care to protect their guests (Bach & Pizam, 1996). As shown in this
study, before the Japanese tsunami on March 2011, tourists somewhat
perceived the importance of a tsunami evacuation system and
crisis management plan. However, after the tragedy, these two
crisis management plans were rated as more important.
Nevertheless, most tourism suppliers do not want to inadvertently
remind tourists of the 2004 tsunami tragedy. They perceive
that such information would frighten tourists. Moreover, there is
a gap between tourist perceptions and tourist safety. As
Rittichainuwat and Chakraborty (2012) notes although most tourists
feel safe about overt safety measures, a stringent increase in
safety measures could frighten them because such measures could
create a false perception that something unwanted has previously
happened at the destination.