From fantasy to reality: a study of pre-trip planning from the perspective of destination image attributes and temporal psychological distance

Pre-leisure trip planning is often lengthy, and its consideration shifts from fantasy to reality. Using overseas international cities as the destination, and through destination image attributes, this paper uses construal level theory and temporal psychological distance to understand the dynamics behind this shift. The shift is, by and large, as predicted by construal level theory. This study shows that tourists are consistently concerned about certain attributes as the shift unfolds. It is recognized that although tourism is dream packed, it is filled with risks and constraints. The shift also reflects tourists’ increasing needs to address practical issues and to fill their itinerary as a trip approaches. This study proposes that the destination information provision service offered by DMOs have to address the needs for tourists to ‘dream’ about a destination, allay their concerns, and help them schedule their itinerary at various phases of the pre-trip planning stage.