Tourist Risk Perceptions Research Articles

Tourism companies' risk exposures on text disclosure

Tourism is a risk-prone industry. But most studies focus on tourist risk perception while ignoring company risk exposure. As service providers, the companies play an important role in tourism activities, and systematically identifying the risks they face is vital to the development of the tourism industry. This paper attempts to identify tourism companies' risk exposures based on textual risk disclosure of financial statements. Using 51,008 risk headings of 255 public companies, we adopt Sentence-Latent Dirichlet Allocation (Sent-LDA) method to discover 30 risk exposures of the tourism industry. Further, we discuss the universality and industry representativeness of these risk exposures, as well as risk differences between different sub-industries and years. Findings can help stakeholders develop reasonable and timely risk management strategies.

An Empirical Study on the Impacts of Tourist Risk Perception on Tourist Motivation and Satisfaction in Xinjiang of China under the Background of the Belt and Road Initiative

An Empirical Study on the Impacts of Tourist Risk Perception on Tourist Motivation and Satisfaction in Xinjiang of China under the Background of the Belt and Road Initiative

The Impact of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Incident on Tourism Risk Perception and Attitude Change of Chinese Tourists Traveling to South Korea

The crisis event, which is one of the factors that occur most frequently, affects the sustainable development of tourism. Aiming to investigate the impact of a terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) incident on tourism risk perception, destination image, attitude change and behavior intention of Chinese citizens planning to travel to South Korea, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 1000 Chinese citizens. By using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and a structural equation model on the survey data, the results showed that (1) tourist destination risk perception exerted a negative effect on tourism image, culture image, and stability image of the destination; (2) the risk perception of tourists on tourism destinations would lead to a change in tourism attitudes, as Chinese citizens who planned to travel to South Korea considered changing their tourist destinations due to the THAAD incident; and (3) the increased risk perception of tourists on destinations had negative effects on behavior intention. Chinese citizens’ intention to travel to Korea was reduced after the THAAD incident. This study is of great importance for the sustainable development of tourism between China and Korea and provided a reference for improving risk management strategy for a tourism destination.

The influence of tourist risk perceptions on travel intention to mega sporting event destinations with different levels of risk

While hosting mega sporting events brings various benefits to the host regions from the increased number of tourists, one of the main factors that deters tourists is the various types of risks associated with international travels. The sport tourism literature has highlighted terrorism risk and political instability as major concerns that impact travel intentions. This study examined and compared the influence of tourists’ risk perceptions on travel intentions across mega sporting event host destinations with different levels (i.e. apparent risks, less imminent risks, and unidentified risks) of such risks. Data were collected from 571 potential tourists via an online survey software and analyzed using a structural equation modeling technique. The results indicated that perceived terrorism risk significantly influenced the tourists’ travel intentions. Tourists’ terrorism risk perceptions toward South Korea (apparent risks) most significantly impacted their travel intentions, followed by general destinations outside of the United States (unidentified risks), while political instability was not significantly related to travel intentions. These findings offer practical implications for mega sporting event organizers.

Domestic tourism and terrorism: an ignored field

ABSTRACTExtant literature has extensively discussed terrorism-related risk as a major factor that influences tourist risk perceptions and travel decisions. However, the majority of these studies have focused on international tourists. Although these studies offer significant insights into tourism and terrorism risk, little research has been done with regards to terrorism and domestic tourism. This research note identifies a need for research in this area and suggests that the nature and significance of domestic tourism makes it an important area to look at. It, therefore, discusses the implications of domestic tourism and terrorism research for theories and models developed for understanding tourism and risk, as well as its significance for the planning and development of domestic tourism.

Study on Risk Perception of Domestic Cruise Tourists

Although risk perception plays a key role in affecting cruise tourists’ purchase intention, the existing literature lacks of an empirical exploration of risk perception dimensions of cruise travel. A study of tourists of WuSongKou International Cruise Terminal in Shanghai was carried out by the methods of in-depth interview and questionnaire survey to explore the specific dimensions of cruise tourists’ risk perception. And this paper found six dimensions of risk perception from the perspective of tourists’ loss classification: physical risk, psychosocial risk, service risk, performance risk, communication risk and financial risk.

INTERRELATION BETWEEN TOURIST RISK PERCEPTION AND DESTINATION IMAGE AND REVISIT INTENTION EAST LOMBOK POST EARTHQUAKE

This research developed of tourist risk perception and destination image and revisit intention. Theresearch also focused how tourists are influenced by natural disasters and provides empirical evidenceto predict the hypothesis models. The results of a study of 230 of local and international tourists visit toEast Lombok post the earthquake. This study examining:(1) the effect of risk perception and destinationimage (2) the effect of destination image and revisit intention (3) the effect of risk perception and revisitintention post natural disaster. Results as expected, all results had positive and significant relationbetween variables. This research used SEM-AMOS as analysis method.

Disaster risk and travel decision of Middle Eastern tourists to natural destination in Indonesia

Disaster risk perception of tourists become one of prominent things to be concerned as a parameter to drive tourist willingness to visit, especially for a destination with high proneness natural hazard. Since the Middle Eastern tourist become one of the potential international tourists in many country, their perceived risk is also very important. This research aims to analyse Middle Eastern tourist’s perception on safety and attractiveness of natural destination in Indonesia. According to a set of questionnaires on risk perception, most of the respondents said that Indonesia has low criterion as a prone disaster destination. However even though they do not recognize the mitigation system and safety procedure in case of the disaster occur, they still tend to visit again. The rare frequency on disaster evidence and the good reputation of tourism sector in Indonesia may cause their high credibility and the low perceived risk on disaster evidence. The theory of familiarity in influencing perceived risk also has an implication of their low perceived risk. This phenomenon means that the management should developed a well-planned mitigation system to eliminate risk and lowering their expectation to avoid disappointed in visiting the destination.

The effectiveness of ad-induced emotion in reducing tourist risk perceptions towards politically unstable destinations

ABSTRACTPolitical crises have a significant impact on tourists’ risks perceptions towards both the affected destination and the neighbouring regions. The longevity of such crises has a long term detrimental impact on those countries whose economies are dependent on tourism due to the tourists’ propensity to avoid destinations they perceive as unsafe. This study investigates the relationship between the theoretical constructs of emotion and risk perception. The study demonstrates the power of ad-induced emotion in lowering risk perceptions towards destinations that are considered to be politically unstable. Focusing on the Middle Eastern country of Jordan, a pre–post experimental design employing psycho-physiological measures of emotion is applied to test the hypotheses and research questions of interest to this study. The results indicated that destination advertisements with emotional appeal are likely to succeed in reducing the risk perceptions and increasing willingness to travel. These findings contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence to support the notion that positive emotions induced by destination advertisements can reduce risk perceptions. Moreover, this study marks one of the first to apply psycho-physiological measures of emotion to the study of risk perception and makes an important methodological contribution to the tourism literature.

Motivations, perceived risk and behavioural intentions in hard adventure tourism. A natural park case study

Purpose of the paper : This study on consumer behaviour intends to combine two lines of investigation. First, we examine how different motivation factors in adventure tourism affect behavioural intentions. Secondly, in order to provide a better understanding of behavioural intentions we further explore the differences between the groups of individuals’ subjective perception of risk. Design/methodology/approach : A visitor survey was conducted on a sample of hard adventure tourists at the Friuli Dolomiti Alps Natural Park. Factor analysis of motivational items resulted in four dimensions (i.e. nature, risk, contemplation and socialization). In order to discover a relationship between the four motivational factors and the adventure tourists’ behavioural intention, a stepwise regression analysis was conducted. Then, using ANOVA and post hoc analysis (Scheffe’s test), the existing differences between various levels of risk perception of adventure tourists and their response to behavioural intentions were analysed. Findings : The analysis of motivational factors indicates that “activity related motivations” include four dimensions: nature, risk, contemplation and socialization. The stepwise regression results show that nature is the only motivational factor that affects tourists’ behavioural intention. Originality/value : This paper shows that “nature” is the key motivational factor for adventure tourists to revisit a park. Practical implications : The analysis provides a framework suggesting how organizations might usefully implement a marketing strategy. This study encompasses the risk perception as a motivational factor and tries to discuss how this concept can be operationalized in tourism marketing. Limitations : This paper presents two main limitations. Firstly, the cross sectional nature of the data, and secondly, the hypotheses were tested using a sample from a limited area.

Applying the perceived probability of risk and bias toward optimism: Implications for travel decisions in the face of natural disasters

Unperceived risk leads to lack of preparedness. This study aims to examine tourists' risk perception and travel decisions using as variables demographics, knowledge about safety, and country of residence. Samples were gathered in Thailand, Japan, Australia, and Indonesia. A total of 916 completed questionnaires of five replicated surveys were used in this study. More than halve of the respondents whose country had been affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 did not perceive tsunami risk when 10 years has passed. Frequency of tsunami occurrence was positively related to perceived tsunami probability. This study confirms the theory of probability that low frequency of a natural disaster results in unperceived risks. Even if their destination had a history of tsunamis, tourists' perceived risk of another such occurrence happening during their visit is low (that is, the risk of natural disaster is low). While the literature in earth science found that residents of risky areas tend to be optimistic about the place where they live, our study extends the theory of optimistic bias to indicate that the same optimistic bias is applicable to tourists. Asia and Southeast Asia were perceived as tsunami-prone but tourists still travelled there. Our study found that tourist risk perception was related to frequency of tsunami occurrence and was destination specific. The perception of probability of a natural disaster is also related to proximity and past experience. Replications are necessary to validate results before generalization.

Fandom and risk perceptions of Olympic tourists

•Develops an understanding and awareness of Olympic tourists’ perceptions of risk.•Explores the concerns Olympic tourists have towards the risk of terrorism at mega sporting events.•Identifies that trust in destination security officials can help offset risk perceptions and concerns.•Reveals that levels of fandom can mitigate concerns and worries relating to safety and security.

Terrorism and domestic tourist risk perceptions

ABSTRACTPrevious research suggests that threats to security influence tourists’ risk perceptions and travel decision-making. This qualitative study investigates British domestic tourists’ risk perception in the light of the rapidly growing global trend of terrorism. This study yields three insights: (1) the incidence of terrorism produces an emotional response of fear and anxiety; (2) willingness to travel despite perceived travel risk varies depending on factors such as reason for travel, visual presence of security services and the one-off nature of the attack; (3) the media’s influence on travel risk perception is a function of how the media is perceived.

Constructing Space and Self through Risk Taking: A Case of Asian Solo Female Travelers

In response to the increasingly risk-conscious environment in contemporary society, a growing body of literature has been dedicated to tourist risk perception. While risk is widely assumed to be a negative element in tourism, this perspective overlooks the fact that risk and tourist experience are intrinsically connected. This study takes a different approach by focusing on tourist risk-taking behavior, specifically, the risk perception and risk management of Asian solo female travelers, with an aim to contribute theoretical insights to the partial, conventional understanding of tourism risk. Located within a feminist framework, this study reveals how existing tourism space remains gendered and Western-dominated, how Asian women grapple with risks through various gendered spatial and bodily practices, and how negotiating risk is also a way to negotiate gender identities. A number of recommendations are provided for future research and for the tourism industry to foster a friendlier space for the Others.

Perceived Risks; Prominent Dimensions among Tourists from South India

Making travel decisions is never an easy task as tourists will have to consider numerous factors revolving around time, finance, transportation, destinations and activities. Travel decisions are normally made with no expectation of any kind of economic or material returns; intangible results such as pleasure and satisfaction are expected. Therefore, the tourist consumption behavior will involve elements of risk taking. Actions of tourists will regularly yield results and consequences that they may not always be able to anticipate with any approximating degree of certainty, and some of these are at least likely to turn unpleasant. Today, tourists are rarely in a state of mind to anticipate the exact probabilities or risks associated with their purchases. Numerous dimensions of perceived risk have already been identified, such as risks associated with Age, Gender, Income, Personality, Satisfaction, Past Experience, Culture, Nationality and Destination Image. Some of these dimensions appeared more prominent than the others, namely Health Risk, Financial Risk, Time Risk, Safety and Security Risk, and Information and Communication Risk. Research on perceived risk related to tourism has most often been neglected, and in-depth studies on the same have not been extensively undertaken, especially on the South Indian tourists. In this context, the study proposes to investigate the risk perception of tourists travelling from South India.

Risk perception and preferences of mountain tourists in light of glacial retreat and permafrost degradation in the Austrian Alps

Climate change is leading to new and increasing risks for mountain tourism in the European Alps. Beside the loss of glaciers as attractive landscape features, climate change will also lead to changes in environmental conditions due to increasing subsurface temperatures, increasing slope instability and mass movements, and will increase the likelihood of further glacial retreat. In order to study the risk perception and expected behaviour of mountain tourists, we used a web-based questionnaire including a choice experiment with a tour choice. The results show that risk taking is influenced by three main factors: 1) the experience, frequency of participation and commitment, 2) the perception of risky environmental conditions, and 3) the individual risk-related trade-off including information, the desired experience and other given constraints such as time management or weather conditions. A latent class analysis of the choice experiment revealed two distinct groups of participants: the experienced and the casual mountain tourists. The two distinct classes showed different risk behaviour and behavioural intentions with respect to the three main influencing factors. Perceptions of climate change and its possible effects on the alpine environment did not influence choices. Management implicationsThis study highlights four critical aspects that need to be considered by tourist destinations and Alpine Clubs providing services to mountain tourists and outdoor recreationists. Three aspects are crucial:●Two classes can be distinguished according to their reaction to increasing risk in the mountains. Casual mountain tourists are more likely to avoid tours with increasing risks such as rock fall, whereas experienced mountain tourists are more tolerant of such risks.●Curiously, neither class was at all affected by a lack of information about the potential for rock fall. This may indicate that all types of tourists, consider a lack of information to mean little risk. Therefore up to date information is crucial.●Casual mountain tourists are attracted by the experience of untouched and unspoiled nature and less by the challenges of high mountainous areas or the improvement of technical skills. Therefore, this group is more affected by changes in the trail system due to rock fall, debris flow or other impacts and more likely to choose other destinations in the future.

An overview of tourism risk perception

In recent years, people pay more and more attention to travel safety and travel risks. Tourism risk perception is a quantitative assessment of tourism security. Destination risk perception of tourists directly affects tourists purchase intention. The asymmetry of the objective existence of tourist safety information and the subjective perception of tourists determines that tourists are extremely sensitive to travel risks. The inevitability of tourism risks requests that tourists have a certain level knowledge of destination environment. This study aimed to systematically review existing researches of tourism risk perception. The study shows: (1) Tourism risk perception includes three views, which were subjective feelings, objective evaluation and the cognition of exceeding the threshold portion of the negative consequences or negative impact that may occur during travel. (2) The subjective factors of tourism risk perception were the physical characteristics and psychological processes. The objective factors include physical risk, economic risk, equipment risk, social risk, psychological risk, time risk and opportunity loss. (3) The multi-dimensional model and the two-factor model were the two main types of risk perception assessment models. The survey (with interviews) and mathematical statistical analysis were the main research methods. Besides, this article highlights three points. (1) There is a certain critical value for travel risk perception of tourists; (2) cognitive ability is an important factor affecting the level of tourists objective risk perception; and (3) quantitative assessment of tourism risk perception level is helpful to the tourism decision making and destination management.

The impact of smog on risk perception and satisfaction of international and domestic tourists in Beijing.

Frequent natural disasters and epidemic diseases have sparked off an obvious concern over health and safety issues among the public all over the world. Public panic is further enhanced by intense media coverage on such events. Tourism is susceptible to crises because of the optionality and instability of tourist consumption. A considerable number of potential visitors would avoid to visiting certain destinations as they are not assured of enough levels of safety or health. Others would visit but their behaviours and experiences will change owing to higher level of risk perception. The smog or air pollution condition in most city of China has sparked off an intense concern to the public not only in China but also internationally. This research aims at answering the question: 'whether smog condition has exerted effects on tourists' risk perception, travelling satisfaction or loyalty to Beijing as a travelling destination' by exploring the perceptions of on-site international and domestic tourists towards the smog in Beijing. The characteristics of tourists' concern over smog condition were explored by interviewing visitors who finished their trips and were about to leave Beijing. Based on the content analysis of the interviewing materials, as well as the review on studies on human attitudes and responses towards air pollution and tourist perception on health related risks, possible concerns were identified. Afterwards, a scale measuring the degree of tourists' concern over smog conditions was developed. Scales evaluating tourist risk perception, satisfaction and loyalty were drawn from previous research. Comprehensive literature review laida solid foundation to the hypothesised model showing correlations among latent variables. A structural equation model was adopted to test the links among smog concern, risk perception, trip satisfaction and destination loyalty. Additionally, on the premise of cross-group invariance of the model, standardised means of latent variables were compared between international and domestic tourists to compare the levels of smog concern, risk perception, satisfaction and loyalty between these two groups. The outcomes of study on tourists' perception and attitudes resulted in the following findings. Firstly, tourists' concerns over smog consist in the harm on their health, emotion, quality of photos, attractiveness of spots and overall travelling satisfaction. Secondly, direct relationships were found for the hypothesized effects of smog concern on risk perception and satisfaction; the influence of risk perception on reducing satisfaction as well as the role of satisfaction in forming revisit intention (loyalty) was identified; Smog concern and risk perception exert negative impact on loyalty indirectly. Furthermore, the comparing result shows that the levels of smog concern, risk perception and loyalty among international tourists are lower than that of Chinese while difference in satisfaction evaluation is not significant. The broad concerns of this study are applicable across all key Chinese tourism cities visited by international tourists.

Segmentation for urban destination: gender, place of residence, and trip purpose: a case of Nizhni Novgorod, Russia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether a priori segmentation of visitors to a large urban destination along the dimensions of gender, place of residence (domestic, former states, and international), and trip purpose (business, leisure, and VFR) is indeed commonsense for the city's DMO. Specifically, the study investigated whether gender, place of residence, and trip purpose are associated with tourists’ destination risk perceptions, evaluations of destination performance, and post-visitation behavior; that is, intention to revisit and willingness to recommend. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis used data obtained in a 2013 survey of visitors to Nizhni Novgorod, a large urban center in Russia. Findings – The results indicate that place of residence and trip purpose discriminate tourists with respect to selected variables and can serve as segmentation bases for marketing communications about the city to potential target markets. Practical implications – In view of the mega-sport events to be conducted in Nizhni Novgorod in 2018, alleviating risk perceptions of international tourists and improving their experiences while at the destination are important goals for the city government, tourism planners, and destination marketing organizations. Originality/value – Segmentation bases of place of residence and trip purpose have rarely been examined in relation to a large multifunctional city, while gender has produced varying results. Thus, the study can add to the segmentation literature in the urban context.

The interplay between prior knowledge, perceived risk and the tourism consumer decision process: A conceptual framework

When potential tourists engage in the decision-making process, there are a range of factors that can play a role in influencing their destination choice and the final travel outcome. This paper proposes a framework on how tourists' cognitive/ psychological factors play a role in their behavioural decision process. More specifically, this paper incorporates tourist risk perceptions, their prior knowledge and sensation seeking propensity as important psychographic attributes, and explains their possible interplay in various stages of the tourist decision-making model. This paper proposes a relationship between tourist prior knowledge, risk perceptions and subsequent information search behaviour, which has been overlooked in previous tourist decision-making models. Theoretical and practical implications are presented.