Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Unmarried
couples
Newly
married
Full
nest
Empty
nest
Solitary
survivor
Single
Single
parent
Figure 11.3
Bojanic's modernised FLC model.
Source
: Bojanic (2011: 408)
was a deficiency. Zimmerman (1982) acknowledged this, stating that as 'the
life cycle … is more complex than is usually assumed, one may wonder
why it should be used at all in travel research'. A condensed yet modernised
FLC model was put forward by Bojanic (2011), which also highlighted an
important point, that people can reach the end of the FLC and go back to
earlier FLC stages (Figure 11.3).
The deficiencies of the traditional FCL model in tourism were high-
lighted through Lawson's (1991) seminal paper. Using the Wells and Gubar
(1966) model as his framework, Lawson examined the linkage between the
FLC and tourist behaviour. Based on examining tourist behaviour in New
Zealand, he was able to assign the number of observed cases of tourists
across each of the FLC stages. Of greatest significance, 1359 individuals in
his sample (40%) did not fit into any of the FLC stages. This work was seen
as important in tourism because it highlighted not only the proportion of
cases not reflected in the traditional FLC model, but also which FLC stages
accounted for the most cases, and in which stage people spent the most
money on their vacation.
Using a slightly altered version of the traditional FLC to include single
parents, Hong
et al
. (2005) observed similar findings to Lawson (1991). They
found that couples who were married without children and 'empty nest'
couples travelled more often than people at all other FLC stages. Those
groups who travelled less often were found to be single parents and solitary
survivors (Hong
et al.
, 2005). However, while these FLC groups were found
to be observed less often, they can often be missed in some travel collection.
For example, single travellers have been found to be significantly more likely
to visiting friends and relatives (VFR) than other travellers, and as such may
not be reflected in some data-sets that focus on commercial accommodation
(Backer, 2011).
