💻 computer science

Does Travel Stage Matter? How Leisure Travellers Perceive Their Privacy Attitudes Towards Personal Data Sharing Before, During, and After Travel

This study investigates how leisure travelers' privacy attitudes and data-sharing behaviors evolve across pre-, during-, and post-travel stages, revealing that while travel stage does not significantly alter social media sharing patterns, perceptions of data sensitivity are influenced by data type, sharing purpose, and demographic factors such as gender, travel frequency, and country of residence.

Original authors: Haiyue Yuan, Shujun Li, Fatima Gillani, Xiao Ma

Published 2026-04-08

📖 5 min read🧠 Deep dive

CC BY 4.0

Original authors: Haiyue Yuan, Shujun Li, Fatima Gillani, Xiao Ma

Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ✨ This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer

Imagine you are packing for a big vacation. You have a suitcase full of your personal secrets: your name, your birthday, your credit card, your home address, and even your face. Now, imagine you have to hand these items over to different people at different times: the travel agent before you leave, the tour guide while you are there, and your friends after you get back.

This paper is like a detective story asking: "Does the stage of your vacation change how careful you are about handing over your secrets?"

The researchers (a team of privacy experts from UK universities) wanted to know if we act differently when we are planning a trip, on the trip, or talking about the trip later. They asked 318 people to fill out a survey, acting as a "privacy mood ring" for travelers.

Here is the breakdown of what they found, using some everyday analogies:

1. The "Name Tag" Paradox: We're Surprisingly Chill with the Basics

You might think people would be terrified to share their name, gender, or date of birth because that's "sensitive" info. But the study found the opposite!

The Analogy: Think of your name and birthday like a name tag at a party. When you go to a travel booking site (like Booking.com), you feel like you have to wear the name tag to get in. Because it's so common and necessary to get a hotel room or a flight, people stop worrying about it. It becomes "normal."
The Finding: Travelers were actually more relaxed about sharing basic ID (Name, DOB, Email) than they were about sharing "scary" stuff like their bank details, medical history, or real-time GPS location. They treat the basic info like a ticket to enter the airport, but they guard the "VIP lounge" (financial and health data) much more fiercely.

2. The "Third-Party" Trust Fallacy

The study looked at three different reasons for sharing data:

Booking the trip (e.g., giving your name to Expedia).
Sharing with partners (e.g., Expedia telling a car rental company your name).
Booking activities while traveling (e.g., buying a theater ticket while on holiday).

The Analogy: Imagine you trust the Head Chef (the booking site) with your ingredients. But when the Chef hands your ingredients to a Substitute Cook (a third-party partner) without you knowing exactly who they are, you get nervous.
The Finding: People were most uncomfortable when their data was passed to "partners" or "subsidiaries" (Purpose 2). They felt a loss of control. However, when they were actively on vacation and booking a fun activity (Purpose 3), they became more relaxed again because the benefit (having a great time) outweighed the fear.

3. The Social Media "Lurker" Effect

The researchers asked: "Do you post more photos on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook before, during, or after your trip?"

The Analogy: Think of social media like a giant town square. Most people are "Lurkers"—they walk around, look at the posters, and listen to the speeches, but they never actually put up a poster of their own.
The Finding: Even though people say they use social media all the time, they don't actually post much travel content.
- Facebook and Instagram were the only places people actually shared travel stories.
- TikTok, Snapchat, and Twitter were mostly silent zones for travel content.
- The Big Surprise: It didn't matter if they were planning the trip or finishing it. Their posting habits stayed the same. The "stage" of the trip didn't change their behavior; they were just consistent "Lurkers" or consistent "Posters" regardless of the timeline.

4. Who Are You Matters More Than When You Travel

The study found that when you are traveling (before, during, after) didn't change your privacy habits much. But who you are did.

The Analogy: Imagine privacy is like a fence around your house.
- Gender: Men and women built different fences. Women tended to be more relaxed about sharing certain details (like home address or medical info) when booking activities, while men were more guarded.
- Travel Frequency: If you travel a lot, you are like a seasoned explorer. You know the ropes and might be more willing to share data to get perks. If you rarely travel, you might be more cautious.
- Location: Where you live (Europe vs. South Africa in this study) changed how you viewed privacy, just like different neighborhoods have different rules about leaving your front door unlocked.

Why Does This Matter? (The "So What?")

The authors suggest that companies and app designers need to stop treating all travelers the same.

Context is King: You can't just have one "Privacy Policy" for everyone. You need to understand that a traveler is more willing to share their face for a hotel check-in (because it's necessary) but less willing to share their location with a random ad company.
Better Tools: We need "Privacy Nudges." Imagine an app that gently taps your shoulder and says, "Hey, you're about to share your location with a third party. Are you sure?" especially when you are mid-vacation and distracted.
Personal Vaults: We need a "Digital Locker" where travelers can store their data and decide exactly who gets to open which drawer, rather than handing over the whole suitcase to a travel agent.

The Bottom Line

Travelers aren't robots with a single "Privacy Switch." They are complex humans. They are surprisingly casual about their names because they need them to fly, but they are very protective of their bank accounts. And surprisingly, whether they are dreaming of a beach or sipping a cocktail on it, they don't change their social media habits much—they just keep doing what they always do.

The lesson? Privacy isn't just about what you share; it's about who you are, why you are sharing, and who you trust.

1. Problem Statement

Despite extensive research on privacy attitudes, there is a significant gap in understanding how these attitudes evolve across different contexts, specifically the distinct stages of a leisure trip (pre-travel, during travel, and post-travel). Existing literature often treats privacy concerns as static or focuses on specific data types (e.g., biometrics) without examining the full spectrum of personal data sharing behaviors across the entire travel journey.

The study addresses two primary Research Questions (RQs):

RQ1: Do leisure travellers' privacy attitudes toward sharing different types of personal data vary across different travel stages?
RQ2: How do travellers perceive sharing travel-related content on social media platforms across different travel stages, and are there observable differences?

2. Methodology

The researchers employed an exploratory quantitative approach using a large-scale online survey.

Participants: 318 valid responses were collected from a pool of 322 recruited via the Prolific crowdsourcing platform in February 2023. Participants were adults (18+) fluent in English. The demographic breakdown included a majority from Europe (66.4%) and South Africa (30.1%), with a mix of genders and education levels.
Survey Design: The survey consisted of 40 questions across five sections:
1. Demographics: Age, gender, education, employment, ethnicity.
2. General Background: Social media usage frequency and general travel patterns.
3. Before Travel: Booking practices and comfort levels regarding data collection for bookings.
4. During Travel: Attitudes toward data sharing for activity bookings and social media sharing behaviors.
5. After Travel: Post-trip reflection and sharing behaviors.
Data Variables:
- 31 Personal Data Types (PDTs): Ranging from basic identifiers (Name, DOB) to sensitive biometric and behavioral data (Face image, Voice, GPS, Web usage).
- 3 Sharing Purposes (PURPOSEs):
  - PURPOSE 1: Booking travel (transport/accommodation).
  - PURPOSE 2: Sharing data with third-party affiliates (e.g., car rental, insurance).
  - PURPOSE 3: Sharing data to enhance the experience during the trip (e.g., restaurant reservations, theater tickets).
- Measurement: A 7-point Likert scale measured "comfortableness" (1 = very uncomfortable, 7 = very comfortable).
Statistical Analysis:
- Non-parametric tests: Mann-Whitney U tests (independent groups), Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests (paired groups), and Chi-square tests (distribution comparisons).
- Advanced Modeling: Aligned Rank Transform (ART) was used to handle non-normal data for a three-way ANOVA to test interactions between Personal Data Type, Purpose, and Gender.
- Regression: A Multivariate Logistic Regression model was used to predict sharing decisions based on predictors: Travel Stage, Social Media Platform, Gender, Travel Frequency, and Country of Residence.

3. Key Contributions

Contextual Privacy Dynamics: The study empirically demonstrates that privacy attitudes are context-dependent, varying significantly based on the purpose of data sharing and the type of data, rather than just the travel stage.
The "Normalization" of Sensitive Data: It challenges the assumption that all "sensitive" data (like Name, Gender, DOB) are treated with high caution. The study finds these are often shared more readily than financial or biometric data due to their necessity in the booking process.
Social Media Stagnation: It reveals that the stage of travel does not significantly influence social media sharing behaviors, contradicting the assumption that sharing patterns shift dynamically from planning to post-trip reflection.
Demographic Determinants: It identifies Gender, Previous Travel Frequency, and Country of Residence as significant predictors of privacy attitudes and sharing behaviors, suggesting a need for tailored privacy interventions.

4. Key Results

A. Privacy Attitudes and Data Sharing (RQ1)

Impact of Purpose and Data Type: Both the Personal Data Type (PDT) and Sharing Purpose (PURPOSE) had highly significant main effects on comfort levels ( $p \le 0.001$ ).
The "Sensitive" Paradox: Participants were surprisingly more relaxed about sharing commonly sensitive identifiers (Name, Gender, Date of Birth, Nationality, Email, Phone) compared to financial data (Credit Card, Bank) or biometric data (Face, Voice).
- Reasoning: These identifiers are viewed as "essential" and "standard" for booking, leading to a normalization of their collection.
Purpose-Driven Shifts:
- PURPOSE 1 (Booking) vs. PURPOSE 2 (Third-party affiliates): Participants were significantly less comfortable sharing data with third-party affiliates (PURPOSE 2) compared to the primary booking site (PURPOSE 1). This suggests a "loss of control" anxiety regarding data sharing beyond the initial transaction.
- PURPOSE 2 vs. PURPOSE 3 (In-trip activities): Participants showed a positive attitude shift (increased comfort) when sharing data for in-trip activities (PURPOSE 3) compared to third-party affiliates. This is attributed to the immediate, tangible benefits (e.g., getting a table, buying a ticket) outweighing privacy concerns.
Demographic Influences:
- Gender: Females were generally more comfortable sharing a wide range of data (including Passport, Medical, Location) for in-trip activities (PURPOSE 3) compared to males, suggesting different risk perception or trust levels.
- Travel Frequency & Location: Previous travel frequency did not significantly alter data sharing attitudes, but Country of Residence (Europe vs. South Africa) showed statistically significant differences in attitudes toward specific data types (e.g., Contacts, Dietary Requirements).

B. Social Media Sharing Behaviors (RQ2)

Platform Preference: Facebook and Instagram were the dominant platforms for sharing travel content. TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Twitter saw minimal sharing activity, despite high usage rates for consumption.
The "Lurker" Phenomenon: Consistent with the 90-9-1 principle, most participants were passive consumers. Only a small fraction actively shared content.
Travel Stage Invariance: Statistical analysis (Chi-square and Logistic Regression) confirmed that travel stage (Pre/During/Post) does not significantly impact sharing behavior. Users maintained consistent sharing patterns across all stages.
Predictors of Sharing: The logistic regression model showed that Travel Stage was not a significant predictor of sharing decisions. Instead, Gender, Travel Frequency, and Country of Residence were the significant drivers.

5. Significance and Implications

The study offers critical insights for the privacy and security community:

Dynamic Consent Mechanisms: Since attitudes shift based on purpose (e.g., booking vs. third-party sharing) rather than just time, systems should implement context-aware consent. Users should be prompted with specific, granular consent requests when data is shared with affiliates (PURPOSE 2), where trust is lowest.
Privacy Nudging: Service providers can use these findings to design "nudges" that remind users of risks specifically when sharing sensitive data with third parties, while acknowledging that users are already comfortable with standard booking data.
Personal Data Vaults: The findings support the development of adaptive personal data vaults where users can control access permissions dynamically based on the travel stage and the specific service provider, addressing the "loss of control" anxiety observed in PURPOSE 2.
Demographic-Specific Design: Privacy interfaces should not be "one-size-fits-all." Given the significant influence of gender and geography, privacy policies and consent flows should be tailored to address the specific concerns of different demographic groups.
Limitations & Future Work: The authors acknowledge limitations regarding self-reported data and sample imbalance (Europe/South Africa focus). They propose future field studies using a mobile app to track real-time data sharing behaviors to validate these survey findings.

In conclusion, the paper establishes that privacy is not a static trait but a fluid perception heavily influenced by the utility of the data exchange and the trust in the recipient, rather than the temporal stage of the journey.