관광객의 위험지각이 농촌관광지 방문 의도에 미치는 영향

(Analysis of the Impact of Tourists’ Risk Perception on Visit Intention in Rural Tourism)

As rural areas have been changing rapidly due to international trade liberalization, the importance of nonfarm income has been increasingly recognized for the sustainability of rural economy in Korea. In this context, the government has developed a rural tourism business in order to increase nonfarm income and consequently the demand for the rural tourism has been increased. However, inevitable incidents continue to occur in the tourist sites. Whenever these dangerous disasters happen, the tourists are aware of the potential risks and tend to avoid or cancel their plans to visit rural areas. In tourism sector, the perceived risk has been regarded as the important variable which can have an influence on individual’s preference or intention of revisiting. In this regard, it is necessary to examine the impact of the risk perception associated with disasters that occur persistently and inevitably in the rural tourism. Therefore, this study analyzes the impact of tourists’ risk perception on rural tourism using the survey data obtained from the potential rural tourists. Based on empirical findings, this study proposes a strategy and policy associated with a risk management, which can be useful for the revitalization of rural tourism.