This study investigated the effect of monetary sunk costs, perceived in the form of airline ticket cancellation fees, on consumers' travel cancellation intentions when an unexpected natural disaster occurs prior to travel. From an economic perspective...
This study investigated the effect of monetary sunk costs, perceived in the form of airline ticket cancellation fees, on consumers' travel cancellation intentions when an unexpected natural disaster occurs prior to travel. From an economic perspective, cancellation fees for prepaid airline tickets constitute sunk costs that cannot be recovered. However, travel cancellation intentions may vary depending on consumers' subjective interpretations and psychological responses. Based on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) framework, this study empirically examined the direct effect of monetary sunk cost levels on travel cancellation intentions, as well as the mediating roles of risk perception, price fairness, and anticipated regret in the relationship.
A scenario-based quasi-experimental design was employed using a hypothetical earthquake scenario in Tokyo. The target population consisted of adults aged 20 years or older who had traveled abroad within the past two years. Data were collected through an online survey administered from March 31 to April 30, 2026. To minimize potential bias across groups, scenarios were assigned based on respondents’ birth months. Cancellation fees for a round-trip flight ticket from Incheon to Tokyo (Narita), priced at KRW 400,000, were manipulated at three levels: 10% (KRW 40,000), 30% (KRW 120,000), and 50% (KRW 200,000). Each respondent was exposed to only one experimental condition. A total of 217 valid responses were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS Macro (Model 4). Factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted, followed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), multiple regression analysis with scenario dummy variables included, and bootstrapping-based mediation analysis.
The results first revealed that the direct effect of monetary sunk costs on travel cancellation intention, examined through multiple regression analysis, was significant only at the 50% cancellation fee level. Next, the results revealed that significant differences among the three groups were found only in price fairness. As the cancellation fee increased, perceived price fairness decreased. In contrast, no significant group differences were observed in risk perception or anticipated regret. Multiple regression analysis indicated that both risk perception and price fairness had positive effects on travel cancellation intentions, whereas anticipated regret had a negative effect. Among the psychological variables, risk perception exerted the strongest influence on travel cancellation intentions, suggesting that perceived safety risks play a critical role in tourists’ decision-making during disaster situations. Furthermore, the mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro (Model 4) demonstrated that only price fairness significantly mediated the relationship between monetary sunk costs and travel cancellation intentions. This finding suggests that consumers’ travel cancellation intentions are influenced more by their perceptions of cancellation fee fairness than by the fee amount itself.
The findings imply that airlines and tourism businesses should establish reasonable cancellation fee policies and fair refund standards rather than simply imposing high cancellation charges during disaster situations. In particular, tourists may respond sensitively not only to disaster-related risks but also to the perceived fairness of financial losses incurred during the cancellation process. Therefore, effective crisis communication strategies and fair cancellation fee policies are essential for managing consumer responses in tourism crisis situations.