Introduction In tourism, there has been increasing interest in issues of security in recent years. This has arguably stemmed primarily from industry and consumer concerns with respect to the effects of terrorism, wars and criminal activity on perceptions of personal safety and the likelihood of destination avoidance. However, the notion of security potentially provides a useful framework within which to consider issues of trust in tourism planning, because it highlights not only the ways in which individuals are affected by other events and individuals but also that individuals are embedded in communities and other collectivities that are themselves affected by broader system change. All of which infl uence both the need to trust and the capacity to trust.