The Role of Security and Perceived Risks in Promoting the Social Bond of Winter Sports Tourists

Today, sports tourism is one of the areas that can contribute to the social bond of society. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of security and perceived risks in promoting the social bond of winter sports tourists.

In terms of its objectives this study is of an applied research type and in terms of its method it is based on structural equations modeling. The statistical population of the study consisted of all the tourists of the ski slopes in Tochal and Dizin region that had a history of at least 6 months of continuous presence or at least five times a year in the history of visiting these slopes. Cochran's formula was used to obtain the sample size which was set at 272 individuals. The purposive random sampling method was employed for sampling. All statistical calculations of this study were performed using SPSS statistical software and the analyses related to structural equation modeling were conducted using Amos software.

Security has a significant and positive effect on social connection (Sig. = 0.001, t = 7.349), on perceived risks (Sig. = 0.001, t = 4.404) and perceived risks have a significant and positive effect on social bond (Sig. = 0.001, t = 3.177). Finally, the results of structural equations show that security has a positive and significant effect on the social bond of winter sports tourists through the mediated variable of perceived risks.

Creating appropriate security conditions and perceived risks play an important role in promoting the social bond of winter sports tourists. For this purpose, in addition to providing security, issues such as the presence of trained staff and the optimal performance of the complex during accidents should be prioritized.