As mentioned previously, eleven of the twelve interview respondents answered the self-reported Myers Briggs Type Inventory questionnaires. The results indicate that the majority of respondents, four, have a preference for ESTJ while two respondents reported a preference
for ISTJ. Two respondents have a preference for ENTJ, one for INFJ, one respondent had a preference for ESTP and finally one reported having a preference for INTP. The MBTI type distribution for Norway (based on a convenience sample) reports that 31, 8 percent of Norwegians self-report a preference for ESTJ, which is thereby the most often reported type preference (Schaubhut & Thompson, 2009). The national data for Norway consists of 1.069 individuals who completed the MBTI assessment, 669 males and 400 females. The data collection was based on convenient sampling not random sampling. The ESTJ is followed by the ENTJ, with 14 percent. The ISTJ, INFJ, ESTP and INTP were reported by 9, 1 percent, 0, 7 percent, 9, 9 percent and the INTP with 2,5 percent in the national sample. On the
Extroversion – Introversion scale, most interview respondents report a preference for Extroversion, (seven), while three report a preference for Introversion. In the nationally sample 80, 6 percent report a preference for Extroversion and 19, 4 percent a preference for Introversion. Seven informants have a reported preference for Sensing, four have a preference for Intuition. On the Thinking – Feeling dimension, the majority, of the respondents (ten) report a preference for Thinking, while one reports a preference for Feeling. On the last dimension, nine informants report a preference for Judging, while two respondents report a preference for Perceiving.
The researcher was not able to find distinctive differences between the self-reported type preferences and leisure preferences. In addition the sample was very small in this study with eleven respondents who answered the MBTI. For example, a preference for Extraversion is associated with roles providing greater levels of stimulation while Introversion relates to more tranquil surroundings (Myers & McCaulley, 1992 referred in McGuiggan & Foo, 2004).
However, most of the respondents seemed to go on “tranquil” vacations such as a cottage vacation (four respondents) or vacations in order to visit relatives (two respondents) or a spa vacation (one respondent). There were also no significant differences in reported activities at the destination. It therefore seems difficult to draw conclusions on type of vacation and Myers
Briggs type preference. However, this was not the primary focus of attention, regarding the research question of this paper. For example, due to limitations to the scope in this thesis, the researcher did not distribute travel diaries that asked the respondents to take notes of their daily practiced activities. Nevertheless, this could be an interesting area of research for future studies. Yet, the researcher noticed some similarities between the interviews and the self-reported type preferences, although, at this point it is important to mention that the researcher cannot draw conclusions regarding the MBTI preferences. For example one informant who noted that he had difficulties opening up during vacation and getting in contact with others had a self-reported preference for Introversion. Informant 3 mentioned during the interview that she enjoys planning. During the pre-trip interview in April she already had planned and ordered the tickets for the holiday vacation in May and June, in addition to having decided time period for the autumn holiday. On the fourth dimension, she reported a preference for Judging. As mentioned under Methods, people with a preference for Judging (J) desire a planned, organized approach to life, and often prefer to have things decided. Her expressed favor for planning holidays could be seen as an indication for practicing the Judging preference. On the other hand, also respondent 8 had reported a preference for Judging.
However, she also reports a favor for planning holiday activities spontaneously, at the destination. Maybe this difference can be explained by the strength of the preference.
Respondent 8 reports a Judging preference of 17 while respondent 3 reports a substantial higher Judging preference of 43. Moreover, respondent 8 reports a preference for Intuition (N). Intuitive types tend to crave inspiration and face life with expectation (Myers &
McCaulley, 1992 referred in McGuiggan & Foo, 2004). The intuitive preference can explain the desire for stimulating and novel environments. It seems that the respondent (respondent 8) among others satisfied this desire during her travel experience to Kenya twelve years ago, which was mentioned earlier. When asked about her recent Easter recreation experience it is these aspects (desire for stimulating and novel environments) respondent 8 mentions she was
satisfied with. She notes that she got to see and experience something which gave her an appetite to revisit Thailand. Moreover, personal enrichment appeared to be important to her.
For example, she mentions: “It enriches you as a human to get out and see other things and experience other people”. The same respondent also seems to connect food with travel experiences (so does respondent 3), yet, it seems that respondent 8 enjoys the novelty in trying unknown food which also could be explained by the preference for Intuition. Once more the writer of this paper points out that these are only suggestions, but not validated arguments.
Nonetheless, what all respondents have in common, regardless of their personality type preference, is the self-reported post-trip satisfaction of their holiday. Even though some respondents experienced difficulties during their holiday experience, such as respondent 8 who had problems returning home due to an Icelandic volcanic ash cloud preventing flights, and respondent 7 who experienced problems with his back at the destination, the informants reported an all in all pleasant holiday experience and a recharge of energy. This resembles what Nawijn (2010) found in his study, that vacation trips are an enjoyable experience for most tourists. Regardless of their socioeconomic status, individuals feel in general good mood during a vacation, and typically best during the core phase and the end. This pattern was found to be similar across different kinds of holidays in addition to across different kinds of people (Nawijn, 2010).