Temi, metodi e tecniche della ricerca psicologica applicata al turismo

[Autom. eng. transl.] This chapter finds its raison d'être in a series of considerations arising from the analysis of psychological literature applied to tourism. First of all, the studies focused on tourist psychology represent a decidedly low percentage of the literature of applied psychology; Italian studies dedicated to the subject are scarce and often dated; almost all of the studies are based on production techniques and quantitative data analysis. Instead, tourism is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, in which it is increasingly difficult to cut out standard types that represent the actors and their expectations in order to create structures and services that are truly adapted to the needs of which they are bearers. In this chapter, therefore, an attempt is made to outline some problematic aspects of tourist research; therefore, to give some frames of reference to extricate oneself from the methodology for psychosocial research and its terminology, to arrive at the description of some qualitative tools of investigation (techniques of production and analysis of data) useful to those who intend to apply to the tourism sector.