Looking for a safe haven after fancy thrills: a psychometric analysis of risk perception in alpine tourist destinations

Visitors' risk perceptions have been found to influence the on-site behaviour of tourists and their intention to return to a destination or to recommend it to others. The present study analyses the perception of tourism risks in the Tyrol, Austria. Building on the psychometric paradigm, participants (N = 207) assessed 15 vacation risks on nine risk characteristics that are derived from psychometric research and completed with characteristics relevant in a tourism context. Findings suggest that additionally to managing the most likely risks, alpine destinations should be prepared to cope with worst case scenarios such as 'potable water poisoning', 'food poisoning', 'breaking of an embankment dam', 'rock fall on a village', 'cable car accident' and 'terrorist attack'. Considering these rather low-probability risks is of decisive importance since such risks are especially prone to evoke public outrage if they - against all expectations - result in damaging events.