Accelerated trends in tourism marketing and tourist behaviour

Abstract

Despite its much longer historical background, particularly since the 1980s, the world of marketing has entered a new era, becoming more consumer-oriented. Thus, consumers have come to be at the centre of all production and marketing activities in the business world. In the first wave, commencing from the early 2000s, mass consumption has gained more emphasis with technology development. The tourism and hospitality industry have also been directly affected by such developments, and we have seen new ways of marketing methods and new types of tourism activities/products. As a second wave, one more feature of the 21st century is that it has mainly been dominated by either regional or global incidents such as terrorism and pandemic. Together with disseminating the latest pandemic worldwide, marketing methods and consumer behaviour have undergone another dramatic transformation once again. Its initial outcomes have been in practice now, e.g. more individualised lifestyles, more personalised marketing and consumerism, more concerns with regard to safety and security, greater awareness of fashion, and more engagement on social media. Consequently, this chapter aims to examine the new trends that are likely to be encountered in tourism marketing based on the possible changes in consumer behaviour in the light of the developments of the last two decades and two waves. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Alastair M. Morrison and Dimitrios Buhalis.