Why Does Tourist Risk Perception Differ From Actual Risk? A Social Construction Theory Perspective

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2026

School

Marketing

Abstract

Tourists' risk assessments often diverge from objective conditions because risk perception is socially constructed rather than purely rational. Yet tourism risk research often frames this construction as a linear media-to-individual process, overlooking how meanings are reproduced through social feedback before travel. Drawing on social construction theory and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF), this grounded theory study analyzes 47 in-depth interviews with Chinese tourists in Thailand. The findings develop a two-way construction and feedback loop model that conceptualizes risk perception as a cyclical four-stage process: media, institutionalization, internalization, and externalization. Unlike unidirectional amplification accounts, the model shows that tourists’ interpretations also feed back into societal discourse through communication and behavior, shaping subsequent narratives and perceptions. This bidirectional mechanism extends SARF by theorizing risk perception as recursive meaning construction and offers actionable insights for destination risk governance and crisis communication.

Publication Title

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Volume

66

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