Casual walking in urban tourism destinations through the lens of stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) and hierarchy of walking needs theories

Abstract

ABSTRACT Applying the stimulus – organism – response (S – O – R) and hierarchy of walking needs theories, this exploratory study examined the stimuli that triggered tourists to take a casual walk in an urban tourism setting, whether and how these stimuli interacted, and how the stimuli evoked the tourists’ emotions, experiences, and responses. Macao (China), a popular tourism and leisure hub, was selected as a case study. Twenty-eight qualitative face-to-face interviews with tourists were conducted. Personal conditions (feasibility) and interest were found as the two primary intrinsic stimuli that drove tourists to take a casual walk, and the walkable physical environment (or pleasureability) was the extrinsic stimulus. Most respondents considered two or more factors in their walking decision-making, and the factor of personal conditions came before personal interest and the pleasureability factors. Taking casual walks further evoked positive emotions and experiences including ‘interested’, ‘joyful’, and ‘calm and relaxed’, and led to increased walking frequency, walking for a longer distance, and consuming street foods and shopping along their walks. Negative emotions and experiences of boredom were also noted, which led to the reduction of casual walking. This study contributed to the limited studies on causal tourist walking in the urban setting. Managerial implications were also given.