Study of Consumer Behavior towards Vacation Trips

Abstract

This study is the culmination of a number of years of interest in the field of consumer behavior in relation to the demand for vacation trips. The study has provided a backcloth of the subject area with critical discussions on vacation and consumer behavior theory and concepts.  Over the years, this has led to the contemplation of the ways in which certain aspects of consumer behavior could be identified, measured and assessed. This study has utilized a methodology based upon the consumer being able to construct their own meanings of what is behind the desire to want to travel in terms of motivations, evoked sets of destinations, tourism, preference criteria, choice sets and decision rules. In specific it focuses on the impact that visitors' satisfaction with different attributes of the trip which exerts on expenditure, leisure activities, spending quality time, different service categories. The expenditure patterns include lodging, meals and restaurants, attractions and festivals, entertainment, shopping, transportation, and total expenditures. From a practical standpoint, this study sheds light by providing information about how the traveler's characteristic effects travel's behavior towards destination marketers. The antithesis and synthesis created from these discussions has led to deeper insight and understanding of the whole area related to tourism and demand functions. Data are presented for accommodation, travel, meals, tours, shopping and entertainment, and reveal strong and consistent patterns of use for market segmentation. In addition, the results of the study also portrayed the differences of selected travel-related characteristics of young travellers in relation to the purpose of travel. Thus, this study may provide information which will help tourism marketers to develop marketing tools to satisfy and fulfil those young tourists' needs and understand certain reasons behind their spending patterns.