Me, My Tourist-Self, and I: The Symbolic Consumption of Travel

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that before the tourism industry can truly individualize products, experiences, and niche markets successfully, we need to better understand exactly what benefits a tourist is seeking to obtain through the symbolic consumption of tourist products. This study has made the first attempt to empirically test a model combining self-concept, self-congruity, motivation, and symbolic consumption behavior within a tourism setting. Based on a sample of 410 young “overseas experience” (OE) travelers, the results reaffirm that the self is multidimensional, whilst also suggesting that when buying a product, or consuming an experience abroad, the tourist looks beyond functional utility to social meaning. This study further suggests that when making consumption decisions, a tourist forms perceptions based on the likelihood that the product or experience will be congruent with their self.

KEYWORDS:

• Change-seeking
• motivation
• self-concept
• self-congruity
• self-expression
• social comparison
• social identification
• symbolic consumption
• tourist-self
• travel

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aaron Gazley

Aaron Gazley is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600 Wellington, New Zealand (E-mail: [email protected]).

Lauren Watling

Lauren Watling is a Research Fellow, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600 Wellington, New Zealand (E-mail: [email protected]).