CHAPTER 1

Objective: understanding the motivations of

travelers why they choose to go where they go.

Humans have always been

on the move. Our skeletons
and muscle structures have
evolved to facilitate
gathering our food,
escaping from predators,
and to satisfy our animal
curiosity.
As our brains grew larger,
so did our inquisitiveness,
and driven by different
reasons, humans began to
travel.

A History Of Why
People Travel
(LUCIA BYTTEBIER)

The Early Explorers

Neolithic age - first sailing vessels and the invention of the wheel,
Nomadic hunters and gatherers moved in search of food
Ancient man - build roads to facilitate the movement of troops
through empires, and eventually civilians began to travel in
caravans.

Travel for the purpose of commerce

and trade took explorers to strange
lands to meet other people, and bring
back riches of unfathomable value.

 Wealthy Greeks and Romans began to travel for leisure to their summer
homes and villas by the sea in cities like Pompeii and Baiae.

The freedom of travel in the Roman Empire brought many Jews to

flourishing cities of the ancient world, and Jesus himself is thought to
have traveled a great deal with his disciples.
We know that Vikings had a particular skill for sailing and a keen interest
in exploring. Through perilous voyages they conquered areas such as
Iceland and Greenland, and were even the first to accidentally discover
America in 985 A.D, when a ship was blown off course on the way to
Greenland.
In 1001, Leif Eriksson sailed back to explore it further and called it
Vinland, or land of pastures.

Enter the Dark Ages

In Medieval times, the most notorious
travelers were pilgrims and missionaries.
Driven by their religious convictions,
pilgrims made dangerous journeys to
places like Santiago de Compostela,
Canterbury, and Jerusalem while
missionaries traveled to heathen areas to
evangelize the people, such as the Celts
in Ireland.

 In the late 16th century it became fashionable for young aristocrats and
wealthy upper class men to travel to important European cities for their
education in the arts and literature, designed to enlighten Europes young
elite.
This was knows as the Grand Tour. London, Paris, Venice, Florence and
Rome were visited by these grand tourists to expose themselves to the great
masterpieces.
The French revolution marked the end of the Grand Tour as was known, and
with the coming of rail transit in the early 19th century, travel was
revolutionized.
Travel was no longer limited only to the privileged as it became cheaper,
easier, and safer to travel. Young ladies began to travel too, chaperoned by an
old spinster as was appropriate, as part of their education.

Steam and Steel

The Industrial Revolution brought
leisure travel to Europe.
The new middle class, comprised of
factory owners and managers, now had
the time to travel thanks to
industrialized production with efficient
and faster machinery.
For the first time ever, traveling was
done for the sole pleasure of it.

 1841: Thomas Cook, put together the first package holiday in

history. Tours in Britain, other European cities, Paris and the
Alps were the most popular destinations.
Thomas Cook pioneered all the common services that travel
agencies undertake for the passenger today:
accommodation, travel tickets, timetables, attractions,
currency exchanges, travel guides and tours.
Air travel began after World War II, when a surplus of
aeronautical technology and ex-military pilots who were more
than ready to fly.

The Modern Age

Over the years different developments in tourism have changed the

way we travel, such as technology, safety and security, costs, social
changes, etc.
Much like the young European aristocrats of the time, we today also
consider traveling as a rite of passage, an initiation, a transition, an
opportunity for soul searching.

 With tourism currents like Eco-travel, Ethical

Travel, Volunteering, Mystical tourism, Dark
Tourism, Pop-Culture tourism, Cosmetic
Surgery tourism, and Independent traveling,
the travel industry has reached an apogee
never before seen.
So when we wonder why we travel, and where
it all started, it might be comforting to think
about our predecessors, and how they moved
first out of necessity, then for religion,
migration, emigration, commerce,
enlightenment and finally for pleasure.

Tourism Geography
There is difference between tourism
geography and other forms of geography.
The interaction of traveler and the destination
makes the difference.

Knowledge about the psychological and

sociological factors affecting the traveler helps
to understand why a particular type of product is
purchased (type of travel is chosen).

 What people are looking for

when they visit different
destinations?
Why would a tourist choose to
spend holiday in Cebu rather
than Boracay what variables
are at work apart from cost?
Why would he choose to
travel with Cebu Pacific, but
not with Philippine Airlines?
Why would he buy an
independent inclusive tour,
but not a group tour?

Understanding
needs and
wants

Need Satisfaction Theory

All consumer purchases, including choice of
travel destination, are made to satisfy a
need of the consumer. Each individual has a
desire for something.

Do people travel just to travel?

People do not travel just to travel. Travel
fills some need in each consumer.
Travelers needs differ.

Do we really need?
Due to todays increased material consumption
patterns, it is becoming difficult to distinguish
wants (e.g. reference group influence) from
needs.

Maslows hierarchy of needs

Self-actualization
(e.g. self-fulfillment, etc.)
Ego needs
(e.g. self-respect, status, success, etc.)
Social needs
(e.g. affection, love, friendship, etc.)
Safety needs
(e.g. security, protection, etc.)
Physiological needs
(e.g. food, water, air, etc.)

 According to Maslow, the more basic needs

have to be satisfied (satisfied according to
the needs of our cultural group) before our
interest will focus on higher level needs.
However, according to Alderfer, and his ERG
(existence, relatedness, and growth needs)
theory, (1) more than one need may be
operative at the same time, (2) if the
satisfaction of a higher level need is
frustrated, the desire to satisfy a lower
level need increases.

Motivations of tourist
Motivation for travel and tourism can be categorized as;

Physical motivations
Cultural motivations
Personal motivations
Prestige and Status motivations
(Mathieson and Wall, 1993)

Physical motivations
refreshment of body and mind (rest and relaxation)
beach holidays, lakes and mountains, etc.;
for health purposes (i.e. either medically prescribed
or undertaken voluntarily) spas, etc.;
for participation in sports skiing, canoeing, safari
parks, ponytrekking, etc.;

pleasure, - fun, excitement, romance and

entertainment, to shop.

Cultural motivations
curiosity about foreign countries,
people and places;
interests in art, music, architecture,
folklore music festivals, theatre
visits, etc.;

interest in historical places

(remains, monuments, churches);
experiencing specific international
and national events - Olympic
Games, Oktoberfest, etc.

Personal motivations
visiting relatives and friends;
meeting new people and seeking new
friendships;
seeking new and different experiences in
different environments sailing etc.;
escaping from ones own permanent
social environment (i.e. desire for a
change)
personal excitement of traveling;
visiting places and people for spiritual
reasons (i.e. pilgrimages)
traveling for travels sake

Prestige and Status motivations

pursuit of hobbies craft or painting holidays etc.;
continuation of education or learning- study tours etc.;
seeking of business contacts and professional goals fairs, etc.;

conference and
meetings;

ego enhancement
and sensual

indulgence;
fashion

 All people may have the similar basic needs. But

how is it that in various countries and regions,
different needs arise, leading to different
patterns of demand?
Why is the American satisfied with
convenience food, to be served quickly and
accompanied by a glass of water, while the
French consider the meal the most important
event of the day?

 Factors affecting the demand for goods and services

(as well as holidays) may be divided into four
categories;
Cultural (culture, subculture ethnic group, social
class)
Social (reference groups, family, roles and status)
Personal (mostly demographic variables age and
life-cycle stage, occupation, economic situation,
lifestyle, personality and self-concept)
Psychological (motivation, perception, learning,
beliefs and attitudes)

 Culture is the most basic cause of a persons wants and

behavior.
Culture can be defined as the set of basic values,
perceptions, wants, and behaviors learned by a member of
society from family and other important institutions.
Cultural influences on buying behavior may vary greatly from
country to country e.g. Germans love beauty and art,
appreciate their environment, are obsessed with physical
well-being. As tourists, they demand accommodation that is
clean and simple with private facilities, and offers fresh food
with service in the restaurant.

 Social class: Almost every society has some form of

social class structure. Social class may be defined as
the ordered divisions in a society whose members share
similar values, interests, and behaviors.

Social classes may be defined in terms of occupation

through which 6 socio-economic groupings can be
identified:
A higher managerial, administrative or professional; B
Middle managerial, administrative or professional; C1
Supervisory or clerical, junior managerial; C2 Skilled
manual workers; D Semi-skilled and unskilled manual
workers; E Pensioners, unemployed, casual or lowest grade
workers.

 A persons behavior is influenced by many small groups.

Peer group; the group with which an individual is most
closely associated in his or her life e.g. fellow students,
colleagues, friends and relations, close neighbors.
Reference group; the group with which an individual
would choose to associate himself/herself, either because
he/she admires them or simply because he/she would like
to emulate their lifestyle. trickle effect where products
originally purchased by elite members of a society are
adopted by those down the hierarchy, e.g. St Tropez.

 Family group decision making; where

decisions have to be made together, it is
important to understand who participates
in the decision and the degree of
influence each member of the group
exercises e.g. wife's or childrens role.

 An individuals decisions are also influenced by personal

characteristics. Most of the information for this category can
be gathered through population (demographic) statistics which
include (1) the number of people living in a country or region,
and (2) the component make-up of that population
the proportion in different age groups
the marital status
the proportion of those with children
occupation, and number unemployed
birth rate
disposable income

 Lifestyle; is a persons pattern of living as expressed in his or

her activities (work, hobbies, shopping, sports, social events),

interests (food, fashion, family, recreation) and opinions (about
themselves, social issues, business, products) e.g. internet
behavior.

Personality and self-concept; Stanley Plog has found that

tourists can be categorized broadly as either psychocentric or

allocentric.
Psychocentrics are self-inhibited, nervous and lack the
desire for adventure, preferring well-packaged routine
holidays in popular tourist destinations, mainly sea, sun
and sand variety. Allocentrics are more outgoing, have
varied interests and are keen to explore new places and find
new things to do, and tend to travel independently.

 An individuals buying choices are influenced by four major

psychological factors: motivation, perception, learning and
beliefs and attitudes.

The way an individual perceive his/her needs is built up a

complex interrelationship of beliefs and attitudes which arise
out of his/her knowledge and opinions.
Individuals choose products which they perceive as having the
best potential to satisfy their needs. They learn about such
products partly through experience with the same or similar
products in the past, and partly by seeking information (actively
or passively).

 Our perception of products is highly selective. We tend

to screen out information which is too simple or too
familiar (boring), or too complex to take in. We are
more receptive to information to which we are
predisposed (ready to receive) e.g. we become more
aware of holiday advertisements, when we are thinking
about a holiday.
Our perception of information is also biased. We tend
to distort information to suit our own frame of
reference.

 Learning theory; learning describes changes in an

individuals behavior arising from experience.
Learning occurs through;
Needs Drive Action Satisfaction Reinforcement
Our individual needs give rise to a drive which we take
action to satisfy. If our action does indeed result in
satisfying the need, we tend to repeat the experience,
leading to the development of habit formation and
customer loyalty.
Repeat purchase of the same product leads to
monotony and a search for a new product or brand.
AIDA model.

 Beliefs; through experiencing and learning (also from

others word-of-mouth), people acquire beliefs and
attitudes.
Beliefs make up images that affect buying behavior.
Beliefs may be wrong or prevent purchase.
Attitudes; a persons evaluations, feelings, and
tendencies toward an object or idea.
Attitudes put people into a frame of mind of liking or
disliking things, of moving toward or away from them.
They are difficult to change.

 The decision making for travel purchases is complicated

by the degree of risk. Deciding where to take the annual
holiday involves a lot of money and a high degree of
uncertainty.
Risk can be reduced in several ways;
through experience (familiarity) or word of mouth
recommendation

 lowering our expectation of the product (not suitable in

travel and tourism, since consumers tend to idealize their
major purchases)
maximizing knowledge
searching for familiarity (1. choosing familiar or closer
destinations e.g. US tourists to Mexico or Britain; Jersey a
bit of France that is British, 2. choosing package (guided)
tours, 3. choosing familiar organizations e.g. a Turkish
tourist flying with the Turkish airlines).