Examining Tourists’ Push and Pull Travel Motivations and Behavioral Intentions: The Case of British Outbound Tourists to Phuket,Thailand

This research aimed specifically to (1) determine the socio-demographic characteristics and travel patterns of British tourists visiting Phuket; (2) identify the main “push” and “pull” travel motivations of British tourists visiting Phuket; and (3) examine the relationship between British tourists’ main “push/pull” motivations and future travel intention to Phuket. Findings revealed that British tourists’ main push motivations were: “to have fun,” “to rest and relax,” and “to escape from daily routine and environment”; while the main pull motivations were: “natural sceneries and landscapes,” “beaches,” and “hospitality and friendliness of the people.” There was also a relationship found between “push/pull” motivations and future travel intention to Phuket.     

Travel motivation for Taiwanese hearing-impaired backpackers

Why do hearing-impaired people desire to undertake outbound travel as backpackers despite their hearing and speaking limitations? To investigate the reasons, this study applied the push and pull model of travel motivation as the framework. A total of 30 hearing-impaired backpackers participated in face-to-face interviews and responded to questions concerning their motivation to travel overseas. The results of this study reveal many unique motivation themes in the push and pull groups; specifically, five push themes (constraints of group tours, self-challenge, independence, different experience, and invitation by hearing-impaired friends) and two pull themes (enjoy local culture and lifestyle and the “I have been there” feeling) were identified. Furthermore, the participants’ desire to travel as backpackers is based on their previous negative experiences in group tours. Moreover, they prefer backpacking with hearing-impaired partners than with normal-hearing partners. Furthermore, for them, their independence enables them to their parents that they can travel alone. In addition, the study findings suggest that “communication negotiation” should be considered for inclusion in the motivation typology as a new dimension for hearing-impaired backpackers. Finally, the current study provides valuable insights into the behaviors of hearing-impaired backpackers and recommendations for tourism operators.     

世界遗产地旅游推力-引力因素研究--以西递和宏村为例

旅游推力-引力因素是研究旅游动机的有效方法。以世界遗产地西递-宏村为案例区,运用因子分析法（Factoranalysis）推力因素和引力因素两个不同的领域分析古村落旅游者旅游行为的潜在特征,确立5个推力因子和4个引力因子,并在此基础上利用方差分析法（one-way ANOVA）进一步检验了推力和引力因素在不同人口统计学特征群体间存在的显著差异,以期为世界文化遗产地的开发、保护和旅游市场拓展提供有益参考。     

Effect of Health and Wellness Values on Festival Visit Motivation

Understanding the motivation to visit particular tourist destinations and festivals is important for building effective tourism marketing strategies. This paper explores the effect of existing health and wellness values on the motivation to visit a festival using a field survey at the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival, a typical Australian festival which uses the natural environment, traditions and local produce to provide 21 events during the festival. The study focused on establishing the relationship between health and wellness values and festival attendees' motivation. Qualitative research with random sampling was selected to collect the data. The results revealed high levels of health and wellness values among the participants as well as social interaction, family togetherness, cultural exploration, novelty, natural environment, relaxation, previous food festival experience and food as motivations. Findings of this paper can contribute to festival tourism marketing especially to demonstrate that health-related interests can be significant catalysts for attracting festival attendees.     

A phenomenological approach of blogger’s view on cultural distance

This paper is intended to determine the influence of cultural distance on the international destination choices by tourists. We adopted a phenomenological approach and data were obtained from 17 bloggers with structured interview form and evaluated by content analysis. We evaluated the research data as three processes, as pre-travel, during travel and post-travel. We identified a tangible and an intangible preparation stage in the pre-travel process. We observed that an increase in cultural distance caused an increase in the destination obscurity and thus in the mental preparation. We found cultural experience, cultural acquisition and personal change themes during traveling. In the meantime, the increase in the geographic distance influences the cultural distance perception. We determined that destinations that are geographically remote (especially the Asian countries) are also culturally remote and interesting. We proposed a model that cultural distance is a moderator variable between travel motivation and destination choice.     

RV Traveler’s Pull Factors to Campgrounds in Leisure Tourism

The purpose of this study was to identify the underlying structures of RV traveler’s pull factors to campgrounds and confirm the results by using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis with multiple data sets. The results identified the following five dimensions of the campground traveler’s key attributes: Activity, Amenity, Essentials, Price, and Store. The “Essentials” factor had a grand mean of 4.47, which was the highest among the five factors. Therefore, campground owners and managers should pay extra attention to maintaining a high quality on those essential attributes first, before considering adding or promoting any other items.     

Predictors of Templestay Satisfaction: A Comparison Between Korean and International Participants

The present study aims to determine the underlying factors critical to the overall satisfaction (Templestay satisfaction) of local and foreign participants in South Korean Buddhist temple stay programs (hereafter, Templestay). A two-step multivariate procedure was performed where the data were first subjected to a factor analysis followed by structural equation model. The findings are congruent with three out of five research hypotheses. Moreover, the empirical evidence showed that there are no differences in reporting of Templestay satisfaction between Korean and international participants. Nevertheless, being with nature, self-growth, and relaxation are underlying factors that define satisfaction for Koreans. For international participants, being with nature and relaxation are significant. The study reveals that learning experience is a poor predictor of Templestay satisfaction. The practical implication of this research is that Templestay managers should focus on the factors that have the highest importance for obtaining Templestay satisfaction for both Korean and international visitors.     

Asian and Western Cultural Differences

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical structural equation model using LISREL to determine whether cultural differences between international Asian tourists and their Australian hosts are predictors of tourist satisfaction. The study examines the way in which cultural values, rules of social behavior and perceptions of service providers influence tourist preferences for social interaction and satisfaction with tourist-host contact.

The comparison of the cultural differences goes beyond merely helping to answer the question of whether there are cultural differences and to what extent these differences vary. The paper determines the dimensions of cultural differences between these two populations. A LISREL model is used to identify the strength of the relationships between the cultural dimensions and their key indicators. Further, the study identifies the nature of the causal relationships between the cultural dimensions. The results indicate that differences in cultural values and rules of social behavior between Asian tourists and Australian hosts directly influence tourist satisfaction, and differences in perceptions of service providers directly influence tourist social interaction. Perceptions of service providers only indirectly determine satisfaction, through the mediating effect of interaction. Implications of the study results for marketers and directions for future research are discussed.     

Why Do They Keep Coming Back? The Effect of Push Motives vs. Pull Motives,and Attribute Satisfaction on Repeat Visitation of Tourist Destinations

We conjecture that attribute satisfaction, push motives and pull motives will be positively related to return visitation of tourist destinations. We also hypothesize that push factors will be stronger related to return visitation of tourist destinations than pull factors, both directly and indirectly as mediators of the relationship between attribute satisfaction and return visitation. In addition, we predict that age and gender will moderate the effect of push and pull factors on repeat visitation. Finally, we argue that push factors and pull factors will be mutually reinforcing. To test these hypotheses, we conducted an online survey of repeat tourists’ motives, and received 986 complete responses. Survey participants were randomly chosen from a group that met a series or qualifying questions. PLS-SEM analysis of the data showed that, as we hypothesized, attribute satisfaction and push motives were positively related to repeat visitation. In contrast, pull motives were not related to repeat visitation, either directly or indirectly, but did reinforce the effect of push motives; gender did not moderate either push or pull motives and age moderated only pull motives. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

City Break Motivation

Abstract

This paper investigates why people take city break trips. The main objective of the study was to reveal the underlying push and pull motivational factors associated with taking a city break holiday to Dublin. In-depth interviews with 40 city break visitors uncovered six push factors and eight pull factors. The main push motives involved were ‘escape,’ ‘socialising,’ and ‘self esteem (gift giving).’ City breaks were generally viewed as active or ‘doing’ holidays, with the ‘relaxation’ motive hardly featuring at all as a reason to visit. Pull factors were found to be particularly important in terms of the travel decision. Factors such as ease of access and the availability of cheap flights were not only influential in determining the destination, but also acted, in some cases, as the main stimuli to take the trip.