dc.description.abstract |
Tourists’ perceptions of risk on travel destinations are thought to be one of the key
determinants of their decision to revisit a destination. To manage demand in the tourism
and travel industry, it is imperative that the possible effect of the risk factors associated
with a destination is understood and how it influences tourists’ choice. The purpose of
this study was to examine the effect of perceived risks on revisit intentions of
international tourists in Mombasa County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to:
establish the challenges faced by international tourists visiting Mombasa County;
determine the effect of political, terrorism and health risks on the revisit intention of
international tourists in Mombasa County. Anchored on the Expectation-Confirmation
theory, the study adopted convergent parallel mixed method research design. Using Taro
Yamane Table, a sample size of 400 foreign tourists was selected from a target
population of 1.46 million international tourists visiting Mombasa County annually. The
study established that crime, political unrest, natural disasters, and disease outbreaks were
the major risks perceived by international tourists visiting Mombasa County, though to a
minimal level (mean 2.6). Concerning the nature of association between the study
variables, the findings indicates that perceived political risks had a negative relationship
with revisit intention, though insignificant (β= -.135, p = 0.067) while terrorism related
risks and tourists’ intention to revisit had a significant negative relationship (β= -.512, p =
0.001). In regards to the effect of health risks on tourist’s revisit intentions, the findings
revealed a significant negative relationship (β= -.841, p = 0.001) between the two
variables. The coefficient of determination (R2=0.506) computed meant that the overall
perceived risks cause an impact of approximately 50% of tourist’s intention to revisit.
The study concluded that both political and terrorism risk have a negative, but
insignificant effect on the international tourists’ revisit intention in Mombasa county.
Additionally, the health risk has a negative and significant effect on tourists’ revisit
intention in Mombasa County. The study recommends that tourism operators, national
and county government officials should take necessary actions to control future
incidences of political, terrorism and health risks in the county since it results in reduced
tourist arrivals in the county. It is hoped that the findings of this study will form part of
the action plans that will help the Mombasa County to be innovative in order to gain
competitive advantage over its competitors as they would be able to make informed
decisions on issues that will boost their international visitors, base. |
en_US |