Tourists Are Equally Satisfied Visiting Lesser-Known Places, Study Shows

It’s now proven — beyond all the observed anecdotal evidence, but albeit in a limited study — that the information tourists receive about a destination influences their choices while on vacation, but also that directing tourists to lesser-known attractions and areas doesn’t lead them to have a less satisfying vacation experience.

These conclusions emerged this month from a real-life experiment on a group of vacationing tourists, run by Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions and personal digital assistant service Travel with Zoey.

“There are influences that don't really need much evidence or further research to say, ‘oh yeah, people are driven by sort of what's in the guidebook and what's physically obvious,’ but we were curious if we could tweak it, if we could mess with it, and if different technological platforms for tweaking it would have different outcomes,” said Ondrej Mitas, lead researcher and senior lecturer at Breda University of Applied Sciences' Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality in the Netherlands. 

A total of 150 tourists staying at 10 resorts in the Dutch province of Overijssel during the summer of 2021 were split into four groups: a control group received an app with a map of the best-rated excursions in the area, and a second group received a different map within the same app that showed less-visited locations or what researchers call “policy-driven tips.” An additional two groups were offered a WhatsApp contact to chat with for