The impact of fear of COVID-19 infection on consumers’ intention to visit restaurants

Abstract

The problem of excessive tourism has overnight become an ideology and a part of the past. With the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic, the flow of tourist movements was abruptly interrupted, and thus the visits to restaurants. The aim of the research was to determine whether the fear of the users of the pandemic infection affects the intention to visit restaurants. The total number of respondents was 508, in 27 restaurants in the Republic of Serbia. The authors used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple regression analysis with mediation for data processing. The research concluded that the perceived fears of the respondents may influence the decision to visit restaurants. The importance of research is reflected in the application of results in theory and practice, in order to facilitate business during the pandemic.

Keywords

• restaurants
• consumers
• the Republic of Serbia
• COVID-19