The impact of changing seasons on in-destination tourist behaviour

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that examines the impacts of changing seasons on tourism.Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a conceptual process model of the impact of seasons on all aspects of in-destination tourist behaviour. The model is developed from the literature and is then tested using Cairns, Australia as a case study.Findings Seasons influence the actual and perceived range of products/experiences available, which dictate the pull features of a destination, that in turn, influence who comes and why they come. Combined the activity sets and visitor profile define in-destination behaviour and, ultimately, satisfaction.Research limitations/implications The study fills a needed research gap in two ways. Firstly, it explains conceptually and then tests empirically how changes in seasons affect the delivery of tourism products and experiences. Secondly, it adds significantly to our understanding of the factors that influence in-destination behaviour.Practical implications Managerial implications for destination management organisations are identified.Originality/value This paper presents a new conceptual process model for a previously unexamined issue.

Automated summary

The purpose of this paper is to study the impacts of changing seasons on tourism. It presents a conceptual process model to examine the various aspects of tourist behavior influenced by seasons. The model is tested using Cairns, Australia as a case study. The findings suggest that seasons affect the pull features of a destination, which in turn influence tourist behavior and satisfaction. This study fills a research gap in understanding the effects of seasonality on tourism and contributes to our understanding of factors influencing in-destination behavior.