Chapter 1

 Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Discuss the factors that motivate people to travel;
• Elucidate the relationship of needs, wants and motives to tourist motivation;
• Describe the push/pull model;
• Explain the relation between Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the travel motivations listed in
travel literature;
• Describe the characteristics of psychocentric and allocentric;
• Identify the characteristics of travelers based on purpose of travel; and
• Analyze the travel constraints.
The Psychology of Tourism
A. Motivation for Travel
Several studies on tourist motivations have listed various reasons why people travel. Some of
the motivations listed in travel literature are:
1. Escape; 12. self discovery;
2. Relaxation; 13. cultural;
3. relief of tension; 14. education;
4. Physical; 15.professional/business;
5. Health; 16. interest in foreign areas; and
scenery
6. Family togetherness;
7. Interpersonal relations;
8. Roots or ethnic;
9. Maintaining social contacts;
10. Status and prestige;
11. Convincing oneself of one’s achievement;
 Basic Travel motivators can be divided into four classes:

1. Physical motivators – include those related to physical rest, sports participation, beach
recreation, relaxing entertainment, and other motivations directly connected with
health;
2. Cultural motivators – include the desire to know about other countries their music, art,
folklore, dances, dances, paintings, and religion.
3. Interpersonal motivators – pertain to the desire to meet other people, visit friends or
relatives, escape from routine, from family, and neighbors.
4. Status and prestige motivators – concern ego needs and personal development. Included
in this group are trips related to business, conventions, study, and pursuit of hobbies and
education.
B. Travel as Means to Satisfy a Needs and Wants
The key to understand tourist motivation is to view vacation travel as a vehicle to
satisfy one’s need s and wants. Tourist do not go on vacations just to relax and have fun , to
experience another culture, or to educate themselves and their children, they take vacations
in the belief that these vacations will satisfy, either completely or partially, various needs
and wants.
C. Relationship of Needs, Wants, and Motives
The difference between a need and a want is awareness. It is duty of people involved
in marketing to convert needs into wants by making the individual aware of his need
deficiencies. This awareness must be accompanied by motivation. A motive enables a
person to do something . Motivation occurs when an individual wants to satisfy a need .
Push/Pull Model:
The push /pull model explains the push and pull forces in human motivation. According
to the push/pull model. Internal factors or personal needs “push” people to travel, while
external forces or attractions “pull” them to certain destinations. Much travel is motivated by
both push and pull factors.
Maslow’s Theory of Motivation and Travel Motivations:
A study of travel motivation found in travel literature indicates that these motivations fit
into the hierarchy of needs model of Abraham Malow, a famous psychologist Maslow proposed the
following hierarchy of needs as determinants of behavior:
1. Physiological Needs – hunger, thirst, rest, activity;
2. Safety needs – safe and security, freedom from fear and anxiety;
3. Social needs – love, affection. Giving and receiving;
4. Self-esteem – self respect and esteem from others; and
5. Self-actualization – personal self-fullfilment.
 Tourist Motivations:
A. The Need for Escape or Change
The greatest reason for travel can be summed up I a word, ‘escape’-escape from the
dull daily routine, escape from the familiar, the commonplace, the ordinary escape from the
job, the boss, the costumer, the house, and the accelerated pace of modem life.
B. Travel for Health
Development in the field of medicine has influenced travel to centuries, giving rise to
the concept of health tourism. The search for health and long life has popularized spas, seaside
resorts, as well as sun resorts. Majority of people think of vacationing as a mean of regaining
one’s energy, interest, and the enthusiasm for the job.
C. Sports
Interest in sports either as a participant or a spectator , is attracting large segments of
the population. People demand activity and excitement during their leisure hours to relieve
them from the boredom of their work. They indulge in activities, such as hiking, surfing,scuba
diving, mountaineering, and skiing.
D. Social Contact
Much travel grows out of the social nature of people. Human beings are social animals.
They need contact and communication with others. They feel comfortable in a tour group. The
traveler may develop friendships that may last for years. Some tour groups have reunions after
the tour took place.
E. Status and Prestige
Travel provides the means for ego and self-enhancement. Travel to a poor country can
provide the traveler with a feeling of superiority. Travel can also provide a means of mingling with
the wealthy and social elite.
F. Travel for Education
The search for knowledge and truth is inherent in every individual. Travel offers an
opportunity to satisfy the urge to learn. Once an interest has been developed in a destination
area, the urge to see that area emerges, and the interest grows as knowledge increases.
G. Personal Values
The notion of personal values is an important travel motivator. Many people are urged to
travel to satisfy personal values, such as the search for spiritual experience, patriotism, and
wholesomeness.
H. Cultural Experience
Cross-cultural exchanges, experiencing how other people live, and fostering inter
national understanding are some of the reason to satisfy curiosity about other cultures, Lifestyle,
and places.
I. Shopping and Bargain Hunting
To many people, the joys derived from buying certain goods may be the major reason for
travel. Millions of travelers go to Hongkong, Singapore, and other tax-free port to shop.
J. Professional and Business Motives
A great number of people travel from professional and business motives. Conferences and
conventional about education, commerce, and industry increase annually.
K. Search for Natural Beauty
Travel can satisfy one's search for beauty in the environment and in the scenery. . Natural
beauty such as the sunset, trees, mountains, waterfalls, flowers etc is usually pleasurable to the
viewer.
 Classification of Travelers Based on Purpose of Travel
The two major classifications of travelers based on travel purpose are the business travelers and
the pleasure/personal travelers.
A. Business Travelers
Majority of travelers in most developed countries such as the United States, Canada, and the
United Kingdom are business travelers. They are divided into three categories, namely:
1. regular business travelers;
2. Business travelers attending meetings, conventions, and congress, and
3. Incentive travelers;
Regular Business Travelers
Among business travelers, the cost of the trip is shouldered by a company; hence, travel is not
influenced by personal income. The volume and rate of growth of business travel is not greatly affected by
the cost of travel. This means that business travelers will continue even if the price of travel services
increases.
There are major differences between male and female business travelers.
4. Women business travelers are slightly younger;
5. They tend to stay longer at their destinations;
3. They are more apt to be unmarried than males;
4. They are more like to attend a meeting or convention;
5. They are more likely to book through a travel agent
6. They have a greater preference for downtown accommodation facilities closer to work; and
7. They are more concerned with security aspects of accommodation facilities.

Business travelers Attending Meetings, conventions, Congresses

According to pulse surveys indicate that 20% of all business travel trips are for the purpose of
attending meetings, conventions, and congress. A congress, convention, or conference is a regular formalized
meeting of associations or body of meeting sponsored by an association or body of a regular or ad hoc basis.
Incentive Travelers
Incentive travel is a special type of business travel. It is travel given by firm to employees as a reward
for some accomplishment or to encourage employees to achieve more than what is required. Incentive trips
have risen sharply according to the Society of Incentive Travel Executive (SITE).
the increasing popularity of incentive travel has led to the establishment of incentive travel
organizations. They negotiate with suppliers such as hotels and airlines to determine the cost of incentive
travel trips.
 Corporations usually have the following objectives in buying incentive travel trips:
1. Increases overall sales volumes;
2. Sell new accounts;
3. Improve morale and goodwill;
4. Introduce new products;
5. Offset competitive promotions;
6. Help in sales training;
7. Sell slow items; and
8. Obtain more store displays and support consumer promotions.
B. Pleasure/Personal Travelers
This group consist of people traveling for vacation or pleasure, they are also called nonbusiness
travelers. Experience and research have shown that business travelers have different spending patterns from
business travelers. In general, the demand for travel services by nonbusiness levels travelers is elastic with
respect to price.
Traveler for pleasure is the largest segment of the international market and the fastest growing. The
reasons for the growth are the rising income levels in developed countries, urbanization, higher educational
levels, increase in leisure time, and the length of paid holidays.
 Travel Constraints
The main constraints to travel are:
 Lack of Money
Lack of money is the major travel constraints. Less money means less travel. The wealthy
members of society are the one who travel most. People with no more disposable income will be able to
travel more than those who just earn enough o live on.
 Lack of time
Lack of time is another inhibiting factor to tourist travel. The desire to travel and the financial
ability to travel are insufficient if one does not have the time to travel. A combination of time and money
must be present for travel and tourism to take place.
 Lack of Safety and Security
Lack of safety and security in public places, hotels, and travel centers cause people to prefer to
remain in the security of their neighborhood and home. Areas may acquire reputation of being dangerous
and thus become less desirable travel destinations as what has happened in the Philippines.
 Physical disability
in the form of bad health of physical handicap may keep people at home. Elderly who are more
susceptible to illnesses, travel less.
 Family Commitments
Family commitments inhibit travel. Parents with young children find it inconvenient and
expensive to go on holiday. During the child-rearing period, family obligations increases significantly for a
women to a similar but lesser degree, for men.
 Lack of Interest in Travel
This is mainly due to a preference to simply stay at home. This condition may be due to a
variety of factors, such ad dislike of travel, shyness in meeting people, dislike of changing routine, and
many more.
 Fears
Some people do not want to travel because of fears of travel. Fear of flying is quite common and
accounts for many people who insist on driving to a vacation area instead of boarding a plane. Fear of the
unknown keeps many people from leaving their own country or even their own city. Many travelers are
afraid to go to other countries where they cannot understand the language. All these fears are deterrent
to travels.

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