Types of tourism decisions

Edward Mayo Jr, director of the dick pope Institute of Tourism at Florida Central University, and Lance Jarvis, deputy dean of the School of Business Administration, believe that there are three types of tourists when making tourism decisions:

(1) Conventional decision-making refers to the decision-making made quickly by decision-makers based on their previous experience in dealing with general tourism problems. Conventional decision-making is also called habitual decision-making or habitual decision-making

(2) Extended decision-making refers to decisions made on some major issues in tourism. Around this decision, tourists have to spend a lot of time and energy collecting information from relevant departments, considering various schemes, and then making a choice. To solve such problems, decision makers need rich experience, profound knowledge, keen insight and active thinking. So this kind of decision is also called extended decision or extended decision. For many tourists, choosing a tourist destination is a very extensive decision-making process, and many factors should be considered in their choice, including the degree of satisfaction with the tourist purpose, their own economic conditions, the length of leisure time and so on. Therefore, tourists are especially suitable to use this kind of extensive decision-making when choosing a tourist destination before going out. In the process of making this postponement decision, tourists often turn to friends, colleagues, the media and even relevant tourism professionals for help.

(3) Impulsive decision-making, or instantaneous decision-making, is very different from conventional decision-making. Impulsive decision-making refers to an instant decision made without prior consideration. It is usually triggered by billboards or other forms of outdoor advertising, or tourists' own herd behavior, such as friends' travel experience and persuasion, rather than based on past experience.

The above three decision-making types may adopt different decision-making methods for different tourists. For example, people who travel frequently and have rich tourism experience will generally make more conventional decisions according to their own needs and destinations, while those who travel for the first time, lack tourism experience or are very concerned about a certain tourism may take more extended decisions. Even the same person, his decision-making method can not be static, and he may change in every travel decision. In general, people's travel decisions are distributed between conventional decisions and extended decisions, as shown in the figure: (1) Information selection decisions before travel. It mainly includes basic tourism decision (whether to travel or not), tourism destination decision, tourism mode decision, purchase mode decision, travel mode decision, accommodation facilities decision and payment mode decision.

(2) Implementation of travel decision. The implementation decision during the trip depends on whether the tourists choose a group package tour or a self-help tour before the trip. If it is the latter, tourists may face decisions including travel, tourism, housing, food, shopping, entertainment and so on anytime and anywhere. Professor Xie from Dongbei University of Finance and Economics believes that tourism decision-making can be divided into individual decision-making and team decision-making.

(1) decision-making and analysis of individual travel

The first step is to define the goal, which is both general (such as desirable scenery) and very specific (such as the choice of transportation).

In the second step, tourists need to start collecting information and determine the best plan to meet their travel needs.

Collecting information is a continuous process, but the nature and degree of each tourist doing this work are very different. For example, impulsive buyers are easily impressed by the discounts and convenience of a place; Rational travel buyers may collect relevant information from friends, colleagues, media and even related travel companies or travel agencies, carefully compare and weigh them, and never make a decision easily.

In the third step, tourists should screen and choose various alternative tourist destinations. In this evaluation process, tourists should choose the best scheme that meets their own travel needs and make reservations or pre-orders. At the same time, they can learn more about the details of the destination, such as the route of tourist attractions, the opening hours of scenic spots, visa procedures and so on. , so as to make full preparations for the actual tourism process. Of course, if tourists find that there is no destination that can meet their needs at this stage, they must modify their travel goals or collect relevant travel information again.

(2) The decision-making and analysis of group tourists.

① Types of group tourists

A. Family type

Family belongs to one of the most basic categories of social groups and is called a typical primary group. The research shows that this most important consumption unit can be divided into four types according to the different roles played by members in the decision-making process: husband-led, wife-led, * * with the same influence, and * * * with the same decision-making.

These different types will have different situations in specific decision-making projects. In the social environment of China, most wives have independent jobs and equal decision-making status with their husbands. Moreover, tourism belongs to the purchase of goods and services other than durable consumer goods, so the decision-making should be more cautious, so most of them are dominated by * * *, and experienced members have greater influence. At the same time, the rising status of the only child in China's family also determines that his opinions cannot be ignored.

B. Social organizations

It is a social group that performs certain social functions, completes specific social goals and constitutes an independent unit. Sociologically, it is called a minor group. Sometimes this kind of social group is very large, even quite a few people don't know it, and the interaction is indirect. When people in an organization go to a place and travel together, it is not only the embodiment of group cohesion, but also more or less reflects the existence of some kind of "group pressure", that is, the universal consciousness of the group exerts pressure on individual ideas. Their decision-making and guidance on tourism activities are generally made by authoritative people in the organization. For example, the phenomenon of individual tourists joining the group in various tourist destinations.

C. Social class types

Social stratum is a relatively homogeneous and lasting group arranged according to culture, occupation and income, and each stratum has similar values, attitudes and self-expression consciousness. Individuals of the same class in the social circle of the same class may have the same behavior orientation due to similar interests, personalities and economic conditions in the process of communication, so these people are more likely to be organized. When these people travel in groups, it is easier for them to reach an agreement on the decision-making and orientation of tourism activities. For example, a group tour organized by the unit.

According to the organization form of the tourism team, there are two main types of group tourists:

One is a spontaneous temporary tour group. This kind of group refers to the spontaneous organization of group members. There may be certain relationships, such as family relationship, social organization relationship, social class affiliation and so on. , can make them spontaneously organize, so that the original daily complex social relations can be transformed into temporary new tourism relations with changed roles. This kind of relationship will breed mutual understanding and mutual help among members in the process of tourism, so that people can enhance their understanding, deepen their feelings and have close relations. Compared with the decision-making process of a single tourist, the decision-making of this group of tourists is very different before or during the tour.

The other is a temporary tour group he organized. This kind of group usually means that the members of the group are organized by external organizations (such as travel agencies). Many members may not know that they are in different social organizations and social strata, and they can be brought together by a tourism organization because they have reached a unanimous agreement on a predetermined tourism activity process. Therefore, the key to the decision-making process of tourism group is to identify and evaluate the value of group tourism activities provided by different external organizations. Once the individual's travel goals are met, the individual will actively participate in the group and become a member of it. Obviously, the members of this group do not need to interact with each other when making decisions, so there is no essential difference between the decision-making process of group tourism and that of individual tourists.

② The decision-making process of group tourists.

The decision-making process of group tourists is also completed under the influence of internal and external factors. Different from individual tourists, there are two special links in group tourists' decision-making: one is the coordination process of individual tourists' travel needs among group members; The second is the comparison and assimilation process of individual tourism schemes. These two links are essentially permeated in the decision-making process of individual tourism, and are also determined by the characteristics of group tourism, which are embodied as follows:

First of all, the factors influencing the decision-making process of group tourism are more complicated. This is because the composition of group tourists is complex, which will inevitably lead to the diversity and complexity of influencing factors. In the process of group tourism, not only do the factors that constitute the influencing forces play an independent role in the case of individual tourism decision-making, but there are also interactions among these factors that exert influence in different ways and directions, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of unifying the tourism decision-making process.

Secondly, the decision-making process of group tourism has the characteristics of team members' interaction. Tourism group is a collection of * * * behaviors combined through certain social interaction. In this group, every group member with * * * tourism needs will constantly communicate with others in various ways, directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, communicate their reaction to external stimuli and be influenced by some force that tends to be consistent with the goal, and finally achieve the * * * knowledge on the goal, which basically does not exist in the process of personal tourism decision-making.

Thirdly, the result of group tourism decision-making has temporary normative significance, thus making the decision-making relatively stable. In fact, a prominent feature of group activities is the existence of certain group norms, which is the basis for ensuring the realization of group goals. Therefore, once the group travel decision is made, every group member has the obligation to abide by the same norms of the group. Even when personal interests conflict with these norms, individuals should obey these norms, that is to say, there is no possibility of changes in group tourism decisions at all stages and in any content, and they are relatively stable and obviously predictable under the constraints of norms. The decision-making process of group tourism is shown as follows:

As can be seen from the figure, group tourism decision-making has the following processes:

A. the germination of individual needs. Behavior begins with motivation, and demand is the basis of motivation. When tourists are dissatisfied with their current situation, appear psychological imbalance, and have certain psychological expectations, demand arises.

B.*** Confirm the same motive. When tourists realize that their travel expectations need to be met by staying with others or becoming a member of a travel team organized by others, the mode of group travel is basically determined.

C. information collection. Information collection is a work carried out by individuals under the influence of comprehensive factors such as culture, society and individuals. Its information sources mainly include: personal knowledge accumulation and feedback from tourism experience, opinions of relatives, friends, neighbors and colleagues, information of relevant groups and business information.

D.* * * Evaluation of the plan. Every tourist may unconsciously screen the information when collecting information, and then coordinate their information among group tourists to meet the needs of most members of the group to the maximum extent, which is the basis for forming group tourism decisions.

E. the formation of tourism decision. In group tourism, it is impossible to meet all the expectations of group tourists, but it has enough cohesion in the main aspects and for the vast majority of members. In this way, group tourism decision-making is formed, which means that group tourists begin to experience tourism.