Tourist Behavior Research Articles

Tourist Behavior and Awareness in Airline Voluntary Carbon Offset Programs: A Portuguese Perspective

This study examines the attitudes and behaviors of Portuguese air travelers towards voluntary carbon offset (VCO) programs, with a focus on understanding the motivations and awareness levels that drive offsetting behaviors. An online survey conducted between February 28 and April 30, 2023, gathered responses from 534 Portuguese residents who had traveled by air in the 12-month period prior to completion of the survey The findings reveal that while the decision to participate in VCO programs is primarily driven by a fundamental environmental ethos among offsetters, tourists exhibit limited understanding of these programs and heightened concern about affordability. Notably, the study uncovers a significant cognitive dissociation among tourists, where they often overlook or fail to acknowledge VCO offers. The findings highlight the challenge of integrating sustainability into the leisure tourism experience. This suggests that future research must account for these psychological hurdles when conducting sustainability experiments. Moreover, for sustainability initiatives to be truly effective, they must first address these cognitive barriers and reshape how environmental responsibility is perceived during leisure travel.

Sustainable Practices as an Incentive to Return to Play at in an International Event

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect that the implementation of green practices in a major sport tourism event, the Badminton World Championships in Huelva (Spain), has on the future intention of similar players to return to compete in sport events. Theoretical Framework: This theme introduces the main concepts and theories underpinning the research. Green practices, perceived value, satisfaction, trust and emotions are highlighted, providing a solid basis for understanding the context of the research. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprised a total of 400 players who attended to compete in the event were randomly selected. A confirmatory factor analysis of the model and a multigroup analysis were carried out. Data collection was carried out by means of a self-administered questionnaire in the presence of the interviewer. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that green practices are a direct predictor of confidence, emotions and perceived value, thus influencing satisfaction and intention to attend or re-attend a similar sporting event as a player. Research implications: Implementing green practices can be an effective strategy to improve participant satisfaction and confidence, which in turn can increase intentions to return to compete in future events. Organisers, federations, and sport tourism managers should consider including measures that promote environmental sustainability, such as waste reduction, efficient use of resources, and promotion of sustainable activities among participants. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by understanding the impact of green practices on participants' satisfaction, confidence and intention to return to sporting events. The relevance and value of this research is evidenced by how these practices can influence the behaviour of sport tourists, filling an important gap in the existing literature on sport tourism and sustainability.

Navigating the challenges of over-tourism: comparative insights and solutions from Petra and Karnak

ABSTRACT This study examines the impacts of excessive tourism on two distinct UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Petra in Jordan and the Karnak Temples in Egypt. These sites were selected for their unique archaeological value and the specific, contrasting challenges they face due to their geographical locations, cultural significance, and differing visitor management contexts. By employing qualitative methods, such as interviews, field observations, and document analysis, the research investigates the environmental, structural, social, and cultural consequences of over-tourism at both sites. The findings reveal that, despite their differences, Petra and Karnak share common issues, including environmental degradation, structural damage, social inequality, and cultural erosion, exacerbated by overcrowding, irresponsible tourist behavior, and inadequate management practices. The study highlights the need for targeted and context-specific solutions, such as improved crowd management, eco-friendly transportation, comprehensive waste management, and stronger community involvement in conservation efforts. By adopting these integrated and sustainable approaches, stakeholders can better mitigate the adverse impacts of tourism and preserve the historical and cultural integrity of these sites. This research provides a valuable contribution to the discourse on sustainable tourism management by offering practical, site-specific insights for heritage preservation.

The effect of awe in wildlife tourists on animal-friendly behavioural intentions: a serial mediation model of connectedness to nature and empathy

ABSTRACT Wildlife tourism is experiencing rapid growth as people's desire to connect with nature intensifies, making the improvement of tourist behaviour in wildlife destinations a crucial research issue. In light of this, the current study, grounded in the appraisal theory of emotion, scrutinises how awe, connectedness to nature (CN), and empathy impact animal-friendly behavioural intentions (AFBI) by establishing and appraising a model incorporating serial mediation and moderation. The results reveal that awe positively influences AFBI, with CN and empathy serving as serial mediators. Furthermore, the extent to which awe, CN, and empathy affect AFBI is amplified at higher levels of animal welfare literacy. This research represents a beneficial attempt to investigate AFBI and its internal mechanisms. Destination management organisations (DMOs), tourism product and service designers, marketers, and policymakers can derive valuable practical insights from this study to enhance sustainable development in wildlife tourism.

The benefits and costs of all-inclusive system from hoteliers’ point of view: a supply-side perspective

PurposeAll-inclusive (AI) packages and meal plans have been an essential component of leisure tourism and received a corresponding attention from the literature, particularly in the case of package tours. However, the existing body of research focuses on the motivations, attitudes and behaviors of tourists, thereby neglecting the supply-side perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the benefits and costs of AI systems from the perspective of hoteliers.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through 27 semi-structured interviews with lodging professionals through purposive sampling. This study adopted a qualitative research design and used thematic content analysis to explore the benefits and costs of AI system.FindingsThe thematic content analysis produced two main themes as facility-related factors and destination-related factors, which further classified as benefits and costs for the hotels and destinations.Originality/valueThis study extends current knowledge by providing a more comprehensive understanding of the benefits and costs of AI systems based on the hoteliers’ point of view, which reflects the supply-side perspective. The findings also offer valuable implications for industry practitioners and destinations to assess and manage the benefits and costs of the system.

Exploring Factors Affecting Millennial Tourists’ eWOM Behavior: A Lens of BRT Theory

This study employs behavioral reasoning theory (BRT) to investigate factors (i.e., personal values, reasons, and attitudes) affecting existing and future behaviors of Millennial tourists’ electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). It uses a mixed-methods approach that includes qualitative interviews with 25 tourists to elicit specific reasons for and against eWOM and a survey of 572 Millennial-Chinese tourists to quantitatively validate our BRT structural model. The statistical results from SmartPLS 3.0 show that all hypotheses on direct effects have gained empirical support except for the relationships between the existing behavior and its respective reasons for and against eWOM. These two insignificant direct effects are, however, shown to be fully mediated by global attitudes, respectively. Moreover, gender moderates the relationships between reasons against eWOM and the existing behavior and reasons for eWOM and future behavior, respectively. Most findings regarding the foregoing direct, mediation, and moderation effects are exploratory. In addition, this study contributes significantly to the literature by successfully developing and validating the scale of reasons for and against Millennial tourists’ eWOM within the BRT framework. Destination managers can use this scale of reasons as both a diagnostic tool and a blueprint for eWOM management.

Reorienting DMO efforts to improve sustainability and reduce the perceived crowding of tourists visiting a destination

AbstractThe present research analyses the changes that the Covid-19 pandemic has generated in the attitudes and behaviour of tourists in relation to sustainability and their perception of crowding. The aim is to understand the new needs and feelings of consumers so that companies and tourist destinations are able to adapt their offer to the new demands. For this purpose, qualitative research was carried out by means of six focus groups, with a sample of 44 individuals. The focus groups were analysed with NVIVO software in order to identify the main themes, perceptions and feelings of the interviewees in relation to sustainability and crowding. The main results show that, although concerns about sustainability and rejection of the crowds increased during the pandemic, these concerns have again become less important to tourists once it has ended. Although sustainable and less crowded tourist destinations are generally preferred, the reality is that post-Covid tourist behaviour has not changed that much after the pandemic has ended. The conclusions obtained will be useful for companies, public administrations, destination management organizations and tourist destinations to know, understand and be able to adapt their offer to the trends and new demands of the post-Covid tourist.

The influence of push and pull motivations on tourist behavior at the full moon party in Thailand

The influence of push and pull motivations on tourist behavior at the full moon party in Thailand

The Influence of Mass Media on Tourist Behavior of People Living in a Country Bordering War

The Influence of Mass Media on Tourist Behavior of People Living in a Country Bordering War

Tourist Behavior and Accommodation Preferences: Analyzing Expenditure and Stay Motives in Goa.

Tourist Behavior and Accommodation Preferences: Analyzing Expenditure and Stay Motives in Goa.

Are all luxury guests the same? A benefit segmentation of 5-star hotel customers

PurposeThis research aims at identifying segments of luxury guests based on the benefits they seek when staying at 5-star hotels. The study also wants to investigate whether ethics and sustainability have a role in differentiating the segments.Design/methodology/approachAn online panel survey allowed the collection of 508 responses with participants from Switzerland that spent at least one night in a 5-star hotel between 2022 and 2023. The survey asked about perceived benefits, sustainable tourist behavior, preferred hotel green practices, trip-related factors and socio-demographics. Hierarchical cluster analysis was employed to group participants on the benefits identified via exploratory factor analysis. The other variables were used for segment profiling.FindingsResults show the existence of three customer segments for 5-star hotels: the ethical enthusiast, the unconcerned aesthete and the practical connoisseur. These differ in the importance they assign to ethical, social and symbolic benefits, as well as functional service benefits. The relevance of sustainability in the luxury hotel experience is stronger for the ethical enthusiast.Practical implicationsLuxury hotel managers should highlight sustainable practices on social media to attract ethical enthusiasts. In addition, marketing content customization should be used to appeal to the benefits and profile of each identified segment.Originality/valueThis is the first study that provides a benefit segmentation of luxury hotel guests, and it is also the first research that considers the role of sustainability and ethics in differentiating these customers.

Unveiling fluctuation patterns of tourist volume: Insights from 56 major attractions in China

Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of tourist volume is crucial for effective tourism management and planning. However, existing tourism data analysis methods often fail to capture the complex, continuous fluctuations and temporal variations in tourist behavior. To address this challenge, we apply functional data analysis (FDA) in the tourism industry to provide a more nuanced understanding of tourist volume dynamics. Specifically, we perform FDA on real-time tourist volume data from 56 major attractions in Beijing, China, revealing intrinsic fluctuation patterns, key factors driving tourist arrivals, and the dynamic characteristics of attractions across temporal scales. Our findings enhance the ability to optimize attraction management, marketing strategies, and policy-making, while also advancing tourism data science by integrating FDA. This approach fills the methodological gap and offers a comprehensive framework for exploring the spatiotemporal complexities of tourism data.

Investigating the growth trends of LGBTQ Travelers in Thailand's Tourism Industry

This research identifies the growth trends of LGBTQ travelers in Thailand's tourism industry, trying to fill the important gap in the empirical knowledge about the impact this demographic and their preferences have. This study used an interpretive field study approach within a qualitative paradigm with interviews and participant observation in assessing motivations, behavior, and experiences of LGBTQ tourists within Thailand. This research answers some key questions about the scope of LGBTQ travel, growth patterns, how organizations are responding for inclusivity, and strategies to attract this market segment. Useful insights for stakeholders in the tourism sector will be sought from this study by analyzing the travel behavior and preferences, as well as emerging trends in tourism. These findings will contribute to the academic discourse on tourism inclusion but will also have real-life implications for the development of marketing strategies, improvement in destination management, and the development of a more tolerant society. This research, once and for all, is supposed to bring into focus a substantial opportunity lying in LGBTQ tourism in Thailand and is going to accentuate the pressing need for providing tailored inclusive travel experiences that would impress diverse desires and aspirations among LGBTQ people. Given that this exploration is necessary, it will foreground the economic, social, and cultural dimensions of LGBTQ tourism within the entire Thai tourism milieu. Conversely, by investigating the motivation for travel among the LGBTQ market segment, this research study will also highlight the unique experiences and viewpoints of LGBTQ tourists while adding to the increasingly complex understanding of this growing market segment. This study will also examine the barriers and challenges that LGBTQ visitors face while traveling in Thailand, and it will also investigate what can be done to make them feel welcome. Practical recommendations for effective targeting and catering to the vibrant market segment will be made by analyzing recent tourism trends and preferences of the LGBTQ traveler. Therefore, tourism by LGBTQ people can have economic impacts, cultural exchange, and tolerance of society. Additionally, extra insight into special needs and desires of tourists will be needed to complement fulfilling and inclusive experiences with which Thailand is establishing its reputation as an LGBTQ-friendly destination. This study will delve deep into the nuances and complexity of LGBTQ tourism in Thailand through an in-depth interview and participant observation study. A study of this nature would add to the growing body of knowledge in terms of the impact and preferences of this demographic and facilitate a more responsive and responsible tourism industry that would have great benefits for LGBTQ tourists and society in general.

The Local's Reactions to Tourists Escaping to Nature After COVID-19: An Assessment on Bungalow Accommodation

This study is aimed to determine the reactions of the public towards Bungalows, which have reached significant numbers in the district as a type of accommodation preferred by tourists to escape to nature after the pandemic, and the tourists staying here. Quantitative research methods were used in the study. A questionnaire was preferred as a data collection tool. Convenience sampling technique was preferred for sampling and during the data collection process, 443 surveys were collected in Sapanca. The study findings reveal that local people support the escaping to nature behavior of tourists, which increased after the pandemic, in terms of their economic contributions, but criticize them for their environmental impacts. The environmental concerns of the locals who do not want more bungalow investments in their regions are greater than their economic gains. While the study measures the reactions of the local people regarding the increasing bungalow-type accommodation, it fills a gap in the literature by supporting the views that there may be reactions at routine times to the developments caused by COVID-19 in tourism.

Exploring Gender Differences in Shaping Total Tourism Experience Quality among Eco-Tourists

This research explored the role of gender as a moderating effect on the relationship between factors affecting ecotourism experiential value. Previous studies have investigated tourist satisfaction; however, the role of gender towards the experiential value remains unclear. More importantly, the tourist’s actual behavior at a destination is a critical determinant factor of tourist loyalty compared to the perception. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to explore the role of gender in the relationship between factors influencing the Ecotourist Experiential Value on Actual Tourist Behaviour. More specifically, this study delved into the consequences of destination experience (i.e. attachment and advocate) and investigated the influence of Ecotourist Experiential Value on Actual Behaviour between genders. A survey was conducted among the Taman Negara patrons in Malaysia. The research model was tested and confirmed with 243 tourists. The data was analyzed using Smart Partial Least Squares which is the variance-based structural equation modelling. The results evoked from the survey indicate that aesthetics is very much important as the influential factors towards positive total experience quality among male compared to female. In contrast, Customer Return on Investment becomes the main concern of female tourists towards Total Experience Quality as compared to male tourists. In light of the major finding, this study accentuates the importance of understanding gender behavior to provide valuable insights for destination marketers to establish positioning plans for the tourism industry.

Rethinking stimulus-organism-response theory for residents’ behaviour in tourism

ABSTRACT This paper critically examines the application of the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory in tourism research, addressing essential critiques and proposing avenues for theoretical refinement. The current study synthesizes existing literature to explore residents’ behaviour in tourism contexts. This work seeks to determine how residents’ place attachment influences their emotional connection with tourists (measured by the New Emotional Solidarity Scale abbreviated as NESS) and how NESS impacts their facilitations (active and passive), ultimately predicts support for tourism development through using S-O-R. The research involved 450 residents of Sivas, Turkey, and was conducted using random sampling. Notably, nine out of the ten proposed hypotheses were supported. Results indicated that place dependence and place identity were linked to NESS factors (communality and fairness), except for the insignificant relationship between place dependence and communality. Furthermore, NESS factors significantly determined facilitation factors that were ultimately significant predictors of support for tourism. This work contributes to the theoretical synthesis and practical insights for destination management and policy interventions in tourism. It also advances the understanding of residents’ behaviour and informs evidence-based decision-making in the tourism industry.

Moderating effect of contextual factors on the relationship between travel motivation and destination loyalty among domestic tourists in the Coast region of Kenya

Despite the marginal growth recorded in the tourism sector in Kenya, the domestic visits and estimates fall far below the expectations. The study was guided by the following specific objective; to assess the moderating effect of contextual factors on the relationship between travel motivation and destination loyalty among domestic tourists in the Coast Region of Kenya. The study area comprised frequented attractions in the Coast region of Kenya. The study adopted an embedded mixed approach comprising descriptive survey and explanatory research designs. Simple random sampling and purposive techniques were adopted for domestic tourists, destination managers and experts respectively. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Four hundred (400) questionnaires were distributed while 10 destination managers and 5 experts were interviewed. Data analysis was done using multiple regression models, hierarchical multiple regression and descriptive analysis. The multiple regression model results without interaction terms indicated that R-square = 0.442, implying that destination attributes and socio-psychological factors explain 44.2% of destination loyalty. The hierarchical multiple regression demonstrated that contextual factors have a moderating effect on interaction between travel motivation and destination loyalty since the model was significant {R2 = 0.255, F (7, 371) = 12.12, p =0.0001}. The model accounted for 25.5% of variation on destination loyalty. This means that the composite elements of contextual factors namely; political, economic, technological and socio-cultural factors significantly moderates the interaction between travel motivation and loyalty behaviour of domestic tourists. The null hypotheses were tested and rejected. The study recommends need for destinations and service providers to engage more on digital marketing and deploy technology during marketing initiatives and product development to capture niche segments since majority of the respondents were youth travelers

Perceived Responses of International Tourists to Transportation and Tourism Services During Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis in Japan

There is a limited understanding on the information-seeking behavior of international tourists during disaster response scenarios due to the lack of empirical studies on crisis communication in Japan. This study clarifies the topics generated from both international tourists and official Twitter accounts by applying the embedding Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) topic model and examines the temporal sentiment changes toward transportation and tourism using the sentiment scores obtained from topic-based Valence Aware Dictionary and sEntiment Reasoner (VADER) sentiment analysis during disasters. A case study was conducted using Twitter data on Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis, which struck Japan in 2019. This study found differences in the topics generated among international tourists and officials in response and a continuous negative sentiment toward specific transportation services. The managerial implications of these findings regarding the use of social media in crisis communication in tourism are also discussed.

Influence of information credibility of Instagram posts on tourist decision-making behaviour

This research tries to identify the influence of Instagram posts on the decision-making behaviour of tourists. Social media plays a pivotal role in today’s travel and tourism environment. It also determines how people perceive and choose a destination. Social media acts as a platform for people to discuss and share about travel adventures, providing detailed information that can widely influence the decision-making process among visitors. Response to social media sharing and information credibility are the independent variables. Prior knowledge and tourist decision-making are the dependent variables. The research also studies the moderating role of the authenticity of social media posts in shaping tourists' responses and choices. An online survey was conducted to collect primary data from 511 Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) respondents. The sampling design adopted was stratified random sampling. Analysis of moment structures (AMOS) was used to analyse the quantitative data collected. A structural equation modelling approach was used to analyse the data. The study reveals that Instagram and other platforms transform intangible aspects of destinations into tangible experiences, enriching tourists' knowledge. Influencers and user-generated content play a crucial role in decision-making. The authenticity of the post plays a crucial role in shaping the tourist’s decision-making process.

Application of social cognitive theory to determine shaping factors of environmental intention and behaviors of ecotourist in forest areas

BackgroundEcotourism as a responsible travel to natural areas is proposed as a strategy for forest conservation by enhancing the livelihoods of local communities. However, engaging in environmentally friendly behaviors during forest visit is a crucial factor in achieving this conservation. This study aimed to examine the determinants of intention and actual environmental behavior among ecotourists during their visits to forests.MethodsUtilizing social cognitive theory as the theoretical framework, the data from 409 visitors of recreational forest were analyzed. After confirming the validity and reliability of the data, structural equation modeling was employed for analysis.ResultsThe results indicated that the model could explain 59% of the behavioral intention and 27% of the actual environmentally friendly behaviors of ecotourists during their forest visits. Additionally, social influence and the behaviors of other ecotourists were identified as two significant determinants of individuals’ behavioral intention. Self-efficacy and behavioral intention also emerged as significant factors which shape the actual environmental behaviors of tourists, positively.DiscussionThe findings suggest that social expectations, learning from fellow tourists, and enhancing individuals’ abilities while addressing barriers to exhibiting environmentally friendly behaviors should be prioritized in promotional planning for ecotourism.