What are the Factors affecting Tourist Behavior based on the Perception of Risk? Romanian and Serbian Tourists’ Perspective in the Aftermath of the recent Floods and Wildfires in Greece

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 12; no. 16; p. 6310
• Main Authors: Kovačić, Sanja, Mărgărint, Mihai Ciprian, Ionce, Ruxandra, Miljković, Đurđa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 05.08.2020
• Subjects: Anxiety; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Floods; Geopolitics; Hypotheses; Pandemics; Perception; Perceptions; Personality; Risk perception; Risk taking; Society; Tourism; Tourists; Travel; Wildfires; Greece
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su12166310

During the summer season 2018 and 2019, natural hazards (namely, floods and wildfires) have occurred at some of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece, endangering tourists’ safety and vacation quality. These have influenced tourists’ perception of Greece as a “potentially risky destination”, causing a decrease in the number of tourists willing to visit this country. However, the current study assumes that some tourists will show more courageous travel behavior in the aftermath of natural hazards, while others will remain cautious when deciding to travel to risky destinations. Therefore, the questionnaire on a sample group of 431 respondents from Serbia and Romania was conducted to explore the factors influencing such differences. The study aims to explore whether tourists’ individual characteristics influence tourism worries and tourist behavior based on perceived risks. The study also intends to analyze the moderating role of tourists’ nationality, considering the relationship between personality and tourist behavior based on the perceived risk. The findings provide evidence that not only tourists’ personality but also sociodemographic characteristics influence tourism worries and tourist behavior based on the perceived risk. Additionally, the study is the first to explore and confirm the role of nationality in tourist behavior based on the perceived risk, as well as the moderation role of nationality in regression between tourist’s personality and behavior based on the perception of risk. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in the paper.