Currently, the world tourism industry is experiencing a lot of difficulties due to 4 factors; terrorism and war, communicable diseases, economic slump and natural disasters. It is only natural that perceived risks create negative image of a tourist at...
Currently, the world tourism industry is experiencing a lot of difficulties due to 4 factors; terrorism and war, communicable diseases, economic slump and natural disasters. It is only natural that perceived risks create negative image of a tourist attraction and tourists try to avoid such destinations. However, research on the changes in perception of travel risks has not been active compared to the past.
This study has been carried to find out if the changed perception of travel risks is a valid variable. And to find out the effects of the perception of travel risks on the preferred travel behaviors and the intention to change travel destination, an empirical analysis is carried out. In addition, negative affectivity is used as a mediator variable to find out the relationship between the character traits and preferred travel behavior and the intention to change travel destination.
The subjects of this study were selected from adults over 20 years old living in Seoul and Gyeonggi area. The researcher and the trained helpers conducted a survey over the period of 45 days between July 3 and August 18, 2006. 551 questionnaires were collected. Of these, 532 were used and 19 were discarded for inadequacy.
The results show that different perceptions of travel risks affected 4 preferred travel behaviors and the intention to change travel destination. The mediate variable, the negative affectivity, played mediating roles except for the type of people who pursue different cultural experiences. The results of this study suggest the following.
First, for the type 1 which prefer different cultural experience and want more active participation, the tourism industry including tourist agencies need to vitalize a community where members can exchange information and opinions on airline tickets, lodgings, and tour courses, etc. In addition, a specialized consultation agency is needed to provide more specific and satisfactory information.
Second, for the type 2 which prefer similar cultural experience, it is best to recommend differentiated tour products according to the level of perceived travel risk, age, and income. Recommending a travel destination that is far away or involves risks is not appropriate.
Third, for the type 3 which prefer excellent tourism service, individualized, fast, specialized, and truthful information needs to be provided. In addition, it is necessary to assure pleasant travel through marketing and advertisement.
Fourth, for the type 4 which prefer popular destinations, it is necessary to provide accurate information on the status of the tourist destination facilities and international franchise hotels, etc. Utilization of marketing using visual images such as moving images is needed.
Lastly, the tourism industry needs to establish methods to obtain and provide accurate information about current emergency situations and potential emergency situations in domestic and international travel destinations to help the tourists select alternative destinations and assure their safety.
As the study subjects are limited to Koreans, this study was unable to carry out international comparison. In addition, this study did not examine the actual behavioral changes following the intention to change travel destination.
Therefore, further research on tourist behaviors using diverse research approaches including perception of travel risks, preferred travel behaviors, intention to change travel destinations, negative affectivitys, types of perception of travel risks, is needed.