Level of concern and sources of information of a group of Brisbane hostelers for personal safety and terrorism when traveling abroad.

Background: Little is known about the level of concern and sources of information of hostelers concerning personal safety and terrorism. This study was designed to investigate these in the Australian context.
Methods: In 2006, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to hostelers attending a travelers' information evening in Brisbane.
Results: Forty questionnaires (60.8%) were returned. Over two thirds of attendees were women (71.4%). About two thirds of the hostelers attending the travelers' information evening reported being aged 29 years or younger (64.2%). Anticipated main destinations were Europe (68.3%), Asia (14.3%), and North America (11.9%). Nearly two thirds (63.4%) intended to travel in more than 8 weeks time or were not sure. Of those departing within 8 weeks, only 40% had sought travel health advice from their general practitioner and/or travel clinic. Nonmedical sources of information on travel health included travel books and guides (40.5%), Internet (35.7%), and travel agents (19.0%). On a five-point rating scale (1 being not concerned to 5 being extremely concerned), median ratings of hostelers' concern for personal safety (4.0) was significantly higher than for terrorism (2.5), with the range being 1 to 5 in each case (p < 0.001). Nearly three quarters (73.8%) of hostelers would seek personal safety advice from multiple sources, and sources of information included the Internet (69.0%, 29), travel books and guides (59.5%), physicians (57.1%), and travel agents (45.2%). Only three (7.1%) nominated the physician as their only source of personal safety advice.
Conclusions: Hostelers attending a travelers' information night in Australia expressed more concern for their personal safety when traveling than for terrorism. Since this group of travelers uses multiple sources of information with the Internet most commonly used, Web sites that provide accurate and relevant information in an acceptable format could play an important role in supporting this group. It is important that policies being promoted by travel health advocacy groups in Australia continue to advocate that travelers seek travel health advice from a qualified source early, preferably around 6 to 8 weeks before travel, and that personal safety be discussed as part of the travel health consultation.