Destination decision sets: A longitudinal comparison of stated destination preferences and actual travel

There have only been a small number of applications of consumer decision set theory to holiday destination choice, and these studies have tended to rely on a single cross-sectional snapshot of research participants’ stated preferences. Very little has been reported on the relationship between stated destination preferences and actual travel. To what degree then can marketers rely on consumers’ stated attitudes if there is no supporting measure of actual behaviour? The article presents a rare longitudinal examination of destination decision sets, and the first in the context of short break holidays by car in Queensland, Australia. Two questionnaires were administered, three months apart. The first identified destination preferences while the second examined actual travel and revisited destination preferences. The findings indicate a general consistency between attitude and behaviour in the short term. The results support the proposition that the positioning of a destination into a consumer’s decision set represents a source of competitive advantage. A key implication for the destination of interest, which launched a new brand campaign during the period of the project, is that a long-term investment in a clearly differentiated brand message will be required to improve awareness and intent to travel by consumers in the region’s most important market. It is recommended that monitoring decision set composition represents an important and practical indicator of future performance for destination marketers.