Risky Travel? Subjective vs. Objective Perceived Risks in Travel Behaviour—Influence of Hydro-Meteorological Hazards in South-Eastern Europe on Serbian Tourists

Abstract

In terms of climate related security risks, the region of South-Eastern Europe (SEE) can be identified as one of the world’s hot spots. As weather-related hazards continue to increase in num-bers and spatial distribution, risk perception in the tourism industry becomes even more important. Additionally, people’s perception of natural hazards is one of the key elements in their decision-making process when choosing a travel destination. Although a vast number of studies have exam-ined aspects of risk perception, an integrated approach which considers both objective and subjec-tive factors related to the tourism industry and hydro-meteorological hazards remains relatively scarce. This pioneering study inspects the causality between objective perceived risks, as well as subjective risk factors. A methodological approach and the obtained results present a certain nov-elty since the previous conceptualized Psychological Preparedness for Disaster Threat Scale (PPDTS) was applied for the first time in the tourism industry. The obtained results reveal the pres-ence of a statistically significant relationship between objective risks and certain subjective risk fac-tors (gender, age, education, prior experience, anticipation, and awareness). Therefore, this study may offer a conceptual platform for both theoretical and practical implications for enhanced ap-proaches oriented toward more qualitative risk management at a given travel destination, in regions prone to hydro-meteorological hazards.