Multivariate Examination of Tourist Decision Processes: Insights from Foreign Tourists

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the demographic characteristics of foreign tourists, their decision-making process when choosing tourist destinations, and their behavior during visits to destinations in Thailand. This research involved a sample of four hundred foreign tourists, and the primary research tool employed was self-administered questionnaires. The reliability and consistency of the measurement scale were assessed using Cronbach's Alpha, resulting in a coefficient of 0.848. The collected data underwent analysis using both descriptive and inferential statistics. To examine the interaction between the main demographic variables of foreign tourists (gender and age) and the five stages of the decision-making process (need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase evaluation), a two-way multivariate analysis of variance was applied. The findings of the research indicated that a majority of the respondents rated all five stages of the decision-making process as "somewhat recognized/practiced." Furthermore, a statistically significant interaction effect was observed between gender and age concerning the combined dependent variables associated with the decision-making process.