International university students’ travel risk perceptions: an exploratory study

Tourism researchers have identified the impact of perceived risk on destination choice and travel behaviour, and differences in general traveller risk perceptions based on both traveller and trip characteristics. However, such research has neglected the travel of international university students, despite the expansion and economic importance of this market. This paper outlines an exploratory study conducted on international university students studying at an Australian university. A total of 407 valid responses from the sample were achieved. Factor analysis identified four main risk factors which were labelled ‘human-induced risk’, ‘social–psychological risk’, ‘financial risk’, and ‘health risk’. Student origins were found to influence risk perceptions. In particular, Asian students perceived higher levels of human-induced and social–psychological risks compared with students primarily from America and Europe. Travel experience and repeat visitation significantly reduced risk factors apart from health risks. Financial risks were higher for students planning to travel in Australia compared with Asia and America. The implications for destination marketing are considered, and future research avenues based on the results are outlined.     

Travel,roads, risks and volunteers

International volunteers often travel to destinations (low- and middle-income countries) that carry a greater chance of being involved in a road-related injury and a possible fatality. Within this cultural exchange, tourists move from safe roads and cars to those that are potentially unsafe. Is this all part of the adventure of volunteering or should the tourist industry take some responsibility? This paper highlights the intersection between tourism and road injury and fatality risks (as pedestrians or in vehicles) with special attention to the longer term volunteer traveller. Social science theory underpins some of the discussions around risk and travel. A brief consideration of the international road traffic death and injury crisis and the emergence of the recognition that this impacts upon tourist safety is explored as backdrop to discussions. Tourism relies upon the ability for people to travel in and around the countries they travel to, often taking on the local travel arrangements prevalent in their destination. These local travel arrangements enable leisure tourists to explore their destination and volunteer travellers to live and work as locals. Is it time to consider and further the research on road risks as a growing feature of tourism?     

Personality,Risk Perception,Benefit Sought and Terrorism Effect

Risk perception can affect travel decision‐making. It is subjective and variable among different people. The purposes of this study are threefold: it examines the relationship between personality and risk perception, risk perception and benefit sought and finally tests to see whether willingness to travel alters after a terrorist attack and how this differs across different personalities. To do this, a random sample of 475 British households was selected to facilitate the analysis. The findings show that there are differences in terms of people's personality and risk perception. Benefit sought and risk perceptions are partially related, but not in the context of terrorism attacks in seaside resorts, where terrorism creates an atmosphere of uncertainty that leave the door open for fear, and the lack of ability to control the risk stops even the most confident traveller. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Breach of traveller privacy in location-based social media

The availability of location-based social media (LBSM) presents various opportunities for tourism researchers and businesses to understand and enhance the traveller experience. However, privacy concerns can prevent users from sharing their location data, impeding the future development of LBSM applications. Privacy issues of LBSM remain under investigation in the tourism literature probably because social media platforms are often assumed to feature good security mechanisms. This paper argues that risks of privacy disclosure exist not from direct access to private data but indirectly through seemingly harmless data published by users. We present a social link mining technique and demonstrate how private and sensitive information in the form of social relationships between travellers can be revealed. The ?ndings can support managers and researchers in realizing the potential privacy risks of LBSM so that effective strategies can be developed to protect users and promote the gains that LBSM can bring.     

Representing protected areas: a critical discourse analysis of tourism destination building in a Greek travel magazine

The present paper examines the way protected areas are constructed as tourism destinations by the information sources (i.e. a Greek travel magazine) that are consumed by potential visitors to such areas. Specifically, it explores what form of tourism is proposed for virtual visitors, whether it is ecotourism (i.e. both tourism and environmentalism) or simply a nature‐based one (i.e. exclusively tourism). Examining the way a Greek travel magazine builds protected areas as tourism destinations, and consequently what expectations are created for readers and potential visitors to such areas, the focus of the present paper is on whether the media contribute to the failure on the part of visitors to protected areas, who are the majority of the people engaging in ecotourism activities, to incorporate environmentalist besides tourism pursuits in their travel experiences. The analysis suggests that the travel magazine cultivates the view that other protected areas (with a tradition in mass tourism) are suitable for nature‐based tourism, others (with great ecological interest) for environmentalism, but few for ecotourism. This means that visitors to protected areas will probably have a difficulty in combining tourism with environmentalist pursuits, rather than in developing environmentalist concerns in general. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceptions of terror stricken tourism destinations

ABSTRACT

In the wake of global safety and security concerns, it is important to understand and document perceptions held by tourists so as to inform destination recovery efforts post terror attack. This exploratory study employs focus groups to examine American millennials’ perceptions of risk and their intentions to travel to terror-stricken destinations, specifically Nice, France. Perceived risks related to general international travel articulated by participants included, health, theft, and safety concerns. Participants indicated that they were willing to travel to Nice, post terror attack, with the exception of one group that would choose to travel elsewhere in France. Participants’ rank ordering of the sources they would consult during the decision making process for travel to a terror stricken destination included: family, people with lived experience of the destination, and government. This paper contributes to risk perception literature, particularly scholarship on the nexus between terrorism and tourism.     

Understanding the Heterogeneity of Generation Y's Preferences for Travelling: a Conjoint Analysis Approach

The unique motives of young travellers make this market segment very important to the key objectives of the global tourism plan. Accordingly, it is important to understand better the main drivers that affect their choice of a tourism offer. This paper introduces conjoint analysis as an appropriate tool for evaluating the preferences of travellers. The survey was conducted on a sample of 514 respondents. To isolate homogeneous young traveller segments, preference‐based segmentation was performed on the conjoint data. Based on the study findings, a marketing strategy for each identified market segment is suggested. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The perceived impact of risks on travel decisions

The recent phenomena of infectious diseases, natural disasters and terrorist attacks have imposed an unprecedented threat to the global tourism industry. This paper reports on a study that investigated the perceived probability of occurrence, magnitude of threat and efficacy of official media on major types of risks from 1304 international travellers. The study also examined the perceived usefulness of a set of measures that aims to strengthen the confidence of travellers. This paper should provide tourism practitioners and policy‐makers an updated view from the perspective of travellers, which in turn, can assist the formulation of risk management strategies, an area that has long been of interest to tourism researchers and practitioners. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A method for reducing information asymmetry in destination–airline relationships

We propose a measure of business risk in air travel demand at the route level that can reduce information asymmetry during route development negotiations between tourism destinations and airlines. Aviation-exposed risk (AER) conveys information about the level of uncertainty with regard to air travel demand from an airline’s perspective. Using AER, tourism destinations and air service development teams can evaluate their risks from the perspective of the airline and its network. From there, an assessment can be made as to the value of air services in certain circumstances, including whether a direct underwrite or risk share between airlines and destinations is viable and necessary. By applying a portfolio analysis to an airline’s network, we find evidence that AER does indeed mimic the actual capacity distribution of the network. This provides support for AER as a useful risk measure to be used in practice.     

Low Versus High Sensation‐seeking Tourists: a Study of Backpackers' Experience Risk Perception

This study investigates the relationships between the personality trait of sensation seeking and backpackers' risk perceptions by relying on a survey of 579 Israeli students who experienced backpacking. Some of the findings suggest that sensation seeking and travel risk perceptions are negatively correlated. For example, backpackers who were characterized as high social stimulus seekers were less concerned with socially oriented threats, such as crowded and commercialized places. However, other findings indicate that the relationships between the two concepts are more complex and might not be negatively correlated. For instance, the findings also indicate that the respondents were concerned about risks they were most likely to confront, given their anticipated behavior and nature of experiences that might be determined by their personality trait of sensation seeking. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A typology of solo independent women travellers

This paper aims to profile solo independent women travellers in Tropical North Queensland, describe their key motivations for travel and behaviours, and locate this group on a typology of solo independent travellers in Australia. Previous research has painted solo independent women at one end of a travel spectrum as fearful and risk‐adverse and at another end, as risk‐takers who have few concerns about safety within the destination. This analysis is based on visitor surveys completed over 21 months at Cairns Airport (n = 2,618). The results indicated that solo independent women travellers (n = 228) felt safe in the destination and participated in a wide variety of activities including those with some degree of risk. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tourism as connectedness

Late modernity in developed nations is characterized by changing social and psychological conditions, including individualization, processes of competition and loneliness. Remaining socially connected is becoming increasingly important. In this situation, travel provides meaning through physical encounters, inclusion in traveller Gemeinschaft based on shared norms, beliefs and interests, and social status in societies increasingly defined by mobilities. As relationships are forged and found in mobility, travel is no longer an option, rather a necessity for sociality, identity construction, affirmation or alteration. Social contexts and the underlying motivations for tourism have changed fundamentally in late modernity: non-tourism has become a threat to self-conceptions. By integrating social and psychological perspectives, this paper expands and deepens existing travel and mobilities discussions to advance the understanding of tourism as a mechanism of social connectedness, and points to implications for future tourism research.     

A Grid‐group Analysis of Tourism Motivation

Marketing theorists have widely proposed that culture is one of the underlying determinants of consumer behavior and that increasing globalization is creating a multicultural marketplace. Empirical inquiries in the field of tourism remain scarce, particularly regarding the understanding of behavioral influences. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the influence of sub‐cultures on tourism motivation. Drawing on grid‐group cultural theory, an analysis of survey data from 727 Chinese tourists reveals that respondents classified as different cultural types had different travel motivations. Contributions and limitations of the study are discussed, and future research directions are suggested. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining and identifying the determinants of travel expenditure patterns

This study examined the effects of socio‐demographic, travel‐related and psychographic variables on travel expenditures. The travel expenditure categories examined include lodging, meals and restaurants, attractions and festivals, entertainment, shopping, transportation and total expenditures. The results of the study provide a more comprehensive and holistic picture in the search of travel expenditure patterns based on multiple independent variables. This study reveals that, among the three groups of variables examined, income and trip‐related characteristics were the most influential variables affecting tourism expenditures. Discussions and implications are also provided based on the study results. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holidays with the Hun: The Male Tourist and His Murderous Itinerary

The in-flight magazine is one of many industrialised print media to which the traveller is exposed. In-flight magazines, however ‘ideologically innocent’ they may appear, can be very powerful in representing the norms and values to which travellers should supposedly adhere. This paper builds on arguments that there is a lack of research on representation in tourism and focuses in particular on how in-flight magazine advertising produces, mediates and reproduces discourses surrounding air travel. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), advertisements from a selection of Qantas and Air New Zealand in-flight magazines from 2005 were studied. The content analysis of these texts reveals that the magazine advertisements wish to speak to a certain ‘elite’ type of traveller who is mobility-rich as well as financially wealthy, with the time to pursue a raft of travel activities and the money to buy an array of expensive luxury products. Essentially, the paper argues that magazine advertisements can be a subtle (or, perhaps, not so subtle) way of ‘socially sorting’ airline travellers into those who are socially and culturally acceptable airline travellers and those who are not. The advertisements can also be seen as a means of socially sorting the airline traveller from other types of traveller and from the non-traveller. No matter which way the sorting occurs, in-flight magazine advertising appears to be a powerful medium that overwhelmingly appeals and speaks to privileged groups in society.     

Towards an understanding of international city break travel

This paper explores city break tourism and, in particular, the distinctive characteristics of this form of travel. The city break is examined and compared with other types of trips. The research follows a sequential mixed methods approach involving both a visitor survey and in‐depth interviews. The findings show the international city break trip to have a number of distinctive characteristics. These are summarised into five main areas (5 Ds) — duration, distance, date flexibility, discretionary nature and destination travel party. These distinguishing features provide a useful insight into one of the most important yet least examined travel segments in tourism research. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Guidebook use by Japanese tourists: a qualitative study of Australia inbound travellers

This qualitative investigation into guidebook use reports on in‐depth interviews conducted with 26 Japanese individuals and one couple who had visited Australia during the five previous years. Focusing on the stages before, during and after travel the research framework was based on Vogt and Fesenmaier's model of information needs. It was found that functional needs were the dominant influences during the prior to travel phase, with some non‐functional needs (hedonic, aesthetic and innovation) also being influential. During the travel phase, only functional needs were evident. Some respondents were identified as being deliberate non‐users of guidebooks. The variable ‘tourist type’ was found to be helpful for distinguishing between users and non‐users and for identifying those with functional needs. The use of guidebooks by those whose needs are both functional and non‐functional may be unaffected by this variable. When the attitudes of those who actively dislike guidebooks and those who hesitate to use them are aggregated, a view emerges of guidebooks as a symbol of standardised tourism. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Up in Smoke? The Impact of Smog on Risk Perception and Satisfaction of International Tourists in Beijing

This research explored the perceptions of on‐site international tourists towards the smog in Beijing. A scale measuring the degree of tourists' concern about smog conditions was developed. The links among smog concern, risk perception, trip satisfaction and destination loyalty were tested with a structural equation model. Direct relationships were found for the hypothesized effects of smog concern on risk perception and satisfaction. Further, the influence of risk perception on reducing satisfaction as well as the role of satisfaction in forming revisit intention (loyalty) was identified. The broad concerns of this study are applicable across all key Chinese tourism cities visited by international tourists. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of parking and cordon charge policies on tourist's modal shift in central business district of Mashhad city,Iran

The second largest holy city of the world, Mashhad, attracts high volumes of tourists and pilgrims every year. Most visitors travel by private car and are a source of considerable funds for the local economy. Among road users, tourists as one of the major traveller categories in Mashhad city behave differently due to the particular trip purpose. The aim of this research is to model tourist's shifting modes of travel behaviour when policy measures, such as the parking and cordon fares, are implemented. The tourists’ preferences were examined using binary logit analysis when different options of travel cost and time scenarios were provided. Results indicate that travel time, parking cost, cordon cost, education level and vehicle price influence tourist's modal choice. In addition, the finding shows that congestion pricing will be more effective than a parking pricing strategy in encouraging switching of modes.     

Perceived Benefits and Challenges to Wine Tourism Involvement: An International Perspective

This study extends institutional theory as a lens through which to critically examine the perceived benefits and potential challenges of developing wine tourism. The study applies an international perspective, with 471 participating wineries predominantly located in Italy and Spain. Fundamentally, the promotion of the winery's wines, distantly followed by the potential to significantly increase wine sales emerge as the main benefits winery respondents perceive from wine tourism. However, realizing these outcomes is not assured because of barriers including airport security checks, anti‐drink‐drive laws and limited physical resources. The implications from the findings are discussed, and opportunities for future research identified. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.