Motivation for Pleasure Travel - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 197

INTRODUCTION

T To be successful, tourism practitioners must understand consumer motivation. History offers a

glimpse of behaviors to study. Even the supposedly spiritually motivated medieval pilgrims were
sometimes wont to yield to temptations during the long journey! So, although crusaders

motivations
might have been spiritual, they often succumbed to the desire for immediate grati cation. Thus, from
ancient times until now, astute operators have understood the importance of psychology in tourism.
Such travel

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studies include consumer motivation, decision making, product satisfaction,
overall desirability of holiday experiences, pleasure in the vacation environment, and interaction with
the local inhabitants. In short, tourists travel for many reasons, including spirituality, social status,
escape, and cultural enrichment.

motivation

s hierarchy of needs provides insight into ways in which a
trip may satisfy disparate needs. If these concepts are studied within a context, they can provide
insight into how visitors select activities and experiences to suit their personal psychological and
motivational pro les.

Maslow '

A FOCUS ON CUSTOMERS

Students and analysts of tourist behavior face a particular problem when attempting to assess tourist
motivation . Many individuals with an enthusiasm for traveling and holidays are able to articulate their

own motivation. The problem lies in then assuming that other people are also motivated by these same
forces. This chapter introduces a range of ideas, concepts, and studies on pleasure

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Readers are encouraged to develop a professional view of motivation, constantly being mindful that
other travelers might not be driven by the same social, cultural, and biological needs as themselves.
A professional understanding of the consumer is at the core of successful business practice in the
tourist industry. If the various facets of the tourism, travel, and hospitality world can meet the needs of
the consumer, then some chance of business success is possible, provided other financial and managerial
inputs are appropriate. Thus, if a theme park can meet the needs of its customers, if a wilderness lodge
can provide the kind of accommodation its users expect, and if an adventure tour operator can organize
an exciting whitewater rafting trip, then there is a basis for a successful tourism business. When
consumer expectations are met or exceeded by the tourism operations, one can expect repeat business
and positive word-of-mouth advertising, as well as the ability to maintain or even increase the current
level of charging for the existing tourism service. Clearly,

travel motivation

matter to tourism businesses.
The general issue of understanding consumer needs falls within the area of the

consumers

psychology of

tourists behavior. This study area is concerned with what motivates tourists, how they make decisions,

what tourists think of the products they buy, how much they enjoy and learn during their holiday
experiences, how they interact with the local people and environment, and how satis ed they are with
their holidays.

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Asking the Question

The study of travel motivation is the fundamental starting point in studying the psychology of tourist
behavior. The question is often expressed simply as: Why do tourists travel? One of the lessons of
social science research is to learn to ask good questions—that is, questions that are stimulating and
challenging to our understanding of the world but that can be answered with enough speci city and
information to enhance our understanding. is not a good question. Instead,

we need to ask why certain groups of people choose certain holiday experiences, because this more
speci c question focuses attention on the similarities and differences among groups of people and the
kinds of experiences they seek. It should be noted that we are emphasizing people

'' Why do tourists travel? ''

s desire for certain
experiences and we are not assuming that destinations such as Las Vegas or central Africa offer only

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