Ski – resort and regional development: profile of visitors ... - E-Journal

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Filio Lazana, Diana Draganescu, Georgiana Grama, Magdalina Yarichkova
with the World Tourism Organization (WTO), tourism is the main source of income for almost
40% of the world’s countries (Quinn, 2003).
Tourism is associated with enjoyment, and according to various typological models, most
tourists rank security and comfort as essentials for a vacation site.
Nevertheless, the emerging global economy and communication networks, of which the
internationalization of tourism is an integral part, make tourism increasingly subject to the
effects of political instability and violence.
In this global environment, safety and security considerations constitute one of the major
issues that affect travelers when selecting a travel destination. Perceptions of political stability
and safety are a prerequisite for tourist visitations (Brackenbury, 1995). Natural disasters,
terrorist attacks and political instability that are prevalent in certain parts of the world raise
the tourists’ awareness of the importance of safety and security factors when choosing a
destination and can all alter tourists’ travel behaviour. The effects of these acts aimed against
tourists have proved devastating to tourism destinations, damaging not only the tourist
infrastructure and arrivals, but the longer-term image of the destination as well. Tourism
stakeholders seem to embrace these concerns and strive to take related measures to satisfy
travelers’ needs.
This study explores how safety and security factors affect leisure tourism and the choice of
a destination. Are tourists willing to visit a destination that has been recently hit by a natural
disaster, such as the tsunami in Indonesia, or by a terrorist attack, such as the bombing in
London? How quickly will a tourist forget the safety or security incident when making their
choice of destination? What are the elements that need to be introduced and emphasized in
order to make a tourist perceive a destination as safe and secure?
A differentiation was made between the terms “safety” and “security”. According to different
sources (Glaesser, 2003; Monahan, 2006; wikipedia) 1 , safety refers to the effects of accidents
or hazardous forces of nature (things that cannot be anticipated or prevented), such as hurricanes,
maladies, and earthquakes, while security involves anthropogenic factors, such as political
instability, economic insecurity, terrorist attacks etc. Disasters are episodic events that disrupt
the tourism industry on a regular basis (Sonmez et al., 1999; Faulkner, 2000), termed as a
disaster being any sudden, random or great misfortune. Disasters can take many forms and
can include natural events, such as floods, typhoons and earthquakes, or human induced
events, such as war and terrorism. Terrorism is defined as any act of violence that countries
may exchange; its beginnings may be traced back to as early as the mid-1930s (ibid).
Security is a concept that, at present, is associated not only with tourism, but with a larger
scope as well. As a result of the events of September 11 th 2001 and the American-led invasion
Tourism Today - Fall 2007 - Full Paper