TOURISM

Empirical Reseach in Tourism

Empirical Reseach in Tourism

Introduction

Numerous studies have explored the implications of tourists' repeating behavior in consumer tourists' repeating behavior. This focus has been extended to include tourism, although its application to destinations is as yet limited (Baloglu, 2001, Baloglu and Erickson, 1998, Beaman et al., 2002, Bigné et al., 2001, Darnell and Johnson, 2001, Fyall et al., 2003, Gitelson and Crompton, 1984, Kozak, 2001, Moutinho and Trimble, 1991, Oppermann, 1996, Oppermann, 1997, Oppermann, 1998, Oppermann, 1999, Oppermann, 2000a, Oppermann, 2000b and Pyo et al., 1998).

In marketing and tourism analyses, repeat visits have generally been regarded as desirable (Oppermann 2000b) because, among other things, it is thought, first, that the marketing costs needed to attract repeaters are lower than those required for first-time tourists; second, a return is a positive indicator of one's satisfaction; third, an inertial attitude of high repeaters increases their likelihood to return (Oppermann 1998). General research has also focused on the relationship between brand tourists' repeating behavior and price sensitivity, leading to the conclusion that tourists' repeating behavior reduces consumer sensitivity to price variations (Krishnamurthi and Papatla 2003). Likewise, a business with loyal consumers would be able to maintain higher prices than its rivals, and this attachment would thus be a business defense against rival competition (Wernerfelt 1991) as well as a way of guaranteeing the product's continued quality (Keane, 1997 and Shapiro, 1983).

In economic literature, consumer satisfaction has been linked to higher business profits, through the generation of tourists' repeating behavior. Nevertheless, no definitive relationship has been confirmed between satisfaction and profitability. The benefits that a high degree of tourists' repeating behavior represents for destinations will depend on possible differences in expenditure between repeat and first-time tourists. If both types have similar mean expenditures per day, the destination will benefit from visitor tourists' repeating behavior because it will be guaranteed a stable market share, with lower advertising costs and less sensitivity to price variations or potential problems with services. On the other hand, if repeaters spend less, the possibilities of offering both a high quality product and potentially renewing it to suit changing consumer needs, might be diminished.

Despite the key role it plays in the definition of marketing strategies, the relationship between levels of repeat visitation and tourist expenditure has not received much attention in the literature. What is explored is the phenomenon of repeat visitation in an empirical, marginal way within the framework of an analysis of tourist expenditure, with hardly any reference to models of consumer tourists' repeating behavior (Aguiló and Juaneda, 2000, Bowen and Shoemaker, 1998, Jang et al., 2004, McQueen and Miller, 1985, Mok and Iverson, 2000, Oppermann, 1996, Oppermann, 1997 and Petrick, 2004). Research using economic consumer models show two opposing trends in expenditure by repeat tourists. On the one hand, repeaters have a greater knowledge of the destination and thus can make a more efficient choice (based on lower prices) for all or some components of the cost of the trip. On the other hand, if quality ranks among ...