An assessment of potential and perceived risk and their effects on the intention to revisit and recommend :a study of international tourists in a second-tourists in a second-tier tourism city

Abstract

This research was undertaken to assess the perspectives of the foreign tourists and stakeholders related to the potential and perceived risk of the second tier tourism destinations along Trang Province's Andaman Coast in Thailand and their effects on the tourists' intention to revisit and recommend. Trang Province, one of six provinces along the Andaman Coast of Thailand, was selected as the unit to be studied. Thus, the purposes of the research were to: 1) study the potentials of the tourism destinations in Trang Province, 2) study the perceived risk of foreign tourists who have travelled to the tourism destinations in Trang Province, and 3) examine the effects of the potentials and foreign tourists' perceived on their intention to revisit and recommend others to visit Trang's destinations. Mixed research methodology was employed in this research. Researchers gathered information from 400 sets of questionnaires distributed to foreign tourists present in Trang to collect quantitative data. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data from 30 foreign tourists and 30 stakeholders related to the second tier tourism destinations in Trang Province. Content analysis was used interpret the interview results, whereas descriptive statistics (i.e., frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (i.e., t-test, ANOVA, and OLS) were employed for the analysis of the quantitative data. The research results found that Trang Province is regarded as having several good potential attributes which have a low level of risk from foreign tourists" perspectives. Differences in the tourists' characteristics influenced the tourists" perspectives of the destinations' potential and perceived risk associated with travelling in Trang. The destinations' potential and perceived risk statistically influenced the tourists' intention to revisit and recommend others to visit tourism destinations in the province. These findings suggest that the perceptions the destinations in Trang having distinctive elements (potential attributes) and the low level of risk (perceived risk dimensions) related to travelling in Trang enhanced foreign tourists likelihood and willingness to revisit the second tier tourism destinations in Trang province and to recommend visiting them to others. In terms of implications, our findings suggest thatourism development, public relations, and provincial infrastructure should be high priority concerns for stakeholders related to the second tier tourism destinations in Trang Province and efforts to improve these weaknesses should be an ongoing. collaborative effort.