Friday, 5 June 2015

ABDUL RAUF BIN AYUB KHAN : CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR WHEN SELECTING A HOLIDAY DESTINATION


Name                           : Abdul Rauf Bin Ayub Khan
Matrix Number           : SX122789HAFF04



CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR WHEN SELECTING A HOLIDAY DESTINATION




Introduction
Tourism is a powerful and diverse industry that is directly associated with most regions’ growth and economic vitality. The tourism industry has a dramatic impact on the world’s economy and development. Holiday become a need to consumer as they stress with their routines life. The study is about the process of how consumer selecting a travel service packages, consumers consider certain important criteria to identify the most suitable holiday according to their preferences, expectations, budget, time and mood. A series of factors that influence held by the brands of companies that are active in the tourist sector, over the manner in which consumers choose a travel package, if it is available, and the extent to which it is a determining factor in selecting a provider in the detriment of others, or of a destination in the detriment of others.
Geographical location is a useful indicator of the things that potential tourists want to see and experience in a certain tourist destinations. The idea is that people who live in a certain locality (city, region, etc.) have similar needs and wishes which differ from the needs and wishes of people who live in other localities (country, continent, etc.). Geographical distribution of the population is important due to the fact that people who inhabit a certain region usually have or share the same values, attitudes and preferences. Significant differences between regions are the consequence of the differences in climate, social customs and other factors such as culture or religion. Buying processes are complex, sometimes involving many variables. Making false assumptions about these processes can result in an otherwise good product or service not being bought.

 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
Consumer buying is very much influenced by cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors. Personal factors consisting of tourists’ personality, self image, attitudes, motivations, perceptions, life style, age, family life style and profession.  Personal factors are known also as psychological factors or individual explicative variables which formed by all the characteristics, beliefs, convictions, habits which represent a coherent and stable response of the person at the stimulus from the external environment. Attitude is a person’s predisposition to answer in a favourable or unfavourable manner at the offer of a tourism product or service. It has a lot of influence over the market position of tourism products. Besides that, motivations can be classified into four categories which are:

i)                    physical motivations  - as the desire to practice a sport area.
ii)                  cultural motivations - as the desire to visit a church or a museum
iii)                interpersonal motivations - as the desire to socialize, to meet new people
iv)                prestige motivations - as the desire of being appreciated.

Perception is a complex process through which people select, organize and interpret sensory stimulation into a meaningful picture of the world. Therefore, the same tourism destination will be perceived differently by different tourists. Almost never will an individual perceive reality completely and impartially. Perception improves depending on how many stimuli a person perceives and on the capacity of keeping them in mind. According to its perceptions and some well defined criteria, the tourist can rank the tourism destinations and choose the one that he considers optimal. Moreover, the age segments which rise interest in tourism marketing from the behavior point of view. For example, young people have very different tastes as regards products or services, as compared to old people. Also young people tend to spend more than old people.

Social factors such as culture, family or social level have a great influence on selection of holiday vacation because they define the individual. Culture refers to traditions, taboos, values and basic attitudes of the whole society within which an individual lives. It is a framework in which individuals and their life-styles develop. In a family, attitudes and opinions regarding different forms of tourism, destinations, tourism agencies and etc are very easily transmitted. An individual’s needs are likely to change as he or she goes through life. For example, an individual moving from a bachelor stage to one with small children makes the individual to reconsider its priorities, reflecting a different set of needs. An individual’s behaviour is influenced by the phases of the family life cycle.



The Buying Process

Consumers are likely to display various levels of commitment, depending on the nature of the purchase. It has been suggested that there are three such levels (Howard and Sneth, 1969), which are:

i)                    Extended problem solving
-  In this situation, such as the decision to take a long-haul holiday, the consumer is likely to have a deep level of commitment, to make a detailed search for information, and to make an extensive comparison of the alternatives.
ii)                  Limited problem solving
- In this situation, the consumer will have some degree of knowledge or experience already, but many factors will be taken for granted and the information search will be far more limited. A second holiday at a favorite skiing destination may be purchased in this way.
iii)                Habitual problem solving
- This is a repeat purchase of a tried and tested short break or day excursion, which requires little or no evaluation. The purchase is made primarily on the basis of a previous satisfactory experience and a good understanding of the destination or brand name of the tourism or hospitality offering.

Decrop and Snelders (2005) suggest that six types of vacationers can be described which are habitual, rational, hedonic, opportunistic, constrained and adaptable. Role adoption will also influence the buying process, and it is proposed that there are five roles (Engel, Blackwell and Miniard, 1990), which are:

·         Initiator
- the person who starts the purchasing process and who gathers information.
·         Influencer
- a person who expresses preferences in choice or selection of information. This can be a group of friends, relatives, or a partner.
·         Decider
- the person who has the financial control and possibly the authority within a group of people to make the purchase.
·          Buyer
- the person who actually makes the purchase, visits the travel agent, and obtains the tickets, and etc.
·         User
- the person or person who consumes the purchase and actually goes on the trip.

 The consumer buying process for tourism is often regarded as similar to that for other products and services. The assumption is that a consumer moves through a number of stages leading up to a purchase.

Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the factors, which can influence consumers’ purchasing intention, regarding selecting holiday destination. It shows that travelers’ general holiday preferences are very influential in vacation destination and mode choice.  Depending on the types of tourists a country is targeting, the country can adapt its marketing schemes to highlight the most relevant details about its vacation spots. Furthermore, efforts should be undertaken to collect more comprehensive information regarding individuals’ travel in the market, including specific regions visited, activity participation, and time use. Consumer behaviour research in tourism must take full account of these dimensions, and further mine this rich context to better develop our understandings of how travel behaviour interrelates with, and impacts upon, the broader consumption landscape.

References



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