The Relationship between Perceived Travel Risk, Travel Safety, Travel Anxiety and Intentions to Travel: A Path Analysis Study of Domestic Traveller in India

Understanding tourist risk perception is an emerging research area in tourism literature and tourism cannot develop in places that are considered dangerous. Safety and physical security are the primary conditions for normal tourism development. With the increase of terrorism incidents in India, especially 26/11 Mumbai attack, there is a growing perception that it is risky to travel within India which possibly causes travel anxiety among the travellers. This study investigates 11 different risk perceptions and its impact on travel anxiety, perception of travel safety and its impact on intentions to travel. Data is collected using a structured questionnaire from domestic leisure&business travellers and is analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The path analysis results indicate that 11 dimensions are significantly related to risk perception. Risk perception positively influences travel anxiety but has no impact on travel safety. Further findings indicate that both travel safety and travel anxiety are significant predictors of intentions to travel. Key Words: Travel risk perception, safety and security, path analysis.