Destination Crisis Communication for Tourist Coping and Revisit Safety Assurance

Abstract

This study addresses the critical challenge of preserving traveler retention under accelerating global climate volatility by examining how destination crisis communication shapes consumer psychology. Integrating Protection Motivation Theory and Source Credibility Theory, this research develops a structural model examining how Perceived Communication Sincerity and Crisis Information Quality influence Destination Coping Appraisal, Destination Brand Trust, and Revisit Safety Assurance. A quantitative approach employing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to data collected from 350 tourists with recent travel experience to climate-risk destinations. The empirical findings confirm that all seven hypothesized direct relationships are positive and statistically significant. Crisis Information Quality emerged as the strongest predictor of Destination Coping Appraisal, whereas Perceived Communication Sincerity played a critical role in strengthening Destination Brand Trust. Both Destination Coping Appraisal and Destination Brand Trust significantly enhanced tourists' Revisit Safety Assurance, with the proposed model explaining 58.8% of its variance. The findings extend tourism crisis communication literature by demonstrating that effective crisis communication supports psychological resilience through both cognitive preparedness and institutional trust. Practically, the study provides destination management organizations with evidence-based guidance for designing authentic and high-quality crisis communication strategies that strengthen visitor confidence and support destination resilience under increasing climate-related risks..