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An Exploration of Hiking Risk Perception: Dimensions and Antecedent Factors

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  • Shengxiang She

    (School of Business, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang 550025, China
    School of Business, Guilin Univesity of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
    Center for Behavior Decision, Shannxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China)

  • Yunzhang Tian

    (Center for Behavior Decision, Shannxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China)

  • Lin Lu

    (School of Business, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang 550025, China)

  • Iveta Eimontaite

    (Sheffield Robotics, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK)

  • Ting Xie

    (Department of Tourism Management, Beijing Institute of Petro-chemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China)

  • Yan Sun

    (Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

Abstract

Hiking is a form of green tourism which deserves promotion and popularization, especially in present day China. However, the risks inherent in hiking could have a negative impact on the development of hiking tourism. It is important to better understand how people perceive the risks of hiking and what type of experience attributes they prefer. However, no studies have investigated the nature of risk perception from the perspective of hikers. This study explores the dimensions of the perceived risk of hiking and investigates the associated factors of hiking risk perception as well as hiking preference. A questionnaire with 18 items was used to capture people’s perception of hiking risks, and two groups of samples were surveyed. Generally, this study identified two dimensions of perceived risk towards hiking based on a sample of hikers, i.e., physical risk and psychological risk. Demographic variables such as gender, upbringing background, and hiking frequency were shown to predict hiking risk perception while gender and hiking frequency predicted route preference. The personality trait of sensation seeking appeared to be a significant predictor of hiking preference. These findings lend themselves to market segmentation and marketing strategies on hiking tourism.

Suggested Citation

  • Shengxiang She & Yunzhang Tian & Lin Lu & Iveta Eimontaite & Ting Xie & Yan Sun, 2019. "An Exploration of Hiking Risk Perception: Dimensions and Antecedent Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:11:p:1986-:d:237178
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Quintal, Vanessa Ann & Lee, Julie Anne & Soutar, Geoffrey N., 2010. "Risk, uncertainty and the theory of planned behavior: A tourism example," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 797-805.
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    3. Fangnan Cui & Yaolong Liu & Yuanyuan Chang & Jin Duan & Jizu Li, 2016. "An overview of tourism risk perception," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 82(1), pages 643-658, May.
    4. Huang, Liyuan & Gursoy, Dogan & Xu, Honggang, 2014. "Impact of personality traits and involvement on prior knowledge," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 42-57.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tadashi Uno & Masaya Fujino & Atsushi Ohwaki & Masahiro Horiuchi, 2019. "Prevalence of Falls on Mount Fuji and Associated with Risk Factors: A Questionnaire Survey Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-11, October.
    2. Piotr Próchniak, 2022. "Profiles of Wellbeing in Soft and Hard Mountain Hikers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-13, June.
    3. Yunfan Wu & Keita Kinoshita & Yi Zhang & Rena Kagami & Shintaro Sato, 2022. "Influence of COVID-19 Crisis on Motivation and Hiking Intention of Gen Z in China: Perceived Risk and Coping Appraisal as Moderators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-21, April.
    4. Martin Burtscher & Martin Niedermeier & Hannes Gatterer, 2021. "Editorial on the Special Issue on “Mountain Sports Activities: Injuries and Prevention”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-7, February.

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