Do you know how Chinese residents conduct online searches for outbound travel risk information? A study based on user portrait

With the rapid increase in the number of Chinese outbound tourists, it is particularly important to understand their online risk information search behavior. Focusing on Chinese outbound tourists, this study constructs a process model describing their online risk information search behavior. Then questionnaires are distributed to collect data, and statistical analysis is performed, such as K-means clustering and cross-tabulations. Findings reveal the following: there are three distinctive portraits of Chinese outbound tourists. The “Moderate” type, primarily attuned to psychological, physical, and time-related risk dimensions, exhibits a moderate awareness of tourism risks and an insufficient level of information acquisition, presenting a nuanced approach to tourism risk information search behavior. The “Limited Ability” type, predominantly concerned with time, physical, cultural differences and barriers, and risk dimensions, demonstrates a low awareness of tourism risk needs and an excessive level of information acquisition, manifesting the weakest overall information search capability. In contrast, the “Active and Diligent” type, perceiving psychological, physical, and economic risk dimensions, maintains a moderate level of awareness regarding tourism risk needs and an insufficient level of information acquisition. This group’s information search behavior is characterized by proactive engagement, with search barriers exerting the greatest impact on search channels. The study fills a critical gap in tourism portrait research by integrating risk perception into Chinese outbound tourists’ information search behavior and user profiling, while developing a novel process model that incorporates individual characteristics, search barriers, and search capabilities as pivotal constructs – offering a more holistic theoretical framework than prior studies that overlooked these interconnected variables.