Effect of decision-making style on travel intention of religious tourism (Qom as religious tourism destination in Iran)

Abstract

Marketing experts are interested in travel intention since it enables them to analyse tourists' consumer behaviour. In order to understand the behaviour of religious tourists, this study concentrates on the effect of decision-making styles on travel intention of tourists travelling to Qom (a religious city in Iran). Data were collected through a field survey among 350 people who visited Qom City and data was analysed using partial least square (PLS) modelling. The results show that brand-conscious consumer style, recreational and hedonistic consumer style and confused-by-overchoice consumer style are the main controllers of religious tourists' travel intention. Also, perfectionist conscious consumer style, novelty and fashion-conscious consumer style, price-conscious consumer style, habitual and brand-loyal consumer style, impulsive and careless consumer styles did not affect travel intention of religious tourists. This is the first study that investigates decision-making styles of religious tourists.