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The rule that human beings seem to follow is to engage the brain only when all else fails-and usually not even then. AbstractGeneral models of tourist decision making have been developed to theorize tourist decision processes. These models have been based on the premise that tourists are rational decision makers and utility maximizers. Further, these models have been operationalized through input-output models to measure preferences and behavioral intentions. The extent that they remain viable to explain and predict tourist behavior as tourism markets mature however is uncertain. This review article critiques these approaches and proposes a new general model based on dual system theory to account for different types of choice strategies, the constructive nature of preferences, and to recognize the individual and contextual factors that influence choice processes. The article argues that a general tourist choice model should integrate the psychological processes that determine choice strategies, or heuristics, and consider choice context. These include individual differences, task-related factors, and principles determining system engagement. Future research and practical implications are outlined.

Many global tourist destinations have experienced growth in arrivals. This has triggered various conflicts in destinations and sparked debates as to how to deal with what is increasingly referred to as 'overtourism'. Most Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) pursue strategies to stimulate arrivals even further. Pro-growth discourses are reinforced by lead bodies such as the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). However, maximisation strategies based on higher numbers of tourists increasingly cause conflicts with local residents, whereas simultaneously undermining climate change mitigation pledges as negotiated in the Paris Agreement. New approaches to destination management based on optimisation are therefore warranted. Drawing on a survey of international tourists (n ¼ 5,249) in southwestern Norway, this article discusses whether 'activities', i.e. the development of local, small-scale and ideally more sustainable experiences, can contribute to economic growth without necessarily increasing numbers of arrivals. Results confirm that destinations should seek to better understand their markets, including length of stay, spending, and/or activity intention, to identify profitable markets. Ultimately, such knowledge may help addressing overtourism conflicts while building tourism systems that are more economically, socially, and environmentally resilient.

Tourism marketing has typically been seen as exploitative and fuelling hedonistic consumerism. Sustainability marketing can, however, use marketing skills and techniques to good purpose, by understanding market needs, designing more sustainable products and identifying more persuasive methods of communication to bring behavioural change. This article summarises the latest research on the theories, methods and results of marketing that seeks to make tourist destinations better places to live in, and better places to visit. It explores sustainability marketing's two fundamental approaches, that of market development, using market segmentation, and that of sustainable product development. It introduces a Special Issue of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism on sustainable marketing, sharing evidence on the motivations, mechanisms and barriers that businesses encounter, and on successes in changing consumer behaviour and pursuing sustainability goals. Particular attention is given to the methodologies of sustainable tourism marketing, to the subject's breadth and complexity, and to its many innovations. Further research is called for to fully understand what contextual aspects influence these prosustainability interventions to achieve which outcomes in other settings, in order to validate some of the exploratory studies discussed, and establish the feasibility of scaling up pilot studies for more general use.

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The psychometric and factor‐analytic properties of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were investigated in an undergraduate university student sample and an adolescent inpatient psychiatric sample. Three factors were extracted from each sample and were comparable to those described by the originators of the scale. Reliability, concurrent validity, and construct validity estimates are also reported. The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency in both samples. In terms of validity, the MSPSS correlated strongly with the Social Support Behaviors scale and showed little relationship to social desirability. As predicted, scores from the MSPSS correlated negatively with two separate measures of depression and positively with a self‐concept measure. However, the strength of relationships between severity of depression and social support subscales differed between the two samples. The implications of these findings for the assessment of perceived social support and for future research are discussed.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between well-being, quality of life and holiday participation among low-income families in the UK. There have been very studies that have examined quality of life (QOL) and subjective well-being in relation to tourism and none that have attempted to apply measures to assess the benefi ts of holidays for those people who are generally excluded from participation. This is important in relation to social tourism because of the fundamental need to develop mechanisms to evaluate the impact of charitable funding for supporting low-income families' participation in holidaymaking. This study evaluates the types of reasons given for fi nancial assistance in applications to the Family Holiday Association including follow-up research with a sample of successful applicants on the perceived benefi ts of the holiday, including questions on QOL factors. The fi ndings are limited in scope but do indicate that increases in QOL were reported among low-income families. The paper concludes by arguing that further research on adapted well-being and QOL measures be applied to tourism consumption.