Linking accommodation choice, information overload and choice overload

ABSTRACT

The present study examines the temporal sequence of vacation decision-making, in particular, choice of accommodation and whether tourists experience information overload and choice overload when booking accommodation for an exotic distant destination. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews among 17 tourists who had visited Rovaniemi, Finland representing 12 different nationalities. Nine out of the 17 participants had made their choice and booked their accommodation just one month before travelling to Rovaniemi. In addition, besides one study participant from Kuwait, none had experienced information overload and choice overload. The findings suggest that because of the growth and use of digital technology, today tourists are adaptive, continuously assessing the value of their planned itinerary, and are more receptive to the acquisition of new information.

KEYWORDS:

• Vacation decision-making
• accommodation
• information overload
• choice overload
• Finland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Erose Sthapit http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1650-3900

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Jenny ja Antti Wihurin Rahasto.