Tourist behavior and weather

Abstract

This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between tourist weather preferences, perceptions, and weather-related activities. A conceptual model with respect to the interdependencies and relationships is proposed and discussed in light of the results of a pilot study conducted on the French Caribbean island of La Martinique. An explorative in-situ survey that included n= 32 holiday tourists from ‘cold’ and ‘warm’ countries examined the core variables of the model. The results demonstrated that slight differences in climate preference existed for respondents, depending on whether they originated from a country with a cold or a warm climate, that the activity patterns seemed to be influenced by changing weather conditions only to some extent, and that the actual weather, which was marked by heavy rains in the first data collection period and by changeable weather in the second, appeared to have only limited impact on return intentions. Despite the limited possibility of a pilot study, the results facilitated an overview of the factors necessary to understand the weather-related behavior and shifts in the behavior of tourists. The core concepts include acceptance and adaptation as dynamic psychological processes that allow an individual to cope with adverse weather conditions. Thus, this study may serve as a basis for future research, especially with respect to the behavioral responses of leisure tourists to predicted climate change dynamics in holiday destinations. The conceptual model may provide a useful framework for future studies.

Keywords

• Martinique
• climate
• weather
• tourist behavior