Understanding Psychological Impacts on the Choice of Tour Mode for Pleasure Travel

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1 Understanding Psychological Impacts on the Choice of Tour Mode for Pleasure Travel Man-u Io PhD graduate of the University of South Australia, Australia Dr Leonie Hallo International Graduate School of Business, University of South Australia, Adelaide Keywords: GPT (group package tour) and FIT (free independent tour), tour mode, travel motivation and attitudes, perceived attributes of GPT and FIT, and Fishbein s attitudebelief-behavior model. Introduction The pleasure travel market is always popular and competitive. Tourism companies are competing against each other by launching various tourist products and services, which provide pleasure travelers with many options. In recent years, Macao has aroused some attention due to its rapid development in the gaming industry and economy. In 2007, the GDP per person was over USD$36,000 on average (Macao Statistics and Census Bureau 2007). Given such a good economic situation and free outbound travel policies, many Macao residents, while increasing their income and workload, acknowledge the need to reduce their work stress by taking a pleasure trip in their leisure time. In 2007, local residents joined a group package tour for overseas travel over 212,000 times, a 22% increase in comparison with 2006, and local residents traveled abroad as free independent travelers but still using services from travel agencies over 386,000 times, an increase of 4% in comparison with 2006 (Macao statistics and census Bureau 2007). In a city of around 500,000 people, these statistics show the eagerness of local residents for outbound travel. However, not much attention has been paid by researchers to Macao outbound tourist behavior. Group package tour (GPT) and free independent tour (FIT) are the two major tour modes for many pleasure travelers (Mok & Amstrong, 1995). Macao residents also travel with these two tour modes. Of these two tour modes, GPT is considered the most popular for many Asian tourists, especially when taking an international trip (Wang, Hsieh & Huan, 1999). For example, package tours are Taiwanese tourists favorite travel mode for taking pleasure travel overseas (Chang, 2006; Wang et al., 1999). In Hong Kong, taking an all-inclusive tour is also very popular for outbound tourists, regardless of whether they are older residents or young students (Heung & Leong, 2006; Lo & Lam, 2004). However, while group package tours with various themes are attracting many GPT pleasure travelers, a number of FIT travelers are not interested in these group package tours but instead looking for different tourist services. Previous studies have investigated how tourists choose a tour mode for travel. The results of most have revealed that demographic, travel patterns and psychographic characteristics are the major factors influencing tourists choice of tour mode; among these three major factors, psychographic characteristics, which usually include travel motivation and travel attitudes, 96 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

2 are considered as having the most important impact on tourists choice (Hyde & Lawson, 2003; Seiler, Hsieh, O Leary & Hsieh, 2001; Yamamoto & Gill, 1999). However, there is a lack of in-depth understanding on how and what psychological factors influence tourists choice of tour mode for pleasure travel in previous research studies of tourist behavior. In this study, tourists motivation and attitudes toward pleasure travel were investigated, in order to identify the crucial psychological factors which influence tourists choice of tour mode. In addition, Fishbein s attitude-belief-behavior model was applied as a structural base. According to Fishbein s theory, consumers are likely to purchase a product or service based on their attitudes toward this product or service (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977; Card, Chen & Cole, 2003; Hair, Bush & Ortinau, 2003; Wu, 2003, 2006). It is therefore necessary to evaluate the attributes of these two tour modes, as this will help to reveal tourists attitudes towards them. Finally, the crucial variables of travel motivation and attitudes influencing tourists choice of tour mode are identified and examined. The objectives of this study are as follows: 1. to identify the differences of travel motivation and attitudes between GPT and FIT tourists; 2. to measure tourists attitudes toward the GPT and FIT tour modes for pleasure travel; 3. to investigate the impact of tourists travel motivation and attitudes, and their attitudes toward the two tour modes on their choice of tour mode for pleasure travel; 4. to offer practical suggestions to tour operators/marketers for better marketing strategies. Literature review According to previous studies with respect to tour mode, there are a number of factors affecting tourists choice of tour mode. These factors are all related to demographics, travel characteristics and psychographics (Mehmetoglu, 2006; Morrison, O'Leary & Hsieh, 1994; Seiler et al., 2001; Yamamoto & Gill, 1999). In addition, consumers decision making is likely to be influenced by their belief and attitude toward an object, as people s attitudes and beliefs are positively related to their behavioral intention (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977; Card et al., 2003; Hair et al., 2003; Lee, 1998). Some previous research indicates that personal factors such as demographics, lifestyle and psychographics influence one s attitudes toward an object and one s behavioral intention (Lee, 1998; Wu, 2003). Therefore, tourists travel attitudes and perception of the two tour modes should have a strong impact on their final choice of tour mode. In the study of consumers attitudes, Fishbein s behavioral model (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977) is widely used for measuring attitudes and behavior. The idea of this model is that people form their attitudes toward an object on the basis of their beliefs, perception and knowledge about this object (Hair, Bush, & Ortinau, 2003, Wu, 2003). According to Fishbein s attitude theory, attitudes are structured along three dimensions: cognitive (beliefs, knowledge and perceptions); affective (likes and dislikes); and behavioral (action taken to a particular object) (Carmichael, 2000). 97 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

3 Previous research studies based on Fishbein s model support the usefulness of this model: for example, Ryan & Mo (2001) applied Fishbein s model to their study to examine Chinese tourists perception of New Zealand as a holiday destination. The results supported the contribution of Fishbein s model to the study of relationships among perception, attitudes and behavior. Another study by Wu (2006) is also related to Fishbein s (1977) theory. Wu blended Fishbein s theory and other similar theories to provide the foundation of his research, in which differences in online buying behavior were measured. Wu identified three clusters of respondents and three models for analyzing their online buying behavior. The findings revealed that each cluster of respondents had their unique characteristics, and behaved differently. The three models also revealed a different structural relationship of behavior for the three clusters of respondents. However, all respondents buying behavior was still influenced in various ways by the three variables (attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control) arising from Fishbein s theory. This finding again supports the usefulness of Fishbein s theory for analyzing consumer behavior. Regarding travel motivation, researchers (Yong & McAvoy, 2003) have categorized travel motivators into four types: 1. Physical motivators such as relaxation, medical treatment, the quality of food and accommodation. 2. Cultural motivators such as the desire to see and learn about foreign countries and customs. 3. Social motivators such as visiting relatives and friends, meeting business associates at conferences and pursuing activities associated with status and prestige. 4. Fantasy motivators relating to escaping from routine. Cohen s theory (1979) suggests that the motive of getting away from routine life can be a very common and important motive for undertaking pleasure travel abroad. Krippendorf (1984) also revealed that travel is a way to satisfy needs which conflict with other needs in routine life. In addition, Crompton (1979) summarized the two major motives which arouse most discussion: push and pull factors. Push factors refer to socio-psychological motives, and pull factors are the attractions in the tourist destination which arouse tourists interest and desire to visit. Motivation for pleasure travel is linked with some other psychological variables such as attitudes, expectations, and personal value systems. According to Gnoth (1997), the interaction between a tourist s value system and motivation in the push and pull theory for pleasure travel will influence a tourist s perception, expectation and attitudes towards an object. Tourists values and attitudes which influence the choice of destination, travel activities, transportation and other tourism services are affected by tourists cognition and emotion. This is because tourists are less logical in their travel behavior when their attitudes and values are emotionally dominant, whereas cognitively dominant attitudes and values are likely to produce logical travel behavior. In relation to tourists attitudes toward a pleasure tour, researchers have conducted investigations into its impact on tourists behavior and decision making. For example, Ateljevic (2000) argued that tourists socially constructed values, attitudes and various information received in everyday life influence their perceptions of a tourist destination. Shoemaker (2000) in his study found that there was a gradual shift in attitudes toward travel over the past decade from 1986 to 1996, which resulted in people being likely to travel more frequently prior to reaching the age of 55. Another researcher (Mohsin, 2004) identified the attitudes of Malaysian tourists towards holidaying in Australia and the Northern Territory. Sixty-two items of attitudes were identified and divided into 12 factors. These factors reflect that West Malaysians enjoy mental relaxation during their vacation, and hope to through the vacation enhance their family relationship, so they chose Australia and Northern Territory as 98 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

4 their vacation destinations. These previous studies suggest that travel attitude is an important factor influencing tourist behavior. This study then aims to permit a deeper insight into the psychological impact on tourists choice of tour mode for pleasure travel based on Fishbein s behavioral theory which links tourists travel motivation and attitudes, and perception of the attributes of the two tour modes together. Methodology Survey is the major method employed for this study. Since Macao residents with travel experience are the targeted participants, the sample for survey was drawn from an adult school for tourism education where most adult students work in the tourism industry and are very experienced in travel. All voluntary participants needed to have taken at least one pleasure trip overseas in the last year. To construct a comprehensive survey questionnaire, a preliminary focus group discussion was conducted and a number of variables covering travel motivation, travel attitudes, and perceived attributes of tour modes were identified and used in.the questionnaire. All psychological variables were presented in statements rated on a5 point Likert scale.a total of 1,000 questionnaires were distributed to potential respondents, and 820 questionnaires were collected, but only 792 questionnaires were completed. The response rate was thus 79.2%. Prior to delivering the questionnaire to voluntary participants, a definition of GPT tourists and FIT tourists was given, so that participants were able to correctly classify themselves into either the GPT or FIT group. In this study, GPT was defined as an all-inclusive package tour sold by a travel agent at a single price. Common tourist services would be included in this package tour, such as accommodation and transportation, a tour leader who escorts the tourists during the whole journey, and a tour guide who leads the tourists to tour around the tourist attractions and heritage sites at the destination. FIT was defined as an individual tour which may or may not consist of basic tourist services such as accommodation and an air ticket bought directly from a travel agent, but does not have a planned-in-advance itinerary by a travel agent. In this study, the definitions of GPT and FIT tourists are as follows: GPT tourists are those tourists who had booked an all-inclusive package tour with a tour guide from a travel agent prior to departure; FIT tourists are those who bought a hotel-and-transportation only package or little service or no service from a travel agent prior to departure. The questionnaire was given in Chinese. A pilot test was conducted with 15 participants of the tourism school, to ensure that the wordings in the questionnaire were well understood. There were 375 group package tourists (47%) and 423 free independent tourists (53%) in this sample. The dependent variable is the choice of tour mode: GPT and FIT. Travel motivation, attitudes toward pleasure travel, and the attributes of both two tour modes were selected as independent variables including safety, convenience, relaxation, busy schedule of activities, good value for money, spontaneity/flexibility, understanding of the destination and local people, and the overall suitability of each tour mode for pleasure tour. 99 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

5 T-tests were employed to analyze the mean differences between GPT and FIT in terms of respondents travel motivation, attitudes, and perceived attributes of GPT and FIT for pleasure travel. Discriminant analysis was used to assess the relationship between psychological variables and tour mode choice. Discriminant analysis is particularly suitable for testing the relationship between metric independent variables and nonmetric dependent variables, and it is helpful to find out which independent variable could predict and determine tourists choice of tour mode (Hair et al., 2003) Findings and discussion Table 1 compares the GPT and FIT respondents mean values in terms of their travel motivation, attitudes toward pleasure travel and their perception of the attributes of GPT and FIT for pleasure travel. Significant differences were noted in a number of variables of motivation, attitudes and respondents perception of the attributes of the two tour modes, suggesting that tourists who chose GPT for pleasure travel were quite different from those who chose FIT for pleasure travel. Respondents in the two groups were significantly different from each other in terms of their desire to experience new things, increase cultural knowledge and engage in special activities by taking a pleasure trip. GPT respondents have a stronger motivation to experience new things and increase cultural knowledge in their pleasure trip, whereas FIT respondents have a stronger motivation for engaging in special activities. Both groups of respondents gave their highest mean values to the motivation of escaping from routine life. Regarding tourists attitudes toward pleasure travel, respondents were asked what they were mostly concerned about in a pleasure trip. The two groups of respondents were significantly different from each other on the following variables: understanding local people, having a high degree of spontaneity, preferring experts to arrange a pleasure trip, and preferring the pleasure trip to be arranged on my own. Among these four variables, both GPT and FIT respondents have rated the variable of high degree of spontaneity highest. This implies that both groups of respondents considered a high degree of freedom and flexibility are the most important issues for a pleasure trip. Compared with FIT respondents, GPT respondents scored higher on knowing about local people, understanding local people s routine life in the destination and interacting with them: these are preferable experiences in pleasure travel for GPT respondents. Also having an expert arranging a pleasure tour for them, so they don t need to handle the trivia of tour planning and have more time to enjoy their vacation was important to GPT respondents. FIT respondents preferred to arrange a pleasure trip on their own, as they saw this as part of a happy vacation experience when planning and arranging their own tour and they have a higher rating on the variable of high degree of spontaneity. They thought that a highly spontaneous pleasure trip would be more flexible and enjoyable. Both groups of respondents give their highest mean values in rating GPT to the variable of safety. This implies that both groups of respondents perceived the GPT tour mode to be better for safety when taking a pleasure tour than FIT. The two groups of respondents have significantly different mean values not only on safety, but also on relaxing schedule, good value for money, high degree of spontaneity, and overall suitability for pleasure travel. GPT respondents favored GPT tour mode for pleasure travel more than FIT respondents on these factors. 100 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

6 Finally, when rating the attributes of FIT for pleasure travel, both groups of respondents give the highest mean value to the variable of a high degree of spontaneity. This implies that both groups of respondents considered FIT tour mode as being better for producing a high degree of spontaneity better than GPT tour mode for pleasure travel. FIT respondents favored FIT tour mode for pleasure travel more than GPT respondents in terms of convenience, relaxation, value for money and overall suitability. Regarding the prediction of group membership for the two tour modes by motivation, as shown in Table 2 of the test of equality of group means, there are only three variables which are significantly different: experience new things, improve cultural and historical knowledge, and engage in particular activities. In terms of travel attitudes (table 3), there are three variables which are successful predictors of group membership for the two tour modes: high spontaneity, preferring the expert to arrange a tour for me, and preferring to arrange a tour on my own. Five variables are effective predictors of group membership by perception of GPT (table 4): safety, relaxing schedule, good value for money, high spontaneity, and overall suitability for pleasure travel Five variables are effective predictors of membership by perception of FIT (table 5): convenience, relaxing schedule, good value for money, high spontaneity, and overall suitability for pleasure travel. What these results mean is that choice of tour mode is able to be predicted by the above factors of travel motivations and attitudes, and the perceptions of above attributes of GPT and FIT. For example, if tourists, who perceive GPT doing better than FIT on these attributes, is likely to choose to be GPT travelers. In this study, the mean values of GPT and FIT respondents were found to be significantly different on three variables of travel motivation, which were also proved to be effective predictors of group membership for the two tour modes. In order words, these three variables of travel motivation are the crucial factors determining tourists choice of tour mode. This result also suggests that tourists choose their tour mode depending on their degree of eagerness to experience new things, increase cultural knowledge and engage in special activities. The differing mean values of each group of respondents indicates that GPT respondents were driven by the first two motivations more than FIT respondents, whereas FIT respondents were driven by engaging in special activities more than GPT respondents (although both two groups of respondents were least driven by this motivation for pleasure travel). In the results concerning travel attitudes, GPT and FIT respondents are significantly different on the following travel attitudes: understanding the destination and local people, high spontaneity, preference for an expert arranging a tour, and preference for arranging a tour oneself. The results are similar to those found in previous research (Mehmetoglu, 2006; Yamamoto & Gill, 1999). Discriminant analysis indicates that three of these variables (high spontaneity, preferring an expert to arrange a tour for me, and preferring to arrange a tour on my own) are the crucial factors determining respondents choice of tour mode. GPT respondents perceived GPT tour mode as doing better on offering a high degree of spontaneity than FIT respondents. The variable of high degree of spontaneity was proved by discriminant analysis to be a crucial factor determining respondents choice of tour mode. This result matches the theory of Fishbein s attitude-belief-behavior model that GPT respondents were much concerned about a high degree of spontaneity in a pleasure tour and 101 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

7 they considered the GPT tour mode as doing better on this attribute, so they chose to be GPT tourists. In terms of respondents perception of GPT for pleasure travel, the two groups of respondents have significantly different mean values on five variables of the perceived attributes of GPT for pleasure travel: safety, having a relaxing schedule, good value for money, spontaneity, and overall suitability of taking GPT for pleasure travel. These five variables were also shown to be crucial factors determining respondents choice of tour mode. Meanwhile, regarding tourists perception of FIT for pleasure travel, GPT and FIT respondents are significantly different on convenience, having a relaxing schedule, good value for money, spontaneity, and overall suitability of taking FIT for pleasure travel. Again, discriminant analysis indicates that all these five variables were crucial factors determining respondents choice of tour mode. Overall, the statistical results have revealed the positive impact of respondents travel attitudes and perception of the attributes of GPT and FIT on respondents choice of tour mode. The mean differences on travel motivation, attitudes and perceived attributes of the two tour modes also suggest not surprisingly that GPT respondents favor the GPT tour mode more than FIT respondents, and FIT respondents do vice versa. Implications The results of this study contribute to the knowledge of how pleasure tourists perceive and choose between the two most popular tour modes. In the case of Macao, outbound tourists are gradually switching from being traditional GPT travelers to being FIT travelers. This is an alert to travel agencies which are still targeting traditional GPT travelers. The managerial suggestions are recommended based on the results of this study, which may be of interest to marketers. In this study, the results indicate that the two groups of respondents psychological differences have a positive impact on respondents choice of tour mode. Marketing managers should therefore carefully handle these differences and plan marketing strategies accordingly to better capture these two tourist segments. GPT and FIT respondents have different attitudes toward the two tour modes for pleasure travel: thus tour operators and marketers should develop new tourist products and services which are more compatible with the perceived attributes of each tour mode. For instance, according to tourists perception toward FIT, both GPT and FIT tourists considered FIT as being good for pleasure travel, as both groups of respondents rated FIT as above average on many issues including; convenience, having a relaxing schedule, good value for money, spontaneity, understanding local people and overall suitability. Spontaneity of FIT has received the highest rating from both groups of respondents, and was particularly favored by those pleasure tourists who seek a spontaneous pleasure trip. Tourism marketers could introduce a package of tourist services which highlight the freedom of travel to potential FIT travelers. Compared with GPT, FIT was perceived as being less safe than GPT. To improve this weakness in FIT, tourism marketers should provide FIT travelers with more useful relevant information and help them to plan a safe tour. Meanwhile, GPT was rated as being above average on safety, convenience, busy schedule, good value for money, understanding local people and overall suitability for pleasure travel. This reveals that GPT is still a favored tour mode for pleasure travel for some tourists. Although GPT is considered to be less suitable than FIT for pleasure travel, its safety attribute was rated highest. Thus GPT still retains its popularity in today s mass tourism. 102 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

8 Tourism marketers should be aware of the perceived weaknesses and strengths of each tour mode, so as to improve their weaknesses and play up their strengths when marketing a new package of tourist service to each market. For instance, an adventure tour can be marketed as the safest package tour for potential GPT travelers who want adventure and safety at the same time. As people become more knowledgeable about the world, and as tourists become sophisticated in searching travel information via the internet, FIT may be perceived as safer, and it is likely that tourists will decrease their reliance on travel agents arranging a tour for them. Instead, tourists will increase their desire for enjoying a high degree of spontaneity and freedom during their trip. FIT was perceived as more suitable for pleasure travel than GPT, so the number of tourists who prefer FIT for pleasure travel can be expected to increase. The FIT outbound market is already larger than the GPT outbound market in Macao. GPT may suffer and lose its popularity for pleasure travel, if it is not improved in terms of attributes such as spontaneity, relaxing schedule, understanding local culture and people, and overall suitability. Traditionally, travel agents arrange many different kinds of group package tours for GPT travelers, but only limited services for FIT travelers. To pick up this market and stimulate FIT travelers usage rate of a travel agent, tourism companies should develop more travel services, such as discounted tickets for transportation at the destination, cell phone rental service and more travel information and so on, to help FIT travelers to plan their own tour more effectively. Tourism companies may also attract more GPT travelers from potential FIT travelers by changing their perceptions of GPT for pleasure travel. For example, the findings of this study show that FIT respondents generally perceived that it was cheaper to take FIT than GPT (although the gap between FIT and GPT is not large). If travel agents address FIT travelers perception of higher travel expenses in taking GPT, FIT travelers will at least eliminate this reason and help to encourage GPT. Another method for switching tourists from FIT to GPT is improving the spontaneity of taking GPT for pleasure travel. This study shows that both FIT and GPT travelers perceived a much higher degree of spontaneity offered by FIT than GPT. To change tourists perception toward the low degree of spontaneity being offered by GPT, more creative services for GPT travelers, such as self participation in itinerary design and more spontaneous activities could be arranged for a group package tour. A promotion campaign which highlights the advantages of GPT is also necessary. Overall, changing or fine tuning tourists perceptions of GPT and FIT remains one of the best marketing strategies. 103 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

9 Table 1 Mean comparison Variables Mean t-value GPT respondents FIT respondents Travel motivation Experience new things * Increase cultural knowledge Engage in special activities travel attitude * -2.47* Understand local people * High Spontaneity * Expert arranges for me Arrange tour on my own Perceived attributes of GPT * -5.70* Safety * Relaxing schedule * Good Value for money * Spontaneity * Overall suitability * Perceived attributes of FIT Convenience * Relaxing schedule * Good Value for money * 104 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

10 Spontaneity * Overall suitability * Note: The results were presented as the mean on a 5-point scale from 1 (very unimportant) to 5 (very important). * Significant at the.05 confidence level (p <0.05). Table 2 Discriminant analysis for travel motivation Tests of Equality of Group Means Structure Matrix Wilks' Lambda F df1 df2 Sig. Function Experience new things Improve cultural and historical knowledge Engage in particular activities a. 57.6% of original grouped cases correctly classified. Table 3 Discriminant analysis for travel attitude Tests of Equality of Group Means Wilks' Lambda Structure Matrix F df1 df2 Sig. Function Important issue: high spontaneity Important issue: prefer the expert to arrange a tour for me Important issue: prefer to arrange a tour on my own a. 66.7% of original grouped cases correctly classified. 105 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

11 Table 4 Discriminant analysis for perception of GPT Tests of Equality of Group Means Wilks' Lambda Structure Matrix F df1 df2 Sig. Function Safety Relaxing schedule Good value for money High spontaneity Overall suitability for pleasure travel a. 57.4% of original grouped cases correctly classified. Table 5 Discriminant analysis for perception of FIT Tests of Equality of Group Means Wilks' Lambda Structure Matrix F df1 df2 Sig. Function Convenience Relaxing schedule Good value for money High spontaneity Overall suitability for pleasure travel a. 60.3% of original grouped cases correctly classified. 106 The Management Case Study Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2, 2008 pp University of South Australia ISSN: X

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