Perceived Risk In Tourism

Perceived tourist in safety & security

Safety and security are vital to providing quality in tourism. More than any other economic activity, the success or failure of a tourism destination depends on being able to provide a safe and secure environment for visitors (Shahvaj Bano, 2015)

Perception of safety and security is a major determinant in travelers’ decisions to visit a place (Berman, 2003). It is no doubt that tourism is a highly dependent on safety and security. In many cases, tourism may avoid getting caught in a dangerous and risky situation. Laws and Prideaux (2005) and Glaesser (2003) define risk as the probability of an undesirable incident that leads to the possible negative consequences of a consumer’s behavior. In contrast, perceived risk refers to a consumer perception of the overall negativity of an action that if beyond an acceptable level might affect travel behavior (Mansfeld, 2006; Reichel, Fuchs, & Uriely, 2007). Incidents of natural disasters, political unrest, wars, epidemics, and terrorism lead to perceived travel risks (Mansfeld, 2006), whereas tourists’ ignorance of the probability of such events engage them in real risks (Wilks & Page, 2006). Not only crime. Situation like outbreaks, natural disasters and terrorism is among other concerns that affect tourism choice of destination. Making a wrong travel decision becomes a perceived risk (Fuchs & Reichel, 2006), when customers feel that such risk is too high, they change their plans or behavior,