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PSYCHOLOGY OF TOURISM Motivation for Travel Tourists take vacations in the belief that these vacations will satisfy, either completely or partially, various needs and wants. The difference between a need and a want is awareness. Awareness must b...

PSYCHOLOGY OF TOURISM Motivation for Travel Tourists take vacations in the belief that these vacations will satisfy, either completely or partially, various needs and wants. The difference between a need and a want is awareness. Awareness must be accompanied by motivation. Key Points: Internal factors or personal needs "push" people to travel, while external forces or attractions "pull" them to certain destinations. Push factors are the intangible desires that generate within the person. Pull factors are external travel stimulators. Motivations for Travel: 1. Physical Motivators - Related to health, wellness, and physical enjoyment. 2. Cultural Motivators - Desire to know about other people's culture and way of life. 3. Interpersonal Motivators - Desire to meet other people, visit friends or relatives, escape from routine, and family/neighbors. 4. Status and Prestige Motivators - Related to self-fulfillment achieved through travel, including personal development. Travel as a Means to Satisfy Needs and Wants Tourists take vacations in the belief that these vacations will satisfy, either completely or partially, various needs and wants. Needs and Motives in Tourism Literature: Need Motive Tourism Literature References Physiological Relaxation Escape, Relaxation, Relief of tension, Sunlust, Physical, Mental relaxation of tension Safety/Security Health, Keep oneself active and healthy for the future Recreation Social Love and Family togetherness, Enhancement of kinship Affection relationship, Companionship, Facilitation of social interaction, Maintenance of personalities, Interpersonal relations, Ethnic roots, Show one's affection for family members, Maintain social contacts Self-Esteem Achievements, Convince oneself of one's achievements, Shows one's Status importance to others, Prestige, Social recognition, Ego enhancements, Professional/business Self-Actualizati Personal - on Fulfillment Relationship of Needs, Wants, and Motives The difference between a need and a want is awareness. Awareness must be accompanied by motivation. Push/Pull Model: Internal factors or personal needs "push" people to travel. External forces or attractions "pull" them to certain destinations. Reasons for Travel 1. The Need for Escape or Change: The greatest reason for travel can be summed up in one word, "escape" - escape from the dull daily routine. Travel can provide diversity and remove a person from familiar surroundings to something new and exciting. 2. Travel for Health: Developments in the field of medicine have influenced travel for centuries. The search for health and long life has popularized spas, seaside resorts, and sun resorts. 3. Sports: Interest in sport, either as a participant or a spectator. 4. Social Contacts: People need contact and communication with others. 5. Status and Prestige: Travel provides the means for ego and self-enhancement. 6. Personal Values: People are urged to travel to satisfy personal values, such as the search for spiritual experience, patriotism, and wholesomeness. 7. Cultural Experience: Cross-cultural exchanges, experiencing how other people live, and fostering international understanding are some of the reasons to satisfy curiosity about other cultures, lifestyles, and places. 8. Shopping and Bargain Hunting: To many people, the joys derived from buying certain goods may be the major reason for travel. 9. Professional and Business Motives: Conferences and conventions about education, commerce, and industry increase annually. However, a great portion of business travel is mixed with pleasure. 10. Search for Natural Beauty: Travel can satisfy one's search for beauty in the environment and in the scenery. Natural beauty such as sunsets, mountains, waterfalls, and beaches inspires most people to travel. Types of Travelers 1. Regular Business Travelers: ○ Described as well-educated, rich, have high-level jobs, and tend to fly often. ○ The cost of their trip is shouldered by a company; hence, travel is not influenced by personal income. 2. Business Travelers Attending Meetings, Conventions, and Congresses: ○ A regular formalized meeting of an association or body or a meeting sponsored by an association or body on a regular or ad hoc basis. 3. Incentive Travelers: ○ Travel given by firms to employees as a reward for some accomplishment or to encourage employees to achieve more than what is required. 4. Pleasure/Personal Travelers:  ○ People traveling for vacation or pleasure. ○ Also called non business travelers and have different spending patterns from business travelers. ○ Surveys have shown that they are better educated, have higher household incomes, and are more likely to have professional and managerial positions, and the majority have families with children. 5. Resort Travelers: ○ Motivated by 3 objectives: (1) to use travel as an educational experience for their children, (2) to do something different, and (3) to use travel to bring the family closer together. 6. The Elderly: ○ Persons in the "50 plus" age bracket are called active affluent or people with the money and the desire to travel extensively. ○ They are generally searching for learning experiences, cultural enrichment, socialization, and activities which lead to self-fulfillment. 7. Singles and Couples: ○ They take their vacations to fulfill their psychological, intellectual, and physical needs by giving them the opportunity to rest, relax, escape the routine pressures of daily living, enjoy the naturalness of life, and to express total freedom. Travel Constraints 1. Lack of Money: The major travel constraint. Less money means less travel. 2. Lack of Time: The desire to travel and financial ability to travel are insufficient if one does not have the time to travel. 3. Lack of Safety and Security: Tourists will not go to destinations that they consider unsafe. 4. Physical Disability: In the form of bad health or physical handicap may keep people at home. 5. Family Commitments: This inhibits travel. Parents with young children find it inconvenient and expensive to go on holiday. 6. Lack of Interest in Travel: This condition may be due to a variety of factors, such as dislike of travel, shyness in meeting people, dislike of changing routine, and many more. 7. Fear: Some people do not want to travel because of fears, fear of flying, fear of the unknown, and some are afraid of the unfamiliar decisions they will have to make while traveling.