Dutch vacation decision making from an integrated theoretical perspective: An explorative study

Up until now, researchers have not been able to gain full insight into the process of vacation decision making. For that reason, the main purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to the theory of this process. After a short introduction concerning Dutch tourist behaviour, an integrated conceptual model of vacation decision making is constructed, based on theories developed by Giddens and other findings from different approaches to vacation decision-making processes. Using an integrated model a study question was formulated: which time-space, structural and natural Conditions, and/or actor-related factors influence the domestic destination choice of different groups of Dutch holidaymakers? To answer the first part of this question a longitudinal vacation data set of the Netherlands Research histitute for Recreation and Tourism was used, which contains information collected during a four-year study. Presentation of the results will focus on the relationship between the Dutch tourist's choice for a domestic holiday and several conditions and vacation-related variables. Finally, the preliminary results will be discussed in relation to the integrated model and some recommendations for future research will be given.