Information Cascade and Tourist Destination Imagination: Burying the Gem
References:
Pan et al. (2020). Investigating tourist destination choice: Effect of destination image from social network members. Tourism Management, 83 (2021), 104217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104217
We know and love hidden gems: travel destinations and local attractions “untainted” by the swarms of tourists. Yet, from my experience on the ground, I still stick the recommended tourist traps and pay the upcharge, despite the lesser-known alternatives being merely blocks away. I wonder, then, outside their own natural and humanistic merits, what makes one destination more to us than another?
A 2020 paper published by researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands can shed light on some social network-related factors. The researchers investigated the extent informational conformity, the proclivity to get information about individual choices from network members, influence people’s pick of vacation destinations. Specifically, the extent people are influenced by others on their impression of the candidate destination. To this end, they performed a sequential stated choice experiment, where participants are asked twice about their choice from a set of destinations, without and with being informed about another participant’s pick. For each destination the participants may or may not have prior images, which are accounted for in the modelling. For the results, despite the participants’ complex background characteristics and motivations, the researchers find that they adapt their destination images accordingly with those of their observed network members, whether they have any prior expectations. Closeness to and perceived knowledge (authority) of the other member positively correlates with the individual’s susceptibility to conform. And of course, baseline and modified preferences vary according to individual characteristics.
So far in the course we have familiarized ourselves with models of network dynamics and information dissemination, and the evidence here fits well with our information cascade framework, despite some divergence. The sequential choice setup matches the herding experiment we deployed to examine the information cascade, as participants observe only one prior action in both settings. The dependent variable, rather than a choice, is the quantified user image and the entailing preference of a select destination. Thus, we can think of the evidence as more concerned with network signals rather than final decisions. While the researchers did not design for analysing information cascade—each person received no more than 1 signal—we already see that individuals strongly taper their image. In this vein, exposing individuals to more signals within their network would only serve to imprint the collective image, regardless of authenticity. Even more indicative is that while we assume complete uncertainty about the event in our herding experiment, people were overriding their existing destination images in this study, demonstrating the potential for an intrusive cascading effect on the individuals and a quite ominous message for making informed decisions. Additionally, the stronger influence from more authoritative nodes and stronger social ties harken back to our prior material on network structure and powers: the image cascade would likely occur much earlier within closer social networks with sporadic “travel experts”. This finding can especially empower marketers to target tight-knit friend circles or working groups in need for a good time/team bonding, starting with the resident wanderlusts.
What do these findings leave for us, the prospective holiday travellers (and spenders), then? We already see that even if we have already done our research, we still edit our mental image with even as few as one other input. It is doubtful that we can ever hold on to our decision, no matter how well-articulated, once a consensus emerges from our social groups. It’s unlikely that we can block out suggestions from our close friends or that one veteran traveller, either. If we are to travel with the same group, we might as well just roll along. Otherwise, friend groups or family might not be the foremost place to locate our upcoming best time in life.