Political ideology and variety seeking in travel choices

Despite the significance of political ideology in shaping consumer behavior, its impact on tourism studies remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate how tourists' political orientation influences variety seeking in travel decisions, such as selecting destinations or activities at a destination. Four experimental studies revealed the significant moderating effect of decision type on the impact of political ideology on variety-seeking tendencies. Specifically, conservative travelers exhibited stronger variety-seeking (across various subcategories) when required to select a fixed number of options from multiple choices, as in pick-N decisions. Conversely, liberal travelers demonstrated greater variety-seeking when choosing options without a fixed total, as in pick-any decisions. These results provide new academic and managerial insights, contributing to a better understanding of the role of political tendencies in the context of travel decision-making.