https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875211034582
Journal of Travel Research
1–20
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/00472875211034582
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Empirical Research Article
Introduction
Biosecurity is the protection of a country or location’s eco-
nomic, environmental, and/or human health from the intro-
duction of harmful organisms, such as disease and invasive
flora and fauna in the context of tourism (Hall 2005). The
economic, social, and environmental costs of biological
invasion are so great, especially for primary production, food
security, and health, that effective biosecurity measures are
regarded as integral for economic well-being and achieve-
ment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Bali
and Taaffe 2017; de Leeuw 2020; Di Marco et al. 2020;
Khalil et al. 2018). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, interna-
tional tourists’ biosecurity behavior is of unprecedented
importance because, although biosecurity has long been an
issue for tourism, international and domestic tourism are key
vectors in the dispersal of infectious disease and invasive
flora and fauna (Hall 2020).
Studies have been conducted on the critical role of biosecu-
rity in a number of tourism fields including wine and food tour-
ism (e.g., Baird, Hall, and Castka 2018; Hall 2003, 2005);
medical tourism (I. G. Cohen 2017; Hall and James 2011);
nature-based tourism and tourism in protected areas (L. G.
Anderson et al. 2015; Hall, James, and Wilson 2010; Smith and
Kraaij 2020); sustainable tourism and global environmental
change (Hall 2011, 2015b, 2020); and tourism-related risk
management and planning during the COVID-19 pandemic
(DiEuliis and Giordano 2020; Melly and Hanrahan 2021; S. H.
Ivanov et al. 2020). Despite the significance of biosecurity for
tourism, theoretically grounded research as to what makes
travel consumers practice biosecurity behavior during a pan-
demic has been relatively neglected. In order to bridge this gap,
this study builds and tests a conceptually comprehensive
research model including the concepts of intervention, resil-
ience, and sustainability within the COVID-19 context.
1034582JTR XX X 10.1177/00472875211034582Journal of Travel ResearchKim et al.
research-article 2021
1
College of Hotel & Tourism Management, Kyung Hee University, Seoul,
Republic of Korea
2
Dedman School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Florida State
University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
3
Department of Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship,
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
4
Department of Service Management and Service Studies, Lund University,
Helsingborg, Sweden
5
Geography Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
6
School of Business and Economics, Linneaus University, Kalmar, Sweden
Corresponding Author:
Myung Ja Kim, College of Hotel & Tourism Management, Kyung Hee
University, 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02447, Republic
of Korea.
Email: silver@khu.ac.kr
Traveler Biosecurity Behavior during
the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects
of Intervention, Resilience, and
Sustainable Development Goals
Myung Ja Kim
1
, Mark Bonn
2
, and C. Michael Hall
3,4,5,6
Abstract
Even prior to COVID-19, biosecurity was a significant issue for tourism, especially at national borders. Since personal
nonpharmaceutical interventions can be effective for an individual’s health and psychological resilience during a pandemic,
understanding tourists’ biosecurity behavior is essential given the broader relationship with traveling during COVID-19.
However, existing research has not explicitly examined this relationship during any pandemic, nor has it explored potential
long-term implications. To fill this gap, this study built and tested a theoretically comprehensive framework including prosocial
behavior, ethics, perception, intervention, resilience, biosecurity behavior, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
due to COVID-19. Results reveal that prosocial behavior and perception have significant impacts on intervention, which
influences resilience and biosecurity behavior. Resilience has an effect on biosecurity behavior. Three SDG groups have
different effects on the relationship between intervention and biosecurity behavior. Deep learning sheds light on tourist’s
biosecurity practices during COVID-19 and when international travel resumes.
Keywords
biosecurity, COVID-19 pandemic, nonpharmaceutical intervention, resilience, deep learning