Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism 2129 Tourist Behavioral Intentions during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Role of Reactance, Perceived Risk and Protection Motivation. Robert BĘBEN University of Gdańsk, Poland robert.beben@ug.edu.pl Sylwia KUCZAMER-KŁOPOTOWSKA University of Gdańsk, Poland sylwia.kuczamer-klopotowska@ug.edu.pl Anna MŁYNKOWIAK-STAWARZ University of Gdańsk, Poland anna.mlynkowiak-stawarz@ug.edu.pl Izabela PÓŁBRAT Professor Brunon Synak Pomeranian Research Institute in Gdańsk, Poland i.dempc@instytutnaukowy.org Suggested Citation: Bęben, R., Kuczamer-Kłopotowska, S., Młynkowiak-Stawarz, A., Półbrat, I. (2021). Tourist Behavioral Intentions during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Role of Reactance, Perceived Risk and Protection Motivation. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, (Volume XII, Winter), 8(56): 2129 - 2147. DOI:10.14505/jemt.v12.8(56).12 Article’s History: Received 17 th of September 2021; Received in revised form 12 nd of October 2021; Accepted 15 th of November 2021; Published 27 th of December 2021. Copyright © 2021 by ASERS ® Publishing. All rights reserved. Abstract: The pandemic caused a number of changes in tourism, which require proper adjustment measures. Hence, learning about the mechanisms that motivate people to go on tourist trips during the epidemiological threat and identification of factors hindering the tendency to travel is of vital importance for determining the directions of such measures. The purpose of the paper is to present the results of studies illustrating the impact of perception of risk related to the infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus, reactance caused by epidemiological restrictions and health protection motivation with respect to tourist trips during the pandemic, as well as determination of force of impact of factors moderating the relationships above, i.e. immunization against SARS-CoV-2 or recovery from COVID-19, gender, age or education. Given the fact that the issue of changes in human behavior in the context of the pandemic is nowadays a vital element of the scientific discourse, the paper also features numerous references to the most recent publications dealing with the impact of the pandemic on the behavioral intention, reactions of people to epidemiological restrictions or health protection behavior in the period of epidemiological threat. The constructed model of dependency between the behavioral intention to go on a tourist trip and the factors that were studied was verified with the use of results of an empirical survey carried out in June 2015 on a sample of 1,615 persons. The paper also presents several implementation postulates that may offer guidelines for persons running tourist businesses and offer inspiration for further actions. Keywords: behavioral intention(s); COVID-19 restrictions; reactance; perceived risk; protection motivation. JEL Classification: D81; D91; Z32; Z33. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic exerted a clear mark on numerous areas of our lives. Its effects are visible both from the perspective of individuals and entire societies; from the perspective of firms, industries and the entire economic systems. Given the great significance of the observed changes both for the economy and individual entities, the DOI: https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.12.8(56).12 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v8.3(19).01