The tourist experience of domestic VFR travellers: the case of Hungary

Anita Zátori, Gábor Michalkó, Judit T. Nagy, Noémi Kulcsár and Dániel Balizs

Current Issues in Tourism, 2019, vol. 22, issue 12, 1437-1459

Abstract: Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) is the main driver of domestic travel in many countries. This study is one of the first to analyse VFR travel from a perspective of tourist experience. This study aims to investigate the complex dynamics behind VFR-related travel, especially in aspects of trip activities and tourist experience formation. Based on a survey (N = 879) examining domestic VFR travellers’ trip activities in Hungary, the paper discusses the formation of a tourist experience in context of short-haul domestic VFR travel, especially the role of influencing factors. The results reveal differences between the segments with trip motivation of visiting friends (VF) and visiting relatives (VR) – the two main types of VFR tourists. It was found that independent variables such as VF, staying for longer and participating in leisure and tourism-type activities have a positive effect on tourist experience evolvement; however, factors such as VR, being rather passive during such a visit and focusing on social acts and bonding negatively affect the formulation of a tourist experience. The paper’s novelty and uniqueness lies in applying a new perspective of analysing and discussing VFR travel: the theoretical concept of tourist experience formation.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2017.1371117

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