Exploring the roles of smart services in Chinese senior tourists’ travel experiences: an application of psychological reactance theory

ABSTRACT

The emergence of smart technology in tourism and hospitality captured the industry’s attention. Senior tourists’ encounters with smart services reveal how smart systems influence their travel experiences, tourism participation, and travel-related behaviour. A conceptual framework based on psychological reactance theory is developed in this paper. The factors of perceived threats to freedom when forced to use smart services, perceived constraints to using smart services, psychological reactance, attitudes towards smart services, intentions to use smart services, and intentions to switch from current service provider reflect Chinese senior tourists’ general aversion to using smart services while travelling and offer valuable managerial implications.

KEYWORDS:

• Smart service
• Chinese senior tourist
• psychological reactance theory
• perceived constraints
• attitude to smart services

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jun Wen

Dr. Jun Wen is a lecturer in tourism and hospitality management in the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University. His current research interests lie in Chinese outbound tourism marketing, behaviours, and other related aspects.

Xinyi Liu

Miss Xinyi Liu is currently a PhD student in the College of Tourism at Sichuan University, China. Her current research interests lie in Chinese tourist behaviour and outbound tourism marketing.

Chung-En Yu

Miss Chung-En Yu is currently a Master student in Innovation and Management in Tourism at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. Her research interests center on the psychological and sociological phenomena, consumer experiences and emerging technologies in tourism and hospitality.