Does expressway congestion affect tourists' intention for holiday self-drive trips?—Evidence from a mixed-methods study

Bibliographic Data

ID9405632
AuthorsBin Zhou (0000-0002-5816-445X, corresponding author), Yuxin Wu (0000-0003-3681-1473), Yu Hu (0000-0001-8388-0696), Hu Yu (0000-0003-3159-8183), Qihao Xiong (0000-0002-0656-4195), Chris Ryan (0000-0001-6244-5214)
Year2025
Volume262
Pages106109-106109
Publication date2025-12-10
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueActa Psychologica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-6918 • E-ISSN: 1873-6297
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.106109
PMID41380635
OpenAlexW4417209676
LanguageEN
References cited96

This study examines holiday self-drive tourists' perceptions of expressway congestion and explores the underlying mechanisms through which these perceptions influence their intention to take future holiday self-drive trips. A mixed-methods design was employed. In the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews and grounded theory analysis identified a four-dimensional structure and corresponding measurement items of tourists perceived expressway congestion. In the quantitative phase, data collected from 414 self-drive tourists were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS. The results indicate that while expressway congestion provokes negative emotions and subsequently leads to negative word-of-mouth, it does not diminish the intention for additional holiday self-drive trips. Furthermore, optimism and frequency of self-drive trips serve as moderators between perceived environmental impact and negative emotions, and between negative emotions and negative word-of-mouth, respectively. This study makes the first systematic attempt to develop a measurement scale for perceived expressway congestion, thereby advancing the understanding of intention for holiday self-drive trips from a novel perspective. It also extends the application of Affective Events Theory (AET) and offers actionable insights for managing expressway congestion during peak holiday travel periods

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