Tourism Management - Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior is one of the most researched areas in tourism. This studies why a tourist chooses a particular destination and what are the driving factors that influence his decision for travelling.

Factors Affecting Tourist Behavior

The following factors immensely alter tourist behavior −

• Geographical Factors − Some physical factors like geographical and climatic conditions, facilities and amenities available at the destination, advertising and marketing conducted by tourism business alter the decision making of the tourists.
• Social Factors − A few social factors such as a person’s social network, which provide first had information that can alter a person’s decision of visiting or not visiting a particular place.
• Place of Origin − There can be a broad spectrum of tourist behavior depending upon the place they belong to. North Americans like to follow their own cultural framework. Japanese and Korean tourists like to visit places in groups.
• Tourism Destination − It is a major contributing factor altering tourist behavior. If a destination has all basic provisions such as electricity, water, clean surroundings, proper accessibility, amenities, and has its own significance, it largely attracts tourists.
• Education of Tourist − The more educated the tourist is, the wider range of choices, curiosity, and the knowledge of places he would have. This drives the decision making when it comes to choosing a destination.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Tourist Behavior

The difference is as follows −

Intrinsic Behavior	Extrinsic Behavior
They record higher level of satisfaction and enjoyment as they see an activity as a mean of enjoyment itself.	They record comparatively lower level of enjoyment as they go through the stress of competition.
Time passes faster for them.	They are focused on passage of time.
They record a higher level of enjoyment.	They tend to be tensed for performance and could be apprehensive, which hinders their enjoyment and relaxation.
They look forward to the next similar experience in the moderate to long span of time.	They look forward to the same experience in the short span of time.