Aviation Disaster Crises on Tourism Decision-Making

This study aims to (1) examine the impact of aviation disaster crises on destination reputation and tourism decision-making and (2) investigate the mediating role of destination reputation in this process. The authors conducted an online survey targeting international travelers and obtained valid responses from 452 participants whose travel decisions may be influenced by aviation-related incidents. Using random sampling and structural equation modeling (SEM), the results reveal that perceived severity, attribution of responsibility, and transparency of information have significant negative effects on tourism decision-making, while media exposure and perceived frequency show weaker and non-significant impacts. Importantly, destination reputation was found to mediate the relationship between several crisis perception variables (including perceived severity, frequency, media exposure, and responsibility attribution) and tourism decision-making, confirming its critical psychological role in shaping traveler behavior.