Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
•
No demand
is a distinct category for the population who have no desire to travel.
According to Cooper et al. (1993:16) the demand for tourism may be viewed in other
ways using a number of other concepts:
•
substitution of demand
where the demand for a specific activity is substituted by
another activity
•
redirection of demand
where the geographical distribution of tourism is altered due to
pricing policies of competing destinations, special events or changing trends and
tastes.
Therefore, it is apparent that the analysis of tourism demand as an abstract concept
remains firmly within the remit of tourism economics (Witt and Martin 1989, 1992; Bull
1991). Figure 2.8 based on Uysal's (1998) overview of tourism demand summarises the
main determinants of demand within a multidisciplinary context. There has, however,
been comparatively little discussion of the significance of what might be termed
'background' factors which act as geographical constraints on travel, such as the role of
travel epidemiology (Steffen et al. 2003). It can be argued that exposure to pathogens in
high risk countries with poor endemic hygiene standards can pose major risk factors to
tourist health which are not given sufficient credence in many debates on demand, as
Wilks and Page (2003) show. For example, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO) advice to travellers and risk notices do illustrate the scale of risk which tourists
face along with some of the dangers of travelling to high risk areas such as assault,
attacks, robberies, mild stomach bugs from drinking local tap water and lost/stolen
passports. However, the factors which shape the tourist decision-making process to select
and participate in specific forms of tourism is largely within the field of consumer
behaviour and motivation.
TOURIST MOTIVATION
According to Moutinho (1987:16), motivation is 'a state of need, a condition that exerts a
push on the individual towards certain types of action that are seen as likely to bring
satisfaction'. In this respect Cooper et al. (1993:20) rightly acknowledge that 'demand for
tourists at the individual level can be treated as a consumption process which is
influenced by a number of factors. These may be a combination of needs and desires,
availability of time and money, or images, perceptions and attitudes'. Not surprisingly,
this is an incredibly complex area of research and it is impossible within a chapter such as
this to overview the area in depth. Nevertheless, P.L. Pearce's (1993) influential work in
this field outlined a'blueprint for tourist motivation', arguing that in an attempt to
theorise tourist motivation one must consider the following issues:
