Novelty Seeking Scale – Tourism

What it measures

Measures the tourist's desire for novel stimuli across thrill (exciting and adventurous experiences), change from routine (escape from the familiar), boredom alleviation, and surprise (openness to unexpected encounters). Novelty seeking is a fundamental motivation in tourism predicting destination type selection and activity engagement.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Scale items

Thrill — seeking excitement and adventure (Likert 1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

• I like to visit places where there is plenty of excitement.
• I want my travel to include adventures.
• I like the thrill of seeing wild or dangerous animals.
• I like to explore strange places.

Change from Routine — desire for something different

• I like to visit places that are different from where I live.
• I want my trips to take me away from my usual routine.
• I want a change of pace from my everyday life.
• I want to experience a very different way of life.

Boredom Alleviation — seeking stimulation

• I want to participate in new and different activities.
• I feel restless if I spend too much time at home.
• I want to keep as busy as possible when on a trip.

Surprise — unexpected and spontaneous experiences

• I like the unexpected to happen while travelling.
• I prefer trips where I don't know exactly what will happen.
• I like to explore areas where tourists don't usually go.

Novelty of Scenery — exposure to unfamiliar environments

• I want to see unusual types of scenery.
• I like to see environments completely different from my own.
• I want to see places that few people have ever visited.

Meeting People — social novelty

• I want to meet and socialise with other travellers.
• I like getting to know people from different cultures.
• I want to interact with local people during my trip.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Four subscale scores. Optimal tourism experiences balance novelty (exploration) with familiarity (security). High novelty seekers prefer frontier destinations, adventure activities, and independent travel.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Lee, T.H., & Crompton, J. (1992). Measuring novelty seeking in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 19(4), 732–751.

Keywords