Today I received the final acceptance decision of a review paper entitled "Consumer behaviour in tourism: Key
concepts, influences and opportunities". The paper is co-authored by Scott Cohen (University of Surrey, UK) and Girish Prayag (University of Canterbury, NZ) and has been accepted for publication in Current
Issues in Tourism. You can download the word version of the accepted paper here
This is the abstract:
Although
consumer behaviour 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 consumer behaviour research.
Using a narrative review, we examine the consumer behaviour 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. Lastly, 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 consumer behaviour
research in tourism must be brought to bear on the wider consumer behaviour and
marketing literature.
So, if you are doing research on any of the topics covered (in Purple), you will find this paper of interest to your research.
