Perceived Crowding: Consumers’ Lived Experiences of a Tourist Destination
type: CreativeWork
description: Crowding, driven by population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, and tourism, extends beyond physical density to encompass psychological, social, and cultural dimensions. This thesis with publications, integrates prospective and retrospective perspectives to offer a more comprehensive understanding of perceived crowding (PC). Data from a single two-phase qualitative empirical study is utilised to map lived crowding experiences longitudinally with a particular emphasis on perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities. Paper 1 introduces the two-phase research method, extending visual research through a sequential photo-elicitation approach to explore pre- and post-experience accounts. This method enables richer contextual insights into crowding as a temporally situated phenomenon. Paper 2 conceptualises crowding awareness (CA), describing how consumers anticipate risks and establish pre-experience expectational standards that guide their responses during crowded experiences. These subjective benchmarks influence how consumers anticipate and mitigate perceived risks and form attitudes towards crowding, typically perceived as a negative but inevitable aspect of popular destinations. Paper 3 examines the implications of PC for consumer vulnerability, distinguishing between categorical and contextual vulnerability. The findings reveal that PC exacerbates dispositional vulnerabilities. Crowding is framed as a socio-psychological construct shaped by cultural norms, tourist thresholds, and the dynamic interplay of expectations with actual lived experience. By integrating prospective and retrospective perspectives, this two-phase methodological approach advances the understanding of crowding as a temporally situated and multi-dimensional experience. The study provides a new methodological framework and offers theoretical insights into how perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities shape interactions in crowded environments.
abstract: Crowding, driven by population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, and tourism, extends beyond physical density to encompass psychological, social, and cultural dimensions. This thesis with publications, integrates prospective and retrospective perspectives to offer a more comprehensive understanding of perceived crowding (PC). Data from a single two-phase qualitative empirical study is utilised to map lived crowding experiences longitudinally with a particular emphasis on perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities. Paper 1 introduces the two-phase research method, extending visual research through a sequential photo-elicitation approach to explore pre- and post-experience accounts. This method enables richer contextual insights into crowding as a temporally situated phenomenon. Paper 2 conceptualises crowding awareness (CA), describing how consumers anticipate risks and establish pre-experience expectational standards that guide their responses during crowded experiences. These subjective benchmarks influence how consumers anticipate and mitigate perceived risks and form attitudes towards crowding, typically perceived as a negative but inevitable aspect of popular destinations. Paper 3 examines the implications of PC for consumer vulnerability, distinguishing between categorical and contextual vulnerability. The findings reveal that PC exacerbates dispositional vulnerabilities. Crowding is framed as a socio-psychological construct shaped by cultural norms, tourist thresholds, and the dynamic interplay of expectations with actual lived experience. By integrating prospective and retrospective perspectives, this two-phase methodological approach advances the understanding of crowding as a temporally situated and multi-dimensional experience. The study provides a new methodological framework and offers theoretical insights into how perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities shape interactions in crowded environments.
author: Shah, Chetan
license: https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:03:18Z
provider: University of Auckland
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: ResearchSpace@Auckland

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2292/73897