UNDERSTANDING CHOICE AND REJECTION IN DESTINATION CONSIDERATION SETS

Understanding destination choice is a key focus of tourism research. An extensive body of existing research examines various components of the decision process, including destination choice modeling, information seeking, and the formation and effects of destination images. The existing research is primarily focused on the factors that influence the positive choice of a particular destination. Recognizing the concept of a consideration/evoked set, a research question that has not been adequately examined is "why are destinations rejected?" The underlying, but untested, assumption is reciprocalness of attributes. Destinations that are perceived as high on a given set of attributes are chosen and the rejected destinations, de facto, are assumed to be rejected because they are low on those same attributes. This research identifies key differences in the reasons why people select a resort destination compared to the reasons for rejection. While further research is needed, the results are discussed within the framework of a noncompensatory, satisficing destination choice heuristic.