key: cord-0805678-0v0otcxh
authors: Humagain, Prasanna; Singleton, Patrick A.
title: Exploring tourists’ motivations, constraints, and negotiations regarding outdoor recreation trips during COVID-19 through a focus group study
date: 2021-09-29
journal: Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2021.100447
sha: b2b46f1071f23d7c6221fea57793392dc68d32e6
doc_id: 805678
cord_uid: 0v0otcxh

The current COVID-19 outbreak has duly influenced tourists’ psychology and subsequently their behavior and decision making to participate in outdoor activities. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate tourists’ motivations, perceived constraints, and negotiation strategies to participate in outdoor recreation trips, within the current COVID-19 context. To explore and categorize motivating factors, constraints, and negotiation strategies, we employed a qualitative approach via semi-structured online focus group discussion with 16 tourists (mostly residents of Utah, United States) during late summer 2020. First, COVID-19 related restrictions and fewer opportunities to go outdoors was found to encourage outdoor recreation, for novelty-seeking and experiencing normalcy. Through content analysis, we found that tourists experience a blend of personal, social, practical, and ethical constraints. Additionally, we identified how tourists negotiate their constraints through different ways: by extensive planning and information searching, avoiding crowds, and changing leisure aspirations. Finally, we discuss theoretical and managerial implications of the study, followed by recommendations for future research.

In 2020, the novel coronavirus COVID-19, transmitted by respiratory droplets (human 2 interaction) (Wilder-Smith & Freedman, 2020), expanded shortly to the whole world after first 3 being identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. In response, most countries (including the 4 US) initiated nonpharmaceutical interventions (Gossling et al., 2020) to curb the transmission 5 rate by deploying various measures such as lockdowns (stay-at-home orders, regulatory 6 quarantine), physical distancing, closures of facilities (restaurants, schools/universities, 7 nonessential businesses), bans on larger public gatherings, and cancellations or postponements of 8 events (such as concerts, conferences, sports). 9

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the hospitality and tourism industry is 10 unprecedented. In 2020 alone, travel spending in the United States recorded a staggering loss of 11 $492 billion compared to 2019, representing a 42% decline. International and business travel 12 suffered a significant decline of more than 70%, whereas leisure and domestic travel spending 13 fell by 27% and 26% respectively (Tourism Economics, 2021). The effect of COVID-19 was 14 observed all over the US with 18 states experiencing more than a 40% downfall in travel 15 spending (Tourism Economics, 2021). Additionally, the rate of hotel occupancy also decreased 16 more than 44% in 2020, resulting in a loss of more than 7 million jobs (Tourism Economics, 17 2021). As the tourism industry contributes to about 3% of the gross domestic product of the US 18 (in 2019) (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2021), along with generating employment for millions, 19 it is of prominence to understand how the pandemic has shaped tourist behaviors and decision 20 making processes (Zenker & Kock, 2020; Kock et al., 2020) , to aid tourism recovery in the US. 21

Along this line, this study takes a primitive step in understanding tourists' psyches during the 22 initial timeline of pandemic emergence. 23

The COVID-19 pandemic in general and specific COVID-19 related restrictions are 24 likely to affect tourists' outdoor recreation behavior. More specifically, the coronavirus 25 pandemic could have profound psychological impacts in tourists' thinking, feeling, and 26 emotions, and thereby modify tourists' outdoor decision-making processes. Tourists' outdoor 27 recreation behaviors could be shaped by subjective evaluations of safety and hygiene 28 considerations, social-peer pressure and responsibility, destination image, uncertainty, and 29 behaviors of local communities (Kock et al., 2019a; Kock et al., 2019b; Baloglu, 2000) . 30 Destination related factors such as the closure of facilities, limited opportunities for food, 31

lodging, and accommodation, plus lack of socialization could further hinder outdoor recreation 32 participation. Furthermore, changes in time use patterns initiated by working remotely or being 33 unemployed could also provide additional incentives for people to travel outdoors. 34

One way to examine tourists' behaviors is well-documented in leisure literature as the 35 study of motivations, constraints and negotiations. Interaction between these factors are found to 36 influence outdoor (or leisure) participation (Crawford and Godbey, 1987; Crawford et al., 1991; 37 Godbey et al., 2010) . This study adopts a qualitative approach via focus groups to illuminate 38 these three key dimensions of tourists' behaviors during the current pandemic situation. The 39 study particularly focuses on an outdoor recreation trip, which is defined as a "journey involving 40 at least one overnight stay away from home, and where the purpose is to engage in recreational 41 activities in an outdoor or natural environment." The rationale for attention to overnight trips in 1 an outdoor environment in the current context is because of the complexity in decision making to 2 participate on such trips; tourists' social, personal, and ethical constraints, and tourists' direct 3 involvement with multiple facets of the tourism industry. 4

The paper is structured as follows. First, a brief review of the leisure constraint- 5 negotiation process and learnings of tourists' behavior from past disasters is presented. Then, 6 research questions are proposed for the study. The following data section describes the sample 7 and details the data collection process. Then, findings from the data analysis are displayed in the 8 results section. Finally, a discussion of results as well as theoretical and managerial implications 9

along with limitations and a direction for future research are outlined. 10

There are scant studies focused on outdoor recreation in post-disaster and crisis contexts 12 (Kono, 2018) . In the following section, an overview of leisure research in terms of theoretical 13 frameworks (constraints, negotiation, and motivations) is first provided. Second, the literature on 14

tourists' behavior post-disasters is reviewed, focusing on behavioral changes and coping 15 mechanisms that affects tourists' outdoor recreation behaviors. Finally, research gaps are noted 16 and the study's specific research questions are specified. 17

Over the last four decades, leisure constraints and related concepts have been used 19 extensively to examine leisure behaviors, in general or for a particular leisure activity, such as 20

hunting (e.g. Metcalf et al., 2016) , fishing (e.g. Lyu and Oh, 2014) , and outdoor recreation 21 (White, 2008) . First, Crawford and Godbey (1987) As the leisure constraint research matured, the concept of the negotiation of constraints 35 emerged (Jackson et al., 1993) , which suggests that constraints do not necessarily cause non-36

participation, but rather that people find ways to reduce the impacts of these constraints in their 37 preferred leisure activities (Hubbard and Mannell, 2001; Godbey et al., 2010) . Negotiation 38 strategies could include changes in leisure, such as timing and schedule, and changes to non-39 J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f leisure aspects of life, such as the rearrangement of work schedules and the reduction of other 1 expenses, in order to facilitate leisure participation (Lyu and Oh, 2014) . 2

The other important attribute in the conceptualization of leisure constraints, negotiation, 3 and participation is motivation. Motivation can be thought of as comprising the "push factors" 4 which determine why people engage in a particular leisure activity (Manfredo et al., 1996) . The 5 motivation to participate in a leisure activity might stem from psychological or sociological 6 pursuits of an individual. Some of the reasons to participate in leisure activities are achievement 7

(gaining self-confidence), enjoying nature, escaping from the routine environment, and 8

socialization. The outcomes of the negotiation process depend upon the relative strengths of 9

constraints and motivations for participation, hence the relationship between constraints and 10 motivation is assumed to be inversely related (see Hubbard suggested that activities that result in less contact with people and demand for natural and eco-5 tourism would be more popular, with people changing their leisure preferences: length of stay, 6 travel mode, etc. Interestingly, the SARS outbreak had Chinese travelers thinking more about 7

hygiene and safety while traveling (Wen et al., 2005) , and the perceived impacts of SARS on 8 travel intention, behavior, and patterns was different from people with different demographic 9

profiles. The impact of SARS on tourists' life, attitudes, and safety and hygiene considerations 10 was found to vary depending upon age (younger people had a stronger preference for outdoor 11 activities), income and education (high income and educated people had greater safety concerns), 12 and job type (medical workers and relatives were more conservative about the virus) ( in the current COVID-19 research is a detailed assessment of tourists' decision-making processes 10 considering a broad array of individual, social, and ethical barriers to outdoor recreation 11

participation. There is also a need to evaluate the consequences of government restrictions and 12

regulations on tourist behaviors. In an attempt to fill this literature gap and provide a complete 13 picture of tourists' decision-making processes, this study captures tourists' first-hand perceptions 14 of constraints, negotiations, and motivations for outdoor recreation participation during the 15 COVID event through a focus group setting. In other words, the objective of this study is to find 16 answers to the following research questions: 17

 What motivates tourists to participate in outdoor recreation trips during the current 18 COVID-19 pandemic? 19

 What types of constraints on outdoor recreation do tourists experience during the 20 pandemic? 21

 What negotiation strategies do tourists apply to overcome these constraints? 22

A qualitative methodology was used to explore a small sample of tourists' perceptions, 24 motivations, constraints, and negotiation strategies during decision-making and while 25 participating on an outdoor recreation trip. The use of qualitative methods is more suitable than 26

quantitative methods because of their ability to entice a rich description of people's perceptions 27 and opinions (Neuman, 2006) regarding making outdoor recreation trips during the COVID-19 28 pandemic. 29

Data were collected through focus group sessions with 16 adult tourists in the US, 30 conducted online through the video meeting platform Zoom. Participants were primarily 31 recruited through social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Nextdoor, Meetup, etc.). To participate in the 32 study, participants were first required to sign up via an initial survey, which asked about their 33 demographics, past frequency of participation in outdoor recreational trips, and a ranking 34 question about constraints. Further, participants were provided with options to choose a 35 particular focus group session, based on their availability. Once participants completed the initial 36 survey, they were provided with a Zoom link for the focus group session. To reduce the drop-off 37 in attendance, participants were reminded via email of the focus group session one day before 38

with a message to notify researcher if they were unable to attend the session. Additionally, 39 participants were provided with a $10 online gift card as an incentive, once they completed the 40 initial survey and attended a focus group session. 41

The sample consisted of participants of varied age, income, gender, and employment 1 attributes. Most of the respondent were Utah residents, except 2 participants who resided in the 2 District of Columbia and California. Moreover, the sample was somewhat non-representative in 3 the case of race (with more white participants) and education (all participants had at least a 4

bachelor's degree), compared to the US population. See Table 1 for details. 5 6 In the initial survey, respondents were asked to rate six constraints according to their 9

significance (1 was Least Significant, 6 was Most Significant) in decision-making for going on 10 an outdoor recreation trip. As shown in Figure 1 , most respondents (>50%) indicated time and 11 J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f cost considerations as their most significant constraint, followed by unavailability of friends and 1 family (44%) and hygiene and safety measures during travel and at destinations (31%). 2

Additionally, respondents did not seem to be fearful or anxious to go outdoors due to COVID-3 19, as that particular factor was perceived to be the least significant (63% respondents had  4 ranked it as lowest). Furthermore, respondents also did not seem to be much concerned about 5

information about facilities and services at destinations and traveling via transit or flights. When was your recent outdoor recreation trip and how was the experience? What motivates you or what experiences you seek when going on an outdoor recreation trip? Does COVID-19 related restrictions drive you more to go on outdoor recreation trip? What are the factors that affect your decision going on an outdoor recreation trip? What are the difficulties that has been raised for your participation in outdoor recreation trip or in other words, think of ways that this pandemic has caused any inconveniences? What are some of the ways that you could tackle or overcome those inconveniences/obstacles when planning or during your outdoor recreation trip? In other words, how will you prepare yourself? 2

The data analysis followed a directed content analysis approach, where existing theory 4 guides the initial coding scheme or relationship between codes (Hseih and Shannon, 2005). First, 5

the audio of the focus group recordings was transcribed manually. Then, each item was coded 6

under the separate categories of motivations, constraints, and negotiation strategies. Codes which 7

were similar and described a certain theme were grouped together, as described in the previous 8 studies. For instance, "unable to find friends to travel with" or "don't feel safe travelling with 9

friends" were kept under the category of interpersonal constraints as suggested by Crawford et 10 al. (1979) . Any new codes found were kept in a different category and were grouped together 11 into a new theme according to the commonalities and differences. Any new codes collected were 12

constantly compared to their fit with already existing themes. In this way, data were broken 13 down into more meaningful units and subthemes, and hence processes and relationships could be 14

identified. 15

The concept of saturation was used to determine the adequacy of the sample size. 16 Saturation refers to the stage in data collection where similar ideas and issues begin to be 17 repeated and further data collection becomes redundant (Hennink, Kaiser and Weber, 2019). For 18 this purpose, the author compared codes of previous focus group discussions with the new ones. 19

When going through the focus group transcripts, only two new codes were identified during the 20 fifth focus group discussion, which suggested that almost all key ideas were covered by the focus 21 groups and that saturation was reached. 22

Using the directed content approach and thematic analysis, 27 motivating items for 25 outdoor recreation participation was found. These items pertaining to motivations were then 26 grouped under seven themes (domains) listed in the Recreation Experience Preference Scale 27 (Manfredo et al., 1996) ; a new COVID-built motivation theme was also identified. As many people were mostly confined within the four walls of their homes due to 6 changes in work environments (working remotely) or fewer opportunities to go outside, due to 7 COVID related restrictions, novelty experience (seeing new destinations) and exploration 8 remained the most repeated themes in the focus group sessions. As shown in Table 3, COVID-19  9 related restrictions and the environment was one of the driving factors behind people 10 participating in an outdoor recreation trip. Interestingly, most tourists perceived the outdoors as 1 being safe from COVID and regarded outdoor recreation trips as a way to get away from toxic 2 news in the environment. areas than it has ever been. 26

As described above, 36 different constraints could be identified, and using the directed 28 content approach, they were then grouped broadly into 10 different themes, including 29 intrapersonal constraints, interpersonal constraints, and others (Crawford and Godbey, 1987) , in 30 an effort to elucidate the factors that limited tourists' participation in outdoor recreation trips. 31

The structural constraint was not used as a grouping theme, as previous studies have suggested 32 the possibility of multiple sub-dimensions within the structural context such as time and cost 33 (e.g. Nyaupane and Andereck, 2008; Hawkins, 1999; Nyaupane et al., 2004) . The constraints that 34 these 16 participants faced align with previous concepts of leisure constraints proposed by 35 Crawford and Godbey (1987) , along with new constraints added due to the COVID-19 outbreak 36 and restrictions that followed with it. 37 Finally, constraints of time, cost and weather seemed to be universal, taking up a larger 38 part in planning and decision making to make outdoor recreation trips. 39

From the content analysis of focus group discussions, 30 negotiation strategies were 2

identified. In the current sample of focus group participants, 11 participants went on outdoor 3 trips after the start of the pandemic (i.e., after March 2020), whereas 5 others did not take part. 4 Hence, the following strategies reflect actions of successful outdoor participants as well as 5 potential participants (who had not participated). During the thematic analysis, negotiation 6 strategies were categorized in such a way that they mitigate a particular constraint. For instance, 7

as crowding was one of the constraints, a way to negotiate the constraint is to try to go to 8 destination on weekdays, when there is less crowding. 9 Furthermore, most respondents also hinted at going to familiar tourist places nearby 24 within driving distance by car, and trying to avoid flights and out-of-country travel, to mitigate 25 the logistics, uncertainty, and mental burden that comes up with long-distance trips. 26

At least half of respondents argued that the decision to go on an outdoor overnight trip 27 requires more research and extensive planning than it did before the COVID-19 outbreak. To add 28 to the planning strategy, respondents also recommended to look for information about COVID-29 spread or state/county regulations, information about facilities in and around destinations, and 1 information about health facilities around the destination. Most people felt that state or 2 destination website information might not be reliable, so they had to dig deeper into online 3 reviews and ask their peers and relatives about a particular destination, in order to get the 4 accurate information. 5 I just think it takes a lot of time to plan in advance, however long it takes to. Some people 6 like to travel in a whim, and kind of figure out when out somebody who has already been there and to seek a more personal view rather than 15

reading on the sites. 16

Some respondents also mentioned various action plans to minimize their impacts on the 17 local community such as bringing your own food (if possible) and minimizing the number of 18 stops at the destination (see Table 5 for more strategies Finally, some of the participants also discussed about finding a destination which had 26 adopted adequate sanitization measures and had limited occupancy, in order to have a safer and 27 productive outdoor experience. 28

First, from our focus group discussion, we were able to discern tourists' perceived 30 motivations, constraints, and negotiation strategies. These findings provide a theoretical 31 foundation of how a pandemic (COVID-19) affects tourists' psychology, interpersonal relations, 32 and overall decision-making. In other words, the decision to go on an outdoor recreation trip 33 entails a complex interaction of an individual's and their peers' perceptions and beliefs of 34 COVID, plus an individual's perception of the effect on local communities. Although fear and 35

anxiety of transmission and being a carrier of COVID was one of the issues hindering tourists' 36 outdoor experiences, an inability to find suitable companions and a lack of socialization 37 opportunities were more of a concern. Crowdedness as a constraining factor offers support to 38 previous research (e.g., Wang and Ackerman, 2019) which suggests that negative perceptions of 1 crowding are amplified during events of pathogen threat. 2 Furthermore, the sense of "guilt" while going on outdoor recreation trips was evident 3 when some respondents outlined the effects on local tourism communities; i.e. people's empathy 4 towards local communities (social factors) have a bigger role to play in the current pandemic 5 condition than otherwise (Godbey et al., 2010; Crawford and Stodolska, 2008) . However, 6

findings of our study also imply that constraints such as time and cost, closure of facilities, 7

weather, and a lack of information are still persistent and are dominant factors in people's 8 decision-making processes as well as during participation in outdoor recreation trips. An 9

incentive for the tourism industry is that individuals are still finding a number of ways to 10 negotiate through their perceived constraints to participate in outdoor recreation (11 of the 16 11

focus group respondents took an outdoor recreation trip since the start of the COVID outbreak in 12

March 2020). Our findings offer support to the social cognitive theory (Maddux, 1993) , which is 13

suggestive of the idea that people either alter their situational and environmental conditions, 14

instead of passively accepting unfavorable states. As one participant answered when asked about 15 inconveniences in outdoor recreation participation: 16 I would say there are more inconveniences than obstacles. I think everything is 17 manageable. I don't have a fear being outside and catching COVID. 18

In the current state, in the absence of vaccines for COVID, and when transmission 19 through physical contact is possible, people are modifying outdoor recreation behaviors in such a 20 way that they can get an outdoor experience as well as remain safe while doing so. Modification 21 in leisure-related behavioral strategies include avoiding crowds, changing leisure aspirations, and 22

finding similarly-minded people. This is in line with previous research on disasters, and supports 23 the idea of tourists' xenophobia and ethnocentrism (Faulkner et al., 2004; Kock et al., 2019b) . 24 Alternatively, rearrangement of work schedules, managing finances, and a preference for family 25 trips fall into non-leisure behavioral strategies. Specifically, collection of large amounts of 26 information, and from various information sources, plus extensive planning beforehand are some 27 of the strategies tourists apply in order to reduce psychological discomfort and to enhance 28 confidence when going on outdoor recreation trips. 29

In the study context, we find that people have desires to substitute outdoor overnight (and 30 long-distance) trips with day-trips and trips to familiar and nearby outdoor locations. This 31 finding complements the theory of substitutability proposed by Iso Ahola (1986), and research 32 by Hall and Shelby (2000) who suggested that individuals can substitute place (nearby instead of 33 long-distance trips) and timing (like going in weekdays instead of weekdays, to avoid crowds) 34 when performing an activity (outdoor recreation trips) if the experience is likely to be 35

accomplished elsewhere with more convenience and safety. 36

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact the tourism sector. In the 38 absence of vaccines, the tourism sector must continue to evolve and find ways to attract tourists 39 through extensive preparation and novel strategies. By gaining an understanding of tourists' 40 perceived constraints and their negotiation strategies, this study paves the way for some actions 1 that can attenuate COVID-19 impacts and simultaneously attract tourists. 2

Leisure literature contains a plethora of research examining the influence of information 4 availability, information search behavior, and destination image on tourists' behaviors (e.g., 5 Gursoy and McCleary, 2004; Baloglu, 2000) . Visitation intention has been found to be 6 influenced by destination image (perceptual/cognitive reflection), the amount of information, and 7

the type of information source (Baloglu, 2000) . As findings of our study underline the 8 importance of information search during planning and decision-making processes, it is crucial 9

for destinations to provide accurate, reliable, and timely information to tourists. Online sources 10 are the most used information sources currently; so, we propose a website template for 11 destinations, incorporating our findings; see Figure 2 . information. Information about COVID-related spread and policies/regulations helps tourists to 4

prepare themselves accordingly for travel and follow regulations during visitation. Similarly, 5

information about facilities and activities around the destination, including closures of facilities 6 and food/lodging options, will certainly aid planning and decision-making. As focus group 7 for and marketing of family tour packages, with appropriate physical distancing measures. For 6 example, a 2-/3-day family tour with visitation around the destination, and adequate options for 7

food and lodging, may be popular. 8

Furthermore, tourists were more inclined to participate in backpacking and camping trips, 9 and to wilderness areas, in order to avoid crowds and increase the convenience of maintaining 10 physical distancing. This certainly provides incentives for tourism marketers to promote longer 11 hiking trails, campsites, and wilderness areas through multi-channel strategies such as short 12

promotional videos, brochures, or direct mailing options. The effect of crowds could be even 13 more pronounced in destinations with confined spaces (such as cities or beaches), which calls for 14

proper implementation of social distancing and other COVID-19 regulations to increase tourists ' 15 confidence and safety. 16

Additionally, tourists were found to be concerned about safety and hygiene measures at 17 the destination. It is imperative for destination managers and marketers to promote the 18 operational practices applied at the destination-such as the placement of sanitizers, signage 19

around the destination, and availability and state of public restrooms-to remove such concerns. 20

As online information search behavior is trending in the current world, tourism marketers can 21 look to target avid travelers, e.g., young people with a low risk of COVID, through targeted 22 social media ads (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Additionally, advertising strategies could focus on a 23 unique segment of population: "crisis-resistant" tourists, who continue to travel in such events 24 ( perceptions regarding outdoor recreation in relation to the pandemic. We have attempted to fill 7 this research gap in this study. First, tourists are found to be constrained in their outdoor 8 recreation participation by the COVID threat as well as some broader psycho-social interactions 9 and uncertainties bought about by the combination of COVID and government-issued 10 restrictions and regulations. Specifically, looking at types of constraints and negotiation 11 strategies from this focus group study, several commonalities and some differences with past 12 disaster research could be detected. The carryover of perceptions post-pandemic will certainly 13 affect tourists' behaviors in terms of destination choice, companionship preferences, and leisure 14 activity preferences. 15

The implications of this study to existing literature are threefold. This study is one of the 16 first efforts to offer deeper insights into tourists' decision-making processes during COVID-19 17 (initial phase) through a qualitative study. In doing so, we explored and categorized perceptions 18 of constraints, motivations, and negotiation strategies in the COVID-affected tourism system. 19

Second, we provide a number of tourism demand recovery strategies through managerial 20

implications: emphasizing the provision of centralized information, advertising strategies to 21 attract demand, and COVID-19 management at the destination. The third implication of this 22

research is academic: implying that the dimensions of constraints, negotiations, and motivations 23

(especially the COVID-19 related ones) found in this study could be used in future tourism 24 research for developing new theoretical models or strengthening the past models (e.g., Kock et 25 al., 2020). 26

There are certain limitations to this study, specifically the sample size and distribution. 27 Although saturation of key ideas was achieved with a low sample size (which is found in many 28 other focus group studies as well, see Hennink et al., 2019), future research could look to capture 29 such nuances utilizing qualitative approaches in a larger, broader, and representative size. 30 Specifically, perceptions of high-risk populations (older adults) and lower-income communities 31 could differ, due to the nature of lifestyle constraints that they encounter in their daily lives. For 32 example, lower-income families are financially constrained to greater degree and they may be 33 more liable to forego long-distance trips in favor of trips to local destinations. Additionally, 34 research to understand perceptions of local communities might be vital in preparing and planning 35

for a swift recovery in tourism participation. 36

Another limitation of our study is the lack of cross-national generalizability. 2006). While we believe that many items of constraints, negotiations, and motivations found in 3

our study (such as the use of sanitizers, or adequate preparation before making a trip) will be 4 common across tourists in any area, there might be differences in tourists' perceptions due to 5 diverse cultural backgrounds (Risenger & Mavondo, 2006) and government responses to 6 COVID-19. Hence, it generates a promising area of future research to compare the nature of 7 constraints, motivations, and negotiations across different geographies. 8

Constraints are activity-specific: i.e. different constraints are encountered in the pursuit of 9 different leisure activities. While we consider a general definition of outdoor recreation in our 10 study (as any trip undertaken for any recreation purpose), future research could benefit from the 11 exploration of these concepts for specific recreational activities such as skiing, rock climbing, 12 beaches, mountain destinations, etc. Furthermore, the findings of this study could be used to 13 conduct a larger quantitative survey to illuminate and extend the leisure constraint-negotiation 14 model (such as Hubbard and Mannell, 2001) , unique to this pandemic context. The 15

interrelationships between motivations, constraints, and negotiations on tourists' intentions to 16 participate in outdoor recreation require further empirical inquiry, and such studies could help to 17 provide recommendations for tourism recovery in the post-pandemic context. 18

Finally, the data collected here represent perceptions of tourists at one point in time. As  19 people learn more about pathogen threats (such as COVID-19), perceptions of risk could change, 20 and tourists could prepare adequately for their trips, which would affect the variables in the 21 study. The availability of vaccines would help negotiate constraints related to fear of COVID-19 22

transmission and ethical dilemmas during traveling to enhance outdoor recreation experiences. 23 Hence, a longitudinal study to understand tourists' perceptions through different time periods 24 such as the first three months of a novel pathogen threat, the stability period (when there is 25 adequate information), the period after the introduction of vaccines, and the period after the 26 adequate distribution of vaccines, might be more relevant. This would be helpful for destination 27 managers to tailor different action plans to different phases to attract tourists if there is another 28 pathogen threat issue in the future. 29 30 31 J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f

Understanding of tourists' motivations, constraints, and negotiation strategies-relevant to outdoor recreation trips-provides several managerial implications to destination managers and marketers, as outlined below:

 Lack of centralized and reliable information was frequently cited as a constraint in the focus group discussions. In order to provide adequate and timely information to potential participations, we proposed a novel website template including details about information to be presented.  As our study sheds light on tourists' companionship preferences, activity choice, and evaluation of a destination's COVID-related operational practices, we propose several advertising strategies and destination operational guidelines to attract tourists.

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