The Dimension Of Risk Perception In The Context Of Political Crises

Abstract

The tourism industry is fragile because tourists are highly vulnerable to various crises and disasters. Because of the safety concerns of tourists, the tourism industry can suffer as a direct result of internal political conflict.  Political crises can increase the perception of risk at the tourist destinations. This paper aims to examine the underlying dimension of risk perception in the context of political crises. A qualitative approach was employed to gain multiple perspectives and a deeper understanding of risk perception from an international tourist’s perspective regarding political crises. The semi-structured interview technique was selected to identify the types of risks or fears of the respondents when travelling to the political crisis destination. There were 64 respondents, comprising both potential international tourists and tourists who had previously visited Bangkok. Some respondents had experienced political crisis incidents, others had not. Thematic analysis of the data resulted in the identification of 32 political crisis risk perceptions which were grouped into 6 main themes as follows: 1. Trust in government; 2. Feeling lost; 3. Political turmoil anxiety; 4. Feeling detained; 5. Hospitality distorted; 6. Lack of political crisis knowledge/background. Understanding risk perceptions regarding political crises will help destination managers develop more effective crisis management strategies for dealing with potential political crises in their countries.

Keywords: Tourists’ Risk Perceptions, Political Crises, Dimension of Political Risk Perception