title: Norms, tourist personality, and tourist behaviours
Creators: name: Wasaya, Allah
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: tourism
subject: destination marketing
subject: place attachment
subject: subjective norms

description: Norms shape tourist behaviour, and can influence loyalty, sustainable consumption, pro-environmental behaviour, tourist attachment, intentions to revisit, tourist volunteer behaviour, littering behaviour, positive word of mouth, and more. However, what is not clear is the circumstances in which norms are more or less effective. Norms help tourists connect with a destination and stay loyal. Plus, they have a significant impact on people's behavioural intentions. It is believed that these are the factors that influence people's decisions and actions. Despite the significant role assigned to norms in the behavioural field, they seldom feature in the tourism and hospitality sector. Moreover, the literature suggests that there has not yet been a definitive finding on what influence norms have on tourist behaviour. Rather, there are specific gaps in our understanding. First, prior research in the tourism and hospitality stream has adapted only partial aspects of the construct, such as socially desirable behaviour. Further, the concept of norms proposed is mismatched to how they have been operationalised. Second, how different norms and personality characteristics influence attachment and loyalty behaviours in tourists is under-researched. Lastly, there are few recommendations on how norms and personal characteristics can be used by the tourism and hospitality industry as marketing tools. This thesis draws on normative and behavioural theories, including the theory of normative conduct, the theory of planned behaviour, and social congruity theory, to examine the influence of norms and personal characteristics on tourism. The goal is to determine whether norms can play a role in the growth and sustainability of the tourism industry by enhancing behavioural intentions and place attachment. Normative conduct theory focuses on the importance of norms in shaping human behaviour. The theory holds that, by guiding an individual's behaviour, norms can be used to assess whether other people might approve of their actions. This theory additionally states that people should consider how other people feel about their actions, while taking their personal features into account. This theory is not widely used in tourism and hospitality research. In this study, this theory is used to examine the different behaviours of tourists. According to the theory of planned behaviour, a person's actions are influenced by their perceived control, subjective norms, and attitudes, and the main factors that motivate a person's behaviours are their intentions. Although this theory has been widely used in tourism research, using any one theory as the sole basis of a study has been broadly criticised. This is among the reasons why this thesis draws on several theories to predict behaviour. Similarly, social congruity theory suggests that people are motivated to conform to social norms and expectations in order to maintain positive social relationships and avoid social disapproval or rejection. This theory proposes that individuals compare their own attitudes and behaviours to those of their social group, and that they adjust their attitudes and behaviours to be more congruent with the norms of that group. The theory suggests that the strength of social influence depends on the importance of the group to the individual and the degree of unanimity within the group regarding the particular norm or expectation in question. Social congruity theory has been used to explain a wide range of social phenomena, including conformity, compliance, and obedience to authority. [...]