ABSTRACT
Media reports of attacks on women tourists in India in 2013 received a high level of attention around the world, with numerous countries releasing official warnings for women traveling to India to take extra care and observe stringent security, some of which remain in force today, including Australia, the UK, the USA and, more recently, Japan. As noted in the popular news and social media site Scroll.in and taken up by many other online news outlets:
Safety fears are always a major deterrent for travel, but the reports can be exaggerated or mis-represented, particularly in these days of 24 h news and the associated need for “stories.” Regardless of their efficacy, they all contribute to one’s perceptions and attitudes toward a destination. This chapter looks at how women in particular are responding to the reports, and the effect similar situations have had on tourism in other parts of the world. While not playing down the safety issues, ways to ameliorate the perceptions of danger are proposed, while also creating safe places for foreign travelers, by actually asking those surveyed-the potential female visitors.
