Future Space Tourists’ Motivations, Constraints, and Negotiation Strategies: A Grounded Theory Approach

Space tourists’ decision-making would be far more complicated than general tourism, but limited research has investigated the process. This research explored potential space tourists’ decision-making process, grounded in the constraint–effects–mitigation (CEM) model. Through in-depth interviews with 10 individuals who experienced extensive space tourism activities, the grounded theory approach revealed four underlying themes of motivations, constraints, negotiation, and future intention along with nine macro themes, identifying relevant tourism-based theories (e.g., leisure constraints, push-pull motivation). Negotiation was further found to be a complicated process, including appraisal, involvement, and strategies. Furthermore, future intentions ranged from abstract to concrete, as depicted by construal level theory. Lastly, an extended CEM model was developed with a compelling description of the decision-making process, theoretically enhancing the ability to explain each variable in detail. Space tourism companies are suggested to consider the key attributes and their relationships in developing marketing strategies and training programs.