Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Kehinde Ojo is a doctoral student in the Agricultural and Applied Economics Department at the University of Georgia. She currently works on behaviors and attitudes towards travel and recreation, health, and well-being in times of COVID-19 in the United States. Her research interest is in applied economics, environmental economics, and development economics.

Susana Ferreira is a Professor in the Agricultural and Applied Economics Department at the University of Georgia. An environmental economist by training, she is interested in how environmental risk perceptions shape individual behavior.

John Salazar is an Associate Professor of Hospitality and Food Industry Management in the Agricultural and Applied Economics Department at the University of Georgia. He is also the Coordinator of the Hospitality and Food Industry Management Program. His research focuses on tourism marketing, destination development, and hospitality management.

John Bergstrom is a Professor in the Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Georgia. His research and teaching programs focus on natural resource economics and policy with applications to private and public lands management, valuation of environmental goods and services, and energy production and consumption.

Abstract (150 Words)

Understanding what factors play a role in people's decisions to travel during a pandemic is important to public health officials and stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry in the United States (US) and worldwide as we recover from COVID-19. In this study, we examine the factors that influence people's decision to cancel/postpone recreational travel within the US amidst COVID-19. Our conceptual framework extends the Expected Utility Model to incorporate subjective norms and perceived behavioral control from the Theory of Planned Behavior. We used two waves of a survey of US residents, collected in June-July and October 2020. Our results indicate that risk perceptions and subjective norms play a significant role in the decision of canceling and postponing recreational travel. Results also suggest that perceived behavioral control is not relevant when traveling involves elevated risks and individuals concern about transmitting COVID-19 to others cancel trips in both waves.

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Travel Behavior in the United States Amidst COVID-19

Understanding what factors play a role in people's decisions to travel during a pandemic is important to public health officials and stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry in the United States (US) and worldwide as we recover from COVID-19. In this study, we examine the factors that influence people's decision to cancel/postpone recreational travel within the US amidst COVID-19. Our conceptual framework extends the Expected Utility Model to incorporate subjective norms and perceived behavioral control from the Theory of Planned Behavior. We used two waves of a survey of US residents, collected in June-July and October 2020. Our results indicate that risk perceptions and subjective norms play a significant role in the decision of canceling and postponing recreational travel. Results also suggest that perceived behavioral control is not relevant when traveling involves elevated risks and individuals concern about transmitting COVID-19 to others cancel trips in both waves.