341-436 Tourism 2014 04EN.indd

Despite the wide use of personality in understanding human behavior, there is a lack of empirical research relating the commonly agreed personality measurement with travel personality or travel related activities. In fi lling the knowledge gap, this study aims at exploring the relationship between the Big Five Factors (BFF) of personality and travel personality. Using self-administered questionnaire to Korean domestic tourists, a data set of 360 was obtained that was subjected to one way ANOVA. Out of 60 possible relationships between the BFF and 12 travel personalities, 20 signifi cantly indicated group diff erence with respect to the BFF. Openness to experience and extraversion factors among the BFF serve in diff erentiating 6 and 5 travel personalities respectively while conscientiousness and agreeableness explain respectively 4 and 3 diff erences in travel personalities. Neuroticism among the BFF explained only 2 group diff erences in travel personalities. Th eoretically, the study affi rms the application of personality theory in explaining human behavior. Th e study results shed light on how tourism professionals can use the BFF in marketing and designing their tourism products in enticing and satisfying diff erent tourists having diff erent travel personalities as well as diff erent BFF of personality.