Travel motives Motivation to travel

Entrepreneurs, operators and managers of the sports tourism and culture industry, without question, appreciate knowing what motivates their consumers. Unfortunately, many consumers are not fully aware of their motives. Oftentimes, the subconscious mind dulls or submerges one’s desires, urges, feelings and emotions. As such, motives and desires may be difficult to identify. Motivation is a force within an individual which causes him or her to do something to fulfil a biological need or psychological desire. These drives cause and regulate behaviour directed towards achieving goals. They do operate independently.

Yet on occasion, both could be simultaneously or concurrently satisfied as in the case of a ski resort where skiing is combined with socialization. Motivation to travel or to participate in some form of sport, tourism, culture might also be defined as that set of needs and attitudes which predispose a person to act in a specific goal-directed manner. Here, attitudes could be interpreted as overall tendencies to respond positively or negatively to particular people, objects, situations or milieu in a way that is learned through experience and made-up feeling.

And motives, on the other hand, could be described as a state of tension and complex disposition
controlling behaviour towards travel goals. Nevertheless, motives do have direction, momentum and intensity. Consumer motives determine what people want to do or want to have and the extent to which they want to do it or have it. When consumers see, feel or conceive a connection between their needs and the product or service offered, incentives to follow-up and develop. Evidently, the greater the need, the greater the incentive. And this need incentive correlation is induced through direct or indirect methods or approaches directly based on promotions and advertising primarily; and indirectly on personal consumer experiences.

However, consumers do evaluate their incentives in terms of value for money and experiences to be gained or relived. The value results improve consumer motivation and legitimatize their desires and worthiness of the sports tourism cultural endeavour. In fact, both short and long term motivation usually guide a traveller’s behaviour. A weekend sports festival experience may incite a sport tourist to return the following year - a short term motivation.

Long term motivation for high mountain climbing would include practice on lesser peak summits and intense preparatory sessions. For sports culture tourism, degree of consumer values dictate goals and strategies for reaching desired leisure pursuits. Personality Parameters were identified reflecting on core consumer values, that have transferable applicability to sports, tourism and culture.