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Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity: Made easy

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Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity is one of the best-known theoretical models in the travel and tourism industry. Since Plog’s seminal work on the rise and fall of tourism destinations, back in 1974, a vast amount of subsequent research has been based on or derived from this concept- so it is pretty important! But what  is  Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity?

In this article I will explain, in  simple  language, what this fundamental tourism model is and how it works. I will also show you why it is so important to understand Plog’s work, whether you are a student or whether you are working in the tourism industry.

Are you ready to learn more? Read on…

What is Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity?

How did plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity come about, why destination areas rise and fall in popularity, allocentric tourists, psychocentric tourists, mid-centric tourists, positive aspects of plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity, negative aspects of plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity, key takeaways about plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity, plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity: faqs, to conclude: plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity.

Stanley Plog’s  model of allocentricity and psychocentricity has been widely taught and cited for almost 50 years- wow! And I would hazard a guess that you are studying this too? Why else would you be reading this blog post? Well, worry not- I am confident in the knowledge that by the time you get to the end of this article you will be a Plog expert!

Right, so lets get to the point…. what is Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity?

Plog’s model is largely regarded as a cornerstone of tourism theory. It’s pretty important. This model has provided the foundations for many other studies throughout the past four decades and has helped  tourism industry stakeholders  to better comprehend and manage their tourism provision.

Plog’s work was the precursor to  Butler’s Tourism Area Lifecycle . Plog wanted to examine the way in which tourism destinations develop. How do they grow? How and why do they decline? How can we make (relatively) accurate predictions to help us to better manage the tourism provision at hand?

Plog’s research found that there were (are) distinct correlations between the appeal of a destination to different types of tourists and the rise and fall in popularity of a destination.

Plog essentially delineated these types of tourists according to their personalities. He then plotted these along a continuum in a bell-shaped, normally distributed curve. This curve identified the rise and fall of destinations.

‘You said this would be a  simple explanation ! I still don’t understand?!’

OK, OK- I have my academic jargon fix over with. Lets make this easy…

To put it simply, Plog’s theory demonstrates that the popularity of a destination will rise and fall over time depending on which types of tourists find the destination appealing.

‘OK, I get it. Can I read something else now?’.

Well, actually- no.

If you are going to  really  understand how Plog’s model works and how you can put it into practice, you need a little bit more detail.

But don’t worry, I’ll keep it light… keep reading…

So lets start with a little bit of history. Why did Plog do this research in the first place?

Plog’s research began back in 1967, when he worked for market-research company, Behavior Science Corporations (also known as BASICO). Plog was working on a consulting project, whereby he was sponsored by sixteen domestic and foreign airlines, airframe manufacturers, and various magazines. The intention was to examine and understand the psychology of certain segments of travellers.

During this time, the commercial  aviation industry was only just developing . Airlines wanted to better understand their potential customers. They wanted to turn non-flyers into flyers, and they wanted Plog to help. This saw the birth of Plog’s research into tourism motivation, that later spanned into decades of research into the subject.

Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity demonstrated that destinations rise and fall in popularity in accordance with the types of tourists who find the destination appealing.

Essentially, Plog suggested that as a destination grows and develops (and also declines), it attracts different types of people.

Example: Tortuguero versus Kusadasi

Lets take, for example, Tortuguero. Toruguero is a destination in  Costa Rica  that is pretty difficult to reach. I travelled here with my husband and baby to see the turtles lay their eggs, it was pretty incredible. If the area was more developed, the turtles probably wouldn’t choose this area as their breeding ground anymore.

To reach Tortuguero, we had many hours in the car on  unmade roads . We then had to take  a boat , which only left a couple of times a day. This was a small local boat with a small motor. There were only a handful of hotels to choose from.

The only people who were here  wanted  to be here. The journey would put most tourists off.

In contrast, I was shocked at the  overtourism  that I experienced when I visited Kusadasi, in Turkey. The beaches here were some of the busiest I have ever seen. The restaurants were brimming with people.

Here you could find all of the home comforts you wanted. There was a 5D cinema, every fast food chain I have ever known, fun fair rides, water parks, water sports and much more. The area was highly developed for tourism.

Plog pointed out that as a destination reaches a point in which it is widely popular with a well-established image, the types of tourist will be different from those who will have visited before the destination became widely developed. In other words, the mass tourism market attracts very different people from the niche and non-mass tourism fields.

Plog also pointed out that as the area eventually loses positioning in the tourism market, the total tourist arrivals decrease gradually over the years, and the types of tourists who are attraction to the destination will once again change.

psychocentric tourism definition

Plog’s tourist typology

OK, so you get the gist of it, right? Now lets get down to the nitty gritty details…

Plog developed a typology. A typology is basically a way to group people, or classify them, based on certain characteristics. In this case, Plog classifies tourists based on their motivations.

Note: Plog has suggested the updated terms ‘dependables’ and ‘venturers’ to replace pscychocentric and allocentric, but these have not been generally adopted in the literature

Plog examined traveller motivations and came up with his classifications of tourists. He came up with two classifications (allocentric and psychocentric), which were then put at the extremes of a scale.

As you can see in the diagram above, psychocentric tourists are placed on the far left of the scale and allocentric tourists are placed at the far right. The idea is then that a tourist can be situated at any place along the scale.

‘OK, so I understand the scale. But what do these terms  actually  mean?’

Don’t worry, I am getting there! Below, I have outlined what is meant by the terms allocentric and psychocentric.

psychocentric tourism definition

In Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity, the allocentric tourist is most likely associated with destinations that are un(der)developed. These tourists might be the first tourists to visit an area. They may be the first intrepid explorers, the ones brave enough to travel to the ‘unknown’. The types of people who might travel to Torguero- the example I gave previously.

Allocentric tourists like adventure. They are not afraid of the unknown. They like to explore.

No familiar food? ‘Lets give it a try!’

Nobody speaks English? ‘I’ll get my with hand gestures and my translation app.’

No Western toilets? ‘My thighs are as strong as steel!’

Allocentric tourists are often found travelling alone. They are not phased that the destination they are visiting doesn’t have a chapter in their guidebook. In fact, they are excited by the prospect of travelling to a place that most people have never heard of!

Allocentric tourists enjoy  cultural tourism , they are ethical travellers and they love to learn.

Research has suggested that only 4% of the population is predicted to be purely allocentric. Whilst many people do have allocentric tendencies, they are more likely to sit further along Plog’s scale and be classified as near or centric allocentics.

OK, so lets summarise some of the common characteristics associated with allocentric travellers in a neat bullet point list (I told you I would make this easy!)

Allocentric tourists commonly:

  • Independent travellers
  • Excited by adventure
  • Eager to learn
  • Likes to experience the unfamiliar
  • Is put off by group tours, packages and mass tourism
  • Enjoys  cultural tourism
  • Are ethical tourists
  • Enjoy a challenge
  • Are advocates of  sustainable tourism
  • Enjoys embracing  slow tourism

types of tourists

Psychocentric tourists are located at the opposite end of the spectrum to allocentric tourists.

In Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity, psychocentric tourists are most commonly associated with areas that are well-developed or  over-developed for tourism . Many people will have visited the area before them- it has been tried and tested. These tourists feel secure knowing that their holiday choice will provide them with the comforts and familiarities that they know and love.

What is there to do on holiday? ‘I’ll find out from the rep at the welcome meeting’

Want the best spot by the pool? ‘I’ll get up early and put my towel on the sun lounger!’

Thirsty? ‘Get me to the all-inclusive bar!’

Psychocentric tourists travel in organised groups. Their holidays are typically organised for them by their  travel agent . These travellers seek the familiar. They are happy in the knowledge that their holiday resort will provide them with their home comforts.

The standard activity level of psychocentric tourists is low. These tourists enjoy holiday resorts and  all inclusive packages . They are components of  enclave tourism , meaning that they are likely to stay put in their hotel for the majority of the duration of their holiday. These are often repeat tourists, who choose to visit the same destination year-on-year.

So, here is my summary of the main characteristics associated with psychocentric tourists.

Psychocentric tourists commonly:

  • Enjoy familiarity
  • Like to have their home comforts whilst on holiday
  • Give preference to known brands
  • Travel in organised groups
  • Enjoys organised tours, package holidays and all-inclusive tourism
  • Like to stay within their holiday resort
  • Do not experience much of the local culture
  • Do not learn much about the area that they are visiting or people that live there
  • Pay one flat fee to cover the majority of holiday costs
  • Are regular visitors to the same area/resort

revenge tourism

The reality is, not many tourists neatly fit into either the allocentric or psychocentric categories. And this is why Plog developed a scale, whereby tourists can be placed anywhere along the spectrum.

As you can see in the diagram above, the largest category of tourists fall somewhere within the mid-centric category on the spectrum. Tourists can learn towards allocentric, or pyschocentric, but ultimately, they sit somewhere in the middle.

Mid-centric tourists like some adventure, but also some of their home comforts. Perhaps they book their holiday themselves through dynamic packaging, but then spend the majority of their time in their holiday resort. Or maybe they book an organised package, but then choose to break away from the crowd and explore the local area.

Most tourists can be classified as mid-centric.

Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity has been widely cited throughout the academic literature for many years. It is a cornerstone theory in travel and tourism research that has formed the basis for further research and analysis in a range of contexts.

Plog’s theory preceded that of Butler, which is subsequently intertwined with Plog’s model, as demonstrated in the image below. As you can see, Butler was able to develop his  Tourism Area Lifecycle  based in the premise of the rise and fall of destinations as prescribed by Plog.

Plog’s theory has encouraged critical thinking throughout the tourism community for several decades and it is difficult to find a textbook that doesn’t pay reference to his work.

Whilst Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity is widely cited, it is not without its critique. In fact, many academics have questioned it’s ‘real-world’ validity over the years. Some common criticisms include:

  • The research is based on the US population , which may not be applicable for other nations
  • The concepts of personality, appeal and motivation are subjective terms that may be viewed different by different people. This is exemplified when put onto the global stage, with differing cultural contexts.
  • Not all destinations will move through the curved continuum prescribed by Plog, in other words- not all destinations will strictly follow this path
  • It is difficult to categorise people into groups- behaviours and preferences change overtime and between different times of the year and days of the week. People may also change depending on who they are with.

So, what are the key takeaways about Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity? Lets take a look…

  • Psychocentrics are the majority of travelers who prefer familiar destinations, mainstream attractions, and predictable experiences. They tend to seek comfort, security, and convenience in their travels and are less likely to take risks or seek out new experiences.
  • Allocentrics, on the other hand, are a minority of travelers who seek out unique and exotic destinations, adventure, and novelty. They are more willing to take risks and venture into unfamiliar territories in pursuit of new experiences.
  • Plog’s model suggests that people’s travel preferences are determined by their personality traits, values, and life experiences.
  • The model also proposes that travelers may move along a continuum from psychocentric to allocentric as they gain more experience and exposure to travel.
  • Plog’s model has been criticized for oversimplifying travel motivations and not accounting for the diversity of motivations and preferences within each category.
  • Despite its limitations, Plog’s model remains a useful tool for understanding tourist behavior and designing marketing strategies that target specific types of travelers.

Finally, lets finish up this article about Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity by addressing some of the most commonly asked questions.

Do you understand Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity now? I certainly hope so!

Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity is important theory in tourism is a core part of most tourism management curriculums and has helped tourism professionals understand, assess and manage their tourism provision for decades, and will continue to do so for decades to come, I’m sure.

If you found this article about Plog’s model of allocentricity and psychocentricity then please do take a look around the website, because I am sure there will be plenty of other useful content!

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LuxuryTravelDiva

What Is Psychocentric in Tourism?

By Alice Nichols

Have you ever heard the term ‘Psychocentric’ in tourism? If not, then you are in the right place. In this article, we will discuss what psychocentric means in tourism and its importance.

What Is Psychocentric?

Psychocentric is a term used to describe a type of tourist who prefers to stay within their comfort zone when traveling. They tend to avoid taking risks and prefer familiar experiences rather than trying new things. Psychocentric tourists are often concerned with safety and security and tend to travel in groups or with family members.

Importance of Psychocentric Tourists

While psychocentric tourists may seem less adventurous, they play a crucial role in the tourism industry. They prefer established and popular destinations that have a good reputation for safety and quality services. This means they contribute significantly to the local economy by spending money on hotels, restaurants, transportation, and other activities.

Characteristics of Psychocentric Tourists

Psychocentric tourists have some common characteristics that set them apart from other types of travelers. These include:

  • Prefer organized tours or packages
  • Choose familiar destinations over new ones
  • Avoid physical risk-taking activities
  • Prefer to travel with family or friends
  • Tend to plan their trips well in advance
  • Value safety and security over adventure

Examples of Psychocentric Tourism Destinations

Some examples of popular psychocentric tourism destinations include:

  • The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, USA.
  • The Gold Coast in Australia.
  • The Maldives Islands.
  • Rome, Italy.
  • Paris, France.

10 Related Question Answers Found

What does psychocentric mean in tourism, what is poorism tourism, why is enclave a negative impact of tourism, what is economic leakage tourism, how tourism is bad, how does waste affect tourism, what does economic leakage in tourism mean, what is morbid tourism, what are the psychology of tourism, why is tourism bad, backpacking - budget travel - business travel - cruise ship - vacation - tourism - resort - cruise - road trip - destination wedding - tourist destination - best places, london - madrid - paris - prague - dubai - barcelona - rome.

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Plog's Model of Personality-Based Psychographic Traits in Tourism: A Review of Empirical Research

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2018, Tourism Planning and Destination Marketing

Empirical research on Plog's psychographic model has yielded varied, inconclusive results, and the postulates of his conceptual framework are still subject to academic scrutiny. While some empirical investigations have corroborated the model, others have found partial or no support for it. Therefore , the purpose of this chapter is to offer an exhaustive review of 26 studies in the literature which have employed Plog´s venturesomeness concept to examine travellers' personality traits, attitudes, and behaviour, as a way to synthetise empirical findings and draw conclusions from the cumulative results. A discussion of the model's contribution to the current body of knowledge and managerial implications for tourism marketing practitioners are presented.

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allocentric tourists  

Tourists who are continually looking for new experiences and destinations; they are adventurous by nature. Psychographic personality typing in tourism ...

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psychocentric

  • 1.1 Etymology
  • 1.2 Pronunciation
  • 1.3.1 Derived terms
  • 1.3.2 Translations
  • 1.4.1 Translations
  • 1.5 References
  • 1.6 Further reading

English [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ].

The adjective is derived from psycho- ( prefix meaning ‘relating to the mind or soul’ ) +‎ -centric ( suffix meaning ‘having a specified object at the centre, or as the focus of attention’ ) . [1] The noun is probably derived from the adjective.

Adjective sense 2 (“of a tourist: tending to avoid adventures and risks”) and the noun sense (“tourist who tends to avoid adventures and risks”) were coined by the American travel researcher Stanley C. Plog in a paper presented to the Southern California Chapter of the Travel Research Association on 10 October 1972, which was later published in February 1974: see the quotation.

Pronunciation [ edit ]

  • ( Received Pronunciation ) IPA ( key ) : /ˌsaɪkə(ʊ)ˈsɛntɹɪk/
  • ( General American ) IPA ( key ) : /ˌsaɪkoʊˈsɛntɹɪk/
  • Rhymes: -ɛntɹɪk
  • Hyphenation: psy‧cho‧centr‧ic

Adjective [ edit ]

psychocentric ( comparative more psychocentric , superlative most psychocentric )

  • 1890 January 11, “His Choice”, in Pick-Me-Up , volume III, number 67 , London: [ … ] Wertheimer, Lea & Co.,   [ … ] ; and published by Henry Reichardt,   [ … ] , →OCLC , page 244 , columns 1–2 : I have confessed that I feel drawn to you by many psychocentric influences.
  • 1912 August, Edwin B[issel] Holt et al. , “Introduction”, in The New Realism: Coöperative Studies in Philosophy , New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company , →OCLC , section I (The Historical Significance of the New Realism), page 7 : For the issue between realism and subjectivism does not arise from a psychocentric predicament—a difficulty of conceiving of objects apart from any consciousness—but rather from the much more radical 'ego-centric predicament,' the difficulty of conceiving known things to exist independently of my knowing them.
  • 1936 , J[ohn] O[ulton] Wisdom , “Towards the Psychocentric Conception of Right”, in Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society , volume XXXVI (New Series), London: Harrison and Sons ,   [ … ] , →JSTOR , →OCLC , section III, page 73 : My view is psychocentric in that a judgment which appears to have an objective reference is found psychologically to have a reference, unsuspected by the person judging, to himself. But an account of it is not a complete psychocentric exposition until one or two gaps are filled in. [ … ] I have chosen to illustrate the psychocentric concept by means of right rather than good merely because this concept has been taken as the more fundamental in modern ethics.
  • 1959 , Liberation , New York, N.Y.: Liberation, →ISSN , →OCLC , page 12 , column 2: [T]his alienation was a result of the introduction of rational calculation and power as a socially and economically determining factor, which implied the elimination of the Christian (and older) psychocentric traditions, faiths, social and personal relations.
  • 1963 , Hans Weigert, “[Introduction]”, in Peter Gorge, transl., edited by Harald Busch and Bernd Lohse, Gothic Sculpture (European Sculpture), New York, N.Y.: Macmillan , →OCLC , page vii: But there is a fundamental difference between Greek and Gothic sculpture, despite the very similar treatment of draperies and the human form. To the Greeks, the face was merely part of the body. The Gothic makes it the 'window of the soul'. Gothic faces are psychocentric , dominated by the soul, which speaks through the eye.
  • 1990 , Gavin I. Langmuir , “Physiocentric Religion”, in History, Religion, and Antisemitism , Berkeley, Los Angeles, Calif., Oxford, Oxfordshire: University of California Press , →ISBN , part 2 (Proposals for a Historiographic Solution), page 230 : In most psychocentric religions, the cosmic forces or gods not only create and control physical processes, they are often embodied themselves; in physiocentric religions the cosmic forces, however mindless, create human consciousness and determine human will.
  • 1997 , John E. Joseph, “The ‘Language Myth’ Myth: Roy Harris’s Red Herrings”, in George Wolf, Nigel Love, editors, Linguistics Inside Out: Roy Harris and His Critics (Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV; Current Issues in Linguistic Theory; 148 ), Amsterdam, Philadelphia, Pa.: John Benjamins Publishing Company , →ISBN , →ISSN , page 14 : Surrogationalism holds that words stand for things or ideas, and therefore emphasizes the function of language. [ … ] He [ Roy Harris ] likewise divides surrogationalism into two types, "reocentric", which "supposes that the things words stand for are to be located 'out there' in the world external to the individual language-user", and " psychocentric ", which "supposes that what words stand for is to be located internally, that is to say in the mind of the language-user"   [ … ] .
  • 2005 , Roy Harris , “Introduction”, in The Semantics of Science , London, New York, N.Y.: Continuum International Publishing Group , →ISBN , page 3 : In the work of individual theorists, psychocentric and reocentric assumptions are often combined in various ways. If you think that the word copper is to be defined by reference to the actual properties of a certain metal, your definition will be reocentric. But if you take it to be defined by reference to certain conceptions of, or beliefs about, a metal (whether such conceptions or beliefs are mistaken or not), your definition will be psychocentric .
  • 2009 , Robert Charles Elliot, “Ethics and Values”, in Robert Charles Elliot, editor, Institutional Issues Involving Ethics and Justice ( Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems ; 3), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Eolss Publishers, →ISBN , section 5.2 (Psychocentric Ethics), page 264 : [I]ntensive logging would inevitably cause non-humans to suffer during the activity of logging itself and as a longer-term consequence of habitat destruction. A psychocentric ethic would count this as an ethical minus, which must be taken into account in evaluating the logging policy, in addition to how things will be for humans.
  • 1972 , Cosmopolitan , New York, N.Y.: Hearst Corporation , →ISSN , →OCLC , page 108 , column 1: These experts type some aerophobes as psychocentric individuals so self-focused on imaginary problems they have little energy left to enjoy life. Other fearful flyers are stymied by territory-boundedness—an unadventurous spirit.
  • 1991 , Ugur Yucelt, Phyllis W. Isley, “Marketing of Tourism in a Competitive World Environment”, in Erdener Kaynak, editor, International Marketing: Sociopolitical and Behavioral Aspects , Binghamton, N.Y.: International Business Press, The Haworth Press , →ISBN , section V (Special International Marketing Topics), page 369 : Members of the near- psychocentric and psychocentric segment, the remaining segment (15–20%), prefer a destination that does not exhibit its foreign culture. These tourists spend all of their time inside tourism complexes, stay for shorter periods of time, and are not big spenders. They are bargain hunters, and look for low-cost vacation spots.
  • 1995 , Robert Madrigal, “Personal Values, Traveler Personality Type, and Leisure Travel Style”, in Journal of Leisure Research ‎ [1] , volume 27 , number 2, Arlington, Va.: National Recreation and Park Association , →DOI , →ISSN , →OCLC , archived from the original on 14 August 2021 , page 128 : [Stanley C.] Plog (1974, 1990, 1991b) delineated personality types along a continuum ranging from allocentrism to psychocentrism. The psychocentric personality type tends toward territory boundedness, insecurity, and powerlessness. Psychocentric individuals also tend to have non-active lifestyles and are non-adventurous. In contrast, allocentric individuals tend to be self-confident, intellectually curious, and feel in control of their lives.
  • 2003 , “Tourism Motivation and Behaviour”, in Berendien Lubbe, editor, Tourism Management in Southern Africa , Cape Town, Western Cape: Pearson Education South Africa , published 2005 , →ISBN , part 2 (The Demand for Tourism), page 38 , column 2: Remember that whether a tourist is more psychocentric or more allocentric depends on the different motivations and the different destinations chosen by the tourist. The tourist may also oscillate between both psychocentric and allocentric choices. For example, a tourist may choose an allocentric holiday in December to a remote game reserve, but have a psychocentric short break in July to Singapore, where he or she may prefer a package tour and will stick to the touristy areas of town.

Derived terms [ edit ]

  • psychocentrism

Translations [ edit ]

Noun [ edit ].

psychocentric ( plural psychocentrics )

  • 1974 February, Stanley C. Plog, “Why Destination Areas Rise and Fall in Popularity”, in Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly , volume 14 , number 4, Ithaca, N.Y.: School of Hotel Administration , Cornell University , →DOI , →ISSN , →OCLC , page 55 , column 2: [A] non-flyer was likely to experience many of these same problems which often resulted in very severely restricted life styles. Basically, we can see that this is a self inhibited, nervous, and non-adventuresome type of person. We call this individual the Psychocentric , from "psyche" meaning "self," and "centric" meaning the centering of one's thoughts or concerns on the small problem areas of one's life.
  • 1980 , Timothy B. Knopp, G. Ballman, L. C. Merriam, “The Dynamics of Recreation Participation: Ski Touring in Minnesota”, in Proceedings: 1980 National Outdoor Recreation Trends Symposium (USDA Forest Service General Technical Report; NE-57 ), volume II, Broomall, Pa.: Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service , U.S. Department of Agriculture , →OCLC , page 77 , column 2: Currently, given the high level of visibility ski touring is experiencing, peer influence becomes more of a factor as participants are drawn from the marginally interested population and the " psychocentrics " or followers.
  • 1995 , Robert Madrigal, “Personal Values, Traveler Personality Type, and Leisure Travel Style”, in Journal of Leisure Research ‎ [2] , volume 27 , number 2, Arlington, Va.: National Recreation and Park Association , →DOI , →ISSN , →OCLC , archived from the original on 14 August 2021 , page 128 : According to [Stanley C.] Plog (1991b), psychocentrics tend to prefer a high degree of familiarity in their travel and, as a result, enjoy group or "packaged" tours. In contrast, allocentrics enjoy vacations to exotic and unique destinations, and prefer to travel independently (i.e., not as part of group tours).
  • 1999 , K. K. Sharma, “Tourism Psychology and Motivation”, in Tourism and Culture , New Delhi: Prabhat Kumar Sharma for Sarup & Sons, published 2004 , →ISBN , page 189 : [ P ] sychocentrics could conceivably vacation in essentially allocentric destinations (with the exception of people with extremely low incomes). For instance, a psychocentric may travel to a remote area under the security of a completely planned, fully escorted tour. In other words, the security provided by travelling with a group of similar tourists, and being escorted at all times, may persuade a psychocentric to travel, say, to Asia.
  • [ 2001 , Doris S. Davidoff, Philip G. Davidoff, Donald M. Davidoff, Douglas G. Davidoff, “The Classic Motivation Mistake”, in Parenting the Office , Gretna, New Orleans, La.: Pelican Publishing Company , →ISBN , page 209 : Psychocentrics do not want to try anything new until they are sure of what it is like. The psychocentric waits for friends to do something and will follow whatever is in fashion. Simply put, psychocentrics are at ease only when within their comfort zone, while allocentrics are driven to leave their comfort zone on a regular basis. Applied in an employment context. ]
  • 2020 , J. Christopher Holloway, Claire Humphreys, “The Demand for Tourism”, in The Business of Tourism , 11th edition, London, Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications , →ISBN , part 1 (Defining and Analysing Tourism and Its Impacts), page 75 : [Stanley C.] Plog recognised that personalities change over time, and given time, the psychocentrics may become allocentric in their choice of holiday destination and activity as they gain experience of travel. It has long been accepted that many tourists actually seek novelty from a base of security and familiarity. This enables the psychocentric to enjoy more exotic forms of tourism.
  • 2020 , Peter Robinson, Michael Lück, Stephen L. J. Smith, “Responsible Tourism Management”, in Tourism , 2nd edition, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Boston, Mass.: CABI , →ISBN , part 5 (Tourism Development), page 366 , column 1: Another typology of tourists was introduced by [Stanley C.] Plog (1991), who used psychographic analysis to create a continuum of tourist types. While Plog's model is a continuum with indefinite points, he was able to divide tourists into five main groups: psychocentrics , near psychocentrics , midcentrics, near allocentrics, and allocentrics. [ … ] At the one extreme, psychocentrics are those travellers that are not adventurous, and seek amenities and culture similar to their home environment. At the other end of the continuum, an allocentric tourist is very adventurous, seeks and embraces different cultures, local food, and requires only basic tourism infrastructure.

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Psychology, tourism

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Over the past 150 years, the discipline of psychology has developed from a small, laboratory-based offshoot of philosophy to one of the most widely applied bodies of modern, social scientific knowledge. One historian of psychology has called the twentieth century “the century of psychology.” This was to emphasize the applied and socially instrumental orientation of the discipline from its beginnings and its consequent application throughout society. Today, the areas covered by its professional specializations include mental illness, counseling, industrial and organizational settings, sports, criminal forensics, education , personality assessment, health, military, family, and law .

In the nineteenth century, scientific psychology focused on the study of conscious experience. By the early twentieth century, the focus had radically shifted toward investigating behavior and the lawful relationships between it and external conditions. This emphasis involved the investigation of processes of...

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Decrop, A. 2006 Vacation Decision Making. Wallingford: CABI.

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Gnoth, J., and X. Matteucci 2014 A Phenomenological View of the Behavioural Tourism Literature. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research 8:3-21.

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March, R., and A. Woodside 2009 Tourism Behaviour: Traveller’s Decisions and Actions. Wallingford: CABI.

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Pearce, P. 1982 The Social Psychology of Tourist Behaviour. Oxford: Pergamon.

Pearce, P. 2005 Tourist Behaviour: Themes and Conceptual Schemes. Clevedon: Channel View.

Pearce, P. 2011 Tourist Behaviour and the Contemporary World. Bristol: Channel View.

Plog, S. 2001 Why Destination Areas Rise and Fall in Popularity. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 42(3):13-24.

Stringer, P., and P. Pearce 1984 Toward a Symbiosis of Social Psychology and Tourism Studies. Annals of Tourism Research 11:5-14.

Stringer, P., and P. Pearce 1991 Psychology and Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 18:136-154.

Van Raaij, W., and D. Francken 1984 Vacation Decisions, Activities and Satisfactions. Annals of Tourism Research 11:101-112.

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Moore, K. (2015). Psychology, tourism. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_295-1

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COMMENTS

  1. Allocentric and psychocentric, tourism

    Coined by tourism researcher Plog (), these terms describe two types of personality.Psychocentric tourists are self-inhibiting, nervous, and non-adventurous; they often refuse to travel by air for psychological reasons rather than financial or other practical concerns. In comparison, allocentric tourists are outgoing, self-confident, and adventurous.

  2. Plog's model of allocentricity and psychocentricity: Made easy

    Psychocentric tourists are located at the opposite end of the spectrum to allocentric tourists. In Plog's model of allocentricity and psychocentricity, psychocentric tourists are most commonly associated with areas that are well-developed or over-developed for tourism. Many people will have visited the area before them- it has been tried and ...

  3. What Is Psychocentric in Tourism?

    Psychocentric is a term used to describe a type of tourist who prefers to stay within their comfort zone when traveling. They tend to avoid taking risks and prefer familiar experiences rather than trying new things. Psychocentric tourists are often concerned with safety and security and tend to travel in groups or with family members.

  4. Revisiting Plog's Model of Allocentricity and Psychocentricity... One

    Stanley Plog's model of allocentricity and psychocentricity, a seminal tourism model, has been widely cited in the tourism literature and is included in virtually every hospitality and tourism text. At the same time, it has been scrutinized by a host of critics who questioned aspects of the model's applicability and validity.

  5. PDF Plog's and Butler's Models: a critical review of Psychographic Tourist

    This paper attempts to examine the two popular cited theories in tourism studies, Psycho-graphic Tourist Typology by Stanley Plog and the Tourism Area Life Cycles (TALC) by Richard ... one extreme was Psychocentric or Dependable represented non-adventurous travellers who preferred familiar destinations; another side was Allocentric or Venturer ...

  6. Psychocentric tourist

    psychocentric tourist. The opposite of the adventurous allocentric tourist. The psychocentric seeks familiarity, hence the Costa Brava, Spain, and advertisements 'Tea like ... Access to the complete content on Oxford Reference requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for ...

  7. (PDF) Personality correlates of allocentrism versus psychocentrism in

    In addition, respondents ranked their preferences to travel to 20 tourism destinations, including three psychocentric destinations (Toronto, Nassau, Maui) and three allocentric destinations (Cairo ...

  8. Understanding Psychographics in Tourism: A Tool for ...

    Abstract. Psychographic segmentation is related to people's interests, personality, lifestyle, values and attitude. It is considered vital as it provides a narrower and targeted approach to study the consumers. The takeaways from the chapters are: the concept of psychographics and its applicability in the tourism industry, the importance of ...

  9. PDF Travel and Tour Preferences of Millenials: Psychocentric ...

    This study aimed to assess the travel and tour preferences of millennials, either psychocentric or allocentric. Specifically, the study aimed to: describe the profile of the millennials ...

  10. (PDF) Plog's and Butler's Models: a critical review of Psychographic

    There is a definition problem of tourism and the tourist themselves, the concepts often differing from each other, thus, there is no common ground on which the theories of the separation and division of tourists can be built. ... Also, psychocentric destinations can change to be mid-centric choices due to conditions of time and money. It seems ...

  11. Plog's Model of Personality-Based Psychographic Traits in Tourism: A

    Fourth, practitioners in the tourism industry can benefit from looking at Plog's psychographic model as the basis for the planning and implementation of marketing strategies. References Ballantyne, R., Packer, J., & Axelsen, M. (2009). Trends in tourism research. Annals of Tourism Research, 36(1), 149-152.

  12. Revisiting Plog's Model of Allocentricity and Psychocentricity... One

    Stanley Plog's model of allocentricity and psychocentricity, a seminal tourism model, has been widely cited in the tourism literature and is included in virtually every hospitality and tourism text. At the same time, it has been scrutinized by a host of critics who questioned aspects of the model's applicability and validity. This study of travelers' vacation histories seeks to add to ...

  13. A Test Of Plog's Allocentric/Psychocentric Model: Evidence From Seven

    This research note presents a test of Plog's model of tourism destination preferences. Data are reported for seven nations in terms of destinations preferred by allocentric, mid-centric, and psychocentric tourist types. The data reported fail to confirm an association between personality types and destination preferences.

  14. Allocentric and psychocentric, tourism

    3. Markets Most coming visitors who visit temples in Malang Raya are categorised as allocentric tourists-those who dare take a risk to visit untouched and secluded places they believe are more ...

  15. One model, one construct, different psychographic measures: A

    The venturesomeness concept developed by Stanley Plog almost five decades ago has been influential, amply cited and used in tourism investigations. However, a close review of the published literatu...

  16. Cognitive Process as a Tool of Tourists' Typology for Rural

    Abstract. Cognitive processes for analyses of human typology, motivation and behavior, are also widely applied in tourism for the assessment of psychographic diversity of visitors. One of the primary psychographic methods is Plog's model of psychocenric and allocentric. Identification of clients, knowledge of their needs, motivation factors ...

  17. Who Should You Market to in a Crisis? Examining Plog's Model during the

    Hall (2010) has provided a simple definition of a crisis, which he describes as a combination of events that affect tourists' confidence in traveling to a destination, disrupting the normal operations of hospitality and tourism. Tourism crises often involve brief and localized events (e.g., a hurricane, tsunami, or terrorist attack) for which a time frame for recovery can be reasonably ...

  18. Allocentric tourists

    allocentric tourists. Tourists who are continually looking for new experiences and destinations; they are adventurous by nature. Psychographic personality typing in tourism ... Access to the complete content on Oxford Reference requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for ...

  19. psychocentric

    Members of the near-psychocentric and psychocentric segment, the remaining segment (15-20%), prefer a destination that does not exhibit its foreign culture. These tourists spend all of their time inside tourism complexes, stay for shorter periods of time, and are not big spenders. They are bargain hunters, and look for low-cost vacation spots.

  20. Psychology, tourism

    Current theoretical developments in psychology that are less well represented in tourism research include work in evolutionary psychology, embodied and situated cognition, behavioral genetics (e.g., in relation to personality traits), and cognitive neuroscience. While such developments may seem a long way from the usual focus of tourism ...