Abstract
General models of tourist decision making have been developed to theorize tourist decision processes. These models have been based on the premise that tourists are rational decision makers and utility maximizers. Further, these models have been operationalized through input–output models to measure preferences and behavioral intentions. The extent that they remain viable to explain and predict tourist behavior as tourism markets mature however is uncertain. This review article critiques these approaches and proposes a new general model based on dual system theory to account for different types of choice strategies, the constructive nature of preferences, and to recognize the individual and contextual factors that influence choice processes. The article argues that a general tourist choice model should integrate the psychological processes that determine choice strategies, or heuristics, and consider choice context. These include individual differences, task-related factors, and principles determining system engagement. Future research and practical implications are outlined.
Highlights
Tourist choice and decision making has become one of the cornerstones of research in the tourism literature spanning five decades of theoretical and empirical development (Smallman & Moore 2010)
Theoretical progress has been rich, recognizing the inherent complexity involved in tourism decision making, and numerous general models have conceptualized the determinants, phases and intervening variables involved (Sirakaya & Woodside 2005)
A particular issue is whether they are reflexive enough to account for developments in the culture and practice of tourism as it has evolved into a pervasive global activity and become established as a cultural norm in many societies
Summary
Tourist choice and decision making has become one of the cornerstones of research in the tourism literature spanning five decades of theoretical and empirical development (Smallman & Moore 2010). Both the cognitive and behavioral types of model are based on an assumption that tourists are rational utility maximizers, following linear and sequential decision processes (Sirakaya & Woodside 2005).
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