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The use of travel guidebooks by packaged and non-packaged Japanese travellers: A comparative study

Faculty of Commerce, Doshisha University, Kyoto, 602-8580, Japan, snishimu{at}mail.doshisha.ac.jp

Brian King

School of Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing at Victoria University

Robert Waryszak

School of Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing at Victoria Univeristy

This article attempts to ascertain whether tourist type (based on the degree of freedom exercised during travel) influences the use of travel information sources for decision-making, particularly in the case of guidebooks. A model is proposed incorporating the travel decision-making process and the selection of information sources. Four hypotheses are tested and the results indicate that tourist type has a considerable influence over the choice of travel information source. It was found that the greater the degree of freedom exercised by respondents during travel, the more that they used guidebooks both prior to and during travel. Guidebook usage was found to be widespread among all three segments of the Japanese market, though different patterns are evident at the various stages of the trip - before and after departure.

Key Words: guidebooks • package tourists • non-packaged tourists • tourism marketing • Japanese

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