Perceptions of crime at the Olympic Games

Abstract

While mega sport event planners seek to foster a positive destination image (Roche, 2008), the media is often more interested in negative stories about the host destination (Beirman, 2003), which can affect destination risk perceptions (Sönmez and Graefe, 1998a, 1998b). There is, however, a lack of empirical research in this area. Thus, this study examined whether information received through the media, travel advisories, and social media affected perceptions of increased crime in a host destination during a mega sport event, using the case of London 2012. The role of information in reshaping destination risk perceptions in the context of mega sport events was partially supported. Particularly, Australian leisure travelers who were exposed to written media about London and Canadian travelers who were exposed to travel advisories surrounding the United Kingdom had higher perceptions of the likelihood that London would experience increased crime at the time of the Olympics.