreover, knowledge of the impact of traumatic experience on travel can provide practical insights on tourism industry recovery.