The Relationship between Risk-Taking, Sensation-Seeking, and the Tourist Behavior of Young Adults: A Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

This study analyzed the effects of the combined psychological characteristics of risk-taking and sensation seeking on the travel behavior and preferred tourist activities of young adults on leisure trips. The results of this cross-cultural study, which was conducted among 1,429 students at 11 universities located in 11 different countries, found that respondents with high combined risk-taking and sensation seeking (RSS) scores differed significantly in their travel behavior, mode of destination choice, preferred tourist activities and demographics, from those who had low RSS scores. The study also discovered a significant difference between nationalities on RSS scores.

Tourism at Risk: A Review of Risk and Perceived Risk in Tourism

“…The need for novelty was found to be related to the individual lifestyle (Bello & Etzel, 1985) as well as personality (Plog, 1974). One of the most cited works associated with tourists' risk perception would be the classical work of Plog (Korstanje, 2009;Kozak et al, 2007;Lepp & Gibson, 2003;Pizam et al, 2004;Reisinger & Mavondo, 2005;Sönmez & Graefe, 1998b). Plog (1974; categorized tourists based on their personality and motivation into three scales.…”

“…There has been an increasing number of tourism studies on risk and safety since 1970s (Maser & Weiermair, 1998;Milman, Jones, & Bach, 1999;Pizam, 1999;Sirakaya, Sheppard, & McLellan, 1997;Sönmez, Apostolopoulos, & Tarlow, 1999;Sönmez & Graefe, 1998a, 1998bTsaur, Tzeng, & Wang, 1997;Wilks & Atherton, 1994). The term 'risk' was used extensively in tourism research after the 9/11 incident (Dickson & Dolnicar, 2004;Fuchs & Reichel, 2006;Korstanje, 2011;Law, 2006;Lepp & Gibson, 2003;Pizam et al, 2004;Quintal, Lee, & Soutar, 2010;Reisinger & Mavondo, 2005;Simpson & Siguaw, 2008;Williams & Baláž, 2013), followed by a couple of major tragedies including the SARS outbreak, the Bali bombings, and the Asian tsunami, which have shaken the tourism industry across the globe. The severity, frequency, and impact of these unprecedented tragedies have given rise to an increasing number of researches investigating the various aspects of risk in tourism.…”

Differences in the Perceived Influence of Natural Disasters and Travel Risk on International Travel

“…According to tourism literature, tourists' perceptions of natural disasters and travel risks differ depending on their familiarity with a destination (Millman and Pizam 1995;Han 2005) and national culture (Bontempo et Seddighi et al 2001;Mavondo 2006a, 2006b). For example, significant differences in travel risk perception were found across various national cultures (Seddighi et al 2001;Fuchs and Reichel 2004;Pizam et al 2004;Movondo 2006a, 2006b). It was found that the risk perception of the Chinese significantly differs from that of Westerners (Bontempo et al 1997).…”

International tourists’ perceptions of crime-risk and their future travel intentions during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa

“…Similarly, Gibson and Jordan (1998) noted that females are more vulnerable to risk than males. Pizam et al (2004) found that men were more likely to seek spontaneous, adventure-filled experiences, and were less likely to change their travel plans when confronted with risks such as terrorism, health, and natural disasters. Qi, Gibson and Zhang (2009) in their study of U.S. travellers' perceptions of risk and travel to China and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games found that women perceived much higher violence risk than men, whereas men expressed more concern about health risks.…”

“…Earlier studies show that an individual's perception of travel risk is affected by several behavioural characteristics such as purpose of visit (Rittichainuwat, Qu & Mongkhonvanit, 2002;George, 2010), length of stay Barker et al, 2003), past travel experience (Chen & Gursoy, 2001;Lepp & Gibson, 2003), and travel information search and sources (Pizam et al, 2004;Kozak, Crotts & Law, 2007). For instance, tourism-crime researchers have found that past experience can also affect perception of risk.…”