Responding to Disaster: Thai and Scandinavian Tourists' Motivation to Visit Phuket, Thailand (original) (raw)
Related papers
Tourists and disasters: lessons from the 26 December 2004 tsunamis
Journal of Coastal Conservation, 2008
The 26 December 2004 tsunamis around the Indian Ocean exposed the vulnerability of many coastal communities, including those serving tourists. To draw conclusions regarding disaster risk reduction for tourism in coastal areas, this study surveyed international tourists who survived the tsunami regarding their perceptions and experiences of the disaster. Semi-structured interviews were completed between January and June 2005 of 55 primary interviewees who were international tourists in locations affected by the tsunami. The qualitative data from the interviews yielded commonalities across four main themes with relevance to disaster risk reduction: information and awareness, warning systems, personal preparation, and livelihoods. Three areas are suggested as topics to highlight for further investigation: the connections between sustainable tourism and disaster vulnerability, the role of tourists in disasters, and disaster risk reduction education.
Tourists' and tourism suppliers' perceptions toward crisis management on tsunami
This study describes tourists' perceptions toward the importance of safety measures across tourists who stay at different types of accommodation; compares the pre and post analysis of such safety measures during normal time and six months after the disaster and identify safety measures that contribute the most to the sense of beach safety. This study uses a survey, interviews, and observation. The target population was inbound tourists traveling to Thai beaches. It was found that respondents who participated in the survey six months after the March 2011 Japanese tsunami placed more importance on almost all tsunami safety measures than those who did the survey six years after the Indian Ocean tsunami. Guests at guest houses, placed the highest importance on all safety measures, whereas guests at upscale hotels, placed the lowest importance. Moreover, perceptions of beach safety were dependent on the availability of a tsunami evacuation system and a crisis management plan.
Proceedings of Tourism Development Centre International Conference, 2020
A number of tourism disaster and crisis studies generalized tourist's psychological aspect when planning a trip in disaster-prone destination, yet researches about the emotion of tourists with health problem has not yet been closely investigated. Our study aims to identify a specific segment, the emotion of tourist with health problem when travelling to a disaster-prone destination. Using a qualitative study, an in-depth interview of thirty-three tourists with health problem who had disaster experiences was conducted in Indonesia. Using a thematic analysis, our study this study identified six major themes of tourist's emotion when planning a trip to disaster prone destination. This study contributes to extend the tourist's psychology for health problems in the context of tourism crises and disaster management.
The purposes of this research were to examine and compare the travel motivations of the American, the Chinese, and the European tourists in visiting Thailand. The sample was selected by purposive and convenience sampling methods. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 1,199 tourists travelling in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. The quantitative analysis was conducted. The data was tabulated and analyzed by using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and factor analysis. The outcome of factor analysis revealed five motivation factors of the whole tourist sample, which consisted of 10 fulfillment/ prestige motivation 2) motivation to experience new culture 3) personal motivation 4) motivation to enhance family relationship 5) escape/ relaxation motivation. When the motivation statements were analyzed by nationality groups, the research findings revealed that the tourists from the three nationality groups bear different travel motivation factors. Ranked by order of importance, the American tourists' motivations were cultural motivation/ novelty seeking, personal motivation/enhancement of family relationship, relaxation/escape, fulfillment motivation, buying goods not available in their home country/cultural activity participation and prestige. The Chinese tourists ranked prestige/ fulfillment as the most important motivation followed by cultural/self-development motivation, novelty seeking, sensual/physical motivation, enhancement of family relationship, and escape /relaxation. The European tourists' travel motivations were found to be enhancement of family relationship/personal motivation, social/fulfillment motivation, acquiring/cultural motivation, prestige motivation, novelty seeking/cultural motivation, and escape and relaxation.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2009
Objective: Most of the data on psychological outcome and the mental health treatment available following natural disasters originate from the indigenous population of the region destroyed. Examining tourists returning from the area affected by the 2004 tsunami presents an opportunity of studying the impact of natural disasters on psychological outcome and mental health treatment in their countries of origin. The aim of the present study was to extend the current knowledge on psychiatric morbidity and potential positive outcomes, as well as subsequent mental health treatment following a natural disaster, based on the results from a sample of home-coming Swiss tourists. Method: Tourists who had been potentially affected by the 2004 tsunami were assessed using the Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory. Outcome variables were related to the degree of tsunami exposure. In addition, mental health treatment befor...
Travel risk perceptions, travel intentions and influencing factors: A natural disaster context
While studies of tourist risk perceptions and travel intentions have focused on terrorism, political instability, and outbreak diseases, limited studies have focused on natural disasters, despite the increased impact of disasters. Such events not only cause physical devastation to a tourist destination, but can affect future travel to the effected destination. Natural disasters can create risks for potential tourists which may influence their travel intentions. Thus understanding these risks and how they influence travel intentions is vital. To date, while abundant research is attempting to understand the effect of disasters on risk perceptions, and its subsequent impact on travel intention, questions remain unanswered. Conceptually research should be conducted using a bottom up approach to understand risk perceptions and the factors which can influence risk perceptions. Researchers agree that risk is a multidimensional construct that is context specific, thus more research is needed in the context of natural disasters rather than relying on studies that have explored other types of risks that may not be relevant. In addition, the domestic tourist as a market has been ignored in past studies, which tend to focus on international tourists. In order to address these gaps, this thesis develops a holistic understanding of risk perceptions and the factors that affect the travel intentions of domestic tourists in a destination vulnerable to natural disasters. Accordingly, there are three research objectives in this thesis. First, a bottom up approach is used to identify disaster specific risk dimensions. Second, to understand the relationships between the dimensions of travel risks, the factors that influence travel risk perception and travel intention. Third, to investigate how the dimensions of risk, and the factors that influence risk perception affect the travel intention of domestic tourists to destinations prone to natural disasters. Hence, a mixed method sequential method approach was applied. Initially 52 respondents completed a semi-structure interview. The results were then verified by 605 respondents in a mall intercept survey. The study area was West Sumatra, Indonesia which is one of the most disaster prone destinations in the world, yet it is also considered one of top ten domestic tourist destinations in Indonesia. The thematic analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and Partial least square-Structural equation modelling helped to untangle the complex interrelationships between the risk dimensions, travel intentions and influencing factors.
Push and Pull Perspectives: Travel Motivation to Coastal Tourism in Case of Redang Island
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Journal of Undergraduate Research
The tourism industry plays a large role in the development of many countries, including Malaysia. Unfortunately, the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought global tourism to a standstill. Though most of the travel curbs have been eased, public health rules still pose challenges to the industry. In the light of the changes in travel preferences among tourists during this unprecedented time, this work sought to gain a better understanding of travel motivation and behaviour in this situation. Since push and pull factors are the most commonly used theory in evaluating tourists’ behaviour, it is utilised in this conceptual paper to investigate the relationship between destination image, tourists’ emotion, satisfaction, and loyalty in the context of Laguna Redang Island Resort. Moreover, tourists’ daily emotional well-being needs to be considered in assessing their travel intention in the post-pandemic situation. The tests for the propositions in the conceptual model of this st...
Biting the travel bullet: A motivated reasoning perspective on traveling during a pandemic
Annals of Tourism Research, 2020
Background Although airlines estimate a $113 billion loss from travel cancellations due to COVID-19 (IATA, 2020), recent reports suggest that not all tourists' travel plans were equally affected. An Indonesian market survey in February 2020 indicated that as many as 77% of travelers were not planning to cancel their holiday (JakPat, 2020), despite the country having the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia. The urgency and scale of the pandemic suggest that neither naivety nor ignorance can adequately explain this phenomenon. Thrill-seeking tourists sometimes seek out risks, but the pandemic seems an unlikely source of adrenaline. A significant gap therefore exists where literature cannot fully explain the counterintuitive behaviors of these seemingly "crisis-resistant" tourists (Hajibaba, Gretzel, Leisch, & Dolnicar, 2015). This research note reports the results of two studies and uses the theoretical lens of motivated reasoning, i.e. "wishful thinking bias" (Kunda, 1990) to unpack tourists' travel motivations during a pandemic. We found that Indonesians' travel plans during the pandemic were largely related to the Eid al-Fitr period, typically considered as the most important holiday season in Indonesia. However, celebrations were banned for 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19 (Al-Jazeera, 2020), thus situating them as "guilty pleasures" where tension exists between the desire for indulgence and beliefs about self-control (Miao, 2010). The first study was conducted in mid-February 2020 to probe the antecedents of travel intentions before Eid. The second study was conducted in late-May 2020 after Eid to further explicate the motivations of those who have indulged in celebrations despite the ban. Together, both studies provide important answers to understand tourist behaviors during a crisis that applies beyond the context of the current pandemic. Specifically, the study highlights the importance of tourists' personal agency (or lack thereof) as drivers of risky behavior, which are often taken for granted (Armitage & Christian, 2003). Theoretical framework The theory of reasoned action has been criticized for overemphasizing rational, volitional control as the driver of behavior
The adventurous tourist amidst a pandemic: Effects of personality, attitudes, and affect
To better understand travel and hospitality consumers' purchasing behavior amidst a worldwide emergency commonly referenced as COVID-19, the present research set out to assess the impacts of sensation-seeking, consumer affect, and risk-taking attitude on consumers' willingness to purchase travelrelated activities. A sample of 775 adult U.S. consumers were recruited with the help of a professional research consulting company. Simple and multiple regression analyses were performed for the purpose of hypotheses testing. Results demonstrate that individuals with higher sensation-seeking levels, lower negative affectivity, and who identify themselves as risk-takers are more willing to engage in various travel and commercial hospitality activities. Furthermore, sensation-seeking proves to be the most influential factor in driving consumers' willingness to purchase amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors conclude by proposing a typology (illustrated in two different grids) of consumers based on their levels of sensation-seeking (high vs. low), affect (positive vs. negative), and risk-taking attitude (high vs. low). Theoretically, the model helps predict which consumers are most likely to engage in travel-related activities despite of the challenges posed by global pandemics.