Terrorism and domestic tourist risk perceptions

Previous research suggests that threats to security influence tourists’ risk perceptions and travel decision-making. This qualitative study investigates British domestic tourists’ risk perception in the light of the rapidly growing global trend of terrorism. This study yields three insights: (1) the incidence of terrorism produces an emotional response of fear and anxiety; (2) willingness to travel despite perceived travel risk varies depending on factors such as reason for travel, visual presence of security services and the one-off nature of the attack; (3) the media’s influence on travel risk perception is a function of how the media is perceived.