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1 – 10 of over 7000Independent travelers are those vacationers who have booked only a minimum of their transportation and accommodation arrangements prior to departure on the vacation. Independent…
Abstract
Independent travelers are those vacationers who have booked only a minimum of their transportation and accommodation arrangements prior to departure on the vacation. Independent travel is an important and growing sector of worldwide tourism. Choice of vacation itinerary for the independent vacation represents a complex series of decisions regarding purchase of multiple leisure and tourism services. This chapter builds and tests a model of independent traveler decision-making for choice of vacation itinerary. The research undertaken employs a two-phase, inductive–deductive case study design. In the deductive phase, the researcher interviewed 20 travel parties vacationing in New Zealand for the first time. The researcher interviewed respondents at both the beginning and the end of their New Zealand vacations. The study compares pre-vacation research and plans, and actual vacation behaviors, on a case-by-case basis. The study examines case study narratives and quantitative measures of crucial variables. The study tests two competing models of independent traveler decision-making, using a pattern-matching procedure. This embedded research design results in high multi-source, multi-method validity for the supported model. The model of the Independent Vacation as Evolving Itinerary suggests that much of the vacation itinerary experienced in independent travel is indeed unplanned, and that a desire to experience the unplanned is a key hedonic motive for independent travel. Rather than following a fixed itinerary, the itinerary of an independent vacation evolves as the vacation proceeds. The independent traveler takes advantage of serendipitous opportunities to experience a number of locations, attractions and activities that they had neither actively researched nor planned.
Yanhong Chen, Luning Liu and Zhenyuan Zhang
This paper aims to investigate the causal inferences between mobile application adoption and changes in travelers’ purchasing behavior regarding services supported by the travel…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the causal inferences between mobile application adoption and changes in travelers’ purchasing behavior regarding services supported by the travel and tourism industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a quasi-experiment conducted by an airline, data sets from more than 10,000 travelers were collected, and hypotheses were tested using propensity score matching and difference-in-difference methods.
Findings
Mobile application adoption has a significant positive effect on the total purchasing frequency of services and a significant adverse effect on booking tickets in advance and purchasing frequency from self-owned websites. Besides, this finding also suggested that members or travelers who had high average purchases in the past tend to buy more air tickets on average after mobile application adoption, while the number of days to book tickets in advance and purchase auxiliary services declined after mobile application adoption. However, males purchased more auxiliary services via mobile applications.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on the causal effect of mobile application adoption on purchasing behavior. Nevertheless, the theoretical basis remains relatively weak. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms that cause the changes in purchasing behavior via mobile applications need to be elucidated.
Practical implications
This study enriches the hospitality and tourism literature on mobile application adoptions, multichannel purchasing behavior and revenue management. First, a quasi-experimental design is used to verify a causal relationship between mobile applications’ adoption and travelers’ purchasing behavior in the travel and tourism industry. Second, this study adds to examining travelers’ multichannel purchasing behavior in the travel and tourism industry. Third, this work enriches the current literature that explores auxiliary services and revenue management in the travel industry.
Originality/value
Mobile application adoption significantly impacted the travel and tourism industry. Besides, To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical studies that examined changes in purchasing behavior due to mobile application adoption from the perspective of service type. The findings provide the first evidence of the impact of mobile application adoption on service purchasing in the travel industry.
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Sujood, Sheeba Hamid and Naseem Bano
This paper aims to examine travelers’ behavioral intention of traveling in the period of coronavirus by using the theory of planned behavior. The framework incorporates attitude…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine travelers’ behavioral intention of traveling in the period of coronavirus by using the theory of planned behavior. The framework incorporates attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and a very crucial construct, i.e. perceived risk, as per the current critical scenario of COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected using a survey instrument on the internet by posting the questionnaire link over social network web pages of online traveling websites. The data was analyzed using structural equations modeling with AMOS 22.0 and SPSS software and the proposed hypotheses were statistically tested. The sample under consideration constitutes 417 responses.
Findings
Empirical findings suggest that attitude, perceived behavioral control and perceived risk are significant for predicting behavioral intention while subjective norms do not. Then, these variables explained about 35% of the variance in the behavioral intention of traveling in the period of coronavirus.
Research limitations/implications
This study can benefit travelers, the tourism and hospitality industry, governments, the aviation industry and other relevant organizations as this paper offers the latest updates and essential information regarding traveler’s intention of traveling in the period of coronavirus. The study mainly focuses on India, so the generalizations of results to other countries are unwanted.
Originality/value
The primary value of this paper is that it tested the theory of planned behavior by incorporating perceived risk in the context of COVID-19. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, in the Indian context, there is no study, which has tested the TPB by adding perceived risk in explaining the Indian citizens’ behavioral intention of traveling in the period of Coronavirus.
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Heesup Han, Myong Jae Lee and Wansoo Kim
This paper aims to extend the knowledge of travelers’ shopping behaviors at airport duty-free stores by investigating the role of multiple quality factors, value dimensions, trust…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to extend the knowledge of travelers’ shopping behaviors at airport duty-free stores by investigating the role of multiple quality factors, value dimensions, trust and satisfaction. Moreover, the influence of possible barriers to airport shopping is examined.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative data collection including a survey was used. A structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.
Findings
The results showed that the proposed conceptual framework provided sufficiently explained travelers’ post-purchase intentions for airport duty-free shopping. Hedonic value and trust in airport duty-free shopping were of greatest importance in determining intentions. The quality of products and physical environment also showed relative importance among cognitive drivers. The findings from the metric invariance test indicated the significant moderating impact of travelers’ perceived barriers to airport shopping. The mediating impact of study variables was also identified.
Practical implications
Findings help airport practitioners improve their knowledge of travelers’ shopping behaviors at airport duty-free stores and help them to develop efficient methods to facilitate air travelers’ commercial activities at an airport.
Originality/value
Non-aeronautical business is emerging as a means of revenue maximization in the airport industry, yet there is a lack of understanding about air travelers’ commercial activities at airports. This study filled this void through the development of sturdy framework for air travelers’ non-aeronautical commercial activities at an airport.
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Maomao Chi, Junjing Wang, Xin (Robert) Luo and Han Li
Drawing on and extending the push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework, this paper aims to empirically explore the influencing mechanism of traveler switching intention from the hotel…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on and extending the push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework, this paper aims to empirically explore the influencing mechanism of traveler switching intention from the hotel reservation platforms to the sharing accommodation platforms (SAPs).
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts structural equation modeling to analyze the 543 responses collected among hotel reservation platforms and SAPs travelers.
Findings
The results support the positive effect of both push factors (e.g. dissatisfaction with product, service and information quality of hotels on the hotel reservation platform) and pull factors (e.g. price value, authenticity, interaction, home benefits and novelty of SAPs) on traveler switching intention. Except for the negative effect of switching cost, other mooring factors including prior switching experience and social influence positively affect traveler switching intention. The authors also found the switching cost negatively and prior switching experience positively moderated the push effects on traveler switching intention, while the social influence positively moderated the pull effects on traveler switching intention.
Research limitations/implications
Recommendations of future SAP participation research to consider the competing platforms, the unique experiences of SAPs and mooring factors. Examining the factors of different sources is also useful for practitioners to better understand travelers’ demands and to improve the overall welfare of travelers.
Originality/value
This paper embraces an extended PPM framework to explore traveler switching intention in online travel platforms. Moreover, this paper provides unique insights into the switching behavior from the hotel reservation platforms to the SAPs.
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Chun-Der Chen, Edward C.S. Ku and Chien Chi Yeh
Customers who engage in impulsive online shopping make immediate, unplanned and ill-thought-out purchases online. The purpose of this paper is to present a model to illustrate how…
Abstract
Purpose
Customers who engage in impulsive online shopping make immediate, unplanned and ill-thought-out purchases online. The purpose of this paper is to present a model to illustrate how website quality (moderated by hedonic value) influences impulsive shopping behaviors in the context of online tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
The model and hypotheses presented here were tested by structural equation modeling. Empirical data were collected by conducting a questionnaire survey, in total, 3,000 invitation messages were mailed to the members of the two travel communities (1,500 invitation messages for each one), of which, 402 were returned completed (a return rate of 13.4 percent).
Findings
Visually appealing websites are more likely to attract customer attention and illicit pleasurable emotional responses. In addition, effective tourism websites also maintain good service quality and ensure accuracy of information. Finally, good functional benefits can help customers reduce the time and effort spent searching for a specific service and can also serve as a stimulus triggering impulse buying.
Research limitations/implications
This study used a reliable multidimensional measure of factors that influence the relational benefit of initiators and buyers to help elucidate which factors encourage impulsive online shopping. From a theoretical perspective, the authors determined that website quality is positively associated with functional benefits, and thereby influences impulsive shopping behaviors; in addition, the functional benefits conferred by websites have a strong and direct influence on impulsive shopping behavior. However, this effect is moderated by hedonic value.
Practical implications
Online tourism retailers should continually seek to enhance this function because it is the primary motivation behind customer use of online shopping websites. Effective tourism websites also maintain good service quality and ensure accuracy of information. Finally, navigation systems should be designed to meet the needs of new users, for example by offering help pages that address a variety of topics. Therefore, tourism websites should feature an adequate number of images, a colorful design, and well-described services and products.
Originality/value
In recent years, the popularity of online shopping websites has continued to rise. In seeking to elucidate impulsive online shopping behaviors, this study focused on online-to-offline applications, the uses-and-gratifications perspective and service-dominant logic. The authors also discussed the important influence of website quality on impulse buying and how this is moderated by hedonic value. The research model presented in this study provides a reliable instrument to operationalize key constructs in the analysis of impulsive shopping behavior and has important implications for the online tourism industry.
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Ahmed M. Adel, Xin Dai, Rana S. Roshdy and Chenfeng Yan
The present research extends the existing literature of halal tourism and Muslims’ travel decision-making by applying information-seeking models and the planned behavior theory to…
Abstract
Purpose
The present research extends the existing literature of halal tourism and Muslims’ travel decision-making by applying information-seeking models and the planned behavior theory to identify the process of decision-making to travel to non-Islamic destinations. This study aims to identify the views of Muslim travelers who traveled before to non-Islamic destinations to evaluate their information search experience and how their travel decision is formed.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews are conducted with a sample of Muslim travelers who visited a non-Islamic destination during the past five years. Data saturation resulted in 17 interviewees from different Islamic destinations, namely, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Pakistan.
Findings
Muslim interviewees indicate the relative importance of reference groups compared to the government websites as a source of information. This study concludes some remarkable results regarding the importance of some halal marketing strategies such as halal searchability and availability, halal certification and appraisal, halal at airports and halal hotels. It presents an emergent framework that shows the factors affecting visiting a non-Islamic destination regarding halal issues for Muslim travelers.
Practical implications
It provides destinations’ official tourism managers with various strategies to brand their destinations as Muslim-friendly destinations.
Originality/value
Investigating the process of decision-making of traveling to non-Islamic destinations from Muslim travelers’ perspective is limited. Examining the role of information-seeking behavior in Muslim travelers’ decision-making is scarce.
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Karen L. Xie, Linchi Kwok and Jiang Wu
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of host attributes and travelers’ frequency of past stays and their interaction on the likelihood of repeat purchase of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of host attributes and travelers’ frequency of past stays and their interaction on the likelihood of repeat purchase of home-sharing services at both the host and listing levels.
Design/methodology/approach
A combination of econometrics analyses using a large-scale, granular online observational data set collected from a home-sharing platform was performed.
Findings
Travelers exhibit salient loyalty to home-sharing services. At the host level, host attributes including acceptance rate and listing capacity positively affect travelers’ likelihood of repeat purchase; such effects diminish as travelers’ frequency of past stays with a host/listing increases. At the listing level, confirmation efficiency and acceptance rate are critical, and travelers’ frequency of past stays matters.
Research limitations/implications
Responding to the call for more research on customer loyalty of sharing economy, this study instantiated on a home-sharing website in China and adds a unique perspective to the research domain, but its findings may not be generalized in other settings.
Practical implications
This study identifies the factors affecting customers’ repeat purchase behaviors at both the host and listing levels, allowing the hosts, webmasters of home-sharing websites and even hoteliers to advance specific tactics to promote repeat purchase among travelers.
Originality/value
Loyalty was measured with real-time internet-enabled observational data about travelers’ actual repeat purchase behavior on a home-sharing website, rather than assessing consumers’ behavioral intentions through the conventional survey method. Two specific levels of customer loyalty were analyzed, including the ones towards a service provider (host) and a service product (listing).
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Luis V. Casaló and Jaime Romero
Encouraging travelers to create value that benefits firms is of great relevance for companies that operate in online contexts. The purpose of this study is to investigate…
Abstract
Purpose
Encouraging travelers to create value that benefits firms is of great relevance for companies that operate in online contexts. The purpose of this study is to investigate, focusing on online travel agencies, how monetary promotions (i.e. economic incentives) and non-monetary promotions (i.e. draws and contests) conducted through social media enhance customers’ voluntary behaviors (i.e. suggestions, word of mouth, and social media interactions) that go beyond brand choice, which may provide benefit to firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model draws on the social exchange theory, equity theory and the concept of perceived support – how customers perceive that companies care about their well-being. The authors collect information from 491 users of online travel agencies in Spain and test their hypotheses using partial least squares. They also evaluate the existence of indirect effects.
Findings
Promotions developed by companies make customers more likely to perform, voluntarily, the helping behaviors of suggestions, word of mouth and social media interactions, through the influence of perceived support.
Research limitations/implications
Use of a single survey to collect measures and restriction of the sample to Spanish-speaking travelers suggests caution in generalizing the results. Future research could investigate other company-initiated actions and other value-creating behaviors of travelers.
Practical implications
Promotions help develop perceived support for customers, which leads to voluntary, valuable traveler behaviors. Promotions may be also sufficient to trigger some customer behaviors, such as word-of-mouth.
Originality/value
Based on the social exchange and equity theories, this paper investigates the influence of social media promotions on customers’ voluntary behaviors via perceived support.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the psychological factors that motivate travelers to consider reusing Airbnb.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the psychological factors that motivate travelers to consider reusing Airbnb.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes and tests an integrative model that synthesizes the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Prospect Theory (PT) and other Airbnb-relevant constructs (unique experience expectation, familiarity and electronic word of mouth) as the primary determinants of the Airbnb repurchase intention using an structural equation model (SEM) approach.
Findings
Both attitude and subject norms are significant determinants of repurchase intention, whereas perceived behavioral control is not. In addition, perceived value and risk have only direct significant impacts on attitude and, in turn, indirectly affect repurchase intention. Unique experience expectation, familiarity and electronic word of mouth exert direct and indirect influences on repurchase intention.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends the body of knowledge by integrating TPB and PT to investigate consumer repurchase intention in Airbnb, which provides a theoretical baseline and serves as a starting point for exploring the structural relationships of Airbnb and the sharing economy.
Practical implications
Airbnb should place more emphasis on value packages and authentic/unique travel experience to retain and attract more travelers. More safety/security programs should be put in place and clearly communicated to reduce the perceived risks. In addition, Airbnb may publicize positive word of mouth and introduce and expand familiarity programs to incentivize Airbnb travelers.
Originality/value
This study explores the psychological reasons why travelers will re-patronize Airbnb, providing insights into the motives of Airbnb travelers. A clear understanding of Airbnb travelers’ repurchase intention will facilitate to develop effective strategies for Airbnb to induce positive repurchase behaviors.
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