Exploring the Relationship between Destination Image, Aggressive Street Behavior, and Tourist Safety

Panhandlers are prominent in larger cities around the United States, but they are particularly apparent in one major Pacific Coast destination. Hotel managers believe this problem could affect their businesses however; the behaviors with which the city's hoteliers are concerned extend beyond panhandling alone. For example, aggressive panhandling is often coupled with threatening or abusive behavior. Hotel management's perception of safety and security for a tourist is relatively is relatively untouched in the literature. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to determine what hotel managers greatest concerns are when it comes to aggressive street behavior and tourist safety and security, as related to destination image. Because hotel managers and other tourism operators sell and promote their businesses to tourists, it is essential to know how these operators view their destination's image, especially if there is a potential threat to that image as a result of aggressive street behavior. A survey was developed to determine which behaviors were of most concern; to assess hotel managers' perceptions of safety, as well as their image of the city as a destination. A major finding is that hotel managers are not concerned about tourist safety and security insomuch as they are worried about feelings that tourists have towards panhandlers. In direct contrast to their limited concerns for safety, the results show that the managers believe San Francisco is not a destination that is safe or clean. Implications of this are discussed.