Safety and security factors affecting foreign tourist satisfaction in Karnataka

Safety and security is a vital component for a destination to remain competitive, attract investment and maintain a positive image as a tourist destination in any country. Compare to other economic activity, the success and failure of any tourism industry depends on its credibility to provide a safe and secure environment to the foreign visitors. The present research focuses on safety and security factors affecting foreign tourist satisfaction in Karnataka. There were 319 foreign tourists being surveyed to know their experiences with regard to safety and security that they felt during their visit to Karnataka. Regression analysis was used to find out the significant relationship between the factors related to safety and security measures and satisfaction of foreign tourists. The results showed that, safety and security factors such as the foreign customers intentionally dress as the locals, role of local police stations and security officer’s, surveillance of roads and local areas for security, placing Do’s and Don’ts at few places, availability of information /Police booths, 24/7 tourist office services, availability of helpline centres/tourist grievance cell, night patrolling, transport, communication, health, sanitation, security checkpoints in tourist areas, online travel and safety information, CCTV cameras surveillance, early warning mechanism have found significant relationship with foreign tourist satisfaction in Karnataka.