Geographical Perceptions of Terrorism and Their Influence on Domestic Tourists’ Travel Intentions
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Geographical Perceptions of Terrorism and Their Influence on Domestic Tourists’ Travel Intentions David Oluwabusayomi Adeloye A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy At the University of Otago, Dunedin New Zealand January 2020 Abstract Tourism by its very nature is susceptible to various forms of risk ranging from economic to environmental and political crises. Not only does the buyer (i.e., tourist) spend his/her disposable income to buy the tourism product (or service), s/he also sees it from a subjective and experiential point of view. As such, the purchase and/or consumption of tourism products and services are associated with high uncertainty and risk as they are bought without prior testing. Consequently, tourism and tourism components are infused with risk from transportation, to food and beverage, to hotel safety and security across every scale from the individual tourist, through the businesses, to the destinations. It is in this framework that risk events (e.g., terrorism) represent a severe threat to the consumption of travel and tourism. It has been suggested that tourist perceptions of risk influence tourist travel intentions and are a major predictor of choice of destination (Baker, 2015). In essence, it is argued that tourists avoid a destination they perceive to be of higher risk in favour of another destination which is of lower risk. However, this argument (being mainly western-centric) is limited as it approaches tourist risk perceptions and spatial decisions (with regards to risk) from a geographically-specific and international tourists’ perspective. This leaves out a broader spatial context through which tourists might approach risk or make spatial decisions (e.g., where to go) with respect to risk. Therefore, this thesis contributes to academic knowledge not only through its investigation into spatial perception in the context of tourism and risk related to terrorism but also by its conceptualisation of and empirical research into domestic tourists and terrorism. Thus, this thesis examines spatial perceptions of terrorism in the context of domestic tourists (an area that has received limited attention within tourism studies). Fifty-two semi-structured interviews were carried out by the researcher with domestic tourists in Nigeria from January through April 2018. In keeping with the paradigmatic ideals of interpretivism, emergent themes were identified from within the qualitative data gathered, including the spatial perceptions that domestic tourists have of terrorism and its influence on their travel intentions. While in-depth interviewing was the main method of investigation, this thesis also employed a complementary implicit measurement using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to examine domestic tourists’ attitudes towards domestic tourism in relation to terrorism. This gave the researcher the opportunity to examine respondents’ self-reported attitudes towards terrorism and domestic tourism in relation to their implicit attitudes. Similarities and differences between explicit and implicit attitudes were therefore inferred. i Although the examination of subjective spatial perceptions of terrorism was the aim of this thesis, other key themes were also identified, including levels of exposure to terrorism and its influence on risk perceptions and travel intentions, and post-terror attack communication strategies people employ. While there were multiple perspectives on how terrorism was spatially perceived and approached, religion, geographical location and ethno-linguistic characteristics were voiced as critical perspectives through which terrorism was differentially spatially perceived by domestic tourists. Spatial perception of terrorism is highlighted as not only problematic for the interviewees travel intentions, but also for their feelings of safety. ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, my profound gratitude goes to my supervisors, Professor Neil Carr and Associate Professor Andrea Insch. Thank you for seeing me through this project, for the patience, the listening ears, the support and the feedback. I learnt a lot about life while being supervised by you both. In addition to his role as my primary supervisor, I would like to further thank Professor Neil Carr for his professional guidance. Beginning in the UK during my PhD application process and since joining the University of Otago, Neil has been an enthusiastic supporter of my academic endeavours. Thank you for the opportunities you have afforded me as a research assistant amongst other teaching opportunities. I would like to thank the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago for making what could have simply been a thesis an unforgettable PhD experience. You have added value to my life and I am sincerely grateful to everyone (staff and my PhD colleagues). I also extend gratitude to Pip Lennon, Karen Bosworth and Trudi McLaren for all your help over the course of my PhD. In addition, I am grateful to the University of Otago for the PhD scholarship offered me without which studying at the University of Otago would have been near impossible. Most importantly, I am thankful to my loving family; my parents (Michael and Elizabeth), siblings (Bunmi, Segun and Funke) and Roger and Fiona Hirons. Thank you for your unwavering support despite the thousands of Kilometres standing between us. I also owe great thanks to the Affi’s for accommodating and supporting me throughout my fieldwork. iii Table of Contents Abstract…………………………….………………………………………………………… i Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….... iii Table of Contents………………...………………………………………………………… iv List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………… vii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………… viii Publications………………………………………………………...……………………….. ix Chapter One – Introduction……………………………………………...………………… 1 1.1 Introduction………………………………………………………...…………………….. 1 1.2 Framing the research: gaps and rationale……………………….…………………………1 1.3 Research aim…………………………………………………………………...………… 3 1.4 Thesis structure…………………………………………………………...……………… 4 Chapter Two – Risk Perception and Tourism…………………………………………….. 7 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….………… 7 2.2 Risk……………………………………………………………………………..………… 7 2.3 Risk objectivism vs risk subjectivism…………………………………...……………… 11 2.4 Risk perception…………………………………………………...……………...……… 13 2.5 Factors influencing risk perception…………………………………..….……………… 24 2.6 Geographical perception of risk………………………………………………………… 30 2.7 Spatial perceptions, risk and tourism…………………………………………………… 34 2.8 Summary………………………………………………………...……………………… 41 Chapter Three – Terrorism and Domestic Tourism……………………..……………… 43 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………...……………… 43 3.2 Terrorism: definition and beginnings…………………………………………………… 43 3.3 Terrorism: current trends………………………………………………...……………… 47 3.4 Terrorism by the numbers………………………………………………….…………… 48 3.5 Tourism and terrorism……………………………………………………………...…… 50 3.6 Domestic tourism and terrorism………………………………………………………… 55 iv 3.7 Summary………………………………………………………………………...……… 60 Chapter Four – Research Context: Nigeria……………………...………………………. 63 4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...………… 63 4.2 Geographical background…………………………………………………………..…… 63 4.3 Historical context………………………………………………………………..……… 65 4.4 Socio-political administration…………………………………………...……………… 67 4.5 Ethnic and religious demographics…………………………………………...………… 68 4.6 Socio-economic means of livelihood…………………………………………………… 68 4.7 Tourism development in Nigeria…………………………………………………...…… 69 4.8 Tourism and terrorism in Nigeria…………………………………………………..…… 72 4.9 Summary……………………………………………………………………………...… 79 Chapter Five – Research Methodology and Methods……………………...……………. 81 5.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...………… 81 5.2 Research paradigm……………………………………………………………………… 82 5.3 Qualitative research…………………………………………………………..……….… 83 5.4 Addressing reflexivity and positionality………………………………………...……… 85 5.5 Data collection techniques…………………………………………………….………… 90 5.6 Ethical considerations…………………………………………………...……………… 96 5.7 The study area…………………………………………………………………...……… 99 5.8 Sampling strategy………………………...………………………………….………… 101 5.9 Data analysis……………………………...…………………………………………… 102 5.10 Summary………………………………...…………………………………………… 103 Chapter Six – Risk Perceptions of Terrorism and Travel Intentions……..………….. 104 6.1 Introduction……………………………...……………………………………..……… 104 6.2 Spatial perceptions of terrorism and domestic travel…..……………………………… 105 6.3 Media, terrorism and travel risk perception…………………………………………… 112 6.4 Exposure to terrorism and travel risk perception……………………………………… 114 6.5 Summary…………………………………………………………………………….… 121 v Chapter Seven – Explicit-Implicit Assessment of Attitudes Towards Domestic Destinations……………………………………………………………………………….. 124 7.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………..……………124 7.2 Results………………………………………………………………………….……… 125 7.3 Post-IAT: Reflections…………………………………………………..……………… 128 7.4 Summary……………………………………………………………………….……… 135 Chapter Eight – Communicating with the Public Post-Terror Attack…………….…. 137 8.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………….……………… 137 8.2 Risk communication: the “who” ……………………………………....……………… 138 8.3 Risk communication: the “how” ……………………………………………………… 140 8.4 Risk communication: the “where” …………………………….……………………… 144 8.5 Summary……………………………………………………………………….………. 148 Chapter Nine – Conclusion……………………………………………………..……….. 150 9.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………….……………… 150 9.2 Addressing the research aim………………………………………………….…………150 9.3 Implications for and contributions to academic