Tourists’ perceived risk of Barcelona as an international destination

Abstract

This quantitative research enhances the understanding of the risk perception of international visitors while visiting Barcelona. To reach this aim a model has been suggested, which proposes that the following independent variables directly and positively affect the overall risk perception of risk: financial risk, service quality risk, political instability risk, petty crime risk and terrorist attack risk. In order to evaluate the perception of visitors and to determine which of the variables influences the most, a self-reported survey has been conducted. The results of this study indicate that terrorism attack risk is the factor that influences the most towards the overall perception of risk. Therefore, using the p-value approach modelling analysis a hypothesis suggested can be confirmed: terrorist attack risk directly and positively affects the overall perception of risk. The study has provided analysis and implications to the tourism industry in Barcelona, which can also serve as a reference to destinations with similar risk background.