‘Scary … but I like it!’ Young tourists' perceptions of fear on holiday

Abstract

This paper explores young tourists' perceptions of fear on holiday. The work on which this paper is based is important because it sheds light on tourists' emotional experiences on holiday, which are central to increase our understanding of tourist behaviour. The importance of investigating perceptions of fear has been recognized within a number of different disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, criminology, and marketing. Indeed, it has been argued that fear may provide significant information concerning an individual's motivations, preferences, and patterns of behaviour. Despite this, perceptions of fear within the tourism experience have remained relatively unexplored. It is often assumed that perceptions of safety and security may influence individuals' destination choice. However, there is a paucity of studies concerning tourists' perceptions of fear during the tourism experience. This paper is based on three months of qualitative fieldwork conducted on the island of Ios, Greece in the summer of 2007. More specifically, participant observation and semi-structured interviews were methods employed for data collection to explore young tourists' perceptions of fear. The possibility to develop a rapport and build a relationship with young tourists on Ios was crucial to collect valuable information concerning tourists' background, their emotions, expectations, perceptions, and the context in which perceptions of fear were experienced and expressed. The study found that most holidaymakers on Ios participated in activities perceived as risky in order to experience fear. In this respect, young tourists deliberately sought fear and thrill to increase their levels of pleasure and enjoyment during the tourism experience. The results suggest that fear may play a positive role in the tourism experience of young tourists, which should no longer be ignored by tourism scholars.

Exploring the role of dark tourism in the creation of national identity of young Americans

“…Furthermore, this study questions the assumption that the 'youth' may be blasé or desensitised when reflecting on their dark tourism site experiences (see Dann, 2005) or that thrill seeking is a key component of youth tourism experiences (Mura, 2010). There is clear evidence here of an understanding of sacrifice, loss and tragedy.…”

“…Sites were categorized in accordance with Stone's (2006) seven classifications of dark suppliers along the dark tourism spectrum (darkest to lightest) and were identified as purposeful or accidental (see Table 1). The majority of sites visited were at the darker end of the spectrum and this is likely to be attributable to dark tourism being especially attractive for young visitors who are known to seek fear and thrill to increase their levels of pleasure and enjoyment during their tourism experiences (Mura, 2010). Goulding (1999, p. 658) suggests that tourists are drawn to 'mediums that reflect their own age culture'.…”

Constructing Space and Self through Risk Taking: A Case of Asian Solo Female Travelers

“…In the event of negative incidents, society frequently holds women responsible for crossing into the "unsafe" spatial and temporal territory (Wilson, Holdsworth, and Witsel 2009). This understanding of the gendered tourism space where women's mobility is restricted contests other common interpretations of tourism space as a heterotopia (Foucault 1984), a potential site for empowerment where gender norms can be transgressed (Small 2016;Zhang and Hitchcock 2014), or a liminoid space (Turner 1969), where social expectations, including gender norms, are temporarily vacated (Aitchison 2005;Graburn 2004;Mura 2010). As far as Asian women are concerned, this perspective adds further ramifications to the conceptualization of tourism space because until recently, tourism has been dominated by Western travel traditions and consciousness (Chambers 2010;Teo and Leong 2006).…”

Crime and tourism: organizational opportunities and social marketing in LA Gang Tours

“…In contrast to previous investigations on the negative relation between tourism flows and crime (Barker, Page, & Meyer, 2002;Pelfrey, 1998), it appears that today a niche tourism market is not alarming but rather indifferent (Brunt, Mawby, & Hambly, 2000;Dimanche & Lepetic, 1999;Walker & Page, 2008) or even attracted by destinations that have a significant history or fame in crime and violence (Mura, 2010;Thurnell-Read, 2009). Bray and Dalton (2009) have supported the argument that crime scenes by nature receive people's attention and satisfy human curiosity.…”