The Impact of Fear Message on Electronic Word of Mouth and Tourists' Intention to Visit

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of political instability and fear message on electronic word of mouth (eWOM). In addition, it in turn examines the casual influence of eWOM on travel intention decision making by adopting the fear appeal theory in a tourist destination. Design/Methodology/Approach: Questionnaires were distributed to international tourists in Sharm El-Sheikh through a random sampling approach. A number of 329 respondents was investigated at various tourist attractions of Sharm El-Sheikh. A quantitative approach is employed with structural equation modeling (SEM) informing the analysis of the impact of political instability on fear message and, in turn, on tourist's eWOM and tourist's travel decision making including the intention to visit. Findings: The research findings revealed that adopting fear appeal theory provides an applicable model for explaining the negative impact of fear and political instability on tourist's eWOM and intention to visit. Research limitations & implications: The findings offer important implications for media service provider and are likely to arouse further research in the area of media, eWOM and online travel.