Do tourists perceive the same risks in border tourism? The case of destinations along the U.S.-Mexico border

Do tourists perceive the same risks in border tourism? The case of destinations along the U.S.-Mexico border

To gain a deeper insight into tourism within border regions, research is needed to examine the way tourists perceive international borders. It is essential to investigate if tourists perceive the same risks in border areas compared with other tourism destinations. The purpose of this study was to identify salient dimensions of perceived risk in border tourism. Moreover, the relationships among destination familiarity, media exposure, perceived risk, attitude, and intentions to visit destinations along the U.S. – Mexico border have been examined. The findings revealed different types of risks when considering travel to the U.S. – Mexico border region; familiarity and media exposure significantly influenced tourists’ perceived risk. In addition, dimensions of perceived risk including personal safety and Border Patrol concern showed a significant relationship with attitudes. This study further identified strong positive relationships between attitude and behavioral intention. Based on the results, several managerial implications have been proposed to reduce the perceived risk of tourists in order to promote border tourism.