Planning Horizon in International Travel Decision-Making: The Role of Individual and Cultural Determinants

Backhaus, Christof; Heussler, Tobias; Croce, Valeria

Abstract

A solid understanding of when travel decisions are made in relation to travelers’ planning horizons is crucial for travel service providers. Despite its importance, there are very few empirical studies investigating the planning horizon and its antecedents in travel research literature. This study contributes to bridging this gap by conceptualizing a two-level model of antecedents of travelers’ planning horizons. In addition to individual traveler- and trip-related aspects, the model provides a cross-cultural perspective on international travelers’ planning horizons by including uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and long-term orientation as cultural-level antecedents. Drawing on a nested dataset of 4,074 international travelers from 17 countries worldwide, the results of a two-level hierarchical regression model show that, in addition to individual-level aspects, cultural antecedents play an important role in determining planning horizons. Based on the empirical results, the paper discusses implications for theory and travel service providers.

Citation

Backhaus, C., Heussler, T., & Croce, V. (2023). Planning Horizon in International Travel Decision-Making: The Role of Individual and Cultural Determinants. Journal of Travel Research, 62(2), 432-447. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875211066112

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 17, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jan 8, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Deposit Date: Jan 11, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 17, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Travel Research
• Print ISSN: 0047-2875
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-6763
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 432-447
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875211066112
• Keywords: travel planning horizon, travel planning, national culture, hierarchical linear modeling
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2825458
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00472875211066112