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Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age / RHIANNON REES

Swansea University Author: RHIANNON REES

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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.68445

Abstract

This research investigates how tourists choose tourist attractions and activities on holiday. It examines how information sources influence the decision-making process and how other contextual, dynamic, emotional, and situational factors contribute to decision-making in the destination. Adopting a m...

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Published: Swansea, Wales, UK 2024
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Cater, Carl ; Lowe, Tiffany
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68445
first_indexed 2024-12-03T19:48:15Z
last_indexed 2025-02-11T05:53:01Z
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recordtype RisThesis
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It collects nuanced and descriptive data from in-depth interviews with tourists in-situ and tourism professionals, supplemented by participant field surveys. This thesis addresses three critical research gaps: first, the scarcity of qualitative studies in the decision-making field; second, the lack of studies that include the divergent range of attractions and activities in the tourist destination; and third, the rarity of in-destination studies that focus on in-situ decision-making. It re-directs much of the focus in tourism from destination choice to in-destination activity choice. The body of work that addresses decision-making theory development and testing is limited mainly to tourist destination choice. It neglects the many complex and dynamic itinerary decisions that emerge while the tourist is on holiday. Information selection has been identified as a critical stage in the decision-making process. Recently, studies from the ICT field have emphasised the importance of new digital information sources, including the Internet, electronic word of mouth, mobile technology, and recommender systems. Suggesting that new digital sources have replaced traditional information sources. This thesis seeks to understand the influence of contemporary and traditional information sources such as leaflets, guidebooks, tourist information sites and recommendations from family and friends. Furthermore, it seeks to understand the dynamic nature of decision-making and the interaction with information search. Moreover, the timing of information sources employed at the different decision-making stages in attraction and activity selection. A pragmatic approach is utilised, employing mixed methods research with particular emphasis on the qualitative data collected and evaluated with thematic analysis. The thesis comprises nineteen in-depth interviews with tourists in Aberystwyth; three interviews with industry professionals; and 515 surveys conducted at tourist attractions. This study will provide theoretical and managerial insights into in-destination decision-making processes; information sources; dynamic, contextual, and influential factors relating to the selection of activities and attractions. 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spelling 2025-02-10T11:06:39.6432451 v2 68445 2024-12-03 Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age 82c82b2334eceda43dc62c4d49dfc41b RHIANNON REES RHIANNON REES true false 2024-12-03 This research investigates how tourists choose tourist attractions and activities on holiday. It examines how information sources influence the decision-making process and how other contextual, dynamic, emotional, and situational factors contribute to decision-making in the destination. Adopting a mixed methods approach this thesis aims to deliver a holistic approach to in-situ decision-making. It collects nuanced and descriptive data from in-depth interviews with tourists in-situ and tourism professionals, supplemented by participant field surveys. This thesis addresses three critical research gaps: first, the scarcity of qualitative studies in the decision-making field; second, the lack of studies that include the divergent range of attractions and activities in the tourist destination; and third, the rarity of in-destination studies that focus on in-situ decision-making. It re-directs much of the focus in tourism from destination choice to in-destination activity choice. The body of work that addresses decision-making theory development and testing is limited mainly to tourist destination choice. It neglects the many complex and dynamic itinerary decisions that emerge while the tourist is on holiday. Information selection has been identified as a critical stage in the decision-making process. Recently, studies from the ICT field have emphasised the importance of new digital information sources, including the Internet, electronic word of mouth, mobile technology, and recommender systems. Suggesting that new digital sources have replaced traditional information sources. This thesis seeks to understand the influence of contemporary and traditional information sources such as leaflets, guidebooks, tourist information sites and recommendations from family and friends. Furthermore, it seeks to understand the dynamic nature of decision-making and the interaction with information search. Moreover, the timing of information sources employed at the different decision-making stages in attraction and activity selection. A pragmatic approach is utilised, employing mixed methods research with particular emphasis on the qualitative data collected and evaluated with thematic analysis. The thesis comprises nineteen in-depth interviews with tourists in Aberystwyth; three interviews with industry professionals; and 515 surveys conducted at tourist attractions. This study will provide theoretical and managerial insights into in-destination decision-making processes; information sources; dynamic, contextual, and influential factors relating to the selection of activities and attractions. The study was carried out in rural Wales in the UK and was funded by KESS2, a Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship funded by the European Social Fund. E-Thesis Swansea, Wales, UK Tourism, Attractions, Activities,, Consumer Behaviour, Dynamic Decision-Making, Emotions, Information Sources 12 11 2024 2024-11-12 10.23889/SUthesis.68445 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Cater, Carl ; Lowe, Tiffany Doctoral Ph.D KESS2 KESS2 2025-02-10T11:06:39.6432451 2024-12-03T12:23:13.9899567 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Business Management RHIANNON REES 1 68445__33548__63fc2660af364934b3f47c4af7fda7ff.pdf Rees_Rhiannon_PhD_Thesis_Final_Cronfa.pdf 2025-02-10T11:05:06.5041984 Output 9718707 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: The author, Rhiannon Lynne Rees, 2024. Licensed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial (CC-BY-NC) license. Third party content is excluded for use under the license terms. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.en
title Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age
spellingShingle Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age
RHIANNON REES
title_short Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age
title_full Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age
title_fullStr Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age
title_full_unstemmed Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age
title_sort Information sources and the decision-making process in tourism: An Investigation of Tourist Attraction and Activity Selection in a Digital Age
author_id_str_mv 82c82b2334eceda43dc62c4d49dfc41b
author_id_fullname_str_mv 82c82b2334eceda43dc62c4d49dfc41b_***_RHIANNON REES
author RHIANNON REES
author2 RHIANNON REES
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publishDate 2024
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUthesis.68445
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Management - Business Management{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Business Management
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description This research investigates how tourists choose tourist attractions and activities on holiday. It examines how information sources influence the decision-making process and how other contextual, dynamic, emotional, and situational factors contribute to decision-making in the destination. Adopting a mixed methods approach this thesis aims to deliver a holistic approach to in-situ decision-making. It collects nuanced and descriptive data from in-depth interviews with tourists in-situ and tourism professionals, supplemented by participant field surveys. This thesis addresses three critical research gaps: first, the scarcity of qualitative studies in the decision-making field; second, the lack of studies that include the divergent range of attractions and activities in the tourist destination; and third, the rarity of in-destination studies that focus on in-situ decision-making. It re-directs much of the focus in tourism from destination choice to in-destination activity choice. The body of work that addresses decision-making theory development and testing is limited mainly to tourist destination choice. It neglects the many complex and dynamic itinerary decisions that emerge while the tourist is on holiday. Information selection has been identified as a critical stage in the decision-making process. Recently, studies from the ICT field have emphasised the importance of new digital information sources, including the Internet, electronic word of mouth, mobile technology, and recommender systems. Suggesting that new digital sources have replaced traditional information sources. This thesis seeks to understand the influence of contemporary and traditional information sources such as leaflets, guidebooks, tourist information sites and recommendations from family and friends. Furthermore, it seeks to understand the dynamic nature of decision-making and the interaction with information search. Moreover, the timing of information sources employed at the different decision-making stages in attraction and activity selection. A pragmatic approach is utilised, employing mixed methods research with particular emphasis on the qualitative data collected and evaluated with thematic analysis. The thesis comprises nineteen in-depth interviews with tourists in Aberystwyth; three interviews with industry professionals; and 515 surveys conducted at tourist attractions. This study will provide theoretical and managerial insights into in-destination decision-making processes; information sources; dynamic, contextual, and influential factors relating to the selection of activities and attractions. The study was carried out in rural Wales in the UK and was funded by KESS2, a Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship funded by the European Social Fund.
published_date 2024-11-12T05:21:20Z
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score 11.090009

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