The fear of traveling: a new perspective for tourism and hospitality

Abstract

In spite of all technological advances in favor of humankind to promote travel, people are experiencing an increasing fear of travelling or flying. Most likely, the events of September 11, 2001, not only increased the risk perception but also brought to attention the importance of security in tourism. Whatever the case may be, the present article is aimed at critically discussing the contributions and limitations of psychoanalysis as well as system psychology, risk travel perception and secure base theory. Paradoxically, in a context wherein more people make use of mass means of transport, a considerable number of travelers feel a major discomfort because of security issues. Of course, progress and development in the last few years have converged on the idea that even if the fear of travelling could be studied regardless of time and country, evidence suggests that, in western Societies, these kinds of psychological attitudes have spread pandemically. Under these circumstances, it is important to discuss the contributions and problems that current theories demonstrates in applied research.