Influences of pro‐ all‐inclusive travel decisions

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the motivations for choosing all‐inclusive package tours when traveling, and to specify the visitor and travel attributes associated with those motivations.Design/methodology/approachA specific visitor‐exit‐survey involving all‐inclusive tourists visiting the Balearic Islands (n=843) was conducted during the summer of 2006 at the Airport of Palma de Mallorca. Then, through discrete choice models‐binary logit, relationships between the identified motivations and specified attributes were analyzed by looking for the attributes that are more associated with each motive.FindingsThe study results show that tourists traveling through all‐inclusive tours attach more importance to the motivations related to convenience and relaxation, economies of resources as well as safety and security in their vacationing processes; with specific tourist and trip attributes influencing the probability for confirmation.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the motivation of different tourist profiles visiting the destinations is useful in managing the tourism industry for satisfying specific tourist segments without jeopardizing the interests of the host community. A full understanding of all‐inclusive motivation would help travel organizers and marketers to plan, design and deliver products and services that cater for the specific needs of the all‐inclusive market, with the aim of capturing the financial benefits which are the central element of the economy.Originality/valueThere is still little knowledge in the literature about all‐inclusive package tourism. Specifically, the knowledge of tourist motivation with reference to the tour mode choice within the tourism landscape is still diluted, and therefore the motive behind one traveling through certain tour modes like all‐inclusives continues to miss the ground works. Nor have the factors that influence evaluation of the motivations related to the decision of this type of trip have been much studied, which renders this field of study one of the underdeveloped areas in the tourism social sciences. The paper attempts to contribute where there is this lack of knowledge.