Consumer Behavior in Travel and Tourism

Containing original and previously unpublished theoretical and empirical studies, Consumer Behavior in Travel and Tourism will give professionals, professors, and researchers in the field up-to-date insight and information on trends, happenings, and findings in the international hospitality business arena. A great resource for educators, this book is complete with learning objectives, concept definitions, and even review questions at the end of each chapter. From this book, readers will understand and learn the needs and preferences of tourists and how to investigate the process of destination and product selection to help provide customers with products and services that will best meet their needs.

In today''s highly competitive business environment, understanding travel behavior is imperative to success. Consumer Behavior in Travel and Tourism brings together several studies in one volume, representing the first attempt to explore, define, analyze, and evaluate the consumption of tourist and travel products.

This guide offers essential research strategies and methods that enables readers to determine the wants and needs of tourists, including:

• discussing and evaluating the main factors that affect consumer behavior in travel and tourism, such as travel motivation, destination choice, and the consequent travel behavior
• exploring the various decision-making processes of consumers that leads to consequent destination choices through case study analysis and marketing suggestions
• determining customer expectations of products through a variety of research techniques in order to find ways of improving satisfaction
• examining selected research tools, such as product positioning and repositioning and using perceptual maps, to evaluate the market implications of using qualitative and/or quantitative research techniques
• detecting and analyzing the relative roles individual, environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic factors play in choosing travel destinations