Performance of International Tourists’ Perception and Behavior toward Road Safety in Phuket, Thailand

Abstract

When traveling in a foreign country, road transport is most frequently and conveniently used particularly, but road conditions and manners are stunningly different among countries, which increases potential risks to meet accidents. If tourists feel such risks, it may be that they will not be repeaters and their impressions will also be shared with others, leading to a potential decrease of tourists. Phuket, Thailand, a worldly wellknown beach resort, faces problems in road conditions and manners, with a high rate of traffic accidents and casualties, and governmental actions have to be taken. This paper reports a questionnaire survey result about how international tourists feel and understand road conditions in Phuket during their stay, which is expected to offer good evidence on which governmental actions should be based. The survey results revealed (mostly through the behaviors and recommendations) that the majority of international tourists to Phuket felt risks in terms of road conditions, regardless of whether they drove by themselves or not, and most of them wanted the basic information on road conditions as well as regulations, so that they could prepare themselves. Relations between demographic characteristics and questionnaire replies were also investigated, suggesting that there be a necessity of reducing risks particularly for elderly tourists, and that the driving manner of local residents including professional drivers should be improved.