Uncovering unconscious memories and myths for understanding international tourism behavior

Growing evidence suggests unconscious thinking (e.g., [Bargh, John A., (2002), “Losing consciousness: automatic influences on consumer judgement, behavior, and motivation.” J Consum Res, 29 (2), 280–285.]) affects most decision-making. Tapping into this process requires a methodology that helps informants retrieve memories from their unconscious memories. Using McCracken's [McCracken, Grant, (1988), The long interview. Newbury Park: Sage.] long interview method, data are collected to demonstrate retrieval of subconscious myths and interpretations of their meanings. Levy [Levy, Sidney J. Interpreting consumer mythology: a structural approach to consumer behavior. Journal of Marketing 1981;45(3):49–61.] suggests that unconscious memories are stored as little myths–pieces of stories–and offers interpretive guidelines for analysis. Using a modified version of Levy's method, the paper interprets thick, written descriptions of long interviews of Japanese tourists visiting Hawaii's Big Island (BI). The results provide insights on Japanese tourist behavior inaccessible through conventional research methods. Both emic (self) and etic (researcher) interpretations of visitor experiences uncover important insights on leisure travel decisions and tourist behavior. Long interviews of Japanese tourists visiting Hawaii's Big Island are mapped and compared to the visitor's plans, motivations, decisions, and consequences. This paper extends Levy's [Levy, Sidney J. Interpreting consumer mythology: a structural approach to consumer behavior. Journal of Marketing 1981;45(3):49–61.] methodology to expand understanding of the tourist decision-making process.