An exploratory analysis of the influence of personal factors on international vacation decisions within the context of terrorism and/or political instability risk

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between personal factors and key steps of the international vacation travel decision-making process within the context of risk of terrorism and/or political instability. A theoretical framework of the vacation traveler decision-making process including personal and external or situational factors served as the foundation for the analysis.;Four independent variables were examined, including international travel experience, risk perception level, travel attitude, and personality type. Dependent variables were three key steps of the decision-making process, including the general decision to travel internationally versus domestically, the extent of information search, and concern for safety in evaluating destination alternatives. Direct relationships between the four independent variables and the three dependent variables were hypothesized. Twelve sub-hypotheses grouped by the three dependent variables were proposed.;A mail survey was conducted in the spring of 1994 to collect data for the study. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 500 individuals who had traveled internationally in the past or had expressed an interest in doing so.;A total of 240 usable surveys were returned, representing a 48 percent response rate. To address the question of possible nonresponse bias, a random sample of nonrespondents (N = 30) were selected and interviewed by telephone.;A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted and supported by four-way analyses of variance. Results revealed that travel experience, risk perception level, travel attitude, and personality type explained 49.4 percent of the variance in the decision to travel internationally. The same four independent variables explained 25.7 percent of the variance in the extent of information search, and 24.7 percent of the variance in the evaluation of destination alternatives. Risk perception level, was the strongest predictor of each of the three dependent variables. Travel attitude was directly related to the decision to travel internationally and information search, and personality type was a predictor of the decision to travel internationally and evaluation of destination alternatives. Travel experience however, appeared to have no direct relationship to the key decision-making steps, within the context of terrorism and/or political instability risk when other independent variables were already accounted for. To examine this variable further, additional analyses were conducted using simple regression with travel experience as the independent variable and the three other personal factors as dependent variables. Travel experience was found to be a significant predictor of risk perception level, travel attitude, and personality type. Results of additional analyses imply that travel experience may be indirectly related to the key decision-making steps that were examined.;Study findings imply that regardless of the extent of previous travel experience, the level of risk an individual perceives with regard to international travel risk due to terrorism or political turmoil, the nature of his/her attitude toward international travel, and his/her personality type have the potential to influence key stages of the decision-making process; namely whether to go abroad or stay home, how much information to search for, and the importance of safety in evaluating various destinations. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).