Travel Decision-making: The Role of Habit

The complexity of travel decision making is widely recognized and has previous been studied by the means of grand models and process studies. This study has used the Self-Reported Habit Index of Verplanken and Orbell (2003) to measure habit strength in 23 statements concerning travel decision making. The four sub-decisions of particular interest in this study were; where and when to go on vacation, what to do, as well as how to travel to the chosen destination. The developed instrument unfolds a well recognized structure of travel behavior, results which validate the statements of SRHI and its applicability to the field of tourism. This research adds to the field of travel decision making by emphasizing the possibility to identify sub-decisions that are made out of habit and to use habit as a platform for tourist segmentation