The Threat of Terrorism and Tourist Choice Behavior

The threat of terrorism is increasingly relevant to tourism on a global scale, and no destination can claim exemption. Tourism managers need to be aware of the impact that past, current, and future terrorism events have on tourist behavior. The aim of this research is to further our understanding as to how terrorism advisory information impacts tourists’ preferences for, and trade-offs between, specific aspects of their travel. The research uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) embedded within a classic between-subjects experimental design. US-based respondents (n = 424) completed the experiment. A random parameter logit (RPL) model is calculated to understand how tourists’ preference structures change as the threat of terrorism intensifies taking into account travel knowledge, sensation seeking, and demographic factors. Results suggest that tourist’s travel choices in relation to accommodation, independent versus group travel, cancellation policy, and price vary significantly as the threat of terrorism increases.