The influence of children on the decision-making process of choosing a destination in domestic tourism studied in Karaj city

Master's thesis in the field of tourism management, tourism development planning trend

Abstract:

According to the changes that occurred since 1950 and after the Second World War and families underwent changes and the mothers of the family also entered the field of education and work, the decision-making process of families also underwent a transformation and parents who had less time for their children, in order to provide their satisfaction and prepare them for their future roles, They participated in this process. For this reason, we decided to investigate the influence of children on the stages of the decision-making process of destination selection in domestic tourism and leisure trips from the perspective of parents and find out whether children have an influence on the stages of the decision-making process, and if there is an influence, whether their influence is direct or indirect, and whether the gender and age of the children also play a role in this process or not.

For this purpose, families with children aged 12-18 years were investigated in Karaj city and Azimieh region. Questionnaires were distributed in schools and 161 families were investigated. To select sample people, 4 schools including two girls' and boys' middle schools and two girls' and boys' high schools were selected from the city of Karaj, and then 45 students from each school were selected as a sample and they were asked to submit the questionnaire to their parents for completion. The results of the research stated that children were effective in the decision-making process of choosing a destination and this effect was mostly indirect and with 95% confidence no direct effect was seen. The greatest influence of children is on the first stage of the decision-making process, and with 95% certainty of the result of the chi-square test, their age and gender did not affect this process.

Key words: influence, children, decision-making process, destination choice, recreational trip, age and gender, parents' perspective

Key words: children influence, decision making, destination choice, recreational trip, age, gender, parents perception

Chapter one: research design and generalities

1.1 Introduction

Tourism is an activity carried out by people, which is usually enjoyed, and to better understand this phenomenon, we need to know people's behavior (Minichio and Moiza 2009[1]). Considering the competition of the tourism industry, understanding the decision-making process of tourists is of great interest to marketers.  One aspect of this process is the influence of children on the choice of destination, while this category has been less investigated in the field of tourism (Curry, Wesley, and Sutherland 2007 [2]). The decision to choose the destination where the vacation and leisure trip should be spent has a lot of risk (Minichu and Moiza 2009). The behavior of choosing the destination can be shown by a simple evaluation and selection process. Each person finds and evaluates options, and the option is finally chosen that has the most value for everyone involved in the trip (Kopelman 1978 [3]). It seems significantly that the studies conducted in the field of children's role in deciding the activity of recreational trips and vacations are not enough and it is an opportunity to do more in this field.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate parents' understanding of the influence of their children on the decision-making process of choosing a destination based on the decision-making stage and age and gender variables, and according to the scope of the issue in this field, the current research is conducted in the field of recreational tourism inside the country.

The aim of the upcoming study is to find out from the perspective of parents, whether children have an influence on the decision-making process of choosing a destination based on the decision-making stages and the age and gender variables in travel (domestic leisure travel).

The findings of this study can be a way for tourism professionals that if children are effective, they focus their promotional efforts in the field of leisure tourism on this age and gender group, and tourist destinations also attract families who have children with this characteristic.

1.2 Statement of the problem

In recent years, we have encountered a trend in which children have had significant influence on family purchasing decisions.Past researches that have generally been conducted in Western societies, especially the United States, confirm the increase in the power of children in family purchasing decisions, but in Eastern countries, especially Iran, due to cultural-social differences with the West, this challenge has not been studied much (Dehghan Neiri, 13, 1989). Therefore, the main goal of this research is to evaluate the effect of children on the decision-making process of choosing a destination for leisure trips. Most of the studies and researches in the field of family decision-making have equated family decision-making with the decision-making of husband and wife and have ignored or not taken into account the role of children (Jenkins [4] 1979). Children are clearly considered consumers today, but they are different consumers compared to adults (Hartel and Gram 2004[5]). McNeill states that children are impatient and motivated differently than adults and meanwhile the family is a complex decision-making unit in which each member such as father, mother and children exert influence in decision-making, especially when it comes time to choose a place to go and do activities on vacation (Gram and Hartle 2004, Thornton et al. [6] 1997, McNeil [7] 1999). With this account, consumers with different priorities - parents and children - must agree and interact on family consumption. (Hartel and Gramm 2004).

There was an obvious change from the early 1950s, when fathers were considered the decision makers in terms of spending. Then women gained influence. At first, women were decision-making partners, and then, as they became educated and active in work, they became known as influential decision-makers.  Children have slowly entered the decision-making sector, and at some point, now, they are equally on the buying side, especially buying products related to themselves like their parents (Hartel and Gramm, 2004).  Recent research (McNeil 1999, Gramm 2004) shows that children - to a greater extent - have become a part of decision-making.

James U. McNeil, author of the book "The Market for Children", lists some of the conditions that exist for children in the Western world today: adults have more income per child because mothers often work outside the home, fewer children per family, parents tend to have children as they get older. As a result, they have more wealth in this situation (Gram 2004). McNeil mentions a factor called "guilt factor" which means: parents spend more time on their jobs and less time with their children, when they are with their children, they are more prone to buy gifts and have fun with their children. McNeil concludes that the "guilt factor" is effective on the expenses related to children and the desire to please the child and as a result placing the child's considerations in decision-making, and this naturally affects the child's life conditions (Gram 2004).  Meanwhile, children - not always, but potentially - intervene in family purchases (Hartel and Gram 2004). The reason for this development is, on the one hand, children who expect their voices to be heard and therefore demand, and on the other hand, adults with limited time who try to have democratic families (Hartel and Gramm 2004). Families have become negotiation families (Gram 2004) and children are given more freedom of action and are listened to to a greater extent and play a role in decision making. Children know more about life and learn about purchasing options from their peers and various media (Gram 2004). 

Regarding tourism, it was found that pleasing the child is an important motivation for parents, and the influence of the child is not a one-way process, but a multilateral process and a two-way communication between the child and the parents who encourage the child to participate. (Hartel and Gram 2004).

Based on Jenkins' (1979) initial research, 20 to 30 percent of parents have considered the influence of their children to be strong in the choice of destination, time, residence and activities (Rubin 2010[8], Wang et al.[9] 2004). The pioneering work of Jenkins and subsequent research by Holman and Epperson 1984[10] and Foxman 1989[11] in the field of children's influence in travel, tourism and leisure are not enough (Rubin 2010).

However, there is little information in the tourism industry that examines children's interests.