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Parents-to-be and future holiday planning: what is it all about?

Lidija Lalicic (Researcher and Lecturer in the Department of Tourism and Service Management, Modul University, Vienna, Austria)

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

ISSN: 1750-6182

Article publication date: 25 February 2014

620

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to understand how parents-to-be expect their future holidays with their first child to change accordingly, and most important the reasoning behind this.

Design/methodology/approach

By the use of a qualitative-explorative research approach (Grounded Theory method), ten in-depth interviews were done with Dutch parents-to-be, expecting their first child.

Findings

The results show that emotional response ranks high in terms of the occurred changes, which originate from a set of interrelated consequences. A strong link with a deep fundamental basis rooted in daily life values can be made.

Research limitations/implications

To surmount the limitations of this study observational methods would have to be employed. The collection of information relating to decision making can only evoke faults if the research would take place after the couples transform into parents-to-be through a setting of a longitudinal study. In addition, generalization should be carefully taken into account in terms of cultural backgrounds, which can devise changes as well.

Practical implications

This will oblige the tourism industry to consider product differentiation to serve this segment better and to capture a competitive position in the dynamic tourism industry.

Originality/value

The holiday has been perceived as a part of daily life and should create a certain degree of added value which refers to a deeper fundamental basis. Therefore, it can be argued that this study contributed to the decision-making literature by going beyond the scope of family holidays.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Received 28 June 2013 Revised 20 January 2014 Accepted 20 January 2014 The author is grateful to MSc Suzan Becks, Open University Heerlen, The Netherlands for insightful comments on earlier versions of this paper as well as for her patient and valuable editing services.

Citation

Lalicic, L. (2014), "Parents-to-be and future holiday planning: what is it all about?", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 48-57. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-06-2013-0042

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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