Title: The mediating effect of risk mitigation via digital practices on travel intentions following COVID-19 among tourists in Uttarakhand

Authors: Jitendra Singh Chauhan; Anuj; Raj Kumar Singh; Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay; Ajay Sharma; Kartikeya Raina; Vandana Sonker

Addresses: School of Management, Graphic Era (Deemed to be) University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India ' School of Management, Graphic Era (Deemed to be) University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India ' School of Management, Graphic Era (Deemed to be) University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India ' College of Business Studies, COER University, Roorkee, Rehmadpur, Uttarakhand 247667, India ' School of Management, Graphic Era (Deemed to be) University, Road Society Area, Clement Town, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India ' Department of Management Studies, Graphic Era (Deemed to be) University, Dehradun, Bharu Wala Grant, Uttarakhand 248002, India ' Faculty of Commerce, Banaras Hindu University, Ajagara, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221005, India

Abstract: The objective of this study is to understand how positive trust can be inculcated among tourists who visit their post-COVID-19 tourist destinations. A model is employed to expand the comprehension of risk mitigation (RM) as a mediating factor between service advertising (SA), eWOM, destination trust, and how it can lead towards travel intention (TI) phenomenon to overcome the 'risk and fear factor' in the tourism industry. The data was collected from employees and postgraduate students from academic institutions and universities in Uttarakhand through a self directed questionnaire. For analysis, hypotheses and mediation analysis SPSS and AMOS v21 were utilised. The results obtained in the present study can show positive implications for the tourism industry and innovative practices for developers, marketers and sales teams to create trust, belief and security measures for their prospective customers. A futuristic action plan can be adopted through this study to develop a fear-free, safe and reliable mindset to travel among prospective travellers post-COVID-19.

Keywords: service advertising; electronic word of mouth; eWOM; trust on destination; risk mitigation; travel intention.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2026.151470

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2026 Vol.21 No.2, pp.244 - 263

Received: 06 Oct 2024
Accepted: 11 Dec 2024
Published online: 02 Feb 2026 *

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