Building and testing theories of decision making by travellers

Abstract

How does the tourism literature model major recreational travel decisions? What influences do the “grand models” in consumer research have on tourist destination choice models? This article provides building-block propositions for creating useful theories of decision making by travelers via a qualitative review of the tourist decision-making literature. The grand models of decision-making in consumer research inform the propositions advanced. The article describes trends in developing traveler destination choice models. Along with examining decision-making propositions from the literature, the article covers important issues in need of resolution for making advances in understanding, describing, and predicting tourist decision-making.