Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Muhammet Kesgin is an assistant professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Rochester Institute of Technology. His research primarily focuses on destination marketing and tourist behavior, with special emphasis on visitor attractions, visitor experience design, and visitor engagement. He has focused on the determinants of success in multi-stakeholder-involved tourism projects. His current plan of work focuses on resilient tourism business models and world class hospitality and tourism organizations.

Linden Pohland is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management with minors in Accounting and Spanish at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He currently serves as an undergraduate research assistant in the School of International Hospitality and Service Innovation at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Abstract (150 Words)

This study presents the preliminary findings of a broader investigation into the level of concern regarding international travel at times of terrorist attacks. The results indicate that there is not a significantly different pattern in demographic characteristics regarding the level of concern. The preliminary findings reveal a strong association between media searching behavior regarding terrorist attacks and level of concern in international travel. Tourists are selective in their destination choice with a tendency to travel more developed destinations. However, tourists demonstrate that they do not change their trip once destination choice is made even in the case of terrorist attacks. Behavioral resistance differs slightly between the most risky and least risky destination choices. Industry specific accessible research such as this enhances theoretical knowledge about resilient or resistant tourists and informs practitioners about how to formulate strategic responses to disruptions to maintain the level of tourist arrivals.