Risk perceptions among religiously practicing tourists: Are they group differentiated?

Religiousness and religious affiliation as a cultural phenomenon generating an array of travel risk perceptions has attracted only a handful of researchers so far. Using the case of the Ultra Orthodox Haredi community in Israel, we explored how belonging to a specific religious group within this community generates different risk perception constructs. Using the theoretical ‘Value Stretch’ model embedded into a ‘Nominal Group Technique’ methodology, we revealed that, generally, risk perceptions among religiously different Haredi groups are group differentiated. This is a result of various religious, cultural, social, and environmental differences, which characterise each Haredi subgroup. The findings call for further exploration of tourist subgroups’ cultural and religious backgrounds and their impact on shaping travel risk perceptions.