Model of Family Tourists’ Behaviour

Document Type : Article Extracted from Dissertation

Authors

1 PhD Candidate in Tourism, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor of Tourism Management, Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management & Accounting, Allameh Tabatabae'i University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Associate Professor of Tourism Management, Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Management & Accounting, Allameh Tabatabae'i University, Tehran, Iran.

4 Associate Professor of Tourism Management, Department of Handicraft, Faculty of Art & Architecture, Mazandaran University, Babolsar, Iran.

Abstract

Context and Purpose: Families are the core consumers of many tourism services and destinations, constituting a significant portion of the current and future population and market of the tourism industry. The fundamental and pervasive nature of family tourism, its increasing consumption by families, and the diverse needs expressed by family tourists highlight the importance of producing and expanding a foundational knowledge base regarding family behavior patterns. Accordingly, the main objective of this research is to present a model of family tourist behavior.
Design/methodology/approach: The current study is inductive in terms of approach, qualitative in nature, and is follows an exploratory-explanatory approach. It was conducted within the framework of a systematic review using a meta-synthesis approach. For the meta-synthesis, the seven-step model by Sandelowski & Barroso was utilized due to its practicality and high acceptance.
Findings: The findings revealed that family tourist behavior is shaped within the framework of the family life system (structure, citizenship, bonding, and family dynamics) and the context of the technological environment and cyberspace. This behavior includes organizing behavior before the trip (the preparation-for-experience stage), interactive-adaptive behavior during the journey to the destination, at the destination, and on the return journey (the experience-living stage), and sense-making and consolidating behavior after the trip (the experience-review and outcomes stage).
Conclusion: Family tourism is less about moving from home to a destination and more about the family moving toward a new version of itself. Therefore, family tourist behavior is not merely a simple change of location but the opening of a new dual-spatial realm where the rearrangement and reconfiguration of family life become possible and meaningful. Family tourism behavior can only be guided, enhanced, and solidified when, at the macro level of tourism management, the necessary structural and policy foundations are provided to adapt destinations and technological environments to the family life system.
Originality/value: Presenting an integrated model based on the family life system, explaining family tourist behavior as a sense-making and transformative process, and integrating the determining role of cyberspace into the three-stage travel experience and the five-part temporal process demonstrate the distinguishing features and knowledge contribution of this research.

Keywords

References

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Tourism and hospitality marketing research
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 5
Autumn and Winter
September 2025
Pages 87-113

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