This article attempts to understand the value and meaning of a hazardous natural environment for tourists. It focuses on the attraction of volcanic sites in the eyes of sensation-seeking hikers. The research is based on a participatory observation study and in-depth interviews with 11 hikers on the Laugavegur hiking trail, in the Highlands of Iceland. The research questions addressed in this article are, do hikers experience a threat from the natural environment, and does a hazardous environment contribute to a feeling of the sublime? In support of the theories put forth in the article about sensation seekers, risk perception, its heuristic traps and sublime feeling, the article argues that tourists perceive risks in the hazardous environment in a positive way, as something spectacular, unique and sublime. Thus, their positive risk perception of existing potential environmental hazards encourages tourists to ignore signs of risks and hazards and subsequently puts them in unnecessary danger.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.