Security Perception and Its Impact on Tourism in Mexicali

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-779-8_16How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Security perception; tourism competitiveness; destination image; tourist behavior; border tourism

Abstract

Security has become a strategic factor influencing tourism competitiveness, destination image, and visitor behavior. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding how security perception affects tourists’ experiences and behavioral intentions in border destinations such as Mexicali, Baja California. This study analyzes the relationship between public security perception and tourist behavior, examining its influence on visitor satisfaction, hotel occupancy, destination recommendation, intention to return, length of stay, and tourist expenditure. A quantitative approach with an exploratory-correlational, cross-sectional, and non-experimental design was employed. Data were collected through surveys administered to 50 national and international tourists visiting Mexicali during 2025 and 2026. Descriptive statistics, contingency tables, Pearson’s chi-square tests, and Cramer’s V coefficients were used to examine the associations among the variables. The findings reveal that visitors generally perceive tourist and hotel areas as moderately safe and report high levels of satisfaction with their travel experience. Significant associations were identified between security perception and both tourist satisfaction and destination recommendation, highlighting the strategic role of perceived safety in shaping visitors’ evaluations of the destination. Although security does not operate as the sole determinant of travel decisions, it constitutes an important component of destination image and tourism competitiveness. This study contributes empirical evidence from a border-city context, expanding the understanding of how perceived security influences tourist behavior and providing practical implications for public authorities and destination management organizations seeking to strengthen tourism competitiveness through integrated security strategies.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this license to share adapted material derived from this chapter or parts of it.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Lizeth Ceballos Sáncheza
AU  - Mayda González Espinoza
AU  - Sandra Julieta Saldívar González
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
TI  - Security Perception and Its Impact on Tourism in Mexicali
BT  - Proceedings of the International Congress on Competitiveness and Development of MSMEs 2026 (ICCD-MSMEs 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 275
EP  - 290
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-779-8_16
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-779-8_16
ID  - Sáncheza2026
ER  -