Tourist Motivation

Tourist motivation is the reason why a tourist will make the decision to choose one destination over another and the attributes that governs that behavior. This is important to the tourist professional for a number of reasons. The tourist professional must have an understanding of what drives the tourist to initiate the vacation and then match a destination that fits with the tourist’s travel motives. A good fit may ensure that the guest will enjoy the vacation and either come back year after year or book another trip with that professional. The tourist professional also needs to have information about tourist motivation in order to market specific destinations and design appropriate tourist packages. In this paper I will interview a person who traveled on an international vacation and find out why they chose that destination. Using two journal articles and notes from class, I will explain the push pull theory and why it fits best with this person’s motivations for travel. I will also explore some downsides of the theory. I spoke to my mother and asked her when she last took an international vacation. She told me that she went to Ecuador to travel with and visit my brother 2 years ago. I asked her what her main motivation for traveling to that destination was. She told me that since my brother was living there she wanted to explore and learn new things together with him. She also told me that she wanted to experience an unfamiliar culture and meet new people. She was looking for excitement in a foreign country where English was not the main language. The push pull theory fits best with my mother’s travel motivations since her initial decision to travel was motivated by her desire to travel with my brother. The family and relationship building was the “push” that established her motivation for traveling to Ecuador. She might not have considered this country if my brother did not live there. She was also motivated by the excitement of being in a

Bibliography: Crompton,J.(1979). Motivation for pleasure travel. Annals of Tourism Research, 6, 408-424. Yoon,Y. & Ulysal, M. (2005). An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty: a structural model. Tourism Management, 26, 45-56.