Tourists and severe weather – An exploration of the role of ‘Locus of Responsibility’ in protective behaviour decisions

Abstract

Severe weather events can impact negatively on tourism and put tourists at risk. To reduce vulnerability, tourists should be aware of and be prepared for possible severe weather. Seeking risk information, a type of protective action behaviour, is an important way to reduce vulnerability. This paper presents the results of a study that investigated the role of Locus of Responsibility for protection behaviour for severe weather, by linking it with Information Seeking and related intra-personal antecedents. Responsibility attribution has previously been found to impact protective action decisions, however has not been studied in the context of severe weather and tourism. Our survey research among tourists in New Zealand provided evidence for three Loci of Responsibility; "Internal", "Shared" and "External". Significant differences between these groups were found for Information Seeking antecedents, though not for Information Seeking. Next, significant differences were found for weather information preferences, both source and content. Findings and implications for tourism and safety management in New Zealand are discussed.

Urban air pollution in China: destination image and risk perceptions

“…The tourism literature has explored these perceptions through two major strands of research: destination image and destination risk. These are typically not integrated: research on image tends to focus on positive aspects of a destination, whereas the risk literature explores aspects that cause concern, fear or worry (Chew & Jahari, 2014;Jeuring & Becken, 2013). In other words, destination image research focuses on why tourists would like to visit a place, and risk-related research explores why tourists might choose not visit.…”

Predicting information seeking regarding hurricane evacuation in the destination

“…The determinants that motivate individuals to seek risk information have been explored by several scholars (Griffin et al, 1999;Jeuring & Becken, 2013;Kellans et al, 2012). Most risk information models explain that consumers of risk information are not homogeneous.…”

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