- Email: [email protected]
Tourism Motives and Loyalty
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
751
Tourism Motives and Loyalty Monica Hanefors Dalama University, Sweden Lena Larsson Mossberg Go teborg University, Sweden From a marketing point of view, a tourism trip has three phases: pre-, during-, and post-purchase behavior. It is commonly accepted that information gathering from a would-be trip takes place during the first phase, when the tourist actually decides to travel. Such decision making is not, in most cases, a standardized process. When going international, it is comprehensive decision-making, concerning various parts of the trip. The aim of this research is to discuss tourists| use of travel catalogues. The discussion derives from a 2-year study on motives and loyalties in an international package tourism context. When a desire for travel is recognized by a tourist, soon the collection of information starts. Influencing sources include earlier tourism experiences, advertising and publicity, word-of-mouth, travel literature and brochures, and more. In general, brochures play an important role in the tourists|s study of destinations, including accommodation choices and the like (Moutinho 1987; Weber and Vrdoljak-Salamon 1996). But even more important are catalogues, at least when it comes to package tourism*a point that tour operators recognize quite well. For example, the conglomerate Fritidsresegruppen (owning five major tour operators that represent half the Swedish charter package tour market of 1.5 million tourists) spends between $5 and $10 per catalogue. This means approximately 20Ð 30% of their total marketing budget. The tour operators chosen for this research are Fritidsresegruppen|s major five*Fritidsresor, Sportresor, Temaresor, Fritidsresor, and Royal Tours. Eight fieldtrips to destinations in Europe and north Africa were carried out during 1996Ð97, when 142 tourists were surveyed. The interviews lasted between 40 minutes and 2.5 hours and the tourists were asked about their motives to travel and their buying behavior process, including their information collection. Tour operators often think that tourists mainly look for information in the catalogues before the actual booking. However, the interviews showed that catalogues are used not just for information collection; they perform other functions as well: to {{dream away||, to {{compare and choose|| among hotel and destination alternatives, and to {{confirm|| right decisions. This happens during various phases of the purchasing process: before the actual trip, during the trip, and to some extent even after. This proposition is supported by Wicks and Schuett who suggest that tourists appear familiar with and accept brochures, and use them to {{help plan travel and as references when travelling|| (1993:88). The interview results revealed the importance of dreaming and fantasizing long before the actual decision to travel is taken. The dreaming act is always there*whether the tourists intend to go or not*and this armchair travel may indeed take place on the livingroom sofa. Some tourists include the use of catalogues among their hobbies; they keep the travel interest alive and become a necessary part of their daily life. There are new travel catalogues distributed by tour operators twice a year. Many tourists habitually collect catalogues as an entertainment means. A woman in her 60s, on a bus tour in Andalucia, described them
752
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
just as such. {{They give me pleasure||, she said. It became clear that she had full knowledge of at least six catalogues, down to the last detail. Other sampled tourists only use catalogues after they have become aware of, or after they start to plan, a specific trip. They were often described by the sample as a good read, {{whetting the appetite for the vacation products|| (Goosens 1994:92; Hodgson 1990). Several of the tourists mentioned that they used catalogues to think about a future trip. One couple stated that they used them all year round, as both were very interested in traveling. When the wife is the one reading the catalogues, the husband jokingly asks her {{are you traveling again?|| Some surveyed tourists regarded catalogues as interesting reading sources whenever there was a boring moment. Others articulated a similar {{uplifting feeling|| when reviewing their contents. The catalogues gave them ideas and through this reading they played with the thought of being elsewhere (Milman 1993:63 talks about focus group research, where the participants, in the process of anticipating a visit to a particular destination, subconsciously develop a visual image of it). The tourists saw themselves in the same positions as the individuals shown in the catalogues. They seemed to imagine their own touristic behavior and dream about their future tourism experiences and even fantasize about desirable feelings while away from home (Goossens 1994:93; Mannell and Iso Ahola 1987). The catalogues are often strategically placed in a livingroom, easily reachable from everywhere in the room, or by the bed to be used as bedtime reading. One tourist said that she regularly read travel catalogues during her ten-minute breaks at the factory, and that future trips were discussed among the coworkers. Dreaming about a {{luxury holiday life|| made her job easier, she added, and gave her the ability to escape from the pounding reality for a short while. {{Traveling is like a drug|| to one of the tourists, and several others described themselves as {{travel maniacs||. Travel catalogues then served to keep them {{intoxicated|| (Goossens 1994:94). They dreamed not only about trips close in time, but also about many other possible trips of the future. Almost all tourists used catalogues to compare alternatives and choose among them. The comparison could be done among all details in a proposed package, or only between certain specifics, like price, hotel options, or possible activities. The woman at the factory was later able to travel to the destination of her dreams (Tunisia). However, she had to make her travel decision according to her slim wallet and the result was the cheapest hotel alternative, with no luxury trimmings. It is apparent that an average tourist in the sample used many catalogues and compared different items. A tourist with a tight travel budget looked for inexpensive hotels and did early booking for better rates or discounts. The tourists showed tremendous variation in how they compared catalogues (Murray 1991). Some used a number of different catalogues simply as a substitute to a travel handbook to find basic data about various destinations. Some studied several catalogues in detail, while others did not use more than one, and did the comparison between the alternative destinations in that single source. A mother and her daughter sincerely wanted to go to Crete with a certain tour operator. Even though they read three different catalogues in order to make the right choice, after making up their minds about this, they used only the one tour operator|s catalogue for hotel selection. Another example is the two young ladies regularly using a specific tour operator because the mother of one of them always had done so. But still they used two other catalogues. A young couple took an afternoon off work to go around to collect travel
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
753
catalogues. Then they went to a cafe to make a decision. They browsed though hundreds of pages and opted, after ten minutes, to go to Las Palmas with a specific tour operator and to a hotel especially suitable for children. Another couple prepared themselves by reading the catalogues at home, and marking two possible alternatives in two different catalogues. When calling the salesperson at the travel agency, they found out that another tour operator offered a similar trip, but about $100 cheaper. They made a preliminary reservation right away. After work the husband picked up that new catalogue showing the new offer, went home and examined it with his wife, and one hour later they were able to make a reservation. A man collected two catalogues early in his planning phase. He had already decided to go to the Canary Islands, due to the available dates and the suitable climate. When he looked through the catalogues for the price range he had in mind, he compared options on the basis of the advertised activities for children and youths. Sometimes the sample participants decided about their trips and even booked their trips by phone, before they saw any catalogues. After booking, however, they commonly collected catalogues from various tour operators to check what they had already booked and/or to read about their wouldbe destinations. A married couple from Stockholm wanted to travel to a small Greek island. Immediately after the booking they fetched catalogues to check on what they had booked. They discovered that the destination gives a bit of a dull and quiet impression, and therefore they cancelled and instead decided to stay home. A majority of all interviewed tourists on a bus tour carried with them pages of catalogue describing all the facts concerning their trip. One man even mentioned that he brought with him several pages, carefully removed with a razorblade, from the competitors| catalogues (Wicks and Schuett 1993). Tourists express frustration when the reality is different from what the catalogue shows, or even some finer details are missing. For example, one tourist complained to the tour operator because the bedspread in her hotel room was not the same color as what was shown in the catalogue picture. Another complained because the room was not furnished the exact way as expected. After the trip, many tourists use their catalogue to be able to show family and friends where they spent their vacation. They discuss the pros and cons of the tour, the tour operator, the hotel, and the excursions experienced. Pictures are cut out from catalogues and put into the photo album together with personal shots and tickets. This and other actions signify their apparent need to confirm their travel and various decisions both before and after the trip. In summary, one of the tools that tourists use in their decision making and purchasing process is travel catalogues. They are, in literature and among practitioners, considered to be used only during a short period before potential tourists decide when and where to go*i.e. during the pre-purchase phase. The interview results, however, clearly show that catalogues are not only used when tourists collect information in order to evaluate alternatives and choose among them. They are used during the dreaming up phase, when contemplating and deciding where and how to go, during the actual sojourn and its many acts, and even after returning home, all in turn contributing to and influencing future travel plans. Monica Hanefors: School of Transportation & Society, Dalarna University, S-781 88 Borla nge, Sweden. Email [email protected]. Lena Larsson Mossberg: School of Economics and Commercial Law, Go teborg University, S-405 30 Go teborg, Sweden. Email [email protected]
754
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
REFERENCES Goossens, C. 1994 External Information Search: Effects of Tour Brochures with Experimental Information. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 3(3):89Ð107. Hodgson, P. 1993 Tour Operator Brochure Design Research Revisited. Journal of Travel Research 32(1):50Ð52. Mannell, R. C., and S. E. Iso-Aholal 1987 Psychological Nature of Leisure and Tourism Experience. Annals of Tourism Research 14:314Ð331. Milman, A. 1993 Maximizing the Value of Focus Group Research: Qualitative Analysis of Consumer|s Destination Choice. Journal of Travel Research 32(2):61Ð64. Moutinho, L. 1987 Consumer Behavior in Tourism. European Journal of Marketing 11(4):5Ð 44. Murray, K. B. 1991 A Test of Services Marketing Theory: Consumer Information Acquisition Activities. Journal of Marketing 55(1):10Ð25. Weber, S., and V. Salamon 1996 Measuring Quality and Effectiveness of Destination Brochures. TTRA Conference Proceedings, pp. 239Ð246. Boulder CO: Travel and Tourism Research Association. Wicks, B., and M. Schuett 1993 Using Travel Brochures to Target Frequent Travelers and {{Big-Spenders||. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 2(2/3):77Ð90. Submitted 20 January 1998 Accepted 19 February 1998
PII: S0160Ð7383(98)00030Ð9
751
Tourism Motives and Loyalty Monica Hanefors Dalama University, Sweden Lena Larsson Mossberg Go teborg University, Sweden From a marketing point of view, a tourism trip has three phases: pre-, during-, and post-purchase behavior. It is commonly accepted that information gathering from a would-be trip takes place during the first phase, when the tourist actually decides to travel. Such decision making is not, in most cases, a standardized process. When going international, it is comprehensive decision-making, concerning various parts of the trip. The aim of this research is to discuss tourists| use of travel catalogues. The discussion derives from a 2-year study on motives and loyalties in an international package tourism context. When a desire for travel is recognized by a tourist, soon the collection of information starts. Influencing sources include earlier tourism experiences, advertising and publicity, word-of-mouth, travel literature and brochures, and more. In general, brochures play an important role in the tourists|s study of destinations, including accommodation choices and the like (Moutinho 1987; Weber and Vrdoljak-Salamon 1996). But even more important are catalogues, at least when it comes to package tourism*a point that tour operators recognize quite well. For example, the conglomerate Fritidsresegruppen (owning five major tour operators that represent half the Swedish charter package tour market of 1.5 million tourists) spends between $5 and $10 per catalogue. This means approximately 20Ð 30% of their total marketing budget. The tour operators chosen for this research are Fritidsresegruppen|s major five*Fritidsresor, Sportresor, Temaresor, Fritidsresor, and Royal Tours. Eight fieldtrips to destinations in Europe and north Africa were carried out during 1996Ð97, when 142 tourists were surveyed. The interviews lasted between 40 minutes and 2.5 hours and the tourists were asked about their motives to travel and their buying behavior process, including their information collection. Tour operators often think that tourists mainly look for information in the catalogues before the actual booking. However, the interviews showed that catalogues are used not just for information collection; they perform other functions as well: to {{dream away||, to {{compare and choose|| among hotel and destination alternatives, and to {{confirm|| right decisions. This happens during various phases of the purchasing process: before the actual trip, during the trip, and to some extent even after. This proposition is supported by Wicks and Schuett who suggest that tourists appear familiar with and accept brochures, and use them to {{help plan travel and as references when travelling|| (1993:88). The interview results revealed the importance of dreaming and fantasizing long before the actual decision to travel is taken. The dreaming act is always there*whether the tourists intend to go or not*and this armchair travel may indeed take place on the livingroom sofa. Some tourists include the use of catalogues among their hobbies; they keep the travel interest alive and become a necessary part of their daily life. There are new travel catalogues distributed by tour operators twice a year. Many tourists habitually collect catalogues as an entertainment means. A woman in her 60s, on a bus tour in Andalucia, described them
752
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
just as such. {{They give me pleasure||, she said. It became clear that she had full knowledge of at least six catalogues, down to the last detail. Other sampled tourists only use catalogues after they have become aware of, or after they start to plan, a specific trip. They were often described by the sample as a good read, {{whetting the appetite for the vacation products|| (Goosens 1994:92; Hodgson 1990). Several of the tourists mentioned that they used catalogues to think about a future trip. One couple stated that they used them all year round, as both were very interested in traveling. When the wife is the one reading the catalogues, the husband jokingly asks her {{are you traveling again?|| Some surveyed tourists regarded catalogues as interesting reading sources whenever there was a boring moment. Others articulated a similar {{uplifting feeling|| when reviewing their contents. The catalogues gave them ideas and through this reading they played with the thought of being elsewhere (Milman 1993:63 talks about focus group research, where the participants, in the process of anticipating a visit to a particular destination, subconsciously develop a visual image of it). The tourists saw themselves in the same positions as the individuals shown in the catalogues. They seemed to imagine their own touristic behavior and dream about their future tourism experiences and even fantasize about desirable feelings while away from home (Goossens 1994:93; Mannell and Iso Ahola 1987). The catalogues are often strategically placed in a livingroom, easily reachable from everywhere in the room, or by the bed to be used as bedtime reading. One tourist said that she regularly read travel catalogues during her ten-minute breaks at the factory, and that future trips were discussed among the coworkers. Dreaming about a {{luxury holiday life|| made her job easier, she added, and gave her the ability to escape from the pounding reality for a short while. {{Traveling is like a drug|| to one of the tourists, and several others described themselves as {{travel maniacs||. Travel catalogues then served to keep them {{intoxicated|| (Goossens 1994:94). They dreamed not only about trips close in time, but also about many other possible trips of the future. Almost all tourists used catalogues to compare alternatives and choose among them. The comparison could be done among all details in a proposed package, or only between certain specifics, like price, hotel options, or possible activities. The woman at the factory was later able to travel to the destination of her dreams (Tunisia). However, she had to make her travel decision according to her slim wallet and the result was the cheapest hotel alternative, with no luxury trimmings. It is apparent that an average tourist in the sample used many catalogues and compared different items. A tourist with a tight travel budget looked for inexpensive hotels and did early booking for better rates or discounts. The tourists showed tremendous variation in how they compared catalogues (Murray 1991). Some used a number of different catalogues simply as a substitute to a travel handbook to find basic data about various destinations. Some studied several catalogues in detail, while others did not use more than one, and did the comparison between the alternative destinations in that single source. A mother and her daughter sincerely wanted to go to Crete with a certain tour operator. Even though they read three different catalogues in order to make the right choice, after making up their minds about this, they used only the one tour operator|s catalogue for hotel selection. Another example is the two young ladies regularly using a specific tour operator because the mother of one of them always had done so. But still they used two other catalogues. A young couple took an afternoon off work to go around to collect travel
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
753
catalogues. Then they went to a cafe to make a decision. They browsed though hundreds of pages and opted, after ten minutes, to go to Las Palmas with a specific tour operator and to a hotel especially suitable for children. Another couple prepared themselves by reading the catalogues at home, and marking two possible alternatives in two different catalogues. When calling the salesperson at the travel agency, they found out that another tour operator offered a similar trip, but about $100 cheaper. They made a preliminary reservation right away. After work the husband picked up that new catalogue showing the new offer, went home and examined it with his wife, and one hour later they were able to make a reservation. A man collected two catalogues early in his planning phase. He had already decided to go to the Canary Islands, due to the available dates and the suitable climate. When he looked through the catalogues for the price range he had in mind, he compared options on the basis of the advertised activities for children and youths. Sometimes the sample participants decided about their trips and even booked their trips by phone, before they saw any catalogues. After booking, however, they commonly collected catalogues from various tour operators to check what they had already booked and/or to read about their wouldbe destinations. A married couple from Stockholm wanted to travel to a small Greek island. Immediately after the booking they fetched catalogues to check on what they had booked. They discovered that the destination gives a bit of a dull and quiet impression, and therefore they cancelled and instead decided to stay home. A majority of all interviewed tourists on a bus tour carried with them pages of catalogue describing all the facts concerning their trip. One man even mentioned that he brought with him several pages, carefully removed with a razorblade, from the competitors| catalogues (Wicks and Schuett 1993). Tourists express frustration when the reality is different from what the catalogue shows, or even some finer details are missing. For example, one tourist complained to the tour operator because the bedspread in her hotel room was not the same color as what was shown in the catalogue picture. Another complained because the room was not furnished the exact way as expected. After the trip, many tourists use their catalogue to be able to show family and friends where they spent their vacation. They discuss the pros and cons of the tour, the tour operator, the hotel, and the excursions experienced. Pictures are cut out from catalogues and put into the photo album together with personal shots and tickets. This and other actions signify their apparent need to confirm their travel and various decisions both before and after the trip. In summary, one of the tools that tourists use in their decision making and purchasing process is travel catalogues. They are, in literature and among practitioners, considered to be used only during a short period before potential tourists decide when and where to go*i.e. during the pre-purchase phase. The interview results, however, clearly show that catalogues are not only used when tourists collect information in order to evaluate alternatives and choose among them. They are used during the dreaming up phase, when contemplating and deciding where and how to go, during the actual sojourn and its many acts, and even after returning home, all in turn contributing to and influencing future travel plans. Monica Hanefors: School of Transportation & Society, Dalarna University, S-781 88 Borla nge, Sweden. Email [email protected]. Lena Larsson Mossberg: School of Economics and Commercial Law, Go teborg University, S-405 30 Go teborg, Sweden. Email [email protected]
754
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
REFERENCES Goossens, C. 1994 External Information Search: Effects of Tour Brochures with Experimental Information. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 3(3):89Ð107. Hodgson, P. 1993 Tour Operator Brochure Design Research Revisited. Journal of Travel Research 32(1):50Ð52. Mannell, R. C., and S. E. Iso-Aholal 1987 Psychological Nature of Leisure and Tourism Experience. Annals of Tourism Research 14:314Ð331. Milman, A. 1993 Maximizing the Value of Focus Group Research: Qualitative Analysis of Consumer|s Destination Choice. Journal of Travel Research 32(2):61Ð64. Moutinho, L. 1987 Consumer Behavior in Tourism. European Journal of Marketing 11(4):5Ð 44. Murray, K. B. 1991 A Test of Services Marketing Theory: Consumer Information Acquisition Activities. Journal of Marketing 55(1):10Ð25. Weber, S., and V. Salamon 1996 Measuring Quality and Effectiveness of Destination Brochures. TTRA Conference Proceedings, pp. 239Ð246. Boulder CO: Travel and Tourism Research Association. Wicks, B., and M. Schuett 1993 Using Travel Brochures to Target Frequent Travelers and {{Big-Spenders||. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 2(2/3):77Ð90. Submitted 20 January 1998 Accepted 19 February 1998
PII: S0160Ð7383(98)00030Ð9