Tourists' temporal booking decisions: A study of the effect of contextual framing

Travellers make booking decisions under uncertainty. They may book early and get a discount, but then find they cannot travel at the later time. Or they may wait until the last minute, and perhaps miss out altogether. Prospect Theory introduced framing (presentation of messages emphasising loss or gain) to investigate decision-making under uncertainty. In other studies a loss (negative) frame has been found to be more effective than a gain (positive) frame when decision-makers were given a choice. Since tourism providers benefit when travellers make early bookings, three studies using framing were performed to see what kind of framing was more effective in persuading travellers to book in advance. Two different kinds of framing were adopted: risky choice and attribute framing. The results of the three studies confirm the predictions of Prospect Theory, and suggest ways of managing tourism campaigns to encourage advance booking.