Tourists Perceptions on Safety and Security: a Case Study of Phuket Island of Thailand

Tourists Perceptions on Safety and Security: a Case Study of Phuket Island of Thailand Jaruwan Manui* Prince of Songkla University, Phuket campus, Phuket, Thailand jaruwan_j_manui@hotmail.com Sangdao Wongsai Prince of Songkla University, Phuket campus, Phuket, Thailand sangdao.w@phuket.psu.ac.th Abstract Phuket Island has globally renowned as the sea-sun-sand destination, resulting in a rapidly increasing number of arrivals reaching 10 million in 2015. Therefore, safety and security are significant to provide quality in the island tourism and to maintain its destination image. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how international tourists felt about safety and security while visiting the island, based on data collection at the Phuket International Airport during March-April, 2016. An exploratory study on tourists profile and their perceptions of safety and security environment were numerically and graphically summarized to gain insight into the data. Then, multivariate of analysis of variance was carried out to investigate the effects of cultural differences and destination familiarity on the safe and secured perceptions. The findings reveal that the tourists from Oceania and Europe countries felt safer with touristic activities than those from the Asian countries. The more often they visited the destination the less comfortable tourists were with the traffic and road safety on the island. A further study on potential factors associated with the perceptions toward the safe and secure environment on the island is urgently recommended. Keywords: tourist behaviour; destination image; Thai tourism; repeat visitors 1. Introduction Tourism is one of the most important industries for Thailand and thus contributes to the country s economy through a variety of business sectors and investment in the manufacturing and services, such as hotels, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and trades. These activities have created a number of job opportunities and opportunities to build a career, subsequently spreading prosperity in the tourist regions and the home provinces of migratory workers [1], [2]. Therefore, understanding and measuring the components of tourist destination image is vital for enhancing the development of a tourism-driven economy. We have made a study of the behavior of the tourists as influenced by their individual socio-demographic characteristics and travel behaviors and the different nationalities of tourists [3] [5]. Numbers of visits was a significant determining factor in attitudes and behavior and on destination image and satisfaction [6] and helps tourists to decide where to travel and places to avoid [7]. Safety and security of tourists is one of the major image components influencing the decision of tourists on destination selection [3], [4], [8] [10]. Many studies have reported that tourists perceptions of safety and security were dependent on their demographic differences, mainly gender [11], [12] and age [1], [13]. The purpose of this study was to examine demographic factors that had influenced perceptions of tourists on safety and security in Phuket, the famous tourist destination of Thailand for its local history, natural attractions, and world-renowned diving sites. In 2014, Phuket had welcomed more than 11 million visitors and brought in about 260 billion Baht (nearly 7.3 USD billion), accounting for 50% of the country s tourism revenue (National Statistical Office, 2016). The economy in the region is largely derived from tourism industries. 2. Phuket Island of Thailand Phuket is the largest island in Thailand of a group that also includes approximately 39 smaller islands and the region has approximately an area of 570 sq. km. (Phuket Provincial Governor s Office, 2001). Figure 1 shows the location of Phuket Island. It is located in the Andaman Sea off the west coast of

Thailand. Phuket Island is globally renowned as the sea-sun-sand destination and one of the best world-class tropical beach resorts on the Andaman coast because of its beautiful beaches, crystal-clear blue sea, and mountain greenery [14], resulting in a rapidly increasing number of arrivals reaching 10 million in 2015. According to the travel and tourism competitiveness Index Report in 2015, Thailand ranked 132 out of 141 countries on its Safety and Security. This demonstrates the importance of safety and security issues while visiting Phuket (The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, 2015). Therefore, the study of safety and security is significant to highlight the need for improvements in the quality of Phuket tourism and to maintain its destination image. 3. Research Methodology 3.1 Research Hypotheses Fig. 1. Location of Phuket Island Data was randomly collected from 399 international tourists who were visiting Phuket and about to depart from the Phuket International Airport during March-April, 2016. The questionnaire was distributed both on weekdays and weekends to ensure the coverage for all possible target populations. The questionnaire was designed based on the review of the literature on the destination image in tourism, tourists' observations, and recommendations are a respected source of ideas for destination image [15]. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how international tourists felt about safety and security while visiting the Phuket Island. Therefore, a questionnaire survey was designed so as to test the following alternative hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: H0: there is no significant difference in the perception of tourists nationalities felt about safety and security while visiting the Phuket Island. H1: there is a significant difference in the perception of tourists nationalities felt about safety and security while visiting the Phuket Island. Hypothesis 2: H0: there is no significant difference in the perception of tourists about number of visits including this trip felt about safety and security while visiting the Phuket Island. H1: there is a significant difference in the perception of tourists about number of visits including this trip felt about safety and security while visiting the Phuket Island.

3.2 Research Design This research is a descriptive and quantitative research to describe characteristics of respondents and their perceptions regarding the variables presented in the conceptual framework. The main objective of descriptive research is to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon [16]. For this study, the research methodology was based on primary data by using a questionnaire designed by the researchers. The items of the questionnaire were designed for the independent variables in first part and the dependent variables in second part, the first part of the questionnaire, the tourists were asked to disclose personal data including demographic information (e.g., age, gender, nationality, travel party (with whom) and number of visits including this trip). In the second part of the questionnaire, there are 11 variables to measure the satisfaction and perceptions of tourist were listed as follows: (1) touring city in daytime [11], [17], (2) the amount of lighting at night [18], (3) accessibility of the destination, (4) tourist spots and places of visit [19], (5) transportation [20], [21], (6) traffic conditions [22] [24], (7) quality roads bridge utility services [25], (8) accommodation area [19], [26], (9) fair shopping offer [27], [28], (10) beach lifeguard and services [29] and (11) water safety [27]. A fivepoint Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree = 1, Disagree = 2, Neutral = 3, Agree = 4, Strongly Agree = 5, was utilized as a tool for measuring tourists perceptions. The R programming [32] was used for statistical analysis. One way ANOVA was used to analyze and assess the differences among tourists in terms of nationalities and the number of visits including this trip. In the ANOVA, Tukey s test for post hoc comparisons was also chosen because all couples of means are being compared [30], [31]. 4. Research Findings 4.1 Sample Profile This section presents the descriptive analysis of the participants demographic characteristics including gender, age, nationality, travel party (with whom), and number of visits including this trip of visit to Phuket Island. The frequency and percentage distributions of these characteristics are provided in Table 1 and discussed below. Table 1: Profile and trip characteristics of respondents. Variables Frequency (n = 399 ) Percentage (%) Variables Frequency (n = 399 ) Percentage (%) Gender Number of visits including this trip Male 210 52.6 First time 231 58.2 Female 189 47.4 2-3 times 107 27.0 Age 4-5 times 38 9.57 20-29 136 34.3 > 5 times 21 5.29 30-39 121 30.5 Nationality 40-49 68 17.1 Asia 81 20.3 50-59 51 12.9 Australia / Oceania 87 21.8 Over 60 21 5.29 Europe 129 32.3 Travel party (with whom) North America 30 7.52 Alone 33 8.35 Other 72 18.1 Accompanied 205 51.9 Family 157 39.8 Table 1 shows descriptive statistics of profile and trip characteristics of respondents for 399 respondents who visited Phuket Island during March-April 2016. Of a total sample 399 respondents, 32.3% were from countries of Europe (including Russia), 21.8% were from Australia/Oceania, 20.3% were from Asia (including the Middle east), while the remaining 7.5% of the tourists were from North America. Gender of respondents 52.6% (210) were male and 47.4% (189) were female. A large majority of respondents were in age groups biased towards the 20-39 years age group with 34.3% of

the respondents, 30.5% of the tourists were then 30-39 years of age, while the remaining 5.3% of the tourists were over 60 years of age, indicating a tendency for young to adult tourists to visit Phuket Island more than older people. Percentages for number of visits including this trip, most of the tourists 58.2% are visited Phuket Island first time, least of the tourists 5.3% are visited Phuket Island more 5 times. The rest of the percentages were; 27.0% visited Phuket Island 2-3 times and 9.6 % visited Phuket Island 4-5 times, and with companions or family (91.7%). 4.2 Assessment of Perceptions of Tourists of Safety and Security in Phuket. Table 2: Perceptions of Tourists of Safety and Security in Phuket. Perception of safety and security N Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Mean S.D. Disagree (1) (2) (3) (4) Agree (5) Touring city in daytime 399 1.25 6.02 33.58 37.34 21.80 3.72 0.91 The amount of lighting at night 399 0.75 10.03 32.08 40.35 16.79 3.62 0.90 Accessibility of the destination 397 1.01 6.30 33.75 38.79 20.15 3.70 0.89 Tourist spots and places of visit 395 1.01 5.82 26.08 42.78 24.30 3.83 0.89 Transportation 399 2.51 7.77 28.07 42.86 18.80 3.67 0.95 Traffic conditions 398 4.52 11.06 37.69 32.66 14.07 3.40 1.00 Quality roads, bridges, utility services 398 2.26 11.31 33.92 38.19 14.32 3.51 0.94 Accommodation area 398 0.75 5.03 25.63 42.71 25.88 3.87 0.87 Fair shopping offer 399 0.75 8.27 30.58 38.85 21.55 3.72 0.91 Beach lifeguard and services 398 4.27 12.31 33.92 33.17 16.33 3.44 1.03 Water safety 396 2.27 11.11 32.83 33.59 20.20 3.58 1.00 Table 2 shows the percentages of a five-point Likert perceived scale for each category and the average rating factors influencing the perception of tourists on safety and security in Phuket. The results showed that the 3 factors that influence the highest perception of tourists include Accommodation area factor had an average score of 3.87, Tourist spots and places of visit factor had an average score of 3.83, and Touring city in daytime factor with Fair shopping offer factor both had an average score of 3.72. The results showed that the 3 factors that influence the Lowest perception of tourists include Quality tourism factors (Quality roads, bridges, utility services) had an average score of 3.51, Beach lifeguard and services factor had an average score of 3.44 and Traffic conditions factor had an average score of 3.40 respectively. Analysis of the highest averages found that influence of factors involving accommodation area affected the most affected safety and security concerns in Phuket. Tourists have commented that accommodation areas are very safe in Phuket. However, tourists feel that traffic conditions are unsafe in Phuket and gave traffic safety a very low score. 4.3 Hypotheses Testing 4.3.1 Nationalities As aforementioned, a series of hypotheses were developed to investigate the influence of national culture on tourists perception of safety and security while visiting the Phuket Island.Each of these hypotheses was developed to examine the difference in perceptions of safety and security while visiting the Phuket Island between more than two cultural groups of tourists. To test these hypotheses, one-way ANOVA analysis of variance was used. The results of ANOVA analysis of factors composing tourists perception of safety and security while visiting the Phuket Island are provided in Table 3. The Asian category included people from the Middle East and the Europe category included people from Russia. Table 3: Perceived Tourism Impacts with Different Nationalities of Respondents. Perception of safety and security Mean ANOVA Asia Australia / Europe North Other F value p value Oceania America Touring city in daytime 3.50 3.84 3.81 3.80 3.65 1.939 0.103

The amount of lighting at night 3.56 3.61 3.74 3.50 3.57 0.825 0.509 Accessibility of the destination 3.58 3.82 3.74 3.80 3.61 1.054 0.379 Tourist spots and places of visit 3.71 3.91 3.95 3.73 3.72 1.475 0.208 Transportation 3.37 3.90 3.80 3.60 3.57 4.208 0.002* Traffic conditions 3.51 3.53 3.52 3.31 2.99 4.246 0.002* Quality roads, bridges, utility services 3.45 3.52 3.60 3.73 3.31 1.664 0.157 Accommodation area 3.78 4.06 3.91 3.70 3.79 1.718 0.144 Fair shopping offer 3.53 3.91 3.78 3.50 3.69 2.396 0.049* Beach lifeguard and services 3.53 3.52 3.49 3.53 3.17 1.664 0.157 Water safety 3.77 3.53 3.56 3.70 3.43 1.264 0.283 * p < 0.05 The results shown in the table above divide into two groups based on the variation of their scores dependency on national culture variable. Within the first group a statistically significant difference was found in tourists perception of transportation: F = 4.208, traffic conditions: F = 4.246, and fair shopping offer: F= 2.396, for all national groups. These results support the H1 of hypotheses 1 and reject the Null Hypothesis (H0) of hypothesis 1. Which shows that the tourists from the Oceania and Europe countries felt safer with touristic activities than those from the Asian countries based on the observed average rating (Mean) of factors influencing the perception of tourists on safety and security in Phuket. In the other group, there was no statistically significant difference found in tourists perception of touring city in daytime: F = 1.939, the amount of lighting at night: F = 0.825, accessibility of the destination: F = 1.054, tourist spots and places of visit: F = 1.475, quality roads bridge utility services: F = 1.664, accommodation area: F = 1.718, beach lifeguard and services and: F = 1.664, and water safety: F = 1.264. These results support the H0 of hypotheses 1 and rejected the alternative H1 of hypotheses 1. 4.3.2 Number of Visits including this Trip Table 4: Perceived Tourism Impacts with different Number of Visits of Respondents. Perception of safety and security Mean ANOVA First time 2-3 times 4-5 times > 5 times F value p value Touring city in daytime 3.76 3.79 3.61 3.33 1.827 0.141 The amount of lighting at night 3.71 3.64 3.45 3.00 4.655 0.003* Accessibility of the destination 3.73 3.74 3.61 3.52 0.564 0.639 Tourist spots and places of visit 3.89 3.94 3.66 3.00 7.390 0.000* Transportation 3.71 3.72 3.79 3.00 3.971 0.008* Traffic conditions 3.44 3.44 3.42 2.86 2.240 0.083 Quality roads, bridges, utility services 3.61 3.49 3.32 2.86 4.894 0.002* Accommodation area 3.97 3.85 3.82 3.24 4.702 0.003* Fair shopping offer 3.74 3.80 3.63 3.38 1.394 0.244 Beach lifeguard and services 3.56 3.33 3.40 3.00 2.745 0.042* Water safety 3.70 3.49 3.42 3.10 3.342 0.019* * p < 0.05 Result shown in the table above divide into two groups based on the variation of their scores dependency on Number of visits including this trip. Within the first group the tourists visited Phuket Island first time and 2-3 times a statistically significant difference was found in tourists perception of The amount of lighting at night: F = 4.655, Tourist spots and places of visit: F = 7.390, Transportation: F =3.971, Quality tourism (Quality roads, bridges, utility services): F = 4.894, Accommodation area: F = 4.702, Beach lifeguard and services: F = 2.745 and Water safety: F = 3.342, for all Numbers of Visits including this trip. These results support the H0 of hypothesis 2 and reject the alternative H1 of hypothesis 2. In the other group, there was no statistically significant difference found in tourists perception of Touring city in daytime: F = 1.827, Accessibility of the destination: F = 0.564, Traffic conditions: F = 2.240, and Fair shopping offer: F = 1.394. These results support the H0 of hypothesis 2 and reject the alternative H1 of hypothesis 2.

5. Conclusions Understanding the perceived safety and security in tourism by the international visitors in relation to their demographic factors is important for tourism-driven economy in the region of Phuket. Our study disclosed that there were statistically significant difference in the perceptions of different nationalities, and the number of visits (including this trip) of respondents influencing the perception of tourists on safety and security in Phuket. The survey shows that the majority of the tourists from Oceania and Europe countries felt safer with touristic activities than those from Asian countries. The majority of the participants were visiting Phuket for the first time, and with companions or family. Therefore, this research has contributed to the tourism management for improving safe and secured environments to enhance the quality of hospitality and tourism for supporting and accommodating the tourist industries. 6. Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank the Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, for their financial support and provision of hardware and software. The authors also thank Associate Professor Raymond James Ritchie for his assistance in proof reading. Also, the authors would like to thank the Phuket international airport for their kind cooperation during data collection. 7. References [1] S. Jariyachamsit, An Investigation of Safety in Tourism: An Experience of Young Tourists in Bangkok, Thailand, Procedia - Soc. Behav. Sci., vol. 197, pp. 1931 1935, 2015. [2] C. Chen, S. Chen, H. Lee, and T. Tsai, Exploring destination resources and competitivenessea comparative analysis of tourists perceptions and satisfaction toward an island of Taiwan, Ocean Coast. Manag., vol. 119, pp. 58 67, 2016. [3] C. Chen, Y. R. Lai, J. F. Petrick, and Y. Lin, Tourism between divided nations : An examination of stereotyping on destination image, Tour. Manag., vol. 55, pp. 25 36, 2016. [4] S. Forgas-coll, R. Palau-saumell, J. Sánchez-garcía, and L. J. Callarisa-fiol, Urban destination loyalty drivers and cross-national moderator effects : The case of Barcelona, Tour. Manag., vol. 33, pp. 1309 1320, 2012. [5] Y. Boylu, A. D. A. Tasci, and W. C. Gartner, Education s Impact on Cultural Distance Perception : The Case of Turkish Service Providers and European Guests, Sustain. Qual. Life through Tour., pp. 23 27, 2003. [6] J. B. Garau-vadell, P. Martı, and S. Campo-martı, Factors influencing repeat visits to a destination : The influence of group composition, Tour. Manag., vol. 31, pp. 862 870, 2010. [7] T. H. E. Push-pull and M. Framework, The Pull of Tourism Destinations : A Means-End Investigation, J. Travel Res., vol. 40, pp. 385 395, 2002. [8] T. Thiumsak and A. Ruangkanjanases, Factors Influencing International Visitors to Revisit, J. Econ. Bus. Manag., vol. 4, no. 3, 2016. [9] T. K. Hui, D. W. Ã, and A. Ho, Tourists satisfaction, recommendation and revisiting Singapore, Tour. Manag., vol. 28, pp. 965 975, 2007. [10] M. G. Larry Yu, A comparative analysis of international tourists satisfaction in Mongolia, Tour. Manag., vol. 27, pp. 1331 1342, 2006. [11] R. George, Tourist s perceptions of safety and security while visiting Cape Town, Tour. Manag., vol. 24, pp. 575 585, 2003. [12] K. A. Boakye, Tourists views on safety and vulnerability. A study of some selected towns in Ghana, Tour. Manag., vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 327 333, 2012. [13] A. F. Amir, M. N. I. Ismail, and T. P. See, Sustainable Tourist Environment: Perception of

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