Controlling the crowdedness of destinations is a vital agenda in tourism, yet little tourism research has explored the influence of real-time information, which is an effective tool for reducing crowding. The two experiments in our study assess the usefulness of real-time crowding information in tourist settings by showing that tourists make better decisions (i.e., visiting less crowded areas for a more enjoyable trip) through real-time information. Specifically, tourists who become aware of the high crowdedness of a scheduled destination through real-time information are more likely to change their plans due to negatively perceiving the anticipated outcomes of travel and thus increasing control over their travel experiences. These tourists' decisions to avoid crowding are stronger when there is adequate (vs. much) alternative information. Importantly, this tendency becomes stronger when tourists have high-level time constraints for travel. Our findings carry theoretical and managerial implications for adjusting destinations' crowdedness by dispersing tourism demand.

控制目的地的拥挤度是旅游业的一项重要议程，但很少有旅游研究探讨实时信息的影响，而实时信息是减少拥挤的有效工具。我们研究中的两个实验通过显示游客通过实时信息做出更好的决定（即，访问不太拥挤的地区以获得更愉快的旅行）来评估实时拥挤信息在旅游环境中的有用性。具体来说，通过实时信息意识到预定目的地的高度拥挤的游客更有可能因为对旅行的预期结果产生负面看法而改变他们的计划，从而增加对他们旅行体验的控制。当有足够的（vs. 很多）替代信息。重要的是，当游客对旅行有高水平的时间限制时，这种趋势会变得更强。我们的研究结果对通过分散旅游需求来调整目的地的拥挤程度具有理论和管理意义。