Abstract

The business of tourism is one that is based on consumer faith. The consumers, when they purchase tourism products, often have sparse information upon which to base their judgement even with the advent of the internet. The perceptions that tourists have of a destination, an hotel or, say, an airline, are important factors that feed into the consumer decision-making mechanism. Therefore, risk tends to be an inherent part of the tourism business process. Perceived or actual travel-related risk when travelling to a region where one’s basic need for personal security is compromised, affects the tourism system. Safety and physical security are fundamental conditions for “normal” tourism development in a destination, region, or country. There are many risks associated with travelling outside of one’s normal environment and this paper examines those risks and then compares the perceptions of tourists and academics to see if there is a difference between their perceptions of terrorism and other forms of travel risk.