Motivation for Pleasure Travel - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 199

and feasting became important accompaniments to the journey and among the

pilgrims was not unknown. 6 The legacy of the pilgrimage for understanding modern traveler
motivation is not insigni cant. The pilgrimage elevated the importance of travel as an activity in
one's life and created the idea that certain key sites or attractions were of long-lasting spiritual bene t
to the sojourner. Good times and spiritual times were, however, often linked.
The seriousness of travel was further enhanced by the Grand Tour , an activity intended principally
as a training ground for the young and wealthy members of the English courts in Tudor times. By the
end of the eighteenth century, the Grand Tour had gained favor as an ideal finishing school for a
youth

'' licentious living ''

s education, a theme consistent with the analysis of much contemporary youth travel. 7
The effects of industrialization, urbanization, and improved transportation possibilities brought
travel to the middle classes in the mid-nineteenth century, and strong elements of social status and
class consciousness characterize the fashions of the railway and spa resorts of nineteenth-century
Europe. 8 One of the first tourism scholars, Pimlott, writing in 1947, noted,

'

In the present century
holidays have become a cult. . . . For many they are the principal objects for life

''

— saved and planned

9
Tourism is now, of course, a worldwide phenomenon with enormous differentiation in its available
environments, host cultures, and types of visitors. Nevertheless, some of the chief motivations noted
in this brief historical review

for during the rest of the year and enjoyed in retrospect when they are over. ''

— such as travel for escape, cultural curiosity, spirituality, education, and

social status must be accounted for in any summary of contemporary travel.

Much of the contemporary travel scene is eloquently described by literary figures and professional
travel writers. Their accounts of travel motivation, both of themselves and of others, are subjective rather
than professional but can also be considered as a background for our understanding. The noted American
writer John Steinbeck conceived of travel as an

—

'' itch, '' a disease or pseudomedical condition, '' the travel

bug, Additionally, the theme of traveling to discover

oneself has a long literary tradition and is present in the early works of Ovid, Chaucer, Spenser, and
Tennyson as well as in twentieth-century fiction, including works by Kerouac, Forster, Lawrence,
Hemingway, and Conrad. The professional travel writers of the last two decades, such as Paul Theroux,
JanMorris,andEricNewby,havealsoemphasizeddiscoveryandcuriosityintheiranalysisofthemotivesof
travelers.
The rich tapestry of ideas about travel motivation from historical accounts and literary sources can
be supplemented by theories of motivation from the discipline of psychology.

'' which periodically drove him to '' be someplace else. ''

The Contribution of Psychological Theory

Psychology, as a separate area of inquiry, is often considered as originating in 1879 with the creation of
the first laboratory for the scienti c study of behavior by Wilhelm Wundt in Germany. In their own
journey studying human behavior, psychology writers and researchers have frequently addressed the
topic of human motivation. The scope of this research is impressive, as it embraces both detailed
studies of human physiology and the nervous system as well as broad approaches with a more
sociological and anthropological orientation.
Many well-known theories in psychology have a strong motivation component. In many instances
the discussion or study of motivation is a part of a broader theory directed at understanding human
personality or, more simply, what makes individuals different. A summary of some major theories in
psychology that have been concerned in part with the topic of motivation is presented in Table 9.1. It
must be noted that these psychology researchers and thinkers were not considering travel motivation
directly when formulating these approaches. Nevertheless, the third column of the table lists a
number of human needs and motives that might be usefully applied to the question of why certain
groups of travelers seek particular kinds of holiday experiences.
A direct application of these for tourist motivation adds some new

motives to the list obtained from the historical and literary review. In particular, motives such as
personal control, love, sex, competence, tension reduction, arousal, achievement, acceptance, self-
development, respect, curiosity, security, understanding, and self-actualization can be identi ed.

psychological theories