TOURISM: AN EXERCISE IN SPATIAL SEARCH

THERE IS a growing interest in how people learn about the choices or opportunities that exist in their local area, and how they establish regular patterns of movement to utilize these opportunities. Research in this area has centred on consumer market activity, because consumption is, in many ways, a learned response. Formally defined, learning means “all changes in behavior that result from previous behavior in similar situations,”’ so that the consumers’ spatial behaviour can be regarded as an evolving process, based on their experience with current and past locations. It has been postulated that the spatial patterns associated with consumer market activity are the result of a learning process whereby an individual searches his area for the “most satisfactory” pattern of responses.2 Utilizing the reinforcement theory of Hull’s3 “Behavior System,” Golledge and Brown4 suggest that in the early stages of the learning process an individual’s search procedure will be random; but the haphazard nature of the search will diminish as the individual develops more satisfying experiences from the choices or trials he has made. Finally, the consumer will reach a stage of general satisfaction with his choices that is likely to lead to a habitual set of responses and a stable movement pattern within his area. However, the close association with stimulus-response learning theory has meant that geographical research into spatial search has emphasized the trial and error aspect of learning while minimizing its cognitive elemenk5 Cognitive behaviour and experience can intervene in a stimulus-response situation and modify the learning process via the individual’s perception, attitude, motivation (physical and psychological), and inter-trial learning.G Such personal attributes are likely to influence the degree of commitment an individual makes to a search and affect the procedure by which he builds up his mental image of an area. Thus it is important that the contribution of individuality be examined in addition to the more stereotyped behaviour of stimulus-response learning. This paper reports on an investigation of the motivations and modus operandi involved in the spatial search of a new area. The individuals concerned were first-time tourists to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the study examined events and expectations associated with their search process. Tourism provides an attractive medium for the study of spatial search because the tourist encounters many new environments during his trip, and these must be assimilated in a short time. Therefore, although he may not advance to the hypothesized habitual state of response and movement during his first visit, the tourist’s search experience could provide insight into which methods and cues have a high ‘Lpay-off” and into the relevance of cognitive variables. Furthermore, the way in which the tourist explores each location is of vital interest to local tourist industries which need to create maximum exposure and use for each tourist attraction during their short season. This study of tourist search behaviour was conducted as part of a broader survey7