Tourist behaviour, unit 2

Tourist Behaviour

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UNIT 2 : PURCHASE DECISION PROCESS

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This unit covers :

1. Motivators

2. Determinants

3. Models of purchase decision making

process

4. Mathieson and Wall Model

5. Stimulus-Response model (Middleton);

etc.

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Tourism Product

• The product is complex and multilayered.

• The tourist buys an overall experience rather than a clearly defined product.

• The tourist is part of the production process in tourism.

• The tourist experience is heavily influenced by external factors.

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The purchase-decision process

• Factors which influence the tourist to purchase a particular tourism product.

• factors are divided into:

• Motivators • those factors which motivate the tourist to

wish to purchase a particular product.

• Deteminants • those factors which determine to what

extent tourists are able to purchase the product they desire.

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Motivators

• Motivating factors in tourism can be split into two groups:

• those which motivate a person to take a holiday;

• those which motivate a person to take a particular holiday to a specific destination at a particular time.

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A typology of motivators in tourism

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The Leisure Motivation Scale

• In 1983, Beard and Raghob developed a model called the Leisure Motivation Scale.

• The four types of motivators were determined they are:

1. The intellectual component

2. The social component

3. The competence-mastery component

4. The stimulus-avoidance component

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Motivators and the individual tourist

• Personality

• Lifestyle

• Past experience

• Past life

• Perceptions

• Wish

• Circumstances

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Major motivators and different types of visitor attractions

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Types of Motivators

• Multiple motivations

• Shared motivators

• Expressed and real motivators

• Motivators and different market segments

• Motivators and gender

• National and cultural differences

• Motivators and the timing of purchase decisions

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Conclusions • motivation is highly complex

• Depends on a range of factors, including:

– The personality and lifestyle of the potential

tourists

– Their past experiences

– Who they are planning to take a vacation with

– Their demographic characteristics

– How far in advance they book their trip.

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Determinants

• Those factors which determine to what extent tourists are able to purchase the product they desire.

• There are two types of determinants:

• Those factors which determine whether or not someone will be able to take a holiday or not.

• Those factors which determine the type of trip, if the first set of determinants allow a holiday to be taken.

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Determinants

• Determinants can be • the destination for the trip

• when the trip will be taken

• the mode of travel to be used

• the duration of the trip

• who will comprise the holiday party or group

• the type of accommodation that will be used

• the activities undertaken by the tourist during the holiday

• how much will be spent on the trip.

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Determinants

• Determinants can be

• Personal to the tourist

• External to the tourist

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Personal determinants of tourist behaviour

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External determinants of tourist behaviour

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External determinants of tourist behaviour

• Political factors: – government legislation and policy

– immigration restrictions and visa requirements

– civil disorder and terrorism

– the nature of the political system

– taxation policy, e.g. airport taxes

– tourist taxes.

• The media: – travel media, e.g. holiday features on television, in newspapers,

and guidebooks

– non-travel media, e.g. news programmes and wildlife programmes

on television

• Tourism organization marketing: – foreign destinations’ advertising campaigns

– tour operator’s brochures

– travel agent’s special promotions.

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Factor effecting the determinants The role of the tourism industry • develops products specifically to match the determinants of some

tourist behaviour; for example, it can offer packages designed for tourists who have particular health problems such as mobility difficulties

• Provides information to prospective tourists on everything from health problems to visa requirements, destination climate data to the destination’s cultural attractions

• Designs its promotional messages to fit the key determinants of the behaviour of different groups of tourists. This might include emphasis on discount deals for those with limited incomes or those who like to search for bargains, reassurance about the safety of a destination or selling the resort as one which has good facilities for children

• Influences determinants such as offering people with limited budgets the opportunity to purchase tourism products on credit with repayments over a period of time.

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Conclusions

• The determinants of tourist behaviour are complex and diverse.

• They include personal determinants which are different for each tourist.

• There are also external determinants, which will be interpreted in different ways by individual tourists.

• The issue of determinants is linked to other matters, such as the actions of the tourism industry, the idea of rational decision-making, last-minute purchases and the composition of holiday parties.

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Models of purchase decision making process

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characteristics of services:

• Intangibility

• Inseparability

• Heterogeneity

• Lack of ownership

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Convenience versus shopping goods

• convenience good

• A convenience good is a manufactured item which typically has a low price and is bought frequently.

• Shopping good

• A shopping good typically has a high price and is bought less frequently.

• generally satisfy higher-order needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

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(Middleton and Clarke, 2001)

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A stimulus-response model of buyer behaviour decision-making process

The complexity of consumer behaviour in tourism: the demand side • High involvement in purchase decision and

high consumer commitment.

• High levels of insecurity linked to intangibility

• Considerable emotional significance

• Strongly influenced by other people

• Long-term decisions

• High level of information search

• Tourism product : The provider

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The tourist decision-making process

• The Purchase decision a tourism product is Complex process.

• The diverse and interdependent characteristics of many tourism products - a complex phenomenon.

• Decision - the consumer and the external influences that act upon them.

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The tourist decision-making process

• Decisions involved in choosing a holiday : * Which destination (country, region, resort) ? * Which mode of travel (scheduled air, charter- air, ferry, rail, coach, car, bus) ? * Which type of accommodation (serviced or non- serviced) ? * How long will the holiday be (days / weeks ) ? * At which time of the year will the holiday be taken (season, month, specific date ) ? * Package holiday or independent travel ? * Which tour operator (if package holiday) ?

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The tourist decision-making process

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MATHIESON AND WALL MODEL (1982)

• Linear five-stage model of travel buying behaviour

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Wahab, Crampton and Rothfield(1976)

• A ‘linear model of the tourism decision-making process

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A critique of purchase decision models in tourism • Most of the models we have discussed so far

have some common weaknesses that:

• limit their value in explaining the complex way in which purchase

• decisions are made in tourism, and

• make it difficult for tourism marketers to make use of them when developing their marketing strategies.

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A critique of purchase decision models in tourism 1. Most of the models developed to date have originated

from work carried out by academics in North America, Australia and Northern Europe. Few, therefore, reflect the nature of consumer behaviour in the main emerging markets of South East Asia and Eastern Europe.

2. In general they are based on little or no empirical research, and there is little evidence that they represent the reality of how decisions are actually made.

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A critique of purchase decision models in tourism 3. A large number of the best known models are now at

least fifteen years old. This is a significant weakness in an industry where consumer behaviour is believed to be constantly evolving. Thus most of the major models predate recent developments in tourist behaviour, including: (a) the rapid rise of the Internet as a means of purchasing airline tickets and hotel beds

(b) the impact of the ‘no-frills’ budget airlines

(c) the rise of the all-inclusive resort holiday

(d) the growth of direct marketing

(e) the increasing popularity of last-minute spontaneous purchases of tourism products. © Aditya Ranjan

Refrences : • John Swarbrooke and Susan Horner (1999). Elsevier

Ltd. 2nd ediition.

• Tourism Management (2009). Consumer Behaviour. Hotelmule.com

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Thank you Everyone

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