Peacefulness at home: impacts on international travel

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of peacefulness in the tourists’ country of origin in their main decisions and behaviours when travelling internationally. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 600 international tourists from 49 countries was divided into five groups according to each respondent’s belonging to a country with a specific level of peacefulness, assessed by the Global Peace Index, to test differences in international travel decision and behaviour patterns. Findings Travel safety is a critical issue to most tourists, while the peacefulness level of travellers’ country of origin is an important key factor for understanding different travel behaviours and safety perceptions held when going on an international trip, namely, regarding involvement, risk and safety/insecurity perceptions. Research limitations/implications This is one of the few studies investigating the impact of peacefulness in the tourist’s country of origin on travel decisions and behaviours, based on the Global Peace Index. Additionally, this study responds to the call of the Prospect Theory regarding general consumption contexts, and adds to the Experiential Consumer Perspective, here applied to tourism consumption. Practical implications This study provides guidance to destination and tourism industry managers to attract and segment their market according to tourists’ country of origin, in accordance with its respective level of peacefulness as defined by the Global Peace Index, especially in destinations more affected by terrorism, war, political turmoil, crime and other safety risks. Originality/value No published study has tested the impact of peacefulness at home on tourists’ international travel behaviours and decisions yet.

Restrictions’ acceptance and risk perception by young generations in a COVID-19 context

“…The survey instrument was built based on scales available in the tourism literature. The scales used to study the "Impacts of the COVID19 threat on Safety Perceptions" were adapted from the works of Huddy, Feldman, Capelo's and Provost (2002), Jeuring and Becken (2013) and Seabra, Kastenholz, Abrantes and Reis (2018). The scales used to assess the "Acceptance of Restrictions and Measures" were adapted from the work of Huddy, Khatib and Capelo's (2001).…”

The influence of terrorism in tourism arrivals: A longitudinal approach in a Mediterranean country

“…Several studies have proved its negative impacts on tourism activity as a whole in the short and long term (Araña & León, 2008;Baker, 2014;Liu & Pratt, 2017;Pizam & Smith, 2000;Sönmez, 1998). This is mainly because of the effects that terrorist threats have on tourists' decision-making process (Neumayer, 2004;Pizam & Fleischer, 2002;Ritchie, 2004;Seabra, Abrantes, & Kastenholz, 2014;Seabra et al, 2018;Sönmez, Apostolopoulos, & Tarlow, 1999;Sönmez & Graefe, 1998).…”

“…That way, the perceived risk of terrorism is more effective and will influence tourists' behaviors and decision-making, regardless of their country of origin or of their cultural background (Seabra et al, 2018). Feridun (2011) suggests the existence of a negative causal effect of terrorism on tourism.…”

“…According to the "Prospect Theory" (Tversky & Kahneman, 1992), tourists are rational consumers who, when confronted with two different options, tend to choose the option that will bring them more potential gains and lower risk (Seabra, Kastenholz, Abrantes, & Reis, 2018). When tourists perceive the existence of any risk of terrorism, they become more careful as they plan their travel and tend to adopt risk-reducing strategies (Fuchs & Reichel, 2011).…”

The Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry in the World

“…[Song & Li, 2018] Travel safety is a critical issue to most tourists, while the peacefulness level of travellers' country of origin is an important key factor for understanding different travel behaviours and safety perceptions held when going on an international trip, namely, regarding involvement, risk and safety/insecurity perceptions. [Seabra & Kastenholz, 2018] The biggest risks in the travel and tourism industry at global level are related to geopolitics, terrorism, uncontrolled spread of epidemics, data sharing and security. These risks can have severe repercussions on the tourism industry, whose development depends directly on providing a safe travel experience.…”