Thirty Years of Research on Tourism Safety and Security: A Comparative Automated Content Analysis Approach

Abstract

Safety and security are important elements in tourism and have been studied over the past few decades. China plays an important role in the global tourism industry as the leading source market in the world. However, no studies thus far have comprehensively reviewed and compared tourism safety and security research published both within and outside China. To fill the void, this study reviewed 160 publications on tourism safety and security from English- and Chinese-language academic journals selected between 1990 and 2018. A comparative automated content analysis (ACA) approach was adopted in this study to analyze and compare the major themes and concepts that emerged in the sample. The findings revealed that the Chinese and Western literature assume distinctive foci regarding tourism safety and security. Specifically, the English-language literature is more comprehensive and considers both the supply and demand sides of the tourism industry. On the other hand, the Chinese literature thoroughly examines the importance of tourism safety and security within the tourism development process. This study provides a broad overview of the research activities on tourism safety and security from both an insider’s and outsider’s perspectives. Future research directions are suggested.