The Role of Novelty in the Pleasure Travel Experience

Abstract

Despite an extensive literature on novelty-seeking and the intuitive appeal of vacation behavior as a setting for its observation, the significance of a pleasure trip that is familiar or "commonplace" as opposed to one that is "novel" has not been investigated. The purpose of this study is to describe novel versus commonplace trips and to explore behavioral and demographic differences between travelers who experience different levels of novelty.Pleasure trips are taken in anticipation of a set of benefits that apparently vary among individuals. For example, some travelers select trips that involve only minor behavioral changes from their daily routine; others opt for more radical activities such as above normal expenditures, exposure to unfamiliar environments and new social contacts. Although some of this variation is certainly due to individual differences, the variability among the activities people describe as pleasure trips suggests that other factors may be operating. The novelty drive may provide a potentially useful explanation.Despite an extensive literature on novelty-seeking and the intuitive appeal of vacation behavior as a setting for its observation, the significance of a pleasure trip that is familiar or &dquo;commonplace&dquo; as opposed to one that is &dquo;novel&dquo; has not been investigated. Novel travel is defined as a trip characterized by new, unfamiliar experiences that differ from prior life experiences (Faison 1977). Commonplace travel is characterized by familiar experiences. As will be shown, novel and commonplace travel are related to other touristic dimensions and the nature of an individuals home and work environment.The purpose of the present study is to describe novel versus commonplace trips and to explore behavioral and demographic differences between travelers who experience different levels of novelty. To accomplish this, the travel motivation literature is first briefly reviewed and the relationship of novelty to other travel motives is identified. Next, the theoretical basis underlying the novelty motive is presented. Finally, hypothesized differences in the travel behavior of novel and commonplace travelers are presented and tested. The results provide insights into travel behavior of

Tourism at Risk: A Review of Risk and Perceived Risk in Tourism

“…Lepp and Gibson (2003) were the first to systematically investigate the influence of tourist role and their preference for novelty or familiarity on risk perception. The need for novelty was found to be related to the individual lifestyle (Bello & Etzel, 1985) as well as personality (Plog, 1974). One of the most cited works associated with tourists' risk perception would be the classical work of Plog (Korstanje, 2009;Kozak et al, 2007;Lepp & Gibson, 2003;Pizam et al, 2004;Reisinger & Mavondo, 2005;Sönmez & Graefe, 1998b).…”

Understanding and meeting the challenges of consumer/tourist experience research

“…Hirschman (1984) asserts that there are basically three stages of experience seeking: (i) cognitive; (ii) sensation; and (iii) novelty. Otto and Ritchie (1996) built on earlier studies by Havlena and Holbrook (1986), Holbrook and Hirschman (1982), and Bello and Etzel (1985), among others, by using an empirical study of 339 tourists to identify six fundamental dimensions of the experience construct: a Hedonic Dimension, an Interactive or Social Dimension, a Novelty Seeking or Escape Dimension, a Comfort Dimension, a Safety Dimension, and a Stimulating or Challenge Seeking Dimension. It argues those seeking to provide tourists with a quality experience should consider the merits of providing visitors with each and/or all of these six components of 'the tourism experience'.…”

Research on the Relationships among Macau Gambling Tourists’ Novelty, Hedonics, Perceived Value and Revisit Willingness

“…Hightower et al [21] pointed out that affective factors, such as hedonics and novelty, are integral conceptualizations of perceived value. Many other studies have shown that longing for more novel experiences generates more pleasure and perceived value [22,23]. In addition to the effect on pre-purchase choice, perceived value also affects tourists' willingness to recommend a vacation as well as their intention to revisit [24,25].…”