Social Comparison Theory and Tourism

Since the 1930s, there have been great changes in perspectives on human psychology. With the theory of social comparisons put forward by Festinger, important developments took place in interpreting individual and group changes in human behavior. Subsequent studies made contributions to the development of this theory. Today, making sense of tourist behavior and creating appropriate marketing strategies is one of the most important competitive strategies. In this context, it is important to reveal social comparisons within understanding tourist behavior and tourism marketing. This study discusses the importance of social comparison theory in tourist behavior.