Up in Smoke? The Impact of Smog on Risk Perception and Satisfaction of International Tourists in Beijing

Abstract

This research explored the perceptions of on‐site international tourists towards the smog in Beijing. A scale measuring the degree of tourists' concern about smog conditions was developed. The links among smog concern, risk perception, trip satisfaction and destination loyalty were tested with a structural equation model. Direct relationships were found for the hypothesized effects of smog concern on risk perception and satisfaction. Further, the influence of risk perception on reducing satisfaction as well as the role of satisfaction in forming revisit intention (loyalty) was identified. The broad concerns of this study are applicable across all key Chinese tourism cities visited by international tourists. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Air pollution and tourism demand: A case study of Beijing, China

“…The above result contrasts with the findings of a similar study conducted in Hong Kong (Law & Cheung, ), which concluded that Asian tourists were more concerned than Westerners about air quality, when deciding upon a holiday destination. Similarly, another questionnaire‐based study found that domestic Chinese tourists had a higher level of risk perception and presented major concerns about smog, compared with international visitors to China (Li et al, ). There are two possible explanations for the contrasting results found in the present paper: either the situation of Beijing is fundamentally different from that of other urban destinations in Asia or the relative importance assigned to considerations of air quality, by Western and Eastern tourists, has changed in the last decade.…”

“…The above result contrasts with the findings of a similar study conducted in Hong Kong (Law & Cheung, 2007), which concluded that Asian tourists were more concerned than Westerners about air quality, when deciding upon a holiday destination. Similarly, another questionnaire-based study found that domestic Chinese tourists had a higher level of risk perception and presented major concerns about smog, compared with international visitors to China (Li et al, 2015).…”

“…Other research in China has revealed the existence of a significant inverse relationship between perceptions of persistent haze or smog and travel intentions, among both domestic and inbound tourists (Cheng, Zhang, & Fu, 2015;Li, Pearce, Wu, & Morrison, 2015;Peng, Zhang, Luo, & Yang, 2016;Zhang & Yu, 2017). In another paper, Deng, Li, and Ma (2017) concluded that air pollution, measured by aggregated gas emissions, has a significant direct negative effect on international tourists' intentions to visit China.…”

Urban air pollution perception through the experience of social practices: Talking about breathing with recreational runners in London

“…Badland and Duncan (2009) consider the experience of 'commuting' in Australia to argue that those who commute through 'active travel' -running, cycling and other activities linked to greater pollution exposure -are relatively unfazed by this risk. Partly because their experience is short lived, Li et al (2016) document how international tourists to Beijing are more concerned about the implications of pollution for the quality of their photographs than any personal health impacts. Others have focused on cyclists and their experience of traffic related pollution (de Hartog et al 2010; Zuurbier 2010).…”

Research on the Tourists’ Type and Behavior based on the Fog and Haze Perception: Taking Xi’an as a Case

“…Yan's research shows that the spatial distribution of the inbound tourists' loss and the degree of the fog and haze's pollution in 31 provinces of China was coincided in 2013 [4] ; On the aspect of tourists' perception to the fog and haze, Zhang's study had found that the tourists' risk perception to the fog and haze was shown as "body's risk > function's risk > psychological risk > cost's risk" [5] . Li [6] believed that the fog and haze's perception of foreign tourists was lower than these of Chinese tourists. Zhang [7] and Cheng [8] believed that the fog and haze weather had a negative impact on tourists' decisions; On the other aspects, Zhou [9] thought that the fog and haze weather not only impacted on the tourism activities, but also changed the tourism theory.…”