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Consumer Behavior in e-Tourism

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Handbook of e-Tourism

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Abstract

Tourism scholars have extensively investigated tourists’ behavior; from motivations to actual choices and consumption patterns, the way tourists behave has relevant implications for theory and practice. In e-Tourism, consumer behavior encompasses the wide range of tourists’ behaviors supported by technologies and happens at different stages: prior undertaking a vacation, during the experience itself, and after it, when tourists are engaged in post-vacation assessments. Research on these aspects is vast, encompassing both the supply and demand side, but it remains scattered. This chapter provides an informed overview of consumer behavior in the e-Tourism era. The core of the chapter focuses on three phases of consumer behavior that have significantly been reshaped by e-Tourism: pre-trip stage, on-site experience, and post-trip evaluation. These three relevant areas are herein analyzed, and considering the tourists and providers’ perspective, the most relevant changes enabled by the e-Tourism era are presented. The conclusion section discusses the relevance of behavioral changes induced by digitally mediated experiences, outlines advances, and presents future perspectives for tourism and hospitality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and Management, TOMTE, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bruneck-Bolzano, Italy

    S. Volo

  2. Faculty of Economics and Management, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bruneck-Brunico, Italy

    A. Irimiás

Authors
  1. S. Volo
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  2. A. Irimiás
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Correspondence to S. Volo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Zheng Xiang

  2. Department of Tourism Studies and Geography, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden

    Matthias Fuchs

  3. Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ulrike Gretzel

  4. Department of Business Informatics, University of Applied Sciences Ravensburg-Weingarten, Weingarten, Germany

    Wolfram Höpken

Section Editor information

  1. Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, Center for Public Relations, University of Southern California, Watt Way 3502, 90089, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Ulrike Gretzel

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Volo, S., Irimiás, A. (2022). Consumer Behavior in e-Tourism. In: Xiang, Z., Fuchs, M., Gretzel, U., Höpken, W. (eds) Handbook of e-Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_8-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05324-6_8-1

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