In this article we argue for a greater emphasis on ‘process’ models of tourists’ decision-making, and the consequential changes in ontol- ogy and epistemology they imply. An advantage of pursuing this ap- proach is to mesh decision-making research in tourism with the spirit of more dynamic, postmodern accounts of the tourist experi- ence (Uriely, 2005). However, more significantly we believe that this focus will help produce models of tourist decision-making that better suit the increasing concerns of how to manage the tourist experience in process in ways that minimise its adverse impacts, whilst retaining its central features of apparent spontaneity and freedom that many tour- ists value.