WebinarOnline
The evolving tourist: Understanding consumer behaviour and quality management in a digital, globalised market
Friday, 30 April 2027
Explore how digital platforms and global change shape tourist expectations, trust and choice, and how quality management can respond through inclusive evidence, thoughtful service recovery and responsible use of consumer data.
About this event
Tourists now encounter destinations through search results, social platforms, review systems and personalised recommendations long before a journey begins. Their expectations also reflect wider changes in work, identity, mobility and economic confidence. This webinar examines how consumer behaviour is evolving within a digital, globalised market and what those changes mean for the management of service quality.
The session will consider how travellers gather information, assess risk and construct value across multiple channels. Digital visibility can expand choice, yet rankings and recommendations may concentrate attention around familiar options. Participants will explore how trust is shaped by peer commentary, visual representation and platform design, while recognising that access, confidence and digital literacy differ substantially between consumers.
Quality management must respond to this varied journey without reducing quality to a single score. The discussion will examine expectations, service consistency, recovery and feedback as related processes. It will ask how organisations can learn from data while recognising selection effects, cultural differences and experiences that standard metrics overlook. Privacy and fairness remain central when personal data informs segmentation or automated decisions.
Researchers, students, marketers and tourism practitioners will gain a structured approach to linking behavioural insight with service improvement. The webinar will question assumptions about a universal digital tourist and consider how global patterns interact with local context. Its aim is to support quality systems that remain attentive, inclusive and open to evidence while adapting responsibly to changing forms of discovery, choice and evaluation. It also encourages continual review as technologies and consumer expectations develop.