Traveling has effected nations and individuals since nearly their conception. Centuries have become witness to the trends of travel and from the whims of the individual to the necessity of a refugee. As the world becomes more integrated travel has increases, and suddenly there are more foreigners eating around you, living around you, and speaking their language in front of you. Begging many citizens to researchers to ask the question what makes people travel? To many these are immigrants seeking a better life, driven by poverty and desperation from their homeland to those of greater wealth and opportunity. Yet this does not explain Americans emigrating to Western Europe, or emigration vice versa. Although income is a significant motivation for traveling there are many other factors at play, how many travel agencies are there advertising travel based on income saying “go to Pairs – there’s a surplus of low-wage jobs”. Surely there are other factors influencing the reasons for travel, things like family, friends and experience overseas are likely to decrease the negative assumptions of many travelers as they become acquainted or attached to the prospect of traveling to other nations. While fear and negative media coverage are likely to increase negatively impact the likeliness of travel, it is sensibly hard to imagine someone traveling to a nation they are terrified of. Thus the degree of fear and its effect on travel will be the focus of this study. The impact of terrorism on international travel and the effect of negative media coverage are good ways to measure the impacts of fear on potential travelers as well as the resilient trends of some decision making parties. To this effect the impact of terrorism after 9/11 had on the general public, and the Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004 are good measures of these trends. Because people generally know how they feel about terrorism, especially when it’s directed at themselves. These cases examine the premise of traveling - safety, the safer people feel the more they travel.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction / Research Question
II. Literature Review
III. Concepts and Hypotheses
IV. Methods and Data
V. Results
VI. Discussion and Conclusion
Research Objectives and Topics
The research paper aims to identify and analyze the primary variables that influence the decision-making process of individuals regarding international travel, specifically focusing on the role of fear, resilience, and capability.
- The impact of terrorism and negative media coverage on travel intentions.
- The psychological resilience of travelers in the face of security threats.
- The role of socioeconomic factors, including income, gender, and education.
- The influence of technological access and transportation quality on travel habits.
- A quantitative analysis of survey data to test hypotheses regarding travel safety perceptions.
Excerpt from the Book
II. Literature Review
Fear and reactions to fear dominate almost every decision we make as citizens, as such a mass of work on the matter exists. But due to the difficulty of surveying or measuring international travelers there is a slimmed ratio of its application to travel. This study will deal with three main variables which effect travel, fear, resilience, and capability. For fear media and terrorism will be examined, for resilience the Athens Olympic reaction and the professor study will serve as supportive evidence. Lastly for capability technology and gender issues will be examined to determine limitations which would impede travel.
In Defense & Peace Economics, Llorca-Vivero, Rafael analyzed the direct impact of terrorism on international tourism flows. Through the course of the study Rafeal shows how tourism from the richer G-7 nations to a host of over 134 destinations decreased in response to terrorism. By showing the ‘deviation’ from what they had marked as standard tourist flows pervious to the impact of terrorism. The analysis suggests that both domestic victims and international attacks are relevant factors when foreign tourists make their choice (Llorca Vivero Rafael, 2008). Additionally Rafael also noted that the both although “developed countries suffer from more terrorist attacks, the consequences are more severe in developing countries”. (Rafael, 2008, pp.179) Showing that fear of travel has far reaching implications. The degrees of deviation in 1st world tourism in response to terrorism and their effects on developing nations will be applied in my study as measures of both the far reaching
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction / Research Question: This chapter introduces the motivation for the study, focusing on how factors like fear, media, and terrorism influence the decision to travel internationally.
II. Literature Review: The chapter examines existing academic research on the impacts of terrorism, media coverage, and psychological resilience on tourism flows and individual travel behaviors.
III. Concepts and Hypotheses: This section defines the key variables—such as income, media frequency, and access to technology—and sets up the research hypotheses to be tested.
IV. Methods and Data: This chapter details the field research methodology, including the design and distribution of surveys, as well as the data collection and encoding process.
V. Results: This chapter presents the statistical analysis of the collected survey data, comparing initial hypotheses against actual findings derived from cross-tabulations.
VI. Discussion and Conclusion: The final chapter reflects on the research findings, addresses initial miscalculations, and discusses the broader implications of the study's results regarding travel behavior.
Keywords
International travel, tourism, terrorism, media, fear, resilience, socioeconomic factors, data analysis, cross-tabulation, survey research, travel safety, psychological variables, globalization, transportation, decision-making.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper investigates the variables that influence individual decisions regarding international travel, particularly examining how fear, media, and security threats affect a traveler's perceived safety.
What are the central thematic fields?
The study centers on the intersection of travel behavior, international security, media influence, psychological resilience, and accessibility factors like technology and transport.
What is the main research question?
The research asks what factors determine why people travel, specifically focusing on the degree of fear and its measurable effects on potential travelers.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses empirical field research, specifically designing and distributing surveys to participants, followed by quantitative analysis using crosstabs and statistical recoding.
What is discussed in the main part of the paper?
The main part covers the literature review on existing studies, the formulation of hypotheses, the methodology of data gathering in various locations, and the subsequent statistical analysis of variable interactions.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include international travel, terrorism, media influence, psychological resilience, socioeconomic variables, and survey-based data analysis.
How does media coverage specifically impact travel decisions according to the study?
The study suggests that an increase in media saturation regarding security threats negatively impacts the willingness of citizens to travel, as fear effectively inhibits decision-making.
What role does the 'resilience' variable play in the findings?
Resilience acts as a counteractive force to fear; it represents the ability of individuals and crowds to remain indifferent or resistant to terrorist threats and maintain their travel aspirations.
Did the author's findings align with the initial hypotheses?
The findings were mixed, with roughly half of the hypotheses proven correct and half incorrect, prompting the author to re-evaluate common stereotypes regarding income, education, and gender in travel.
What was the outcome regarding the safety perception of females versus males?
Contrary to the author's initial hypothesis, the results indicated that females felt safer than men when traveling, although they expressed more worry regarding security issues.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Levi Leatherberry (Autor:in), 2010, Variables in Travelling Abroad, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/167038
