Why Do Neighbors Keep Their Distance? Evolutionary Psychology Theory and 2020 COVID-19 Travel Recovery in Central China

This study draws from Evolutionary Psychology Theory (EPT) and the risk perception literature to explore the complex influence of disasters on tourist behavior. It does so by analyzing Chinese domestic travel patterns in the city of Wuhan and environs (i.e. Hubei and Hunan Provinces) in 2019 and 2020, based on attraction ticket sales data from China's largest online travel agency, Ctrip (n = 673,742), and on semi-structured interviews (n = 17). Findings reveal that, in the months following the emergence of COVID-19, Chinese tourists from neighboring regions were remarkably more averse to returning to the former epicenter (Hubei) compared with those from further away. This phenomenon was not observed in the benchmark province of Hunan. Insights presented inform theoretical discussions around predicting visitation patterns in post-disaster contexts, with crucial implications for enhancing destination resilience.