How tourism decision-making and on-site interactions promote family benefits: A power perspective

Abstract

Different power distribution determines different collective decision-making strategies, through influencing group members how to express recommendations, resolve conflict, then shape consensus. But few studies have focused on their impact on travel decision-making, intra-family interactions, and the subsequent family benefits. By knowledge mapping 179 relevant articles and a further meta-analysis, this article aims to answer two core questions about family travel: (1) How is the power distribution involved in decision-making of family travel? (2) What types of on-site interactions and decision-making strategies are more beneficial? Through the knowledge mapping, the main themes of existing family travel studies are classified and revealed from a power perspective. Then, the meta-analysis further showed that joint decision-making is the most beneficial strategy during interactions involving a specific tourism activity, followed by the husband-dominated decision-making. When it comes to communication while traveling, child-dominated decision-making is the most beneficial strategy.