Consumer behaviour in tourism: Concepts, influences and opportunities

TLDR

Consumer behaviour is a heavily studied tourism field, yet comprehensive reviews of its literature are scarce. This review investigates the key concepts, external influences, and promising research contexts in contemporary tourism consumer‑behaviour studies. The authors conducted a narrative review of 519 articles published 2000‑2012 in three major tourism journals, analysing nine core concepts, three external influences, and five future research contexts. From the review, 191 articles were selected, revealing gaps that call for greater emphasis on hedonic and affective dimensions within broader consumer‑behaviour and marketing research.

Abstract

Although consumer behaviour (CB) is one of the most researched areas in the field of tourism, few extensive reviews of the body of knowledge in this area exist. This review article examines what we argue are the key concepts, external influences and opportune research contexts in contemporary tourism CB research. Using a narrative review, we examine the CB literature published in three major tourism journals from 2000 to 2012. Of 519 articles identified and reviewed, 191 are included in this article. We examine the development of and scope for future research on nine key concepts, including decision-making, values, motivations, self-concept and personality, expectations, attitudes, perceptions, satisfaction, trust and loyalty. We then examine three important external influences on tourism behaviour, technology, Generation Y and the rise in concern over ethical consumption. Finally, we identify and discuss five research contexts that represent major areas for future scholarship: group and joint decision-making, under-researched segments, cross-cultural issues in emerging markets, emotions and consumer misbehaviour. Our examination of key research gaps is concluded by arguing that the hedonic and affective aspects of CB research in tourism must be brought to bear on the wider CB and marketing literature.