Introduction

The success or failure of today’s highly competitive business organisations depends largely on the ability for recognising the behaviour of their consumers. This is even more noteworthy for hospitality and tourism businesses, where the products/services because of their unique intrinsic qualities are quite difficult to deal with. Tourism is a complex experiential activity, and tourists not only process cognitive information but also experience emotions which are provoked by the external environment (Lane 1994). Moreover, it is also not possible to anticipate and meet the customers’ needs and requirements without accurately understanding the dogma of consumers’ behaviour. The essence of the marketing concept is also that organisations achieve their objectives by satisfying customers (Houston 1986). As long ago as 1776 Adam Smith in his book The Wealth of Nations recognised the vital importance of consumers to market economies, famously stating that ‘consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production’ (Smith 1776: 719).