chapter 11 why do people take vacations?

The Tourism System 6th edition Kendall Hunt Publishing Company

Chapter 11 Why Do People Take Vacations?

Robert C Mill and Alastair M Morrison © 2013 1

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Chapter 11

Why Do People Take Vacations?

Photos courtesy of Tourism Malaysia

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Contents Explores the underlying reasons behind why people

travel. Examines people’s personal drives or motivations for

traveling.





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Purpose Based upon an understanding of what motivates people to travel, students will be able to suggest vacation products and communications that will appeal to tourists’ needs and wants.


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Learning Objective 1: Motivation and Travel as a Need-Want Satisfier Realize that the key to understanding why people travel is to view travel as a satisfier of needs and wants.





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Why do people take vactions? Importance of Motivation Five Classes of Tourist Motives (Bansal and Eiselt, 2004) Climate/atmosphere/environment Relaxation/having a good time Adventure/something new/novelty/curiosity/a desire

to experience something firsthand Personal reasons, including VFR and prestige Educational, including seeing other cultures, how

others live, particular sights


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Importance of Motivation Ideal American Vacation: 8 Motivational Groups (Cook and Hopkins, 2007) Experientials Family focused Casual travelers Trail blazers Reconnectors Affluentials Back to basics Quintessential travelers





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Importance of Motivation Leisure tourists can be divided into many categories Tourists seek balance:

Familiarity-strangeness Stimulation-tranquility Structure-independence


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The Importance of Motivation Approaches to Motivational Understanding Insufficient Visitors themselves may be unaware of the true

reasons behind their travel behavior. A person may not wish to divulge the real reason or

motivation behind the trip. Such motivational lists focus on selling the product, the

stated reason for the trip, rather than on satisfying the needs of the market.





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The Importance of Motivation Push and Pull Factors (Dann, 1977) Push factors: internal to the individual: Create the desire for travel Aimed at satisfying various psychological needs

Pull factors: external to the individual: Stress benefits of particular destinations Determine where, when, and how the person vacations

Push factors must be present before pull factors can be effective

Vary by culture


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The Importance of Motivation Push and Pull Factors (You, O’Leary, Morrison, Hong, 2000) Most important pull factors (UK travelers): Safety; seeing

people from a number of ethnic backgrounds or nationalities; standards of hygiene and cleanliness)

Most important pull factors (Japanese travelers): Outstanding scenery; historical or archaeological buildings and places; nice weather).

UK travelers placed more importance on these push factors than Japanese: Knowledge enhancement about places, people, and things; getting away from the demands of home; being together as a family; escaping from the ordinary; finding thrills and excitement.





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Learning Objective 2: Role of Marketers in Motivating Travel Explain, and give appropriate examples of, the role of travel marketers in motivating people to take vacations.


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Travel as a Need/Want Satisfier A Model of Buyer Behavior Vacation travel satisfies needs and wants Viewing travel this way is essential A model of buyer behavior:

Internal stimuli causes the buyer to seek to travel External stimuli inform the buyer about her choices Travel is likely if the buyer decides the destination

fits her needs and wants





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A Model of Buyer Behavior


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Needs, Wants and Motives The buyer experiences certain needs If the buyer is aware of the needs and seeks to satisfy

them, then they are wants A buyer may have needs and wants, but nothing will

happen until he is motivated An objective must present itself Motives can be specific or general





© 2013 Photos courtesy of Tourism Malaysia

Needs Wants awareness

Objectives

Marketing

creates

satisfy

suggest

Motivation

Needs, Wants, and Motives

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Maslow’s Need Theory and Travel Motivations Survival Safety Belonging/love Esteem Self-actualization

Before the last can be satisfied, the first need must be met





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Fakeye and Crompton’s Travel Motives Escape from personal, physical, and social problems Social contacts Physical self and intellectual enrichment Family togetherness and curiosity Temperature, exploration, and security


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Beach and Ragheb’s Components of Motivation Intellectual component:

Exploring, learning, thought Social component:

Relationships, friendship Competence-mastery component:

Mastery, achievement, competition Stimulus-avoidance component:

Solitude, rest, relaxation





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Vacations: Active, Passive and Health-oriented Active vacationers relieves tension through physical

activity. Passive vacationers relax by lying on beaches and

decompressing. Health-oriented vacationers are interested in being

safe and taking care of the body and mind: Sun – can cause cancer Sex – spread of HIV makes known sex-tourism

spots like Thailand less appealing


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VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) First-generation travelers:

Spend less, stay with friends or relatives Later-generation travelers:

Less likely to stay with friends, relatives Spend more to maintain the creature comforts they

are used to in their home countries More likely to take tours and want to “journey to

their roots”





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Self-esteem and Self-actualization Self-esteem depends on accomplishments and the

esteem received from others. Self-actualization:

Considered the end goal of leisure Leisure time offers the chance for introspection Visiting unfamiliar cultures brings the self to the

fore Visiting the wilderness does the same


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The Need to Escape Considered by some authors as the primary force

behind the decision to travel. Buyers want to escape, but they also desire

psychological rewards. Promoting getaway/escape vacations would be a good

way to trigger the desire to travel.





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Product-Driven vs. Consumer-Driven Approaches: Yukon Example (Cameron, 1992)


PRODUCT DRIVEN

ATTRIBUTES Wilderness History BENEFITS Get away Learn Connect with nature

VALUES Discover yourself Explore and grow

CONSUMER DRIVEN

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Iso-Ahola’s Escaping and Seeking Dimensions of Leisure Motivation


Escaping personal environments

Seeking personal rewards

Escaping interpersonal environments

Seeking interpersonal environments




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Pearce’s Travel Career Ladder As a person’s travel career progresses, she moves

through these five stages: Relaxation Stimulation Relationship Self-esteem and development Fulfillment


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Pearce’s Travel Career Ladder





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Why Travel? The buyer will take the vacation if he perceives that it

will satisfy a need important to him. The buyer will also travel if he has learned that it will

satisfy a particular need. Must be within limits of individual’s external

environment.


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Learning Objective 4: Influence of Past Vacation Experiences on Future Vacation Decisions Describe how past vacation experiences influence future vacation decisions.





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Tourist’s Learning Process The tourist learns from vacations what types of

traveling are most satisfying to her. There is a low upper limit on alternate destinations:

Tourists who have traveled internationally generally have more alternate destinations

The more satisfied a tourist is, the fewer alternate destinations they will consider for their next trip

Tourists also learn the qualities that satisfy them, and seek them when planning future trips.

However, the things that satisfy a tourist can change over time.


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Tourist’s Learning Process





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Consistency Versus Complexity People generally seek to maintain consistency in their

lives. Complexity, however, adds satisfying change. Too much consistency can lead to boredom. Tourists tend to balance consistency with complexity

for an experience that is comfortable and exhilarating.


THE TOURISM SYSTEM

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Chapter 11

Chapter Summary Highlights

People are motivated to satisfy needs that may be innate or learned. Marketing’s task is to make people aware of their needs and present them

with an objective, the purchase or attainment of which will help satisfy that need.

Individuals will purchase a vacation to satisfy a need or needs if they perceive that the vacation will satisfy needs considered important, or if they have learned that a vacation will satisfy those needs under the constraints of external factors such as time, money, and social pressure.
