Residents’ Perception and Support Before and After a Mega-Religious Event During COVID-19 in India

Devkant Kala, Dhani Shanker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study investigated residents’ perceptions, perceived risk, trust in government, and support for a mega-religious event during the COVID pandemic. The study was conducted in the setting of the Kumbh Mela, India’s largest peaceful gathering of Hindu pilgrims. The respondents in the survey rated thirty-two statements related to positive impact, negative impact, perceived risk, trust in government, and support for the mega-religious event. Levene’s test for equality of variances and an independent samples t-test were used to investigate differences in residents’ perception and support before and after the mega-religious event. The pre-event and post-event results indicate that respondents underestimated the risk of the COVID infection before the event. As the event progressed, the residents’ perception, trust in the government, and support for the event became unfavourable. Several implications are suggested for staging mega-events during a pandemic.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Mar 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • COVID
  • India
  • Residents’ perception
  • mega-religious event
  • perceived risk
  • trust

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