Consumer Behavior in the Tourism Industry - Essay Example

COMPARATIVE ESSAY By Location Comparative Essay Introduction It is of critical importance to understanding tourist consumer behaviours to develop effective marketing activities of promoting tourism products and services. Tourist consumer behaviour denotes the different acts, decisions, perceptions, and attitudes that determine the tourism products and services that customers are likely to consume. Tourism consumer behaviour also entails the post-consuming reactions of tourists. If the tourism industry is to develop new tourist products and services, there is a salient need to critically understand tourism consumer behaviour. Therefore, many academic journals have focused on providing a collection of journal articles that discuss different aspects related to tourist consumer behaviours. Moreover, newspapers such as The Guardian also contribute immensely to the understanding of tourism consumer behaviours. This paper will compare the contribution of The International Journal of Tourism Research, which is one of the reputable academic journals as well as The Guardian to understanding different concepts related to tourism consumer behaviour. Body The International Journal of Tourism Research is a highly reputable academic journal that publishes a diverse range of articles concerning the tourism industry. In the past one year, the journal has published numerous articles that help researchers understand tourism and consumer behaviour to improve the marketing and branding of tourism products and services. Also, some articles give attention to the critical steps that different tourism countries have taken to improve levels of consumer satisfaction hence registers positive outcomes of tourism consumer behaviour. For example, the article, The Incorporation of Consumer Experience into the Branding Process: An Investigation of Name-Brand Hotels, published in the journal earlier this year, gives a critical consideration of how hotel brands can positively improve consumer experience. Worth noting is the fact that the consumer experience is determined by the attitudes and perceptions as well as images associated with different tourism services and products. Therefore, the article helps the tourism industry understand the purpose of positively influencing consumer behaviour by improving the consumer experience and adopting proper branding processes (Manthiou, Kang, Sumarjan, and Tang 2015, n.p). Notably, the article highlights the fact that branding and marketing has the potential to influence consumer perception and determine the purchasing behaviour of tourism products and services. Additionally, the journal also published an article titled Destination Attractiveness Drivers among Urban Hostel Tourists: An Analysis of Frustrators and Delighters. The article discusses the main motivators in terms of destination attractiveness that may influence consumer behaviour in the tourism industry. A close analysis of the article serves to highlight the factors that may either frustrate or delight tourists while consuming different tourism products and services (Mikulić et al 2015, n.p). Other articles in the journal discuss the risk perception and level of satisfaction, which is related to the post-consumption reactions of consumers such as Up in Smoke? The Impact of Smog on Risk Perception and Satisfaction of International Tourists in Beijing. The article highlights the risk perception of smog in Beijing and whether it has the potential to affect tourism consumer behaviour regarding the destination (Li, Pearce, Morrison, and Wu 2015, n.p). Other articles such as the one titled Solo Holiday Travellers: Motivators and Drivers of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction offer a comprehensive analysis of the different factors that are likely to influence tourism consumer behaviour (Bianchi 2015, n.p). Specifically, the article helps in the understanding of different motivators and drivers that contribute to customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. A Vogolo’s article titled Investigating the Attractiveness of an Emerging Long-Haul Destination: Implications for Loyalty also provides a critical analysis of the factors that may contribute to consumer loyalty in the tourism industry (Vigolo 2014, n.p). These articles represent primary data which are highly reliable and valid and can be used by players in the tourism industry to positively influence the consumer behaviour. Similarly, Vukic and his colleagues published an article that appeared in the journal titled Understanding the Heterogeneity of Generation Ys Preferences for Travelling: a Conjoint Analysis Approach. The article provides critical knowledge on the factors that are likely to influence the consumption of tourism products and services by generation Y (Vukic, Kuzmanovic and Stankovic 2014, n.p). Worth noting is the fact that the generation Y has been characterized as having the resources of venturing into long holidays and other travel arrangements, but look for unique features in different tourist destinations. The Journal also published an article titled A Grid-group Analysis of Tourism Motivation, authored by Li and his colleagues, which provides a statistical understanding of different tourism motivators, which have the potential to influence consumer behaviour (Li et al 2014, p. 36). Additionally, the article by Doran and Larsen titled The Relative Importance of Social and Personal Norms in Explaining Intentions to Choose Eco-Friendly Travel Options, discusses the role of social and personal factors in determining the consumer buying decision in the tourism industry. Both social and personal norms are characterized as important factors that determine the choice of tourist destinations by different individuals as the article highlights (Doran and Larsen 2015, n.p). Other articles published in the journal give specific attention to Muslim tourists and the factors that are likely to affect their consumer behaviour. Muslim tourists have different expectations, perceptions, and attitudes towards different tourism products and services. Therefore, the articles titled Integrating Muslim Customer Perceived Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty and Retention in the Tourism Industry: An empirical study and Islamic Attributes of Destination: Construct Development and Measurement Validation, and Their Impact on Tourist Satisfaction give attention to Muslim tourists and the factors that influence their consumer behaviour (Eid 2014, p. 249). An additional article titled, Multisensory Processing Impacts on Destination Image and Willingness to Visit gives attention to the customer perception of the destination image and the resulting consumer behaviour (Kim and Kerstetter 2014, n.p). Without a doubt, the international journal of tourism research contributes significantly to the understanding of tourism consumer behaviour. On the other hand, The Guardian also contributes to the understanding of the factors that influence consumer behaviour. However, the contribution of the Guardian is relatively minimal compared to the journal. However, The Guardian has lately published articles such as Tourists in Greece: Everybody should come and spend money here, which discusses a potential liquidity case that would affect consumer behaviour in Greece (Henley 2015, p.1). The article urges tourists headed for Greece to carry with them sufficient cash in case the predicted liquidity materializes. The article promotes the understanding of some factors, especially finance related factors that affect consumer behaviour. An additional article titled Urban cable cars: from transport solution to tourist attraction highlights the effects of effective transportation systems on consumer behaviour in the tourism industry (Rushby 2015, p.1). For example, urban cable cars have the potential of promoting desirable consumer behaviour and motivate tourists to prefer a destination that have developed such cars. Tourists prefer destinations that present with a unique experience. Moreover, The Guardian also published an article titled Can mass tourism ever be sustainable? - Live chat, which discusses the different factors that can promote sustainability of mass tourism. Worth noting is the fact that sustainability in the tourism industry can only occur if the industry can meet consumer needs effectively. If the industry is to meet such needs, it must understand consumer behaviour in depth (LaBrecque 2015, p.1). The fourth article published in The Guardian titled Magaluf declared ‘mature tourist zone’ in crackdown on drunken exce, discusses the role of governments and cultural regulations in determining consumer behaviour. With the crackdown on alcoholism, some tourists are likely to prefer other destinations that provide them with the freedom to enjoy themselves to the fullest (Kassam 2015, p.1). These four articles published in The Guardian help in understanding some factors that affect tourism consumer behaviour. Conclusion As highlighted above, the international journal of tourism research significantly contributes to the understanding of tourism consumer behaviour compared to The Guardian. The journal presents a wide range of articles that help in the understanding of different factors that have the potential to affect the consumer behaviour in the tourism industry. The fact that articles published in the journal provide reliable primary research findings explains why the journal is a more reliable source of knowledge concerning tourism consumer behaviour. The articles published by The Guardian cover several aspects of consumer behaviour specifically based on recent events, but do not offer a critical analysis or the statistical significance of such factors in influencing consumer behaviour. Bibliography Battour, M., Battor, M. and Bhatti, M 2014, Islamic Attributes of Destination: Construct Development and Measurement Validation, and Their Impact on Tourist Satisfaction, International Journal of Tourism Research, 16(6), pp.556-564. Bianchi, C 2015, Solo Holiday Travellers: Motivators and Drivers of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction, International Journal of Tourism Research, p.n/a-n/a. Doran, R. and Larsen, S 2015, The Relative Importance of Social and Personal Norms in Explaining Intentions to Choose Eco-Friendly Travel Options, International Journal of Tourism Research, p.n/a-n/a. Eid, R 2014, Integrating Muslim Customer Perceived Value, Satisfaction, Loyalty and Retention in the Tourism Industry: An empirical study, International Journal of Tourism Research, 17(3), pp.249-260. Henley, J 2015, Tourists in Greece: Everybody should come and spend money here, The Guardian, [online] p.1. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/19/tourists-in-greece-everybody-should-come-and-spend-money-here [Accessed 28 Jun. 2015]. Kassam, A 2015, Magaluf declared ‘mature tourist zone’ in crackdown on drunken excess, The Guardian, [online] p.1. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/18/magaluf-mature-tourist-zone-crackdown [Accessed 28 Jun. 2015]. Kim, J. and Kerstetter, D 2014, Multisensory Processing Impacts on Destination Image and Willingness to Visit, International Journal of Tourism Research, p.n/a-n/a. LaBrecque, S 2015, Can mass tourism ever be sustainable? - live chat, The Guardian, [online] p.1. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/mass-tourism-sustainable-johan-lundgren-live-chat [Accessed 28 Jun. 2015]. Li, J., Pearce, P., Morrison, A. and Wu, B 2015, Up in Smoke? The Impact of Smog on Risk Perception and Satisfaction of International Tourists in Beijing, International Journal of Tourism Research, p.n/a-n/a. Li, M., Zhang, H., Xiao, H. and Chen, Y 2014, A Grid-group Analysis of Tourism Motivation, International Journal of Tourism Research, 17(1), pp.35-44. Manthiou, A., Kang, J., Sumarjan, N. and Tang, L 2015, The Incorporation of Consumer Experience into the Branding Process: An Investigation of Name-Brand Hotels, International Journal of Tourism Research, p.n/a-n/a. Mikulić, J., Krešić, D., Miličević, K., Šerić, M. and Ćurković, B 2015, Destination Attractiveness Drivers among Urban Hostel Tourists: An Analysis of Frustrators and Delighters, International Journal of Tourism Research, p.n/a-n/a. Rushby, K 2015, Urban cable cars: from transport solution to tourist attraction, The Guardian, [online] p.1. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/jun/06/urban-cable-cars-cities-tourist-attractions [Accessed 28 Jun. 2015]. Vigolo, V 2014, Investigating the Attractiveness of an Emerging Long-Haul Destination: Implications for Loyalty, International Journal of Tourism Research, p.n/a-n/a. Vukic, M., Kuzmanovic, M. and Kostic Stankovic, M 2014, Understanding the Heterogeneity of Generation Ys Preferences for Travelling: a Conjoint Analysis Approach, International Journal of Tourism Research, p.n/a-n/a. Read More