Motives and information search patterns of international and domestic tourists at a tropical destination

This study compares and contrasts the motives and information search patterns of domestic and international tourists visiting a popular tropical destination area in northern Australia. The study is framed within Pearce's Travel Career Pattern model that considers the role of a basket of core, middle tier extrinsic, middle tier intrinsic and outer tier motives in making trip decisions. Core motives of novelty, escape and relaxation were important to both groups but were more important to the domestic market. Middle tier extrinsic motives associated with nature influenced the international market, while domestic tourists were more likely to identify middle tier intrinsic motives as influencing their visit decision. Additionally, information sources used by domestic and international tourists in pre-destination and in-destination searches varied based on geographic origin and previous visit histories. Interestingly, while people shopped online, many preferred to buy only after face-to-face communications with suppliers. This study provides deeper insights into visitors’ destination selection and information search, highlighting the practical implications for destinations to more effectively utilise limited resources to target their marketing, both pre-visit and in-destination.