Neurophysiological Measures in Hospitality and Tourism: Review, Critique, and Research Agenda

This paper provides a critical review of studies using neurophysiological measures in tourism and hospitality. Among 145 articles covering 20 years of research, 16 studies applied either electroencephalography (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), or skin conductance (SC) measures in tourism and hospitality settings. Results show that, in general, (1) EEG studies investigated the relationships between EEG components and attention/emotion induced by destination advertisements; (2) fMRI studies examined the correlation between brain area activation and behavior (e.g., visit intention); and (3) SC studies focused on emotional responses to tourism stimuli. Neurophysiological techniques are theoretically and practically useful in tourism and hospitality: these tools uncover subjects' objective, unbiased, and real-time responses to provide academic insight and guide industry practitioners' decisions. Directions for future research are proposed along with solutions to address the current limitations of neuroscience measures in tourism and hospitality applications.

Automated summary

This paper critically reviews studies that have utilized neurophysiological measures in the fields of tourism and hospitality. The findings indicate that neurophysiological techniques, including EEG, fMRI, and SC measures, have been effectively used to investigate attention, emotion, brain activation, and emotional responses in these industries. The application of neurophysiological measures provides valuable insights for both academic research and industry decision-making in tourism and hospitality.