Rebuilding international tourism after a pandemic: Using Hofstede's cultural dimensions to identify markets with lower pandemic-related travel risks

As international travel begins to rebound from the pandemic, there is value in analyzing pandemic-related travel risks to know which markets are likely to come back online first. Thus, this paper examines the perceptions of travel-related risks, governmental response, and intention to travel to the U.S. from the top five inbound international markets to the U.S. (Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, and the U.K.). ANOVA was adopted to analyze 1653 online survey responses from potential travelers. Utilizing Hofstede's cultural dimensions, the results revealed significant differences in travel-related risks, governmental response, and travel intentions among travelers from these five countries, suggesting marketers should adopt different strategies depending on a target market's cultural characteristics. International travel makes up a significant portion of many countries' GDP, and knowing which top global markets are more resilient and likely to come back online first provides DMOs with critical information on using their marketing dollars wisely.