Is social interaction a source or an inhibitor of tourism fatigue? A study during the COVID-19 trough period

This research examined the influence of social interactions on tourism fatigue and tourist satisfaction, considering the conditional factors during the trough period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on conservation of resources theory and dynamic models of stress and sustained attention, a theoretical model for investigating the relationships among social interactions, tourism fatigue, empathy and tourist satisfaction was proposed. The model was confirmed by two studies with a mixed-method approach, including a survey and a follow-up complementary in-depth interview analysis. The findings indicate that tourists’ friendly interactions with unacquainted tourists can significantly reduce tourism fatigue, that affective fatigue and cognitive fatigue partially mediated the relationship between interaction with unacquainted tourists and tourist satisfaction, and that empathy moderated the effect of interaction with familiar companions on tourism fatigue. This study is the first to consider the role of tourism fatigue in the relationship between social interactions and tourist satisfaction and enriches tourist behaviour research during the COVID-19 trough period.