Sense of safety toward tourism destinations: A social constructivist perspective

Abstract

Travel is inherently associated with risk. Scholars have examined the composition of destination safety perceptions, safety climate, and the role of safety as a sub-dimension of destination image. This study aims to address a research gap by revealing a more detailed construction process of tourists' sense of destination safety from a social constructivist perspective. By collecting data from a leading Chinese tourism social media platform, tourists' sense of safety is constructed based on key subjects and contents at different travel stages, that is, before, during, and after a trip. The findings of the study contribute to the literature on tourism safety by emphasizing the need to understand tourists' sense of safety under various space–time conditions. Based on multiple stages of tourists’ sense-of-safety construction, this study provides practical implications to help destination management organizations enhance local tourism safety and management. • Sense of safety is constructed under various space-time conditions. • Sense of safety is formed via the interaction and negotiation between key subjects. • Key subjects vary at three stages of travel, pre-, during- and post. • Content of sense of safety changes at each stage of the trip.