Customer Inspiration in Tourism and Consumer Behavior
Summary
Customer inspiration refers to the motivational process through which external stimuli spark a readiness to act, leading consumers from an initial state of being “inspired by” novel content to a subsequent “inspired to” intention to pursue specific behaviours. In tourism contexts, inspiration emerges from sensory, cognitive and affective experiences—ranging from immersive destination storytelling to engaging short videos—that collectively heighten travellers’ desire to explore new places. This dual-phase construct bridges marketing stimuli and behavioural outcomes, explaining how experiential triggers transform passive interest into active planning and purchasing decisions. The framework recognises that inspiration is distinct from related constructs such as satisfaction or engagement, in that it entails a compelling urge to translate ideas into real-world travels or acquisitions. Advances in measurement and modelling have clarified how content characteristics, personal traits and situational moderators interact to produce both the initial receptivity to stimuli and the ensuing action-oriented drive. By illuminating these processes, research on customer inspiration offers practical guidance for destination managers and marketers seeking to craft experiences that not only captivate attention but also mobilise intent and foster sustainable consumer relationships.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Customer Inspiration in Tourism and Consumer Behavior publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in customer inspiration in tourism and consumer behavior across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Customer inspiration: A two-phase motivational state initiated by external stimuli (inspired-by) and culminating in goal-directed behaviour (inspired-to).
Inspired-by state: The receptive phase in which consumers are cognitively and affectively activated by novel or engaging stimuli.
Inspired-to state: The action-oriented phase marked by intention formation and the drive to pursue specific behaviours.
Presence: The perceived psychological immersion into a mediated environment, encompassing social presence, co-presence and physical presence.
Destination familiarity: The extent of a traveller’s prior knowledge and experience with a location, which can moderate inspirational responses.
Consumption orientation: Individual predisposition toward hedonic or utilitarian consumption goals that influences responsiveness to marketing content.
References
- Stimulating Tourist Inspiration by Tourist Experience: The Moderating Role of Destination Familiarity. Frontiers in Psychology (2022).
- Which type of tourism short video content inspires potential tourists to travel. Frontiers in Psychology (2023).
- The Formation Mechanism of Impulse Buying in Short Video Scenario: Perspectives From Presence and Customer Inspiration. Frontiers in Psychology (2022).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.