Tourists’ Perceptions of Destination Image, Safety, and Aggressive Street Behavior

ABSTRACT

Concerns about Aggressive Street Behavior (ASB) and Safety-and-Security (SS) are hitting home with local tourism officials and hotel operators in San Francisco, despite strong market performance. Tourism officials and hoteliers are concerned that ASB is impacting the Destination Image (DI) and perceptions of tourists’ Safety and Security (SS). The purpose of this study is to examine ASB to determine if it may impact the tourist’s perception of the destination’s SS or DI. Findings suggest that ASB serves as a predictor of tourists’ level of concern with SS, although it does not have a significant relationship with Destination Image (DI); however, post hoc analyses suggest that a link between the constructs may exist among leisure-oriented travelers. Limitations and future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Aggressive street behavior
• corporate social responsibility
• destination image
• tourist safety-and-security