Travel Life Cycles-A Multitemporal Perspective of Changing Travel Patterns

Abstract

The temporal dimensions of tourism have received little attention in tourism research. This paper discusses period, life cycle and cohort effects with respect to destination and transportation choice of German residents. Using chi-square statistics, very significant differences are discerned for all three time dimensions. This refutes the determination of the most important effect. Trend surface analysis is used to calculate the underlying main trends. This suggests that at different times the individual effects are more pronounced. Hence, the common failure to consider other time dimensions while discussing one may result in precipitant conclusions and actions.