Rethinking Loyalty

Abstract

This paper argues that loyalty research in tourism may need to be reconsidered to account for the unique features of tourism. In particular, it explores three concepts: vertical loyalty hierarchy where tourists may display loyalty at different tiers in the tourism system simultaneously (i.e. to a travel agent and an airline); horizontal loyalties, where tourists may be loyal to more than one provider at the same tier the tourism system (i.e. to more than one hotel brand) and; experiential loyalty or loyalty to certain holiday styles. These ideas are tested through in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of frequent tourists. Vertical and experiential loyalty were supported, while less evidence of horizontal loyalty was noted.