The significance of the risk-related challenges in tourist destination choice

Abstract

There are numerous pull forces that determine destination choice. In the contemporary turbulent conditions, safety and security risks have a growing role. This is particularly evident in the Mediterranean region, bearing in mind that the political crisis in the Arab world has reflected in this region as the largest receptive market. Therefore, the study has been conducted to determine which factors are the most important in the process of choosing a destination and whether the recent crises have affected travel habits. In addition to the descriptive statistics, the data obtained by the Likert scale were analyzed by independent samples t-test in SPSS. The results have revealed that price, service quality, and risk-related issues are the main parameters of destination choice. In this regard, the respondents expressed their understanding of contemporary security risks in the Mediterranean (terrorist acts, militant groups, migration crisis, etc.). The research also showed the influence of different sources of information on travel habits, primarily word-of-mouth process, and mass media. The crisis has affected the demand allocation, but not trip cancellation. Based on the abovementioned we can conclude that safety and security risks are not the only and decisive factor but represent an important parameter in the destination choice.

Trends in Destination Choice in Tourism Research: A 25-year Bibliometric Review

“…DC modelling is challenging for four reasons. First, it involves high risk decision-making with undefined choice situations, as travel is experiential and intangible with high perceived risk (Micić et al, 2019). Second, the DC decision-making is complex and hence adds to the variability of the decision, as the utilitarian and functional usage varies by tourist.…”

“…While 'DC' and 'tourism' are most often used keywords, there exists scope for research into other keywords like 'destination image' and understanding how all the external and internal factors get integrated and woven into the fabric of the tourist segment (single/ family/ senior couple/couple with kids) decision-making process. It is evident that previous studies use factors such as attitude and motivation as primary reasons for choosing the DC but in future it can be combined with theoretical approaches using Travel Carrier Ladder (TCL) model to establish the major needs for choosing specific destinations (Micić et al, 2019).…”

“…Tourism contributes to the development of the major economies around the world. World Tourism and Travel Council 2019 annual report states that in 2018, tourism industry contributed ~USD 8,800 million to the global GDP with around 319 million jobs being provided by it (Micić et al, 2019). Zhuang et al (2019) emphasize that the perceived economic development resulting from nudging tourists to indulge in leisure activities and visiting destinations for different purposes, fosters social and national development.…”

Minority Tourist Information Service and Sustainable Development of Tourism under the Background of Smart City

“…e calculation formula for the scores of the original p variables on the k principal components is [20]…”

Does a destination image differ based on the gender of “ITB” visitors? The case of Serbia as a developing travel destination

“…Results indicated that women exhibited higher rates of emotion recognition than men, but international travel experience did not impact emotion recognition rates for either women or men. World media nowadays shape destination preferences, with a huge impact on destination image (Micić, Denda, & Popescu, 2019). Regarding the image of Serbia as a travel destination, various changes at the end of the 20th century (political conflicts and insecurity, induced by wars) led to the creation of its unfavorable position in the international tourism market.…”