In today’s highly competitive and global economy, understanding tourist behavior is imperative to success. Tourist behavior has become a cornerstone of any marketing strategy and action. This book provides an overview of such processes and influences and explains the concepts and theories that underlie tourist decision making and behavior.

Preface. Part 1: Motivation and Need Recognition 1. Interpretive Consumer Research: Uncovering the ‘Whys’ Underlying Tourist Behavior 2. Antecedents and Consequences of Prestige Motivation in Tourism: An Expectancy-Value Motivation Part 2: Perception and Information Processing 3. Tourism Destination Image Formation 4. Tourist Information Search Part 3: Evaluation of Alternatives and Choice 5. Decision Strategies in Tourism Evaluation 6. Planning and Exploratory Buying Behavior Part 4: The Tourism Experience 7. Understanding Tourist Experience though Mindfulness Theory 8. Unlocking the Shared Experience: Challenges of Consumer Experience Research Part 5: Post-Choice Processes 9. Processes and Performances of Tourist (Dis)Satisfaction 10. Service Failure, Tourist Complaints and Service Recovery 11. What Determines Tourist Loyalty? In Search of a Theoretical Explanation Part 6: Individual Determinants of Tourist Behavior 12. Tourism Segmentation by Consumer-Based Variables 13. Emotions and Affective States in Tourism Behaviour Part 7: Environmental Determinants of Tourist Behavior 14. E-tourist Behavior: The Influence of IT on Consumers 15. The Role of Media Products on Consumer Behaviour in Tourism 16. Cross-Cultural Differences in Tourist Behavior