Can't decide where to go on your next vacation? Stanley Plog may have the answer.

Dr. Plog has spent 40 years researching travel preferences and decisions, from which coach seats are most comfortable on airplanes to how resorts and European capitals can best pitch to tourists. He's developed a questionnaire that pegs people into six different profiles, identifying their 'travel personality.' Now, Dr. Plog and Bahir Browsh, a former Trans World Airlines executive and Travel Channel president, have turned Dr. Plog's research into a Web site, www.BestTripChoices.com, where users can get travel suggestions free.

When we vacation, we all have different desires. Some people like to relax on the beach; others climb mountains. Some people love crowds. Many are most comfortable driving to someplace close to home, and often the same place as last year and the year before. Others jump on airplanes to see new, unfamiliar places, far from the masses.

I tried the BestTripChoices site out on my family and found that it zeroed in on personalities quite well, figuring out that most of us wanted history and culture in our trips, we like to sample new places, and we use mixed modes of transportation for our travel. And somehow it also knew that I like to buy native specialties when I travel.

Knowing exactly what kind of vacation most fits your travel personality is the key to having a satisfying experience, Dr. Plog says. And it's not always obvious. Sometimes we feel that we need to seek out rough-edge adventures when really we'd be happier lying by a pool with a cocktail. What's more, some couples have different travel personalities, so trips may not be compatible for both.

'People choose the wrong vacation all the time, and they come back really disappointed,' he says.

The BestTripChoices site's questionnaire identifies you in one of six personality profiles, from a 'venturer,' who likes to find undiscovered gems and explore unique cultures, to an 'authentic,' who prefers everything familiar and predictable and likes going where there are lots of people -- it must be a good place, after all, if there are crowds.

Each extreme represents only 3% to 4% of the population -- most of us are in-between to varying degrees. On the 'venturer' side of the scale, 'mid-venturers' like some physical activity on trips and travel with intellectual curiosity for history. 'Centric-venturers' like exotic places, but they want good hotels and restaurants, too. On the authentics side, 'mid-authentics' are particularly social people who love golf and mellow vacations in the sun. 'Centric-authentics' would rather drive to destinations than fly, and are comfortable on cruises.

Based on Dr. Plog's database of travel surveys on what destinations were most satisfying to what type of people, the site suggests places to go that fit your travel personality. It's a scientific version of the service of a very good travel agent -- someone who would get to know clients, figure out what they like and suggest appropriate trips. (And many travel agents already use software that helps them target trips for clients.) But with so many people now booking their own trips, some study of your inclinations and preferences can help avoid unsatisfactory vacations.

'The whole idea is to narrow down and select the place that is best for you,' Dr. Plog says.

Dr. Plog's work has been used by the travel industry for decades, and the science behind his study has been peer reviewed and published in academic journals. 'Plog is a pioneer,' says Paul Biederman, an assistant professor at New York University and author of a travel industry textbook. 'He's now applying advanced technology to what he has been doing all along.'

Dr. Biederman says the theory behind identifying travel personalities is solid. 'I think it works, especially for people who are avid travelers looking for new places to visit,' he said.

To develop a profile, Dr. Plog's quiz presents 15 statements and asks people to agree or disagree with each on a seven-point scale. Some seem obviously related to travel, such as 'I prefer to go to undiscovered places before big hotels and restaurants are built.' Others are more obscure, such as 'Chance has little to do with success in my life.'

The trick is that only seven or eight of the questions drive the results -- the rest are thrown in for cover, Dr. Plog says. He won't disclose which questions are the true revealers of personality, except to say they are not the obvious travel questions. How much you read, for example, and how much TV you watch are indicators of the trips you'll prefer, Dr. Plog says.

The site pegged me as a centric venturer. According to the profile, I read newspapers a lot (you think?) and am selective in my television viewing. I could be happy on a Greek cruise or a tour of California ghost towns or even a New York shopping trip. I'm the one who likes new places but not too raw -- I want a good hotel, too.

To my surprise, my wife came out 'mid-venturer' -- more adventurous in her travel desires than I am. That didn't seem quite right -- camping was never her thing when we were younger. But then I remembered that she's always the one pushing adventures like kayaking trips and river rafting when we go places.

My daughters fell in my same 'centric venturer' category, and that fit, too, although my college-student daughter thought that it underestimated her desire for adventure in the destinations suggested. Montreal and Quebec were among her recommendations, while she says Argentina, India, Turkey and Spain are tops on her wish list right now.

Indeed, while the site seemed prescient at targeting our personalities, it was less clear at suggesting destinations. The recommendations overlap considerably across categories since many places fit multiple personalities.

Hawaii, for example, can be great for adventurers who like surfing or hiking, and just as much fun for authentics who want to souvenir shop with the hordes in Waikiki. Likewise, Alaska can be a place of great adventure, and yet authentics can enjoy gorgeous scenery from a train or relax on a cruise ship. Massachusetts ranked high as a destination for five of the six different personality groups.

Dr. Plog has 160 destinations ranked on the Web site, but ultimately wants to get to 1,200. The rankings are based on surveys of travelers who have been to those places. Researchers identify a person's travel personality then ask where they've been and what they liked. Right now, it's populated mostly with information on destinations in North America and Europe, and lacking in Asia and other regions.

The real value is in pegging what you really want out of a vacation. Where you go is just the fun part.

还没想好下一次度假去哪儿吗？问问斯坦利-普罗格(Stanley Plog)吧。

普罗格博士40年来一直在研究人们的旅游喜好和习惯，从飞机上哪些座位最舒服到度假地和欧洲国家首都如何才能更好地吸引游客，可谓包罗万象。他设计了一份调查问卷，把游客分为六类，以确定他们的“旅游个性”。现在，普罗格博士和巴伊尔-布劳希(Bahir Browsh)一起，把研究成果设计成一个网站www.BestTripChoices.com，用户可从那里得到免费的旅游建议。布劳希曾任美国环球航空公司(Trans World Airlines)首席执行长以及旅游频道(Travel Channel)总裁。

我们的度假方式各不相同，有人喜欢在海滩上休息，有人喜欢登山远行；有人喜欢热闹的地方，有人喜欢开车去离家不远的地方；有人度假地点几年不变，有人专门选从没去过、远离喧嚣的陌生地。

我在BestTripChoices网站上给家人做测试，发现结果相当准。它知道我们基本上都喜欢参观名胜古迹，喜欢去新地方，旅途中经常使用不同的交通工具，奇怪的是，它还知道我旅行时喜欢买一点当地的土特产。

普罗格博士说，知道最适合自己的度假方式，就能在旅行时获得更满意的体验。然而，这种喜好并不是很容易发现。有时我们觉得自己想去野外探险，其实内心深处更喜欢在泳池边躺着、身边放上一杯鸡尾酒。此外，有些夫妻的“旅游个性”各不相同，因此在选择度假方式时会出现分歧。

“人们经常选择错误的度假方式，结果乘兴而去，败兴而归。”普罗格博士说。

BestTripChoices网站的问卷能确定你属于六类人群中的哪一类，从喜欢发现未知世界、探寻独特文化的“重度冒险者”，到偏向比较熟悉和有条不紊的东西、喜欢去热闹地方的“重度信任者”──这类人觉得，只要人多，那里一定是好地方。

这两类极端人群只占总人数的3%到4%，大多数人介于两者之间。在靠近“冒险者”的一端，“中度冒险者”喜欢旅途中有些体力活动，带着对历史的好奇心游玩； “轻度冒险者”喜欢有异国情调的地方，但要住好饭店，在好餐厅用餐。在接近“信任者”的一端，“中度信任者”大多是那些喜欢社交的人，他们爱玩高尔夫，爱在阳光下休闲；“轻度信任者”喜欢开车旅游胜过坐飞机，也喜欢坐游轮。

普罗格博士对哪一类人适合去哪里度假进行了调查。以收集到的数据为基础，BestTripChoices网站向你推荐更符合你“旅游个性”的度假地点，它就像是一个出色的旅行社，熟悉客户的喜好，找到他们喜欢什么，建议恰当的旅行安排。（很多旅行社早就开始使用软件，协助他们为客户设计旅游路线。）不过，现在很多人都喜欢自己安排行程，对其旅游喜好的一些研究有助于避免不愉快的度假经历。

“网站的构想就是帮你挑选最适合自己的度假地点。”普罗格博士说道。

普罗格博士的研究已被旅游业界使用数十年，其科研成果得到同行的好评，并在学术刊物出版。“普罗格是这方面的先锋人物，” 纽约大学(New York University)助教、曾撰写过旅游业教材的保罗-彼得曼(Paul Biederman)说，“他正在把先进技术应用到他长期从事的工作当中。”

彼得曼博士说，“旅游个性”的甄别理论是可靠的。“我觉得它很有效，尤其适合那些寻找新度假地点的游客。”

普罗格博士的问卷在调查旅游个性时列出了15个表述，让答卷者对这些表述从1到7选择认可程度。有些表述明显与旅游有关，比如“我喜欢去一些原始的地方，那里没有大饭店和高级餐厅。”另一些问题则要隐讳一点，比如“我一生中取得的成功与运气无关。”

问卷中有个小机关，只有七、八个问题与最终结果有关，其余都是放进去混淆视听的，普罗格博士说。他不愿公开哪些问题能真正揭示“旅游个性”，只说它们并非与旅行明显有关。举例而言，你看多少本书，看多长时间电视，这些都能看出你的旅行喜好。

网站把我定为“轻度冒险者”。根据性格分析，我看很多报纸（真的吗？），有选择地看电视节目，应该喜欢坐游轮去希腊，去加州的鬼镇，甚至去纽约购物。我喜欢新鲜地方，但不要太原始，饭店要住好的。

出乎意料的是，我妻子是个“中度冒险者”，旅行的探险欲望比我更高。这好像不太对──我们俩年轻时，她一直不喜欢在外面露营；但我很快想起来，去野外时，她总是提出要玩皮划艇和漂流。

我女儿也是“轻度冒险者”，这与实际情况相符，不过我这个正在读大学的女儿觉得，网站推荐的度假地点低估了她的冒险精神，比如蒙特利尔和魁北克，她说自己现在把阿根廷、印度、土耳其和西班牙列为首选目的地。

确实，虽然网站在判断“旅游个性”方面颇有预见性，但推荐的度假地点并非泾渭分明。针对六类人群分别推荐的目的地有不少是重复的，因为很多地方适合不同性格的人。

举例而言，夏威夷对喜欢冲浪和徒步旅行的“冒险者”来说都很不错，对喜欢在怀基基海滩购买土著纪念品的“信任者”来说同样也很好。同理，阿拉斯加是“冒险者”的天堂，但“信任者”也可以坐火车或游轮欣赏大自然的美景。马萨诸塞州在五类不同性格人群的推荐目的地中排名都很高。

普罗格教授在网站中列出了160个度假地点，他希望最终能增加到1,200个。排名是对已经去过那些地方的旅行者进行调查后得出的。研究人员先确定一个人的“旅游个性”，然后问他去过哪里，喜欢哪些地方。现在，推荐的目的地主要分布于北美和欧洲，亚洲和其它地区则较少。