Metatheorizing Tourist Flow at Macro-level: Universal Forces Theory and Herding Among Tourists

Seonjin Lee and Lori Pennington-Gray

No 8k7np_v2, OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science

Abstract: This study calls for theories of tourism and proposes the Universal Forces Theory that aims to explain tourist flow at macro-level. Our metatheory identifies generalizable interactions among elements of the tourism system. Four forces have been identified based on the literature: push, pull, friction, and competition. We critically reflect on whether imported theories sufficiently capture the uniqueness of these tourism phenomena. In addition, herding force is proposed as another universal force in tourism, the phenomenon of tourists attracting other tourists. The model was empirically validated using nationwide tourism big data from South Korea. Our approach provides a theoretical platform that cultivates the development of coherent tourism knowledge, along with an exemplar for the theory-driven use of tourism big data.

Date: 2025-04-23
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-tur
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:osfxxx:8k7np_v2

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/8k7np_v2

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