Understanding the Travel Behaviors of Indian Tourists in Thailand: A Mixed Methods Research Approach
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Travel behavior has long been a key research area in tourism, however most of the focus is on tourists and not the other stakeholders. This mixed-methods research sought to understand the travel behavior for the emerging Indian tourist market by investigating the tourism attitudes of stakeholders. Phuket, a tourist location in Thailand, is used as the potential travel destination. The theory of planned behavior was used as the conceptual framework. First, twelve in-depth interview sessions were conducted to seek insights from the stakeholders. The interview analyses suggest three main unique behaviors among the Indian tourists: family-oriented tourism, seeking home comfort food, and tour guides’ favored customers. These findings highlight the importance of understanding a particular segment of tourists based on culture and preferences. Secondly, online questionnaires were given to 368 potential Indian tourists. The iterative regression analyses indicate that predictors of infrastructure (β = .26, t = 4.01, p < .001), attitude (β = .21, t = 4.45, p < .001), variety (β = .17, t = 3.61, p < .001), and comfort (β = .14, t = 2.00, p < .05) had positive effects on travel intention. This is preliminary research that investigates emerging Indian tourist behavior. Some practical applications are provided for the tourism industry. This research suggests that place management should be thoughtfully considered, and that government and tourism policy makers engage in destination planning. Basic infrastructure and tourists’ comfort zones are priorities in the new normal era.
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