This paper explains that the travel and tourism industry, one of the largest global industries, has experienced continuing
growth in spite of terrorism which has hammered the aviation industry but not the travel and tourism industry. The author points out that that the factors associated with the emergence and promotion of travel and tourism are based on increased productivity, the psychological mobility typically associated with broadened horizons, and improvements in
transportation and communications facilities. The paper stresses that the gap theories, such as
dissonance and importance-performance that seek to explain how tourists first experience certain expectations concerning their travels and then relate these expectations to the reality of their experiences, may provide researchers with the most valuable insights into how and why people will seek out a destination in the first place and why they will either return there or not. Table of Contents Introduction Review and Analysis Background and Overview Expectancy Disconfirmation Paradigm (EDP) Comparison Theory Value-Precept Theory Importance-Performance Equity Theory The Dissonance Theory Contrast Theory Conclusion