Tourism Productivity by Attracting Children’s Market: The Role of Children in Decision Making

Abstract

Tourism productivity relies heavily on social and economic improvement. Children have largely been ignored as beneficiaries of tourism who can play a highly influential role. Existing research had failed to considered children as active agents who can impact their lives and environments. The purpose of the current study was thus to address the existing research gap and qualitatively investigate children's perceptions of the trips they had experienced and to explore whether their decision making and the consequences of their leisure behaviors might play any ameliorating role in economic recovery. The research sample comprised 96 children within the age range of 9 -12 years old who had been selected based on gender and socioeconomic status, as the moderator variables, to take part in semi-structured interviews to narrate their memories. The recorded memories were further thematically analyzed. Exploration of their best trips revealed that novelty/entertainment, nature, and social relationships were perceived to be the major merits which stimulated emotional loyalty and the desire to return to the place. Emotional loyalty was observed to be stronger among males and middle socioeconomic class. Moreover, the findings supported the important role children can play in decision making and impacting the family’s selection of future tourist destinations.

Keywords

• perceived travel benefits
• children’s market
• children decision making
• leisure behavioral