Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; v. 1, n. 13/14 (2010); 195-203
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Resumo: Albeit research on tourists is a ‘younger’ research discipline, within a foreseeable future many of the most influential texts on tourist behavior, motivation and vacation decision-making have been around for fifty years. However, especially in regard to the study of human beings, their motivations, behaviors and decision-making there is little (perhaps no?) justification for the belief that the future will resemble the past. Drawing upon a series of ‘newer’ research findings, the purpose of this paper is to address the (perhaps not so) simple question: ‘What do we (not) know about the tourist?’ In order to address this question, this paper critically examines a few, selected statements (or tentative hypotheses) about ‘the tourist’ – statements that underlie much contemporary research on tourists. Albeit the paper offers more of a discussion than solid conclusions it suggests that we do not actually know that holidays is a high involvement product; that the generic decision to go or not to go is the first decision vacationers make; that choice of destination is a critical decision; or that tourists want experiences. Drawing on this discussion, the paper furthermore offers suggestions as to the future of research on ‘the tourist’.
