tourist travel motivation

Motivation for Travel | Theory: Plog, Maslow, Hudman, Krippendorf, Nickerson, General Theory

• Post last modified: 13 January 2023
• Reading time: 33 mins read
• Post category: Tourism

What is Motivation for Travel?

Travelers are motivated to satisfy a need, and they have a perception of what will satisfy their needs. At the same time, travelers have a perception of the attractions of the destination and whether the attractions satisfy their needs. If both sides are agreed, travelers are motivated to visit that destination.

Table of Content

• 1 What is Motivation for Travel?
• 2 Travel Motivations
• 3.1 Economic Capacity
• 3.2 Spare Time
• 3.3 Psychological Factors
• 3.4 Group, Family and Social Atmosphere
• 3.5 Relaxation and Health
• 3.6 Exploration and Risk-Taking
• 3.7 Spirit and the Appreciation of Beauty
• 3.8 Social Interaction
• 3.9 Business Affairs and Official Matters
• 3.10 Family Responsibilities
• 4 Plog Theory
• 5.1 Psychological Needs
• 5.2 Safety Needs
• 5.3 Personal Interaction Needs
• 5.4 Esteem Needs
• 5.5 Self Actualization Needs
• 6.3 Pleasure
• 6.4 Religious and Spiritual Appreciation
• 6.5 Professional and Business
• 6.6 Friends and Relatives
• 6.7 Roots Syndrome
• 7.1 Recuperation and Regeneration
• 7.2 Compensation and Social Integration
• 7.4 Communication
• 7.5 Broadening of the Mind
• 7.6 Freedom and Self-Determination
• 7.7 Self Realization
• 7.8 Happiness
• 8.1 Physiological Needs
• 8.2 Safety Needs
• 8.3 Personal Interaction Needs
• 8.4 Esteem Needs
• 8.5 Self Actualization Needs
• 9.1 Travel Personality
• 9.2 General Personality

The Definition of “Motivation” A motivation is a wish that prompts people to take action, work hard to achieve a goal, and satisfy a certain kind of need. For example, when a person is hungry and there is a need to appease his or her hunger, a motivation to search for food is formed.

Therefore, people’s activities of all kinds are driven by their motivations, and they govern people’s actions.

Travel Motivations

• Why do we go travelling?
• Why do we choose to travel to a certain place?
• Why do we participate in a certain travel activity?

These are essentially questions about tourists’ travel motivations. Travel motivations directly spur people’s travel activities.

A travel motivation is the psychological need of a person to participate in travel activities, and this kind of need will directly promote travel motivation; if you have motivation, a travel action will result.

However, in real life, the process from the formation of a travel motivation to the occurrence of an actual journey, action is a complex one.

During this process, when people have a need to travel, they must also have corresponding individual factors and external environmental conditions, such as physical fitness, financial status, weather and transport, etc Factors that Influence Individual Travel Motivations

10 Motivation for Travel

These are the motivation for travel which discussed below:

Economic Capacity

Psychological factors, group, family and social atmosphere, relaxation and health, exploration and risk-taking, spirit and the appreciation of beauty, social interaction, business affairs and official matters, family responsibilities.

Economic capacity is the basis on which all needs are formed. Because travel is a kind of consumer behavior, the ability to pay the various types of charges involved is of course necessary. When a person’s economic income can only support his or her basic living needs, he or she will not form a motivation to go traveling.

As an economy develops, in countries and regions where citizens’ income increases, the tourism industry becomes more developed, and the number of people who go traveling climbs, or drops when the opposite applies.

Spare time refers to the time that people can freely allocate to taking part in pastimes and entertainment or anything else they enjoy participating in after their daily work, study, living, and other compulsory time commitments.

Therefore, spare time is an important condition for the realization of travel activities. In developed countries, labor protection laws are relatively strong and workers have statutory holidays, both of which ensure that people can form travel motivations.

Travel motivations are a form of individual psychological activity and are inevitably influenced by various aspects such as individual interests, hobbies, profession, attitude to life, understanding of the surrounding environment, level of education, and family.

Social Factors that Influence Travel Motivations. It is only when the economy of a country or region is developed that it will have enough resources to improve and construct travel facilities, develop tourist attractions and promote transport development.

Road transport facilities, accommodation, catering, and service standards at a destination are important factors in the tourists’ choice of destination, and also affect their formation of travel motivations to a large degree, especially for tourists with relatively high hospitality expectations.

Group or social pressure can also influence people’s travel motivations. For example, travel activities organized by enterprises, or travel awards, etc. encourage people to form their own travel motivations involuntarily, and travel activities subsequently take place.

Social surroundings can also influence people’s travel motivations. Colleagues, friends, and relatives travel behavior and travel experiences can always influence others, or lead to the formation of comparative psychology, making people form identical travel motivations, and leading to the formation of a kind of imitative travel behavior.

People who have stressful or monotonous daily lives or work participate in travel activities such as relaxing travel and recuperation holidays in order to relax and loosen up, as well as keeping healthy and finding entertainment.

For example, natural scenery, historical monuments, parks, the seaside, hot springs recuperation areas, etc., are all tourist choices for this type of travel motivation.

Travelers who are curious, knowledgeable, and adventurous, such as the Himalayas climbing parties and North Pole explorers.

For travelers with this kind of motivation, their travel activities are mainly directed at distinctive, beautiful things and phenomena in the natural world, as well as to visiting museums, exhibition halls, and famous tourist attractions, and participating in various types of theme-based travel activities, etc.

People all go traveling to meet friends and relatives, to find their roots and search for their ancestors, and to get to know new friends, etc.

Travelers in this category require that the personal relationships they maintain in the course of their travels be friendly, cordial, and warm-hearted, and want to care for Religious Faith People who have a religious faith go traveling to participate in religious activities and take part in religious studies, and those who travel driven by religious faith motivations do so mainly to satisfy their own spiritual needs. Religious travel is divided into two categories: pilgrimages, and missionary work.

People go traveling for various types of business and official activities, such as special trips to buy goods or diversions to a certain place to go traveling; business trips to a certain place to take part in academic observation, communicate, etc.

Travel activities participated in by groups, government delegations, and business associations, etc., that go to a certain place for discussions, etc.

Because they are busy at work, people will normally neglect to take care of and look after their family members and friends. For these people, they go traveling to satisfy a responsibility or obligation to their parents, wife or children, or to relax and have fun with friends.

Therefore, every summer, the number of family-based tour groups will increase greatly.

Plog Theory

Based on Plog’s theory, travel motivations are related to a very narrow spectrum of psychographic types:

• Educational and cultural motives to learn and to increase the ability for appreciation, scientific research; trips with expert leaders or lecturers.
• Study of genealogy such as visits to their ancestor’s homeland to trace their root.
• Search for the exotic, such as the North Pole and the South Pole, the Amazon, etc.
• Satisfaction and sense of power and freedom such as anonymity, flying, control, sea travel, fast trains.
• Gambling – Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Monte Carlo, Bahamas, Puerto Rico.
• Development of new friendships in foreign places.
• Sharpening perspectives such as to awaken one’s senses, heighten awareness.
• Political campaigns, supporting candidates, government hearings.
• Vacation or second homes and condominiums Near-Allocentric Motivations.
• Religious pilgrimages or inspiration.
• Participation in sports events and sports activities.
• Travel as a challenge, sometimes a test of endurance such as exploring mountain climbing, hiking, diving.
• Business travel, conference, meeting and conventions.
• Theatre tours, special entertainment.
• A chance to try a new lifestyle Midcentric Motivations.
• Relaxation and pleasure travel just for plain fun and enjoyment.
• Satisfying personal contacts with friends and relatives.
• For health reasons such as to change the climate, sunshine, spas, medical treatment.
• The need for a change for a period of time.
• An opportunity to escape from life’s problems.
• The real or imagined glamour of the destination.
• Appreciation of beauty such as national and state parks, forests, lakes, wilderness areas, canoe trips, ocean shores.
• Sensual indulgence such as food, comforts, luxuries for the body, romance, sexual.
• Enjoyment, rest, relaxation.
• Shopping such as souvenirs, gifts, expensive possessions like cameras, jewels, furs, cars, antiques, art.
• Joys of transportation – cruise ships, gourmet meals, buffets, comfortable trains, buses, airplanes, autos.
• Pleasure of pre- and post-travel includes planning the trip, anticipation, learning, dreaming. family or personal matters.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow (1971) distinguished five different levels of psychological needs ranging from physiological needs to self-actualization. According to his theory, the satisfaction of people’s basic needs is a prerequisite for the satisfaction of the higher needs.

Maslow argues that all behavior is motivated by psychological needs, for behavior serves to fulfill those needs physiological needs:

Psychological Needs

Safety needs, personal interaction needs, esteem needs, self actualization needs.

These are needs required by humans to sustain their existence and prolong their lives and are the minimum basic needs, including needs relating to food, water, oxygen, sleep, a place to live and warmth, as well as clothing, food, shelter, mobility, sex, and other psychological functions.

If these needs cannot be fulfilled, human existence becomes a problem.

These are needs that represent human desires to protect their own bodies and minds from injury and to guarantee safety and stability. For example, needs relating to health, a safe and orderly environment, a stable career, and the avoidance of unforeseen accidents.

When a person’s physiological needs have been fulfilled, he or she will want to fulfill such safety needs.

Personal interaction needs include the need for love and a sense of belonging. The need for love refers to the fact that people all hope to achieve harmonious relationships with friends and colleagues or to maintain friendships; everyone wants to love others and be loved.

In addition, the need for a sense of belonging refers to the fact that people all want to have a sense of belonging, and want to gain the acceptance of a certain group and to be included and valued by it, as well as for its members to care for and look after each other.

These are human desires to gain other people’s respect, a satisfactory status, due human rights, reputation, and prestige, and to realize a certain social position.

These are human desires for the need to give full play to one’s own potential and to realize one’s own ideas and aspirations, including the seeking of knowledge, the appreciation of beauty, creativity, achievements, etc.

Maslow considered self-realization to be mankind’s highest level of needs, which signify a full, enthusiastic, wholehearted experience of life.

Hudman’s Motivators of Travel

These are some hudman’s motivators of travel theories :

Religious and Spiritual Appreciation

Professional and business, friends and relatives, roots syndrome.

People travel for improving their health. They would go for leisure and medical treatment to relax and entertain themselves. Natural landscapes, historical sites, coastline, spas, and resorts are the destinations of these travelers.

Curiosity People travel because of curiosity, inquisitiveness, and adventure. Politics, culture, public figures, physical features, and disaster would attract these travelers.

People travel for sports to release their pressure and fantasize about being an athlete. Being a spectator could experience the atmosphere of the competition, and have social contributions such as connecting with other audiences and meet new friends.

Vocation relates to pleasure because it could give routine life a break. People would try new things and participate in activities that would make them feel happy, such as visiting art museums, watching operas and gambling, etc.

People travel for spiritual needs. They visit religious headquarters usually because of religious reasons. In this way, they could have a stronger belief in their religion. On the other hand, many travelers gain satisfaction by the appreciation of natural landscapes, art performances, and visiting museums and historical sites.

People travel for business such as scientific expeditions, business meetings, conventions and education.

People travel because they want to visit their friends and relatives; it shows their care of family and friends.

People travel to trace the root of their family or the culture of their homeland. Pedigree research and hometown exploration are the common activities of these travelers.

Many people travel for gaining respect from others and a satisfying social status because one with plenty of travel experience and knowledge of different countries is usually admired by others.

Krippendorff Reasons for Travel

Research on reasons for travel uncovers an endless list of travel motivations. Apparently, people want to ‘switch off, relax’. They want to ‘get away from everyday life, ‘recover strength’ and ‘experience nature’ ( Krippendorff, 1997 ). Krippendorff (1997) distinguishes eight reasons for travel:

Recuperation and Regeneration

Compensation and social integration, communication, broadening of the mind, freedom and self-determination, self realization.

People get tired during working weeks, and use vacations to replenish their ‘bodily and mental strength’.

Tourism compensates for everyday social failure by presenting another world next to everyday dreariness.

Everyday life contains more and more aspects of stress; people want to escape from this.

Traveling abroad gives people a chance to gain human warmth, to establish contact with other people.

People want to satisfy their interests in other cultures and nature.

Tourists are in a position to largely make up their own rules; they are free from any obligations.

An unfamiliar and strange environment offers a great chance for investigating and enhancing the Self.

Vacations are highly associated with joy and pleasure, so happiness becomes a reason for embarking on a holiday trip.

Travel is a complex social action, and tourists use to travel to satisfy their own various needs. At the same time, under the influence of external environmental conditions, motivations always change as the environment changes.

Therefore, the same tourist’s motivations for going on different trips will differ from each other. At the same time, a lot of travel motivations do not just involve one motivation but may include various kinds of motivations.

Nickerson’s Travel Motivations

Furthermore, following the above reasons for travel, tourism seems to serve psychological needs. Nickerson (1996) argues that deep psychological needs are the basic motivators for tourism. She uses Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”, a theory about psychological needs and motivation to describe people’s motivation to travel.

Nickerson applied the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to describe travel motivations as below:

Physiological Needs

This can explain why people go to the seaside or a mountain retreat to avoid the heat; these are all actions required to be performed by certain physiological conditions inside the human body.

To travelers, safety needs are expressed in terms of the safety of people’s life, property, and psychology. They hope that in the course of a journey, no vehicle or boat accidents occur, they don’t get sick, they’re not robbed, they don’t have things stolen, and that they safely complete the entire journey, etc.

They also hope to achieve a psychological feeling of security. For example, they hope there is no political upheaval or war in the country they go to and that social order is sound there, etc.

Although the natural scenery and human cultural landscape of some countries are extremely rich, tourists would lose the motivation to travel there if the country has been involved in a long period of upheaval or war.

Therefore, the need for safety is one of the most important factors that influence people’s travel behavior.

Tourists’ personal interaction needs have diverse characteristics. People who go traveling all want to be able to travel together with close friends, get to make new friends in the course of their journey, understand different cultures and customs through interaction with local people, or enhance their friendships by visiting friends and family.

Therefore, travel is one of the most effective activities for people to make new friends, meet up with old friends around the world, and promote contact between people.

A person who has experience of frequent travel and knows a lot about different countries and regions is often admired and respected by others, which helps to fulfill the need to be respected as an individual.

Travel can involve a search for stimulation, challenging oneself, and acquiring knowledge about new things, and this kind of travel involves expressing one’s own self-value to fulfill self-actualization needs. For example: climbing Mount Everest.

The Push-and Pull Theory In 1977, Dann, a U.S. academic, put forward the push-pull theory of travel motivations. He considered that travel behavior was influenced by both push factors and pull factors. People travel because they are “pushed” into making travel decisions by internal, psychological forces, and “pulled” by the external forces of the destination attributes.

Travel Personality and General Personality Theories

Travel personality, general personality.

As stated before, motivation, opportunity, and ability are not the only determinants of tourist behavior. Personality influences traveling behavior too. For example, people who want to climb Mount Everest, in general, have certain personality traits in common.

Most of those people will have a tendency to sensation seeking, for climbing mountains is performing risky behavior.

The personality dimensions used are commonly used in personality psychology. Therefore it seems relevant to explore a few basic aspects of these theories. Four personality dimensions are used to describe tourists in order to indicate motivations for different types of travel:

• Activation: A guest’s level of excitement, alertness or energy.
• Variety: The need for change or novelty.
• Extraversion or introversion: The extent to which a person is outgoing and uninhibited in interpersonal situations.
• External or internal locus of control: The way people perceive whether or not they themselves are in charge of the happenings in their lives.

Please Share This Share this content

• Opens in a new window X
• Opens in a new window Facebook
• Opens in a new window Pinterest
• Opens in a new window LinkedIn
• Opens in a new window Reddit
• Opens in a new window WhatsApp

You Might Also Like

Tourist places to visit in srinagar (2024), impact of tourism, recreation and leisure: role, facilities, research methods, tourist places to visit in andhra pradesh (2024), what are sectors of tourism accommodation, transportation, intermediaries, rural tourism: types, benefits, challenges, growth, leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Travel Motivation

There is always a motive behind everything happens in this world. Always there is a motivation in doing any work or anything. There are mainly two factors in behind happening anything it may be pull factors or push factors. In tourism, behind the movement of tourist there are various motives, it may may be leisure, business, pilgrimage or any other.

As we know tourism is a people centric and one of the fastest growing industry. Assessing behavior and motivations of tourist is a critical task as travel decisions of tourist depends on it. Travel has been a nomadic urge in human earlier in quest of food. As humanity grows desire for shelter came into being and with the rises of civilization search of trade bundles with safety and security. The game changing moment for mass tourism comes with the rise of leisure time. Assessing motivations of tourist is a critical task as travel decisions of tourist depends on it.

Motivation is an intrinsic property of a human-being that arises from the inside or of psychological origin. A combination of internal and external forces that motivates to drive the tourism industry. To satisfy all the levels of needs such psychological, physiological, etc. humans travels. It tells of tourist attempt to satisfy their recognized need and strongly influence decisions made by tourist in every steps of decision. Various theories have been developed to reveal the most important question why people travel?

The answer to this question is influenced by the nature of the travel motives.

4.  Types of Motivation  

Motivation can be classified into categories:  

1.  Intrinsic Motivation:  

this type of motivation comes from the inside through the core of the heart and mind of the tourist to do any specific work. t is defined as the performing of an activity for its intrinsic motivation that emerges from an individual’s inherent satisfactions, enjoyment, challenge entailed, interest or the feeling of inner pleasure that drives from the task rather than for some external pressures, or rewards or any separable consequence.

2. Extrinsic Motivation:  

  All the external factors which tends and individual to do any specific work. Individuals performs certain activities in order to attain or receive something from the outcomes. It involves executing an action influenced by the outer stimuli, to attain an external reinforcements or rewards from others such as money, praise, status etc.

Travel Motivation Theories

The tourist selecting to travel for business, leisure, pilgrimage, adventure or for other reasons, depends on motivation to visit destination. There are some common factors influencing tourist travel decisions such as 

•      Availability free time

•      Disposable income

•      Age and status

•      Attractiveness of destinations

A. Gray’s Travel-Motivation Theory .

 Gray explains the motivation of individual and given two motives for travel:

Wanderlust:   

It describes the motive or the desire to go from a known to an unknown place. It is travelling from or leaving a familiar places to go and see different or unfamiliar places. It is about going to different destinations to experience monumental and socio-cultural heritage.

It is a type of travel to a destination that can provide the tourist with specific facilities or better amenities. It is travelling for particular purpose or facilities that are not available in place of residence of the tourist.

B. McIntosh and Goeldner Categorization of Travel Motivation 

McIntosh has stated that basic travel motivators may be grouped into four broad categories:  

1. Physical Motivators 

These types of motivation are concerned with the individual physical health and well-being involves physical relaxation and rest, sporting activities, medical care or treatment and specific remedial health management. It include physical motivators that are concern with health from recreation to attending yoga camp to medical treatment for upkeep of health. 

2.Interpersonal Motivators   

Human are social animal and always keen to make new friends, have a desire to visit and meet relatives and friends, or simply want to escape from the daily hassles of everyday life. These type of motivators are termed as interpersonal motivators.

3.Cultural Motivators

Cultural motivators are describe as curiosity that tourists have and want to experience different people’s cultures and lifestyle. These are related with tourists desire to travel to different destination, in order to know about other countries, people, their culture, tradition, life style, art, music etc.

4.Status and Prestige Motivators    

Tourists travel to secure respect among their friends or in family and recognition of education and knowledge or for pursuit of hobbies. These types of motivators are identified with the need for fame and status or of personal esteem and personal development. It also include travel for business or professional interests. 

C. Anomie and Ego Enhancement Motivation Theory

            Dann investigated two push factors and proposes that motivational factors can be grouped into anomie and ego enhancement. 

Anomie refers to the need and desire to rise above the feeling of loneliness and quarantine inherent in everyday life and to get away from daily hassles. It is associated with search for life’s meaning and interaction with family and friends and social communication. The anomic tourists are mainly young, married, male mostly repeat visitors. They are from urban and rural areas and are above-average socio-economic status.

2.Ego enhancement  

Ego-enhancement tourists are the opposite end of spectrum. It derived from desire and need for recognition. The individual’s desire and need for social recognition is mainly associated with it and is achieved through the status or ego enhance conferred by travel. Ego-enhancement tourists are likely to be female, married or single mostly first-time visitors. They are older than anomic tourists and typically from lower socio-economic group. 

Dann argues that push factors are logically, and often an antecedent to pull factors. The question that  ‘what makes tourists travel’  can only be recognized through the push factors. As the tourist to take two different difficult decisions at two diverse times i.e. “whether to go” and “where to go”. 

D. Push and Pull Theory

Crompton identified two different levels of socio-psychological motivation. The first level of motivation is the desire to travel, that drives the initial decision for a trip or a vacation. It subsequently facilitates individual’s decision for destination. The second level of motivation drives the decision of selection of destinations. After the initial decision for making a trip, various motivation factors comes into being that impact the selection of destination. Crompton proposes two groups of motives among pleasure vacationers, one that push for a trip or tour are socio-psychological motives, while another factors that pull are cultural motives. 

1.Push Factors.   

Push factors are those factors which motivate people to travel. Push factors are initiating travel desire of an individual to engage in recreational activities or tourism. .Push factors are the inner motives which tends tourists to seek activities for needs fulfillment. Some push factors of travelling are:

•      Exploration and evaluation of self.

•      Escape from a perceived mundane environment.

•      Relaxation.

•      Health and fitness.

•      Re-experiencing family.

•      Facilitation of social interaction.

•      Enhancement of kinship relationships.

•      Novelty.

•      Cultural experiences.

•      Education.

•      Prestige.

2.Pull Factors 

All the external factors that pulls or attracts and individual towards some specific things or any destination. Pull factors appear due to the attractiveness and the attributes associated with the destination. It is related to the external condition, cognitive aspects or choices available on a destination such as attractions, climate, culture etc. Everyone has unique taste and choices which attract or pull individuals experience the destination. Identifying a set of pull factors that can be applicable to all sites is possible as different destinations have different or unique set of pull factors. 

Pull factors were characterized by  facilities ,  core attractions  and  landscape features .

•      The  facilities factor  encompasses all tourism facilities of a destination including fooding, lodging, roads, hospitality and security. 

•      The  core attractions  factor includes all those activities and services available for tourism. It includes sports activities, night life, entertainment and amusement and shopping facilities. 

•      The  landscape features  pull factor strongly relates to the geographical and sociocultural features of destination i.e. natural and cultural environment of destination. 

E. Escaping and Seeking Motivation of Mannell and Iso-Ahola

Mannell and Iso-Ahola   defined the motivation in socio psychological perspective. A two-dimensional model of tourist motivation where both the forces simultaneously influence tourists’ behaviour. The theory consists of both personal and interpersonal escape & seeking motives together. An individual perceive that satisfaction can be feel from leisure related activities, for two major reasons 

Escaping  – the desire to get out from the monotonous environment of work.

Seeking  – the aspiration to get intrinsic psychological rewards from other or self through traveling 

Tourist are motivated for leisure or tourism related activities in order to get away from the personal and/or interpersonal problems of day to day hustle and bustle of life and get personal and/or interpersonal rewards from passive and active tourism activities.

Personal rewards  are more about individual satisfaction includes exploration and relaxation; learning, challenge, a sense of competence etc.

Interpersonal rewards  are arising from social interaction with family and friends or with other people in destination.

Intrinsic rewards  arise from the activity that provide certain feelings, such as a feeling of mastery and escape from the monotonous environment. 

F. Travel Career Ladder (TCL)

The travel career ladder approach was proposed by Pearce. The approach is based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory of motivation. 

Following Maslow theory, the proposed model sees the needs of travelers is organized into a hierarchy or ladder model. Biological needs including relaxation at the foundation level, followed by safety needs and relationships needs, and in line selfesteem and development needs, and fulfillment needs at the highest level.  

The model identified five steps of hierarchy affecting tourist behaviour. It suggests that a group of needs in the ladder steps or level can be dominant at a particular time but travel motivation of tourist may derive from the different level of ladder. It emphasizes all the motives for traveling of a tourist, rather than a single motive. TCL proposes that every individual or tourist headway upward through hierarchy levels with accumulated travel experience and psychologically maturity. 

This shows that travel motivation changes as tourist acquire experiences in tourism developmental and dynamic motivations process. An individual can descend or ascend on the ladder as the direction of the change in level may vary with the experience. Some individuals may undergo every steps or level on either side of the model or may ascend the ladder on one side of the schema. Each individual every time not seek the similar type of experience or fulfillment from travel.  For example: First time visitor may be more cautious of safety and security then repeat visitor due more knowledge and experience about the destination or of trip. 

G. Travel Career Pattern (TCP)

The TCP model is modification of the earlier Travel Career Ladder (TCL) approach. The TCP emphasis on motivations patterns of tourist over their life cycle because of different motivation and its impact on their travelling experience. Travel experience plays a driver role for changing travel motivations which has crucial part in

TCP model. Travel experience is the collective changes in an individual’s perspective about self and environment due to tourism activities and events that individual passes through in course of travelling. 

Pearce suggested three layers of travel motivation:

Layer 1-  It is the core of the TCP and includes common motives such as escape, relaxation, health and fitness, social interaction etc. 

Layer 2-  It comprises series of moderately important motivators that surround core layer of motivations. It related to self-actualization and interaction of guest with the host society and environment. 

Layer 3-  The outer layer of model embraces motives with lesser importance such as social status and nostalgia.

You Might Also Like

Dark Tourism

Holy Fairs, Festivals, Rivers & Traditions

Tour Commentary

Travel motives

Understanding tourists travel motives is crucial in several respects. Partly for tourism business owners who need to understand which needs their experiences should fulfil for tourists, but also for the various authorities planning for tourism development. It can also explain tourists’ (unsustainable or sustainable) behaviour on holiday and make it possible to counteract or encourage that behaviour. 

It’s important to clarify the definition of travel motive, especially in relation to the purpose of the journey. Motive isn’t the same thing as purpose. Motives are the underlying psychological reasons why we travel, and are often not openly taken into account, unlike the purpose of the trip. They reflect the needs of the individual and can often be hard to put into words.

One example: The purpose of my last trip to Stockholm was to meet friends and acquaintances as well as go to a music event. Those were my desired experiences and the purpose of the trip. Motive explains why we want to travel for that purpose and can in this case, for instance, be escapism (i.e. getting away from it all), relationships (strengthening and nurturing relationships with nearest and dearest) or nostalgia (seeing the band I’ve loved since I was a teenager). That it was Stockholm in particular that I travelled to was because I have friends there and the band was playing there that weekend. But it could just as easily have been another destination. In this context it’s also common to talk about push or pull factors, in other words factors that push you away from your home area and factors that pull you to various destinations. The former often includes motive, like the desire to escape day to day life (escapism) or to try and find something different (novelty seeking), whereas pull factors are specific attractions in destinations (read more about that later under Destinations’ Offers).

Research on travel motive has discovered a number of different motivating factors and patterns, that often change depending on context and destination. Two theories have been important for the understanding of travel motive; Travel Career Ladder and Travel Career Pattern, which are partly based on Maslow’s well known Hierarchy of Needs. The latter progresses the former, and focuses on motivation patterns, in other words the many different motives that cluster together to form a tourist’s motivation to travel to a particular place. The Travel Career theory is important here, as well as motivation pattern. Someone who has visited every corner of the earth and travelled continuously for long periods has other motives than a first time traveller. The motives overlap each other but research has shown that in general there is a significant difference that is derived from a tourist’s prior experience of travelling.

Research shows that tourists with high travel experience want to distance themselves from other “tourists” (read: charter tourists) and see themselves as “travellers” and “explorers”. Consumption of (different kinds of) journeys consequently becomes an important strategy, which is used to differentiate themselves socially and culturally from others. In the table below we can see examples of which motives arise in connection to how experienced a tourist is.

Table 1: Motivational factors, travel career patterns (adapted from Pearce & Lee, 2005)

The table shows that there are four main motives which arise whatever the travel experience; Novelty Seeking, Escapism/Relaxation, Relationships and Self Development. The last two motives pull in different directions depending on the travel experience; internal or external (personal development versus host site involvement and security versus strengthen relationships). The table also shows motives that are generally specific to those with lower travel experience.

Research on travel motives is often carried out on Western tourists. There’s a certain degree of variation in how strong the different travel motives are, but studies of Asian tourists, for instance, show bigger differences. For example prestige or self-actualization, and strengthening family relationships have been shown to be of greater importance in studies of Japanese tourists, and novelty seeking is less important in comparison. Other cultural contexts are said to be the largest reason for these differences.

Crompton, J. L., & McKay, S. L. (1997). Motives of visitors attending festival events. Annals of Tourism Research, 24(2), 425-439. Iso-Ahola, S. E. (1982). Toward a social psychological theory of tourism motivation: A rejoinder. Annals of Tourism Research, 9(2), 256-262.  Kim, S. S., & Prideaux, B. (2005). Marketing implications arising from a comparative study of international pleasure tourist motivations and other travel-related characteristics of visitors to Korea. Tourism Management, 26(3), 347-357. Munt, I. (1994). The ‘Other' postmodern tourism: Culture, Travel and the New Middle Classes. Theory, Culture & Society, 11(3), 101-123. Pearce, P. L., & Lee, U.-I. (2005). Developing the travel career approach to tourist motivation. Journal of Travel Research, 43(3), 226-237.

• Methodology

Maintained in cooperation with Travel CO 2

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• My Account Login
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Open access
• Published: 15 August 2023

Exploring motivation via three-stage travel experience: how to capture the hearts of Taiwanese family-oriented cruise tourists

• Wen-Yu Chen 1 ,
• Yu-Hsiang Fang 1 ,
• Ya-Ping Chang 2 &
• Cheng-Yi Kuo 3  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  10 , Article number:  506 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

2334 Accesses

1 Citations

1 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Business and management

The cruise market has significant potential for family travel as birth rates continue to decline. To explore the reasons behind family cruise travel, passenger needs, and the three stages of cruise travel experience (anticipation, participation, and recall), this study employs qualitative research and in-depth survey methods. The study’s findings indicate that motivations for joining family cruise travel include "new experiences," "desire for cruise travel," "convenience," and "generating social topics/publicity." During the anticipation and recall stages, the most significant factors are the "port of call" and the "destination" of the cruise itinerary. Additionally, other important aspects include the dining options on the cruise. In the participation stage, the study reveals that cabins, entertainment, and special considerations for children hold particular significance. These results can provide valuable guidance in the planning of family cruise travel.

Similar content being viewed by others

Family tourism development in the new era of tourism: Korean tourists’ domestic trip preferences for accommodation, travel duration, destination, and natural environment

The impact of push-pull motives on internal tourists’ visit and revisit intentions to Egyptian domestic destinations: the mediating role of country image

Comparative analysis of the behavioral intention of potential wellness tourists in China and South Korea

Introduction.

Global tourism has witnessed significant growth in recent years, with the number of international tourists reaching approximately 1.326 billion in 2017, representing a 7% increase from the previous year (UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2021 ). The Asia-Pacific region accounted for a substantial portion of these tourists, with around 306 million visitors (Executive Yuan 2017 ). Among the contributing factors to the tourism market, the cruise industry has played a pivotal role, generating substantial value and promoting logistics business (Executive Yuan 2017 ). In 2018, the Cruise Lines International Association reported that approximately 28.5 million travelers embarked on cruises worldwide, with Asia experiencing a remarkable growth rate of 23% between 2013 and 2018, making it the third-largest cruise source market globally (CLIA 2018 a, 2018 b). The rapid development and prosperity of port cities in the Asia-Pacific region, including Taiwan, have been instrumental in driving the growth of the Asian cruise market (Chen 2016 ). Taiwan, with its advantageous geographical location, serves as a significant transportation hub and ranks among the top 10 cruise source markets in Asia (CLIA 2019 a, 2019 b, 2019 c; Tourism Bureau 2019 ).

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the global tourism industry, leading to severe economic consequences across various sectors, including cruises (Gössling et al. 2020 ; Seyfi et al. 2020 ). In 2020, the number of global tourists plummeted by 73% compared to the previous year, highlighting the extent of the pandemic’s impact (UNWTO 2021 ). The cruise industry, in particular, faced unprecedented challenges as many countries implemented strict measures, including port closures, flight restrictions, and travel bans, to curb the spread of the virus (Liu and Chang 2020 ; Yuen et al. 2021 ). Consequently, the number of cruise ships and passengers in Asia declined significantly (CLIA 2020 ).

To recover from the pandemic’s aftermath, the cruise industry needs to regain the trust and confidence of travelers by understanding their motivations and demands based on previous experiences (Pan et al. 2021 ). Family travel, a crucial market segment in tourism, offers opportunities to enhance the quality of family life and functioning (Wu et al. 2021 ). Following the epidemic, a surge in revenge tourism commenced, leading to a gradual recovery of the international cruise market, with a particular focus on the Asian market (CTWANT 2023 ). Investigating the phenomenon of "revenge travel" and exploring tourists’ motivations and demands through a three-stage travel experience can help identify significant market niches and attractive themes in family cruise travel (Shadel 2020 ). Family travel not only contributes to children’s development (Li et al. 2020 ) but also strengthens family connections, fosters unity, and promotes interaction, identity, and shared values (Wang et al. 2018 ).

Considering the diverse composition of family travel groups, such as nuclear families, single parents with children, and multigenerational families, cruises offer a wide range of experiences encompassing dining, shopping, activities, entertainment, and relaxation. Furthermore, cruises eliminate the need for itinerary planning, transportation arrangements, and local accommodation bookings (Polat 2015 ). Travel experiences are subjective and influenced by personal factors, situational elements, and interpersonal interactions (Zatori et al. 2018 ). These experiences are shaped by various activities, facilities, and products, while travelers’ perceptions and memories evolve over time (Lyu et al. 2018 ). A comprehensive travel experience that encompasses the stages before, during, and after the journey is essential for meaningful and transformative travel (Matson-Barkat and Robert-Demontrond 2018 ). While cruise tourism in Western countries has been extensively studied, there is a relative scarcity of research on family and children’s cruise travel experiences in the Eastern cruise market (Wondirad 2019 ). Given the significant role of children in family cruise travel, it is crucial to consider the perspectives of parents, grandparents, and children, taking into account cultural and familial differences (Wu and Wall 2016 ).

To conduct research on family cruise travel, it is important for tourism scholars to familiarize themselves with systems theory, which considers a family as a complex system where each member and their interactions contribute to the overall functioning of the family unit (Bowen 1978 ). This theory suggests that the experience of family cruise travel is influenced by various factors and individuals within the family system. When applying systems theory to family cruise travel, several key aspects become relevant. Firstly, the concept of interconnectedness emphasizes the impact of family members on each other. During a cruise, family members share common spaces, engage in activities together, and rely on each other for support and coordination, which necessitates an understanding of these interconnected dynamics to navigate conflicts, balance individual preferences, and foster positive interactions. Secondly, the establishment of clear boundaries within the family system is crucial. On a cruise, family members may need to negotiate boundaries related to personal space, privacy, and the balance between togetherness and individual autonomy, ensuring a healthy equilibrium throughout the trip.

Effective communication is vital in family cruise travel, and systems theory underscores the significance of open and clear communication channels within the family system. This involves encouraging active listening, expressing needs and concerns, and practicing empathy to enhance family communication and address any challenges or conflicts that may arise during the cruise. Furthermore, recognizing and understanding the roles and expectations of family members is essential. Different family members may assume various roles such as trip planner, organizer, or decision-maker, and discussing these roles and expectations in advance promotes shared responsibility, reduces stress, and encourages a collaborative approach to family cruise travel. Lastly, adaptability is emphasized by systems theory as a crucial aspect within the family system. Unexpected situations may arise during a cruise, such as itinerary changes, weather conditions, or differing preferences among family members. Being flexible and adaptable enables the family to navigate these challenges and adjust their plans accordingly, contributing to a smoother and more enjoyable cruise experience.

To investigate family cruise travel experiences, a three-stage model is adopted. The anticipation stage involves examining family members’ expectations regarding equipment, meals, activities, and facilities (Jamal et al. 2019 ). The cruise participation stage encompasses various aspects such as customized arrangements, shore excursions, and the implementation of onboard facilities (Radic 2019 ). Finally, the recall stage explores whether the cruise vacation met expectations, identifies the most memorable experiences, and assesses the likelihood of taking a cruise for future family travel (Chen and Rahman 2018 ). By exploring family cruise travel through these three stages, valuable insights can be gained into the motivations and overall experience of family travelers.

Literature review

Revenge travel and cruise travel.

In the context of revenge travel and its association with cruise travel, it is important to acknowledge the profound challenges and setbacks faced by the tourism industry, including the cruise travel sector, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Pan et al. ( 2021 ), the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the tourism industry, resulting in a 10.4% decrease in GDP and the loss of 319 million jobs. Wang and Xia ( 2021 ) emphasize that despite people’s reluctance to be confined, their desire to travel has grown stronger, as reported by Shadel ( 2020 ) in The Washington Post (The Harris Poll 2020 ). Consequently, the concept of "revenge travel" has emerged, referring to the potential for tourism to make a remarkable resurgence as more countries reopen their borders to eager tourists. Individuals are seeking to alleviate pandemic fatigue and boredom by embarking on travel experiences, following extended periods of confinement due to lockdowns and quarantine regulations. Furthermore, revenge travel encompasses the notion of compensating for lost time during the pandemic, often reflecting individuals’ frustration and anger regarding the disruption of their plans and daily routines (Mauran 2022 ).

Instead of seeking compensation from a specific destination, revenge travel seems to be motivated by a genuine passion for travel. CNN ( 2022 ) reports that many travelers are now willing to allocate more financial resources to their vacations compared to previous years. Within the realm of leisure travel, cruise travel can be regarded as a prominent form due to its distinctive characteristics and the array of experiences it provides to passengers. Leisure travel, broadly defined, involves travel primarily undertaken for recreational, relaxation, and personal enjoyment purposes rather than for business or work-related reasons. It encompasses activities that enable individuals to unwind, explore new destinations, partake in leisurely pursuits, and escape from their daily routines (Wang and Xia 2021 ).

Cruise travel stands as one of the most lucrative, popular, and rapidly expanding sectors within the tourism industry. It combines elements of accommodation, leisure, entertainment, dining, and sightseeing, generating substantial revenue and employment opportunities across various locations (Han and Hyun 2019 ). As the European and American markets reach saturation, the cruise industry has shifted its focus toward developing the Asian market (Chen, 2016 ), which currently holds the position as the world’s third-largest cruise market, following North America and Western Europe (CLIA 2019 a, 2019 b, 2019 c). Modern cruise ships have evolved beyond mere transportation vessels to become floating resorts, offering enticing destinations, a wide range of leisure and entertainment options, diverse dining experiences, shopping facilities, theaters, and swimming pools (Toh et al. 2005 ). In response to changing holiday preferences, the cruise tourism industry has diversified its product offerings, introducing new destinations, revamped cruise experiences, innovative services, facilities, shore tourism activities, and themed cruises (Rodrigue and Notteboom 2013 ).

CLIA ( 2018 a, 2018 b) has identified 11 major trends in cruise travel: 1) Instagrammable experiences; 2) total restoration; 3) achievement travel; 4) personalized on-board technology; 5) conscious travel; 6) inaccessible destinations; 7) Generation Z preferences; 8) off-peak adventures; 9) working nomads; 10) female-centered cruising; and 11) solo travel. These trends reflect the changing needs and preferences of cruise customers and the industry’s response to those needs by combining nature, history, culture, technology, and new experiences to create a richer travel experience (Chen 2016 ). As the Asian cruise industry develops, there is a growing focus on family groups, providing an unforgettable cruise experience for all ages (Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Ltd. 2019 a, 2019 b). Disney Cruises is a cruise brand that specializes in serving parent-child families and has won the "Best Family Cruise" title for several years, with children’s programs and entertainment activities being their most popular features (Disney Cruise Line 2019 ). With Asian tourists being the largest group of parent-child families during the summer vacation, the cruise company has optimized parent-child activities and increased entertainment experiences, including partnering with Discovery to create exploration camps and recreational games for different age groups (Princess 2018 ). Cruise companies continue to innovate and cater to the changing needs of the family travel market through the design and planning of various cruise travel products (Radic 2019 ).

Family travel and motivations

Tourism is an essential element in personal development, as it provides a platform for various types of learning and broadens one’s horizons (Li et al. 2020 ). The family travel market is a large and expanding segment of the tourism industry. Family travel has evolved from a form of relaxation to a way of reconnecting with loved ones (Brey and Lehto 2008 ). Today, family travel may include three generations, large families, or single parents traveling with children (Schänzel and Yeoman 2015 ). Families travel together to create memories, bond, and engage in activities that facilitate children’s learning and development (Li et al. 2020 ). Family travel refers to a trip where at least two family members travel and spend more than 24 h away from home to enhance family cohesion and create lasting memories (Kennedy-Eden and Gretzel 2016 ). Family leisure is positively related to family satisfaction and cohesion (Lehto et al. 2012 ). Zabriskie and McCormick ( 2001 ) classify family leisure as either core or balanced, with the former being low-cost and easy, while the latter requiring more time, money, or planning. Although the frequency of balanced leisure may be lower, the experiences and memories created are often more significant. Family travel, as a form of balanced leisure, increases intimacy and cohesion among family members (Lehto et al. 2016 ), and contributes to the development of children.

Numerous studies have explored the decision-making process involved in family tourism. When planning a family trip, it is crucial to consider various factors, such as destination, vacation time, budget, attractions, activities, and accommodation, all of which require family members to discuss and agree upon. These decisions are influenced by the family’s situation, age, and socioeconomic status (Kang and Hsu 2004 ). As times have changed, family decision making has become more democratic, shifting from the traditional parent-dominated approach to a more child-influenced process (Jamal et al. 2019 ). Although children may not have the final say in decisions, they still play a crucial role in influencing the process (Curtale 2018 ).

Previous studies have primarily focused on cruise traveler satisfaction, value, and trust (Wu et al. 2018 ), motivation and experience (Hung and Petrick 2011 ; Han and Hyun 2018 ), the environmental impact of the cruise industry (MacNeill and Wozniak 2018 ), and the Western child cruise experience (Radic, 2019 ). With changing lifestyles and travel patterns, more Asians are opting for cruises as their preferred travel choice (Chen 2016 ). However, very few studies have examined Eastern family cruise travel, and there are some differences between Western and Asian tourists (Wu et al. 2018 ). For example, while Western children often desire to have their own cruise experiences and make new friends, Asian families tend to focus on creating shared memories (Wu et al. 2019 ).

The topic of travel motivation is significant and the push-pull factor is a commonly used theory to explain it. The push factor is driven by inner desires such as the need for relaxation, adventure, knowledge acquisition, family reunion, and pressure. On the other hand, the pull factor is driven by the unique attributes of the destination, such as recreational facilities, historical culture, natural resources, beaches, and scenery (Sung et al. 2015 ). Various studies have explored travel motivation, including adventure tourism loyalty (Sato et al. 2018 ), wildlife tourism satisfaction in national parks (Mutanga et al. 2017 ), and slow travel motivation (Özdemir and Çelebi 2018 ). Some studies have also examined the travel motivation of specific groups, such as elderly travelers abroad (Wijaya et al. 2018 ) and hearing-impaired backpackers (Ho and Peng 2017 ). According to Li et al. ( 2017 ), family travel is motivated by spending quality time with children, creating pleasant memories, learning and development, self-compensation, and compensation for children. Four dimensions of motivation have been identified in cruise tourism, including self-esteem and social recognition, escape and relaxation, learning, discovery, and thrill, and bonding (Han and Hyun 2019 ). Tourists take a cruise to get a worry-free and relaxing vacation and escape from everything (Mancini 2010 ). This study specifically focuses on the motivation of family members in choosing a cruise for family travel.

Tourist satisfaction and their willingness to revisit are directly influenced by their travel experience (Buhalis and Amaranggana 2015 ). According to Kong and Chang ( 2016 ), tourists construct their travel experience through various activities from the decision to travel until the end of the tour. Campos et al. ( 2015 ) suggested that travel experience is created through activity participation and interaction. The composition of travel experience is diverse and includes education, aesthetics, escape from reality, and entertainment (Stamboulisa and Skayannisb, 2003 ). Seyfi et al. ( 2020 ) noted that everyone has different travel experiences due to their different backgrounds, values, attitudes, beliefs, and environments, including within different generations of family members (Li et al. 2020 ). Walls et al. ( 2011 ) proposed that physical experience, human interaction, individual characteristics, and situational factors all affect travel experience.

Certain events can make a travel experience unforgettable (Kim et al. 2010 ), particularly when children participate in family travel and contribute to their parents’ enjoyment (Li et al. 2020 ). Unforgettable memories may be the most valuable source of information for tourists when deciding to revisit a specific destination (Chandralal and Valenzuela 2013 ) because people believe that past experiences are a reliable reference for future decisions (Chen and Rahman 2018 ). Kim et al. ( 2010 ) developed a scale with seven dimensions to measure memorable tourism experiences, including hedonism, refreshment, local culture, meaningfulness, knowledge, involvement, and novelty. This scale was adopted by Zhang et al. ( 2017 ) to explore Korean tourists’ perception image, memorable tourism experience, and willingness to revisit China, and by Seyfi et al. ( 2020 ) to develop a scale for memorable cultural tourism experiences with six dimensions: prior perceived significance of the experience, authenticity, engagement, cultural exchange, culinary attraction, and quality of service.

Several studies have identified multiple stages of travel experience, such as the five stages of recreational experience proposed by Clawson and Knetsch ( 1966 ): anticipation, outbound, on-site experience, return, and recall stages. Park and Santos ( 2016 ) discussed tourist experience using the three stages of before, during, and after travel, and Radic ( 2019 ) used the three stages of pre-travel planning and decision making, cruise participation, and reinterpretation and evaluation to study children’s experience with cruises. However, regardless of the number of stages, a memorable, interesting, and attractive experience can occur in each stage. Therefore, this study focuses on the three stages of travel experience and their application to family cruise travel.

Methodology

Research process and subjects.

To gain a deeper understanding of the respondents’ memories, feelings, and opinions about their own experiences, this research utilizes in-depth interviews. Qualitative research methods are necessary to explore the "why" behind the respondents’ experiences and obtain more complete information (Milena et al. 2008 ; Patton 2005 ). In-depth interviews are used with content analysis to collect interviewees’ opinions, views, and attitudes about a particular incident to gain a deeper understanding of the issue (Tsaur and Huang 2015 ). The three steps of content analysis, including dividing and condensing, coding, and establishing category and theme, are applied to improve the quality of inferences and provide an understanding of the knowledge and phenomena of the research (Downe‐Wamboldt 1992 ; Erlingsson and Brysiewicz 2017 ). Content analysis is also suitable for more difficult, special, and sensitive fields (Bogner et al. 2009 ).

Consequently, qualitative research was employed in the present study to gather pertinent information. Initially, the questionnaire for the in-depth interviews was designed based on previous research. The questions were subsequently revised after undergoing expert review, which involved four professionals: a cruise tourism expert, a travel agent, and two scholars specializing in tourism-related fields. The expert interviews aided in shaping the questionnaire for the subsequent stage of in-depth family interviews (please refer to Fig. 1 for the research framework flow). The experts were invited to review and modify the questionnaire, offering suggestions to enhance its design. Table 1 provides background information on the four experts.

The research framework involved utilizing expert interviews to help formulate the questionnaire used in the subsequent phase of conducting in-depth family interviews.

Furthermore, to identify suitable cruise travel families for this study, the participants were primarily recruited through the following sources: (1) Families who had previously taken cruises were introduced to the researchers by experienced tour guides who had led cruise tours. (2) Qualified volunteers were invited from cruise travel Facebook communities. (3) Employing the snowball sampling method, the researchers reached out to families who had previously traveled on cruises through referrals from cruise travel agencies and interviewees who had organized cruise trips. The interviewed family members primarily consisted of those who had at least one experience of cruise travel and had traveled on cruises with their children. Only these families were selected as participants for this study.

A total of 13 families were interviewed to explore their motivations and experiences of cruise travel, while the dimensions of cruise tourism services were examined through a literature review. The initial scale was evaluated for content and face validity by the experts, all of whom held master’s degrees or higher education, with three of them having experience in leading family groups. The questionnaire for the in-depth family interviews was divided into three parts: "before (anticipation)," "during (participation)," and "after (recall)" of the cruise travel, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the respondents’ experiences.

Development of research questionnaires and data collection

Cruising is a mode of transportation that combines travel and lodging, offering a range of amenities, activities, and shore excursions (Sun et al. 2014 ). In recent years, there has been a surge in innovative facilities, routes, destinations, and exclusive experiences (Rodrigue and Notteboom 2013 ). In Asia, cruise tourism has gained popularity with great potential (Chen 2016 ). Theme cruises have emerged as a trend, and they can be categorized into three types: specific themes with onboard activities and arrangements, specific groups such as seniors and parent-child travelers, and charter boats where the itinerary is planned by a corporation or organization (Weaver 2011 ). Consequently, this research defines cruise travel as the use of cruises as the primary means of transportation, combined with lodging, dining, entertainment, and shore excursions.

Family travel involves the departure of at least two family members from their home for a period exceeding one day (Kennedy-Eden and Gretzel 2016 ). According to Gram ( 2005 ), the objective of family travel is to engage in collective activities, explore new destinations, and forge lasting memories as a family. Parents dedicate their time, effort, and finances to curate an unforgettable vacation experience for their children (Hilbrecht et al. 2008 ). As people live longer, the structure of families is undergoing vertical development, with grandparents increasingly developing strong bonds with their grandchildren, leading to a growing trend of traveling together (Schänzel and Yeoman 2015 ).

In Taiwan, the family composition has witnessed significant changes in recent times. Traditionally, Taiwanese families adhered to the nuclear family model, consisting of two parents and their children. However, social and economic factors have contributed to the evolution of family composition. Currently, the most prevalent family compositions in Taiwan include nuclear families, single-parent families, and multi-generational families comprising three generations (National Development Council 2023 ). Understanding the dynamics of family composition holds paramount importance in the context of family cruise travel for several reasons.

Firstly, tailored services are necessary to address the distinct needs and preferences associated with different family compositions. By comprehending the family composition within their target market, cruise operators can customize their offerings and amenities to cater to the specific requirements of each family type. For instance, single-parent families may benefit from accommodations designed for smaller groups or specialized activities tailored to their needs. Secondly, accommodation considerations play a crucial role, as family cruise ships must provide suitable lodging options for families with varying compositions. This may involve offering larger cabins or connecting rooms to accommodate nuclear families or multi-generational families. Understanding the family composition assists cruise operators in allocating resources and designing accommodations accordingly.

Thirdly, activity planning should take into account the diverse interests and preferences of different family compositions, both onboard and during shore excursions. By considering the family composition, cruise operators can provide a wide range of activities and experiences that cater to the specific needs and desires of each family type. This ensures the participation and enjoyment of all family members throughout the cruise. Lastly, pricing and package strategies can be tailored based on family composition. For instance, family packages may include discounts for children or special rates for single parents. Understanding the family composition enables cruise operators to develop pricing strategies that appeal to different family types and maximize their market reach.

Consequently, comprehending the family composition in Taiwan is of great significance in the realm of family cruise travel, as it empowers cruise operators to offer customized services, appropriate accommodations, diverse activities, and suitable pricing structures for various family types. By addressing the specific needs and preferences associated with each family composition, cruise operators can enhance the overall travel experience and attract a broader spectrum of family travelers. Furthermore, within the context of this research, a family traveler is defined as a parent or single parent who brings at least one child under the age of 18, with or without the inclusion of grandparents. The travel experience, as defined by this research, encompasses the various encounters tourists face at different stages of their trip (Radic 2019 ). Considering the nature of cruise travel, this research divides the travel experience into three stages: the anticipation stage prior to boarding the cruise, the cruise participation stage, and the recall stage. Hence, travel experience is delineated as the three stages of the travel journey, allowing for an examination of distinct experiences at each stage.

Three stages of cruise travel experience

The interview questions for this study are based on Hung and Petrick’s ( 2011 ) research, which identified four categories of motivation for cruise travel: self-esteem and social recognition, escape and relaxation, learning, discovery, and thrill, and bonding. The study focuses on the three stages of cruise travel experience: anticipation, participation, and recall, drawing on Juan and Chen’s ( 2011 ) exploration of Taiwanese cruise passengers’ behavior at different stages, the factors influencing cruise vacation decisions (Bahja et al. 2018 ), and research on children’s cruise experiences (Radic 2019 ).

In the anticipation stage, Juan and Chen ( 2011 ) found that price, trip duration, desires of companions, activities, and facilities were the main determinants of cruise trip selection. However, as this study focuses on family travel, desires of companions were modified to desires of family members. Bahja et al. ( 2018 ) examined the relative importance of six factors in cruise customers’ decision-making process: cruise vacation price, duration, distance from the cruise port, itinerary, environmental friendliness of the cruise line, and online reviews. Radic ( 2019 ) found that cruise brand, activities, and ports of call were significant considerations for tourists. Consistent with these studies, the factors considered by cruise tourists in this study were price, number of days, cruise brand, activities, equipment, itinerary (port of call and destination), family members’ desires, and online reviews of cruise ships. The study further explores the differences in family members’ considerations for cruise travel during the anticipation and recall stages.

Service dimensions during the cruise travel experience stages

Drawing on previous research on group package travel (Wang et al. 2000 ), Taiwanese cruise travelers’ behavior at different experience stages (Juan and Chen 2011 ), cruise experience (Hwang and Han 2014 ), and factors influencing Taiwanese women’s choice of cruise travel (Chen et al. 2019 ), the study developed 11 in-depth interview questions. These questions cover a range of aspects such as cruise characteristics, cabins, restaurants, facilities, entertainment activities, tour guides, shopping, exclusive activities for children, work teams, self-financed activities, and other relevant factors.

The experts have revised the questions, resulting in the following dimensions of motivation. For the motivation dimension of self-esteem and social recognition, the aspects are as follows: 1. Impress others; 2. Receive high praise from others; 3. Feel like a better person; 4. Obtain a high-quality vacation; 5. Enhance self-worth; 6. Achieve a sense of accomplishment; 7. Capture exotic photos to show off to friends. For the motivation dimension of escape and relaxation, the aspects are as follows: 1. Have fun; 2. Enjoy the freedom to do what I want; 3. Escape from everyday life; 4. Relax physically and mentally. For the motivation dimension of learning/discovery and novelty/excitement, the aspects are as follows: 1. Enjoy nature; 2. Gain knowledge; 3. Experience other cultures; 4. Enjoy exciting activities. For the motivation dimension of socialization, the aspects are as follows: 1. Make new friends; 2. Meet different people. For the motivation dimension of interpersonal connection, the aspects are as follows: 1. My friends or family members want to go on a cruise travel; 2. I can interact with my friends or family members during the trip.

The experts made several modifications to the factors that influence customers’ choices in the anticipation and recall stages. These factors include price, duration of travel, cruise brand, activities, cruise equipment, cruise itinerary (destination and ports of call), family members’ desire for cruise travel, online reviews, and travel agency. Cruise reviews, including online reviews, newspapers, magazines, and word of mouth, replaced online reviews. In the participation stage, the experts recommended that cruise tonnage be used as a reference criterion for cruise features, and added court and cinema to facilities, friendliness to tour leaders as an important consideration, and duty-free shopping to the shopping section. The service enthusiasm of the service team was also added as a criterion. The experts also proposed two types of briefing for tourists, one for participation in activities at their own expense and another for the introduction to tourist attractions and transportation from the pier to the tourist attractions. Based on these modifications, the experts suggested some service dimensions for the participation stage that would be further explored in the follow-up in-depth interviews.

This study conducted in-depth interviews with family tourists through online video. The interviews lasted for 30 min to 1 h and were recorded with consent, with one family member representing and sharing the thoughts and opinions of other family members. Thirteen families were interviewed, and the respondents were referred to as A-M. The study provides demographic data, motivations, and descriptions of the three-stage service aspects of the cruise travel experience: anticipation, experience, and recall. The majority of the interviewees were middle-aged parents with the final say in cruise travel, with 38.5% being male and 61.5% being female. 46.2% of the interviewees were aged 42–50. Regarding family income, 69.2% were double-income families, and 30.8% were single-income families. Most of the interviewees (76.9%) had a family income of over TWD 140,001. Less than half (46.2%) worked in the business industry, and the majority held a bachelor’s degree (53.8%). Nuclear families accounted for 69.2%, followed by extended families (23.1%) and single-parent families (7.7%). The largest group of travelers was 4–6 people (46.2%), and the largest percentage of accompanying children was 1 (53.8%), followed by 2 (38.5%), and 3 (7.7%), with a maximum of 20 children. The age range of the children was 0–6 years old (nine children), 7–12 years old (seven children), and 13–18 years old (four children). The largest destination was Northeast Asia (69.2%), followed by Europe (15.4%), Southeast Asia (7.7%), and Mexico (7.7%). The most common travel duration was 2–7 days (84.6%), and 53.8% of the interviewees indicated that they had gone on a cruise once, followed by four times (30.8%) and twice (15.4%). Please see Table 2 .

Furthermore, to establish the validity of the interview items and analyze the data, content analysis was employed in this study. The initial step in the data analysis process involved extracting the units of analysis. As per Wang et al. ( 2009 ), graduate students specializing in tourism marketing were invited to serve as judges and perform naming and content categorization based on the verbatim transcripts. In this study, graduate students from the tourism research institute with practical experience and an academic background in tourism were selected as Judges A and B. Both judges carefully read and categorized each basic unit of analysis, repeating the process until a consensus was reached. Interjudge and intrajudge reliability tests were subsequently conducted to assess consistency among different judges and over different time periods for the same judges, respectively.

To ensure the reliability of the classifications, intrajudge and interjudge reliability tests were conducted at different time periods. Keaveney ( 1995 ) suggests that intrajudge and interjudge reliability should exceed 0.80. After one week, Judge A and Judge B were asked to classify the data again for the intrajudge reliability test. Additionally, Judge C, a project director with 11 years of experience in the travel agency industry, was invited to classify the data and conduct the interjudge reliability test. The results demonstrated an intrajudge reliability of 0.96 and an interjudge reliability of 0.97, indicating the reliability of the classification results in this study. The interview transcripts of family tourists were analyzed and compiled into a data summary presented in Table 3 . Moreover, to enhance the credibility and validity of the content analysis results, this study employed not only triangulation among Judges A, B, and C but also utilized the data triangulation method proposed by Mhyre ( 2010 ). By comparing and confirming the perspectives of the interviewed family participants, travel agency expert, cruise industry expert, and tourism scholars, the study achieved the purpose and effectiveness of data triangulation.

Anticipation stage

The majority of interviewees expressed their desire for a high-quality travel experience, which is influenced by the characteristics, quality, and level of the cruise ship, as it can enhance their self-esteem and social recognition.

Obtaining top-notch travel experiences is the paramount aspect of embarking on a cruise, as it eliminates the need for personal itinerary and meal arrangements.

You know, considering a cruise as an accomplishment is important because it’s like fulfilling a personal goal. When there’s a new cruise available, you can’t help but feel excited to embark on it and experience something new. It’s a way to discover and understand yourself better, which is truly fulfilling.

In terms of seeking escape and relaxation, all interviewees mentioned that cruising is an ideal way for families to unwind and rejuvenate their bodies, minds, and souls, as it saves transportation time and includes accommodation, food, and activities.

You know, one of the things I love about being on a cruise is that internet access can be quite pricey. So, I’ve made a conscious choice to disconnect from the online world for a little while and simply relax. It’s a chance to take a break from constant connectivity and truly unwind during my cruise experience.

Travel has the power to uplift your spirits, with a cruise offering the added benefits of delightful culinary experiences and a plethora of engaging activities. Moreover, the opportunity to disembark at various destinations for sightseeing adds to the overall relaxation and enjoyment of the trip.

Additionally, cruising provides opportunities for learning/discovery and novelty/stimulation, as it exposes children to different cultures through various activities and services.

On a cruise, you’ll encounter people from diverse countries, alongside a wide range of activities and gourmet dining options. It’s an incredible opportunity to immerse yourself in various cultures and expand your children’s international perspectives. They can gain a broader understanding of the world by experiencing different customs and interacting with people from around the globe.

The cruise offers a plethora of activities for everyone to engage in, especially children who have the chance to independently explore and discover new things. This self-driven exploration can lead to valuable personal growth and learning experiences for them.

Although socialization is not a primary motivation, it was found that cruising can foster social connections with old friends and increase family cohesion.

When I travel with friends and family, my focus primarily remains on spending time with them rather than actively seeking new acquaintances.

You know, one of the great things about being on a cruise is that using mobile phones is not as common. This actually works out in our favor because it means the family gets to spend more time together. Without the constant distraction of phones, we all actively participate in activities together, strengthening our family relationships and creating lasting memories. It’s a wonderful opportunity to truly connect with one another and make the most of our time together on the cruise.

Furthermore, this study identified other motivations such as the desire for new experiences, the convenience of cruising, and the potential for generating social topics and publicity. In this stage, the interviewees ranked the following factors in order of importance, with 1 being the most important and 9 being the least important: itinerary (port of call, destination), price, travel days, brand, equipment, activities, reviews (online, newspapers and magazines, and word of mouth from relatives and friends), family members’ travel desire, and travel agencies. The mean value was 4.00, and the standard deviation was 2.16, as shown in Table 4 .

Participation stage

Families take into consideration various features such as tonnage, style, and age when selecting a cruise.

I intend to select a cruise ship that possesses substantial tonnage and offers a comparatively high level of stability.

Considering the presence of my children, my preference lies in selecting a family-oriented cruise ship that caters to their needs and provides a suitable environment for them.

The newly launched cruise ship offers upgraded facilities and rooms, which are both modern and superior in quality.

All interviewees preferred cabins with balconies or external windows, and expressed concern about the size of the beds.

Having a balcony is a must when embarking on a cruise, as it adds an element of pleasure to the experience. The ability to savor a cup of coffee or enjoy breakfast on the balcony is truly delightful.

I desire a more spacious cruise cabin to ensure a higher level of comfort during my stay.

When embarking on a cruise, the aspects of dining and resting take center stage, making the size, comfort, and amenities of the bed crucial factors to consider.

The diversity of restaurant options, including Chinese cuisine and kids’ bars, was also a significant consideration.

The restaurant ought to offer a diverse selection of dishes that cater to both adults and children, providing ample choices for everyone.

I would prioritize considering a cruise ship that provides Chinese cuisine as an option, as it can be comforting to have familiar food available in case I am not accustomed to other cuisines.

Essential facilities such as water facilities, swimming pools, and courts were important, along with entertainment options such as shows.

A swimming pool, particularly one with a water slide, is a necessity as our children thoroughly enjoy water play.

Ample space for recreational activities, such as basketball courts and table tennis rooms, is essential to ensure that everyone can participate and enjoy playing together.

The presence of visually captivating shows or performances holds significant importance, as well as the availability of evening venues for entertainment, considering that certain places like casinos are not suitable for children.

While strolling around, one might encounter bustling crowds of people, indicating the presence of impromptu performances that can pleasantly catch you by surprise.

Our family thoroughly enjoys open-air cinemas, where we can leisurely recline and relish movies accompanied by the refreshing sea breeze.

Simple souvenirs were preferred for shopping, while parents emphasized the importance of children’s exclusive activities and programs.

During shopping hours, the outlet often offers clearance prices, providing excellent opportunities to purchase items at significantly reduced and affordable rates.

The primary focus of our shopping is not on high-end consumption. Instead, we tend to select items that can be used as gifts upon disembarking from the cruise ship.

Given that my child is quite young, I will request the assistance of the kids club in looking after them, thereby granting me the opportunity to enjoy some personal space and leisure time.

In order to accommodate family outings, which primarily revolve around children, it is essential to have dedicated activities specifically designed for them.

Good service was a priority, as long as basic needs were met.

The housekeepers play a crucial role as they not only provide directions to your room if needed but also engage in friendly interactions with the children, adding a touch of interactivity to the experience.

The event staff will inquire about our requirements and ensure that the services we need are provided to us.

Families also planned their own shore tourism activities and placed a high value on security.

Safety, particularly when traveling with children, should be prioritized and given heightened attention on a cruise ship.

Recall stage

During the recall stage, family members have varying factors to consider when planning their next cruise travel. These factors are ranked in order of importance, with 1 being the most important and 9 being the least important. The primary considerations are itinerary, including the port of call and destination, followed by the number of days, brand, price, facilities, family members’ desire for a cruise, activities, evaluation, and travel agencies. Additionally, food is an important factor with a mean score of 4.00 and a standard deviation of 1.00, as shown in Table 5 .

Tables 4 and 5 present comparative analyses of factor rankings in two distinct stages, namely the anticipation stage and the recall stage. These stages correspond to the decision-making processes of individuals regarding their upcoming cruise travel. The focus is placed on evaluating the relative significance of various factors in the decision-making hierarchy. The following discussion summarizes the key findings derived from comparing the two tables:

In both the anticipation and recall stages, itinerary emerges as the foremost influential factor, as it attains the highest ranking in both tables. However, there exists a slight disparity in the mean scores and standard deviations associated with itinerary between the two stages. The factor of price consistently retains a considerable level of importance in both stages. Nonetheless, its ranking undergoes a transition from the second position in the anticipation stage to the fourth position in the recall stage. Notably, the mean score for price exhibits an increase in the recall stage as compared to the anticipation stage. Travel days continue to hold significance as a factor influencing decision-making in both the anticipation and recall stages. However, there is a change in its ranking, with travel days occupying the third position in the anticipation stage and the second position in the recall stage.

The importance attributed to brand remains relatively stable across both stages. Although there is a slight alteration in its ranking, the variance is minimal. Equipment. The significance of equipment exhibits consistency in both the anticipation and recall stages, with only a slight enhancement in its mean score during the recall stage. Activities, Reviews, Family members’ travel desire, and Travel agencies. The rankings of these factors differ between the anticipation and recall stages while maintaining a consistent overall trend of importance. Notably, food emerges as a vital factor during the recall stage, attaining a mean score of 4.00 and a standard deviation of 1.00.

To summarize, while certain factors retain their importance throughout both the anticipation and recall stages, there are disparities in rankings, as well as minor variations in mean scores and standard deviations for specific factors. Furthermore, the recall stage introduces food as a salient consideration, which is not explicitly highlighted in the anticipation stage.

Conclusion and discussion

The study’s findings revealed that motivation for cruise travel varied across several aspects. The "self-esteem and social recognition" aspect aimed to improve the quality of tourism and achieve a sense of accomplishment. "Escape and relax" emphasized relaxation of the body and mind. "Learning/discovering and novel/stimulating" involved experiencing diverse cultures and discovering new things. Experiencing a variety of cultures and uncovering novel aspects can be both educational and exciting. This parallels the concept of immersing oneself in the distinctive local essence of a culture, which has the potential to enhance tourists’ satisfaction (Dai et al. 2019 ). "Socialization" referred to meeting new people and making friends. "Interpersonal connection" pertained to the interaction between family members and friends. The results of "escape and relax" and "learning/discovering and novel/stimulating" were consistent with those of Hung and Petrick’s ( 2011 ) study.

In the Hsu and Li ( 2017 ) research, Hsu and Li directed their attention towards emerging markets in Asia, particularly Mainland China and Hong Kong. Their objective was to create a cruise motivation scale that encompassed several factors including novelty, escape, nature, leisure, social interaction, relaxation, relationship, and isolation. However, the present study shifts its focus to the motivations of family-oriented cruise tourists during the three-stage travel experience. The findings of this study indicate that family interaction holds greater importance compared to socialization. Additionally, the study identifies other motivations such as the pursuit of new experiences, a desire for cruise travel, convenience, and the generation of social topics or publicity.

The participation and recall stages of cruise travel planning highlighted the importance of itinerary, followed by the number of travel days, cruise brand, travel agency, and meals. In summary, Taiwan’s cruises are primarily chartered, and it is suggested to develop additional ports of call to strengthen tourists’ behavioral intentions while planning the itinerary. Additionally, travel agencies should differentiate their marketing and services to attract consumers. In contrast to Westerners, Asians prefer spending time together in activities (Chen et al. 2016 ), which can be attributed to the individualism cultural dimension theory (Hofstede 2001 ). Therefore, more activities should be designed for parent-child participation, which can enhance their relationship through family travel (Wu et al. 2019 ). The study also found that consumers attach considerable importance to the tonnage of cruise ships, as larger ships offer more facilities and activities.

According to Han and Hyun ( 2019 ), cruise travel is also motivated by learning, exploration, and excitement. Facilities such as waterslides and rock climbing are particularly appealing to children. With the rise of the internet, cruise companies can utilize social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and internet celebrities for advertising. Previous studies on cruises have examined tourist satisfaction, environmental impact, and the effects on ports. For instance, Wu et al. ( 2018 ) investigated the satisfaction and quality of experience of cruise tourists. However, these studies have largely focused on the Western cruise market, and there has been relatively little research on family cruise travel with children or the Asian cruise market (Wondirad 2019 ). Furthermore, the participation stage of cruise travel is seldom explored. Radic ( 2019 ) divided the experience into three stages: pre-tour planning and decision making, cruise participation stage, and reinterpretation and evaluation, to investigate children’s experiences on cruises.

Based on the study’s findings, family members are motivated to go on cruises to seek new experiences, convenience, generate social topics/publicity, and fulfill their desire to travel. In the anticipation and recall stages of their travel experience, tourists prioritize the cruise itinerary, while during the participation stage, they value cabin space, exclusive activities for children, and clubs that cater to family members’ needs. Family travel is an opportunity for children to explore the world, foster interests and interpersonal interaction, and strengthen familial relationships. To attract more families to choose cruise travel, tourism operators and cruise companies should tailor their strategies to the needs and motivations of their target market. However, the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact travel choices, and cruise companies should adapt by tailoring their offerings to suit different demands and motivations.

Taiwan stands as one of the top ten cruise tourist markets in Asia, making significant practical contributions (CLIA 2019 a, 2019 b, 2019 c). The number of tourists continues to grow, particularly in the parent-child segment, leading to the emergence of numerous parent-child hotels, restaurants, attractions, and tourism options. Engaging children in outdoor activities during family trips enables them to learn through hands-on experiences. By interacting with parents and receiving guidance, children can explore the world, develop interests, socialize, and strengthen family bonds (Global views 2023 ).

To attract more tourists to choose cruises for family trips, tourism operators and shipping companies must understand the motivations behind tourists’ choices, especially considering that modern travelers tend to avoid group travel, and cruise travel is a niche market. Hence, it is crucial to develop corresponding strategies. This study aims to collect and analyze factors valued by family tourists throughout the three stages of cruise travel. Based on interviews, the following suggestions are proposed, 1. Increase advertising exposure. 2. Introduce different cruise fleets or brands. 3. Offer new destinations and short-day travel arrangements. 4. Implement differentiated marketing strategies for travel agencies. 5. Enhance on-board activities, software, and hardware adjustments and updates.

These research findings can serve as references for future operators seeking to attract family groups. Additionally, they provide insight into improving the criteria for the anticipation stage, guiding itinerary design, and shaping sales considerations during the recall stage. Ultimately, these efforts aim to make cruising the top choice for families who have never experienced it before or for those who have taken a cruise and wish to repeat the experience.

This study had several limitations that should be acknowledged. Firstly, the sample size was small, consisting of only 13 families who were interviewed using a snowballing research method. Moreover, the interviews were conducted with only one family member, which may not have fully captured the opinions and perspectives of other family members. The reliance on a single interviewee could limit the comprehensiveness of the data. Additionally, family cruises are relatively uncommon in Taiwan, which posed challenges in recruiting participants, particularly children. As a result, some participants, especially children, may have had blurred memories or difficulties expressing themselves, potentially impacting the accuracy and depth of their responses.

To address these limitations and provide more comprehensive insights, future research could explore the use of a simple closed questionnaire. This method may facilitate children’s responses and mitigate some of the challenges associated with in-depth interviews. By employing a questionnaire-based approach, a larger sample size could be obtained, increasing the generalizability of the findings. Furthermore, the findings from this study can serve as a valuable reference for designing future questionnaires, ensuring the inclusion of relevant aspects related to family cruise travel. It is also worth noting that future research could consider exploring cultural and regional differences in family composition and their impact on family cruise travel. By investigating these factors, a deeper understanding of how cultural and regional nuances influence the preferences, needs, and experiences of family travelers in the context of cruises could be gained. This would contribute to a more comprehensive analysis of the target market and provide valuable insights for cruise operators and tourism professionals seeking to cater to diverse family compositions in different cultural and regional contexts.

Data availability

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are included within the article.

Bahja F, Cobanoglu C, Berezina K, Lusby C (2018) Factors influencing cruise vacations: the impact of online reviews and environmental friendliness. Tour Rev 74(3):400–415

Article   Google Scholar  

Bogner A, Littig B, Menz W (2009) Introduction: expert interviews-an introduction to a new methodological debate. In: Bogner A, Littig B, Menz W (Eds.) Interviewing experts. Palgrave Macmillan, London, England, p 1–13

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Bowen M (1978) Family therapy in clinical practice. Jason Aronson, NY and London

Google Scholar  

Brey ET, Lehto X (2008) Changing family dynamics: a force of change for the family-resort industry? Int J Hospitality Manag 27(2):241–248

Buhalis D, Amaranggana A (2015) Smart Tourism Destinations Enhancing Tourism Experience Through Personalisation of Services. In: Tussyadiah I, Inversini A (Eds.) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015. Springer, Cham, Switzerland, p 377–389

Campos AC, Mendes J, Valle PO, Scott N (2015) Co-creation of tourist experiences: a literature review. Curr Issues Tour 21(4):1–32

Chandralal L, Valenzuela F (2013) Exploring memorable tourism experiences: antecedents and behavioral outcomes. J Econ Bus Manag 1(2):177–181

Chen CA (2016) How can Taiwan create a niche in Asia’s cruise tourism industry? Tour Manag 55:173–183

Chen H, Rahman I (2018) Cultural tourism: an analysis of engagement, cultural contact, memorable tourism experience and destination loyalty. Tour Manag Perspect 26:153–163

Chen JM, Neuts B, Nijkamp P, Liu J (2016) Demand determinants of cruise tourists in competitive markets: motivation, preference and intention. Tour Econ 22(2):227–253

Chen WY, Chung TY, Liu HL, Chang TY (2019) Study cruise for young ladies: Taiwan females’ selection factor for cruise travel. Cruise Ind Rev 2(2):121–142

Clawson M, Knetsch JL (1966) Econ of outdoor recreation. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, MD

CNN (2022) Revenge travel: how vacation vengeance became a thing. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/revenge-travel-explainer/index.html

Cruise Lines International Association (2018a) 2019 state of the industry. https://cruising.org/news-and-research/research/2018/december/2019-state-of-the-industry

Cruise Lines International Association (2018b) Asia cruise trends 2018 edition. https://cliaasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/asia-cruise-trends-2018.pdf

Cruise Lines International Association (2019a) 2018 global passenger report. https://cruising.org/news-and-research/research/2019/may/2018-global-passenger-report

Cruise Lines International Association (2019b) 2019 Asia deployment and capacity-cruise industry report. https://cruising.org/-/media/research-updates/research/2019-asia-deployment-and-capacity---cruise-industry-report.ashx

Cruise Lines International Association (2019c) State of the cruise industry outlook 2020. https://cruising.org/news-and-research/research/2019/december/state-of-the-cruise-industry-outlook-2020

Cruise Lines International Association (2020). 2019 global market report. https://cruising.org/en/news-and-research/research/2021/february/2019-global-market-report

Curtale R (2018) Analyzing children’s impact on parents’ tourist choices. Young Consumers 19(2):172–184

CTWANT (2023) https://www.ctwant.com/article/264512

Dai T, Hein C, Zhang T (2019) Understanding how Amsterdam City tourism marketing addresses cruise tourists’ motivations regarding culture. Tour Manag Perspect 29:157–165

Disney Cruise Line (2019) Disney cruise line awards & honors. https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/

Downe‐Wamboldt B (1992) Content analysis: method, applications, and issues. Health Care Women Int 13(3):313–321

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Erlingsson C, Brysiewicz P (2017) A hands-on guide to doing content analysis. African J Emerg Med 7(3):93–99

Executive Yuan (2017) https://www.ey.gov.tw/Page/5A8A0CB5B41DA11E/f6cc2ca8-266d-42e9-a44d-2722b80d3cd6

Global views (2023) https://www.gvm.com.tw/article/13096

Gössling S, Scott D, Hall CM (2020) Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19. J Sustain Tour 29(1):1–20

Gram M (2005) Family holidays. A qualitative analysis of family holiday experiences. Scand J Hospitality Tour 5(1):2–22

Han H, Hyun SS (2018) Role of motivations for luxury cruise traveling, satisfaction, and involvement in building traveler loyalty. Int J Hospitality Manag 70:75–84

Han H, Hyun SS (2019) Cruise travel motivations and repeat cruising behaviour: impact of relationship investment. Current Issues Tour 22(7):786–805

Hilbrecht M, Shaw SM, Delamere FM, Havitz ME (2008) Experiences, perspectives, and meanings of family vacations for children. Leisure/Loisir 32(2):541–571

Ho CH, Peng HH (2017) Travel motivation for Taiwanese hearing-impaired backpackers. Asia Pac J Tour Res 22(4):449–464

Hofstede G (2001) Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. Sage publications, Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi

Hsu CH, Li M (2017) Development of a cruise motivation scale for emerging markets in Asia. Int J Tour Res 19(6):682–692

Hung K, Petrick JF (2011) Why do you cruise? Exploring the motivations for taking cruise holidays, and the construction of a cruising motivation scale. Tour Manag 32(2):386–393

Hwang J, Han H (2014) Examining strategies for maximizing and utilizing brand prestige in the luxury cruise industry. Tour Manag 40:244–259

Jamal SA, Aminudin N, Kausar DR (2019) Family adventure tourism motives and decision-making: a case of whitewater rafting. J Outdoor Recreat Tour 25:10–15

Juan PJ, Chen HM (2011) Taiwanese cruise tourist behavior during different stages of experience. Int J Tour Res 14(5):485–494

Kang SK, Hsu CH (2004) Spousal conflict level and resolution in family vacation destination selection. J Hospitality Tour Res 28(4):408–424

Keaveney SM (1995) Customer switching behavior in service industries: an exploratory study. J Market 59(2):71–82

Kennedy-Eden H, Gretzel U (2016) Modern vacations - modern families: new meanings and structures of family vacations. Ann Leisure Res 19(4):461–478

Kim JH, Ritchie JRB, McCormick B (2010) Development of a scale to measure memorable tourism experiences. J Travel Res 51(1):12–25

Kong WH, Chang TZ (2016) Souvenir shopping, tourist motivation, and travel experience. J Qual Assurance Hospitality Tour 17(2):163–177

Lehto XY, Fu X, Li H, Zhou L (2016) Vacation benefits and activities. J Hospitality Tour Res 41(3):301–328

Lehto XY, Lin YC, Chen Y, Choi S (2012) Family vacation activities and family cohesion. J Travel Tour Market 29(8):835–850

Li M, Wang D, Xu W, Mao Z (2017) Motivation for family vacations with young children: anecdotes from the Internet. J Travel Tour Market 34(8):1047–1057

Li M, Xu W, Chen Y (2020) Young children’s vacation experience: through the eyes of parents. Tour Manag Perspect 33:100586

Liu X, Chang YC (2020) An emergency responding mechanism for cruise epidemic prevention - taking COVID-19 as an example. Marine Policy 119:104093

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Lyu J, Mao Z, Hu L (2018) Cruise experience and its contribution to subjective well-being: a case of Chinese tourists. Int J Tour Res 20(2):225–235

MacNeill T, Wozniak D (2018) The economic, social, and environmental impacts of cruise tourism. Tour Manag 66:387–404

Mancini M (2010) The CLIA guide to the cruise industry. Delmar Cengage Learning, New York, NY

Mauran C (2022) Revenge travel: consumers seek vengeance on Covid for cancelling their plans. https://mashable.com/article/what-is-revenge-travel-explainer

Matson-Barkat S, Robert-Demontrond P (2018) Who’s on the tourists’ menu? Exploring the social significance of restaurant experiences for tourists. Tour Manag 69:566–578

Mhyre JM (2010) Assessing quality with qualitative research. Can J Anesth 57(5):402–407

Milena Z, Dainora G, Alin S (2008) Qualitative research methods: a comparison between focus-group and in-depth interview. Annals of the University of Oradea. Econ Sci Ser 17(4):1279–1283

Mutanga CN, Vengesayi S, Chikuta O, Muboko N, Gandiwa E (2017) Travel motivation and tourist satisfaction with wildlife tourism experiences in Gonarezhou and Matusadona National Parks, Zimbabwe. J Outdoor Recreat Tour 20:1–18

National Development Council (2023) Analyzing the development of family structures. https://www.ndc.gov.tw/nc_708_28179

Özdemir G, Çelebi D (2018) Exploring dimensions of slow tourism motivation. Anatolia 29(4):540–552

Pan T, Shu F, Kitterlin-Lynch M, Beckman E (2021) Perceptions of cruise travel during the COVID-19 pandemic: market recovery strategies for cruise businesses in North America. Tour Manag 85:104275

Park S, Santos CA (2016) Exploring the tourist experience. J Travel Res 56(1):16–27

Patton MQ (2005) Qualitative research. Encyclopedia of statistics in Behavioral Science 3:1633–1636

Princess (2018) https://www.princesscruises.com.tw/News_article_inner_content.php?NNO=N00061

Radic A (2019) Towards an understanding of a child’s cruise experience. Current Issues Tour 22(2):237–252

Rodrigue JP, Notteboom T (2013) The geography of cruises: Itineraries, not destinations. Appli Geogr 38:31–42

Sato S, Kim H, Buning RJ, Harada M (2018) Adventure tourism motivation and destination loyalty: a comparison of decision and non-decision makers. J Destination Market Manag 8:74–81

Schänzel HA, Yeoman I (2015) Trends in family tourism. J Tour Futures 1(2):141–147

Seyfi S, Hall CM, Rasoolimanesh SM (2020) Exploring memorable cultural tourism experiences. J Heritage Tour 15(3):341–357

Seyfi S, Hall CM, Shabani B (2023) COVID-19 and international travel restrictions: the geopolitics of health and tourism. Tour Geographies 25:357–373

Shadel JD (2020) ‘Revenge travel’ is the phenomenon that could bring back tourism with a bang. The Washington Post July, 29. https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/07/29/revenge-travel-is-phenomenon-that-could-bring-back-tourism-with-bang/

Stamboulis Y, Skayannis P (2003) Innovation strategies and technology for experience-based tourism. Tour Management 24(1):35–43

Sun X, Feng X, Gauri DK (2014) The cruise industry in China: efforts, progress and challenges. Int J Hospitality Manag 42:71–84

Sung YK, Chang KC, Sung YF (2015) Market segmentation of international tourists based on motivation to travel: a case study of Taiwan. Asia Pac J Tour Res 21(8):862–882

Taiwan International Ports Corporation Ltd. (2019a) https://www.twport.com.tw/chinese/cp.aspx?n=04154E3135898E43

Taiwan International Ports Corporation Ltd. (2019b) https://www.twport.com.tw/chinese/Form.aspx?n=25D5AEB455D55738

The Harris Poll (2020) Revenge travel is real. https://theharrispoll.com/briefs/revenge-travel-is-real/

Toh RS, Rivers MJ, Ling TW (2005) Room occupancies: cruise lines out-do the hotels. Int J Hospitality Manag 24(1):121–135

Tourism Bureau (2019) https://www.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0027009

Tsaur SH, Huang CC (2015) Working holiday tourist learning: scale development and validation. J Travel Tour Market 33(4):535–550

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2021) Covid-19 and vulnerable groups: an inclusive response for vulnerable groups. https://www.unwto.org/covid-19-inclusive-response-vulnerable-groups

Walls AR, Okumus F, Wang Y, Kwun DJW (2011) An epistemological view of consumer experiences. Int J Hospitality Manag 30(1):10–21

Wang J, Xia L (2021) Revenge travel: nostalgia and desire for leisure travel post COVID-19. J Travel Tour Market 38(9):935–955

Wang KC, Hsieh AT, Huan TC (2000) Critical service features in group package tour: an exploratory research. Tour Manag 21(2):177–189

Wang KC, Jao PC, Lin YS, Guo YZ (2009) Exploring attractive messages in group package tour newspaper advertisements. Int J Advert 28(5):843–862

Wang W, Yi L, Wu MY, Pearce PL, Huang S (2018) Examining Chinese adult children’s motivations for traveling with their parents. Tour Manag 69:422–433

Weaver A (2011) The fragmentation of markets, neo-tribes, nostalgia, and the culture of celebrity: the rise of themed cruises. J Hospitality Tour Manag 18(1):54–60

Wijaya S, Wahyudi W, Kusuma CB, Sugianto E (2018) Travel motivation of Indonesian seniors in choosing destination overseas. Int J Cult Tour Hospitality Res 12(2):185–197

Wondirad A (2019) Retracing the past, comprehending the present and contemplating the future of cruise tourism through a meta-analysis of journal publications. Marine Policy 108:1–14

Wu HC, Cheng CC, Ai CH (2018) A study of experiential quality, experiential value, trust, corporate reputation, experiential satisfaction and behavioral intentions for cruise tourists: the case of Hong Kong. Tour Manag 66:200–220

Wu MY, Wall G, Zu Y, Ying T (2019) Chinese children’s family tourism experiences. Tour Manag Perspectives 29:166–175

Wu W, Kirillova K, Lehto X (2021) Learning in family travel: what, how, and from whom? J Travel Tour Market 38(1):44–57

Yuen KF, Bin Saidi MS, Bai X, Wang X (2021) Cruise transport service usage post COVID-19: the health belief model application. Transport Policy 111:185–196

Zabriskie RB, McCormick BP (2001) The influences of family leisure patterns on perceptions of family functioning. Family Relat 50(3):281–289

Zatori A, Smith MK, Puczko L (2018) Experience-involvement, memorability and authenticity: the service provider’s effect on tourist experience. Tour Manag 67:111–126

Zhang H, Wu Y, Buhalis D (2017) A model of perceived image, memorable tourism experiences and revisit intention. J Destination Market Manag 8:326–336

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Leisure Management, National Pingtung University, Pingtung, Taiwan

Wen-Yu Chen & Yu-Hsiang Fang

Department and Graduate School of Tourism Management, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan

Ya-Ping Chang

Department of Tourism & Leisure, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Cheng-Yi Kuo

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ya-Ping Chang .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

Prior to conducting the current study and conducting interviews with the 13 families, we obtained approval from an ethics review board of Leisure Management Department, National Pingtung University to ensure that the research is carried out in an ethical and responsible manner, with due regard for the protection of the subjects’ rights and well-being.

Informed consent

In Taiwan, individuals who are above 20 years of age are not mandated to sign an informed consent form when participating in research, as this is deemed to align with ethical research practices. Moreover, prior to their involvement in the study, the parents of the 13 families were provided with detailed information about the research and were given the chance to seek clarifications before making a decision on whether or not to participate. This included furnishing the participants with a consent form that outlines the study’s objectives, procedures, potential benefits, and their right to withdraw their involvement at any point.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Chen, WY., Fang, YH., Chang, YP. et al. Exploring motivation via three-stage travel experience: how to capture the hearts of Taiwanese family-oriented cruise tourists. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10 , 506 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01986-3

Download citation

Received : 29 January 2023

Accepted : 24 July 2023

Published : 15 August 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01986-3

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Tourists’ Travel Motivations During Crises: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

• First Online: 02 March 2023

Cite this chapter

• Rasha Kassem 4 &
• Chanaka Ganepola 5  

214 Accesses

This study seeks to explore tourists’ travel motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study presents findings from an online questionnaire sent to 166 tourists in various regions, including Europe, America, Australasia, Asia and Africa. This study identified seven travel motivators but found that the COVID-19 vaccine and guaranteed refund schemes are the prime motivators of future travel in all regions. Most younger participants consider the vaccine a prime motivator for post-COVID-19 travel. Although not as significant, hygiene is also identified as a travel motivator and is appreciated more by females than males. Moreover, the majority of participants in the age group (20–29 years old), those living with dependents and relatively low-income earners (income <$20,000), identified discounts on accommodation and travel as travel motivators. Understanding what may motivate tourists to travel is essential as it would help government agencies, travel agents, tourism marketers, transport systems and hospitality services cope with the current crisis more effectively. Additionally, this study summarises recovery strategies used to manage previous health crises as reported in the literature. This summary can be used as a toolkit or guide to managing health crises by practitioners and policymakers. Therefore, this study provides timely information about a recent and fatal crisis and can thus serve as part of the knowledge base in crisis planning.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime
• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info
• Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

COVID-19 pandemic and tourism: The impact of health risk perception and intolerance of uncertainty on travel intentions

COVID-19: how can travel medicine benefit from tourism’s focus on people during a pandemic?

COVID-19 Pandemic and Young Tourists’ Travel Risk Perceptions: Impacts on Travel Restrictions (Local and International) and Tourism

http://www.onlinesurveys.ac.uk

Amankwah-Amoah, J. (2020). Note: Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Responding to environmental shocks: Insights on global airlines’ responses to COVID-19. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 143 , 102098.

Article   Google Scholar  

Baker, D. M. (2015). Tourism and the health effects of infectious diseases: Are there potential risks for tourists? International Journal of Safety and Security in Tourism, 12 , 1–18.

Google Scholar  

Baloglu, S., & McCleary, K. W. (1999). A model of destination image formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 26 (4), 868–897.

Barro R. J., Ursúa J. F., & Weng, J. (2020). The coronavirus and the great influenza pandemic . NBER Working Paper Series.

Bazeley, P. (2013). Qualitative data analysis: Practical strategies . SAGE Publications Inc..

Berg, B. L. (2009). Qualitative research methods (7th ed.). Pearson.

Biran, A., Liu, W., Li, G., & Eichhorn, V. (2014). Consuming post-disaster destinations: The case of Sichuan, China. Annals of Tourism Research, 47 , 1–17.

Blake, A., Sinclair, M. T., & Sugiyarto, G. (2003). Quantifying the impact of foot and mouth disease on tourism and the UK economy. Tourism Economics, 9 (4), 449–465.

Brada, J. C., Gajewski, P., & Kutan, A. M. (2021). Economic resiliency and recovery, lessons from the financial crisis for the COVID-19 pandemic: A regional perspective from Central and Eastern Europe. International Review of Financial Analysis, 74 , 101658.

Bucak, T., & Yi˘git, S. (2021). The future of the chef occupation and the food and beverage sector after the COVID-19 outbreak: Opinions of Turkish chefs. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92 , 102682.

Cavlek, N. (2002). Tour operators and destination safety. Annals of Tourism Research, 29 (2), 478–496.

Chen, C. (2021). Annals of Tourism Research Psychological tolls of COVID-19 on industry employees. Annals of Tourism Research, 89 , 103080.

Chen, M. H., Jang, S. C., & Kim, W. G. (2007). The impact of the SARS outbreak on Taiwanese hotel stock performance: An event-study approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 26 (1), 200–212.

Choquet, A., & Sam-Lefebvre, A. (2020). Ports closed to cruise ships in the context of COVID-19: What choices are there for coastal states? Annals of Tourism Research, 86 , 103066.

Conner, M., & Norman, P. (2005). Predicting health behaviour . McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Costa, J. (2004). The Portuguese tourism sector: Key challenges for human resources management. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16 (7), 402–407.

Costantino, V., Heslop, D. J., & MacIntyre, C. R. (2020). The effectiveness of full and partial travel bans against COVID-19 spread in Australia for travellers from China during and after the epidemic peak in China. Journal of Travel Medicine, 27 (5), 1–7.

Craig, C. A. (2020). Camping, glamping, and coronavirus in the United States. Annals of Tourism Research, 89 , 103071.

Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc..

Farmaki, A. (2021). Memory and forgetfulness in tourism crisis research. Tourism Management, 83 , 104210.

Farmaki, A., Miguel, C., Drotarova, M. H., et al. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 on peer-to-peer accommodation platforms: Host perceptions and responses. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91 , 102663.

Farzanegan, M. R., Gholipour, H. F., Feizi, M., et al. (2021). International tourism and outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19): A cross-country analysis. Journal of Travel Research, 60 (3), 687–692.

Faulkner, B. (2001). Towards a framework for tourism disaster management. Tourism Management, 22 (2), 135–147.

Fisher, J. J., Almanza, B. A., Behnke, C., et al. (2018). Norovirus on cruise ships: Motivation for handwashing? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 75 , 10–17.

Fong, L. H. N., Law, R., & Ye, B. H. (2020). Outlook of tourism recovery amid an epidemic: Importance of outbreak control by the government. Annals of Tourism Research, 86 , 102951.

Foroni, C., Marcellino, M., & Stevanovic, D. (2022). Forecasting the COVID-19 recession and recovery: Lessons from the financial crisis. International Journal of Forecasting, 38 (2), 596–612.

Gallego, I., & Font, X. (2020). Changes in air passenger demand as a result of the COVID-19 crisis: Using Big Data to inform tourism policy. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29 (2), 1–20.

Hale, T., Noam, A., Beatriz, K., et al. (2020). Variations in government responses to COVID-19 Version 7.0. Blavatnik School of Government Working Paper, 31 , 2011–2020.

Hall, M. C. (2010). Crisis events in tourism: Subjects of crisis in tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 13 (5), 401–417.

Henderson, J. C. (2003). Communicating in a crisis: Flight SQ 006. Tourism Management, 24 (3), 279–287.

Im, J., Kim, H., & Miao, L. (2021). CEO letters: Hospitality corporate narratives during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92 , 102701.

Jamal, T., & Budke, C. (2020). Tourism in a world with pandemics: Local-global responsibility and action. Journal of Tourism Futures, 6 (2), 181–188.

Jang, S. C., & Wu, C. M. E. (2006). Seniors’ travel motivation and the influential factors: An examination of Taiwanese seniors. Tourism Management, 27 (2), 306–316.

Jonas, A., Mansfeld, Y., Paz, S., & Potasman, I. (2011). Determinants of health risk perception among low-risk-taking tourists traveling to developing countries. Journal of Travel Research, 50 (1), 87–99.

Jones, P., & Comfort, D. (2020). The COVID-19 crisis and sustainability in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32 (10), 3037–3050.

Kaushal, V., & Srivastava, S. (2021). Hospitality and tourism industry amid COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives on challenges and learnings from India. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92 , 102707.

Khan, M. J., Chelliah, S., & Ahmed, S. (2017). Factors influencing destination image and visit intention among young women travellers: Role of travel motivation, perceived risks, and travel constraints. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 22 (11), 1139–1155.

Krishen, A. S., Berezan, O., Agarwal, S., et al. (2016). The generation of virtual needs: Recipes for satisfaction in social media networking. Journal of Business Research, 69 (11), 5248–5254.

Krishen, A. S., Berezan, O., Agarwal, S., et al. (2019). Social media networking satisfaction in the US and Vietnam: Content versus connection. Journal of Business Research, 101 , 93–103.

Kuo, H. I., Chen, C. C., Tseng, W. C., et al. (2008). Assessing impacts of SARS and Avian Flu on international tourism demand to Asia. Tourism Management, 29 (5), 917–928.

Lepp, A., & Gibson, H. (2003). Tourist roles, perceived risk, and international tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 30 (3), 606–624.

Lee et al. (2012). 2009 pandemic Influenza A (H1N1): clinical and laboratory characteristics in pediatric and adult patients and in patients with pulmonary involvement. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, 6 (601), e152–e161.

Li, J., Nguyen, T. H. H., & Coca-Stefaniak, J. A. (2020a). Coronavirus impacts on post-pandemic planned travel behaviours. Annals of Tourism Research , (March), 102964.

Li, M. L., Bouardi, H. T., Lami, O. S., Trikalinos T. A., et al. (2020b). Forecasting COVID-19 and analysing the effect of government interventions. MedRxiv .

Lwin, M. O., Stanaland, A. J. S., & Chan, D. (2010). Using protection motivation theory to predict condom usage and assess HIV health communication efficacy in Singapore. Health Communication, 25 (1), 69–79.

Mao, C. K., Ding, C. G., & Lee, H. Y. (2010). Post-SARS tourist arrival recovery patterns: An analysis based on a catastrophe theory. Tourism Management, 31 (6), 855–861.

March, R., & Woodside, A. G. (2005). Testing theory of planned versus realised tourism behaviour. Annals of Tourism Research, 32 (4), 905–924.

McIntyre, N., & Roggenbuck, J. W. (1998). Nature/person transactions during an outdoor adventure experience: A multi-phasic analysis. Journal of Leisure Research, 30 (4), 401–422.

McKercher, B., & Chon, K. (2004). The over-reaction to SARS and the collapse of Asian tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 31 (3), 716–719.

Möller, C., Wang, J., & Nguyen, H. T. (2018). #Strongerthanwinston: Tourism and crisis communication through Facebook following tropical cyclones in Fiji. Tourism Management, 69 , 272–284.

Morakabati, Y., Page, S. J., & Fletcher, J. (2017). Emergency management and tourism stakeholder responses to crises: A global survey. Journal of Travel Research, 56 (3), 299–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287516641516

Novelli, M., Gussing Burgess, L., Jones, A., et al. (2018). ‘No Ebola…still doomed’ – The Ebola-induced tourism crisis. Annals of Tourism Research, 70 , 76–87.

Page, S., Yeoman, I., Munro, C. Connell, J., & Walker, L. (2006). A case study of best practice—Visit Scotland’s prepared response to an influenza pandemic. Tourism Management, 27 (3), 361–393.

Page, S., Song, H., & Wu, D. C. (2012). Assessing the impacts of the global economic crisis and swine flu on inbound tourism demand in the United Kingdom. Journal of Travel Research, 51 (2), 142–153.

Pani, A., Mishra, S., Golias, M., et al. (2020). Evaluating public acceptance of autonomous delivery robots during COVID-19 pandemic. Transportation Research Part D, 89 , 102600.

Pine, R., & McKercher, B. (2004). The impact of SARS on Hong Kong’s tourism industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16 (2), 139–143.

Reisinger, Y., & Mavondo, F. (2005). Travel anxiety and intentions to travel internationally: Implications of travel risk perception. Journal of Travel Research, 43 (3), 212–225.

Richter, L. K. (2003). International tourism and its global public health consequences. Journal of Tourism Research, 41 (4), 340–347.

Ritchie, B. W., & Jiang, Y. (2019). A review of research on tourism risk, crisis, and disaster management: Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on tourism risk, crisis, and disaster management. Annals of Tourism Research, 79 , 102812.

Rittichainuwat, B. N. (2006). Tsunami recovery: A case study of Thailand’s tourism. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 47 (4), 390–404.

Rogers, T. (2020). Impacts of coronavirus on APAC tourism. Tourism Economics. Available at https://www.ukinbound.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus-APAC-travel-impact_Tourism-Economicscompressed.pdf

Rosselló, J., Becken, S., & Santana-Gallego, M. (2020). The effects of natural disasters on international tourism: A global analysis. Tourism Management, 79 , 104080.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research methods for business students (5th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.

Schroeder, A., & Pennington-Gray, L. (2014). Perceptions of crime at the Olympic Games: What role does media, travel advisories, and social media play? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 20 (3), 225–237.

Sharma, P., Leung, T. Y., Kigshott, R. P. J., et al. (2020). Managing uncertainty during a global pandemic: An international business perspective. Journal of Business Research, 116 (May), 188–192.

Sheller, M. (2020). Reconstructing tourism in the Caribbean: Connecting pandemic recovery, climate resilience, and sustainable tourism through mobility justice. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29 (2), 1–14.

Shin, H., & Kang, J. (2020). Reducing perceived health risk to attract hotel customers in the COVID-19 pandemic era: Focused on technology innovation for social distancing and cleanliness. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 91 , 102664.

Sigala, M. (2020). Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research. Journal of Business Research, 117 , 312–321.

Slevitch, L., & Sharma, A. (2008). Management of perceived risk in the context of destination choice. International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, 9 (1), 85–103.

Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2009). Foundations of mixed methods research: Integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches in the social and behavioural sciences . SAGE Publications Inc.

Tew, P. J., Lu, Z., Tolomiczenko, G., et al. (2008). SARS: Lessons in strategic planning for hoteliers and destination marketers. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20 (3), 332–346.

Tse, A. C. B., So, S., & Sin, L. (2006). Crisis management and recovery: How restaurants in Hong Kong responded to SARS. Hospital Management, 25 , 3–11.

Wan, L. C., Chan, E. K., & Luo, X. (2021). Robots come to rescue: How to reduce perceived risk of infectious disease in Covid19-stricken consumers? Annals of Tourism Research, 88 , 103069.

Yin, E., Chew, T., & Jahari, S. A. (2014). Destination image as a mediator between perceived risks and revisit intention: A case of post-disaster Japan. Tourism Management, 40 , 382–393.

Zenker, S., & Kock, F. (2020). The coronavirus pandemic – A critical discussion of a tourism research agenda. Tourism Management, 81 , 104164.

Zheng, D., Luo, Q., & Ritchie, B. W. (2021). Afraid to travel after COVID-19? Self-protection, coping, and resilience against pandemic ‘travel fear’. Tourism Management, 83 , 10426.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

The Open University, School of Business and Law, Milton Keynes, UK

Rasha Kassem

University of Manchester, Business School, Manchester, UK

Chanaka Ganepola

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rasha Kassem .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Tourism and Integrated Communications Faculty of Human Sciences, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

Kaitano Dube

University of South Africa, Faerie Glen, Pretoria, South Africa

Godwell Nhamo

University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Kassem, R., Ganepola, C. (2023). Tourists’ Travel Motivations During Crises: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. In: Dube, K., Nhamo, G., Swart, M. (eds) COVID-19, Tourist Destinations and Prospects for Recovery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22257-3_8

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22257-3_8

Published : 02 March 2023

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-031-22256-6

Online ISBN : 978-3-031-22257-3

eBook Packages : Business and Management Business and Management (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

What Motivates People to Travel

There is no right or wrong way to live. The very concept of being right or wrong is based on the circumstances you find yourself in when you are called upon to make a judgment. But what about traveling? Do people who dare to walk on unusual paths know some tricks to stay motivated? Or maybe it is a kind of sport or activity that gives them these extreme emotions? Have you ever wondered what keeps them motivated? What motivates people to travel the world rather than spending time at home? Reasons are plentiful.

The reasons why we travel are as varied as travelers themselves. Someone may need a break from the hustle and bustle, look at things from a different angle. Make some new friends or get someone to fall in love with. It is no secret that occasional change of scenery is certainly necessary due to inevitable emotions any traveler experience on every trip. Making better decisions in your life often requires switching attention backwards and forwards between different tasks and focusing on something else. So there is nothing better than a two-week stay away from home to reboot your brain and start focusing on self-improvement, get rid of things you know don’t add value to your life.

In this post I’m trying to comprehend how does one stay motivated to travel, not to think about and regret going home because of homesickness, and why travel is so important in life.

1. The Need for Change

My original motivation for travel some 10 years ago was the need for change. I was aware of a whole world that existed outside of my comfort zone . I was striving to find a passion and start thinking and being more positive. At the same time, I realized reinvigorating my thinking would be impossible without taking myself away from the present, familiar environs to something that is new and unfamiliar and because it is new, gratifyingly stimulating and thrilling.

The entire thing wasn’t just about escaping from the dull daily routine. Though once I stepped out of my comfort zone, the joy and happiness from exploring new destinations became addictive. It didn’t take me long to realize I wanted to change myself in a way that will make me a better person. Furthermore, I wanted to get an unfiltered view of the world. I wanted to try traditional Thai food dishes , get lost in Beijing and see the most bizarre trees on the planet.

There’s nothing stale or banal about the psychology of tourism. I think you’ll agree with me when I say it’s a completely different experience to journey to Shanghai than to watch it on a NatGeo documentary. Exploring the winding streets of Hong Kong is drastically different from swiping HK photos on Instagram feed.

Adjusting to new surroundings, immersing myself in entirely different cultures, and hearing someone speaking an unfamiliar accent is something that makes me feel alive.

2. The Romance of Travel

Let’s face it, romance is a strong travel motivator. Apart from other cultural motivators in tourism, romance, and pleasure of the trip are the primary characteristics and qualities of the travel experience. Since loneliness and the need to escape unpleasant circumstances can drive some to extreme measures, the romance of travel and some indulgence are the best ways to overcome difficult personal circumstances.

Practicing pleasure travel gives rise to the satisfaction gained only by such experiences. And satisfaction often leads to reducing tension and anxiety. The pleasure trip thus becomes even more important and primarily learned a form of reducing stress and stopping anxiety.

Even the most committed solo travelers or digital nomads can relate to feelings of loneliness . After spending more than 10 years on the road I can admit, I have been succumbed to moments of feeling alone. Discussing the nuances of your trip with friends or relatives can have a big impact on the way you see the world and think about yourself. Few are immune to missing family and friends or feeling homesick at some time and have felt the need to seek interaction with other human beings. Dealing with loneliness is one of the greatest challenges solo travelers face .

3. Travel for Health

As I already said, there are many reasons why people love to travel. After a decade on the road, I’ve had my share of illnesses. However, I’ve always been prepared and controlled the risks by keeping in mind what should I do to stay healthy on the road .

Traveling is generally considered as an investment in health. When you travel, you get to visit healing sites like the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, the Pamukkale Hot Springs in Turkey or the Dead Sea. Hot springs and mineral-rich lakes can help you improve your skin, relieve pain, and reduce stress. Yup, hot geothermal springs can’t heal every kind of disease. But soaking in them may provide a range of conditions, from rashes to digestive disorders, improved after a visit.

Recently, I found myself standing on top of the Singuttara Hill admiring one of the most beloved and well-known holy sites in Asia . Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon was in front of me with its incomparable architectural design and shimmering gold plated dome. I found myself pulled to this spot with no clear understanding of what has happened.

Shwedagon Pagoda is the reason I am here, the backdrop to the myriad golden and painted lesser-known pagodas and temples I am photographing. And the reason so many people chose this place full of magic and mystery. The truth is that this golden stupa has a powerful vortex of spiritual energy. No one knows why this is, but the Pagoda is the most important religious site and place of pilgrimage.

4. Travel to Learn Life Skills and Life Lessons

The two months I spent traveling around Thailand during my big trip were some of the most intense and interesting months of my life. Every day was a new adventure. I challenged myself to learn new things, as a result, I learned so much during that time I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I mastered my inner peace, learned a lot about foreign language and culture, about Thailand in general, and about humanity.

With all the exciting moments we face each day abroad in a foreign place it’s hard not to come away with more than a souvenir.

What I love most about traveling (and hiking there) to new places is the chance to develop a better sense of direction. While I always thought that I had a good sense of direction, it was not until I went trekking in Thailand that it was really put to the test. Traveling on your own means you’re the only one who chooses what to explore next. There is no better opportunity to test and/or develop your sense of direction.

What I’ve learned from that trip I must create an awareness of my surroundings based on the four points of the compass. If you know where north is, you can easily determine the direction and navigate your way through. By constantly connecting your walking route to the north by using a compass (try not to use GPS!), you are exercising your natural sense of direction.

5. Travel for Pleasure

In most cases, traveling gives me a unique feeling of the present moment. When I’m entangled in my thoughts of past or future or imagination, finding the pleasures can help me shift the perspective. The very concept of traveling for pleasure is subjectively relative to many unexpected circumstances.

Life exists only at this very moment. Thus focusing on many things at a time may generate dissatisfaction and the feeling of a missed opportunity. The kind of people you meet on your way often can help you concentrate your mind on the present moment. Therefore broaden your horizons. So having pleasure in traveling is not per se in the movement from destination to destination , rather the things that give you the story to tell.

When I was traveling from Cairo to Dusseldorf, the aircraft flew me through Rome and certain parts of Italy . Upon reaching a particular point, the pilot swerved the plane to give the passengers a view of the terrain. Though this twist was not a part of my original itinerary, it spiced up a good memory.

After that particular flight I realized, we don’t travel for pleasure. We travel to seek pleasure. Travel isn’t about short-term pleasures, it is rather about a long lasting pleasure that creates tangible memories both past and present.

What is your motivation for traveling?

STOP PROCRASTINATING YOUR DREAM VOYAGE!

8 REASONS WHY TRAVELLING MAKES YOU A BETTER PERSON

WHY DO WE TRAVEL

9 to 5 Voyager

Excellent post! And truly unique. I think finding the right motivation is key to getting out of the house and seeing the world.

Angella Shin

A lot of people ask me this question…and how I manage to save the money to travel. Well…I just tell them, I’ve been sheltered all my life because I was busy building up my nursing career. I finally met my husband who was already well traveled and he began to show me the world. We traveled to 7 countries in the last 2 years and I am just now blogging about them. We travel to get away from comfort and take a break from the norm. It just feels refreshing to visit a new country and learn a unique culture.

If you agree, please check out my travel blog as well…would love your feedback!

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies

My website uses cookies so that I can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to my website and helping me to understand which sections of Mind The Travel you find most interesting and useful.

You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that I can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, I will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit my website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, travel motivation: linking theory to practice.

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

ISSN : 1750-6182

Article publication date: 9 October 2009

The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature on travel motivation and provides a scenario‐based discussion on the applications of travel motivation theories in the industry practice. The paper offers an invaluable practical interpretation of travel motivation and related management issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive literature review on travel motivation is conducted to acknowledge the major theories. Two scenarios are presented and discussed by linking two motivation conceptual schemes, Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and Plog's allocentrism/psychocentrism model, to practical issues in travel management.

The literature review discloses that travel motivation theories have evolved over time. By linking theories to industry practice, the paper advocates that travel managers be more conscious of travelers' internal psychological needs when designing travel services/products.

Originality/value

This paper offers a good understanding of travel motivation by discussing theoretical applications in real‐world situations.

• Tourism management

Huang, S.(S). and Hsu, C.H.C. (2009), "Travel motivation: linking theory to practice", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research , Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 287-295. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506180910994505

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles

All feedback is valuable.

Please share your general feedback

Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions

Contact Customer Support

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

TOURISTS' MOTIVATIONS TO TRAVEL: A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE EXISTING LITERATURE

Related Papers

Tourism and hospitality management

Anish Yousaf

Lê Hùng Phương

Willevans Antat

Athula Gnanapala

Tourists’ motivation is studied by researchers to understand their behavior and the decision-making process. It is noted that behavior of tourists is mainly influenced by various factors such as cultural backgrounds, social influences, perception, personality, economic situations, education etc. Travel motive is the starting points of the decision making process (Crompton and McKay, 1997). When planning a trip, it is necessary to answer the questions such as “why do we/they travel?”, “where to go?”, “which is the most suitable…? “when to go?, and “how?” etc. Various theories and concepts have been developed and tested to reveal the travel motives, but yet there are contradictions. Objective of this study is to critically review and discuss the theories and concepts in general and tourist motivations in particular. Further, this study develops a research framework for Sri Lanka on tourist motivation and elaborates implication on future researches on consumer motivation in tourism and hospitality. The study categorized the theories found on tourism motivation into push and pull motives, escaping and seeking and need theories etc. Finally, the emphasis placed on fundamental facts behind behavior and decision making in line with assessment of perception and satisfaction aspects on post purchasing and potential behavior.

Annals of Tourism Research

Yoel Mansfeld

Kacie Lorenson

This study examines motivations, factors and influences for individuals either traveling alone, with others they know, or with a group travel company. The method used was a selfadministered survey that had a total of 17 questions. There were 141 individuals who completed the survey. Once the data was gathered a chi-squared test was used to understand if there is a difference in factors to be included in a tour, in motivations desired for individuals traveling and in influences that affected individual’s decisions in traveling. Once the test statistic was performed and analyzed, the study was able to conclude if there was a difference in factors, motivations, and influences and their ranking.

cactus-journal-of-tourism.ase.ro

Cristina Mahika

robert shepherd

Transport Reviews

Patricia L Mokhtarian

Tourism and Hospitality Management

Derya TOKSÖZ , Tugba Pala

Purpose-This study aims to better understand the phenomenon of travel itch by revealing the travel motives and travel attributes of "travel itchers" within the framework of motivational theories. Design/methodology/approach-This is an exploratory study. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from individuals who have first-hand experience of travel itch (N: 30). Data were analysed using content analysis within the framework of motivational theories. Findings-This exploratory study finds that travel itch means a desire to travel and findings revealed that the motives of travel itchers are novelty, escape, host-site involvement, self-actualization, stimulation in line with the Travel Career Pattern (TCP) except travel itself. Travel itself is both one of the main motives and coping methods that distinguish those from other travellers. For coping methods, itchers do travel-related activities apart from travel itself. Nonetheless, travel itch is a recurrent cycle even after having a holiday. Consequently, an attempt was made to redefine the concept of 'travel itch' in light of all these findings. Originality of the research-Travel itch is an interesting concept newly introduced into tourism literature. And in order to obtain data this study puts the travel itchers themselves who use this concept. Since this is one of the first studies to examine the concept of travel itch, this study can be a guide for future research and place the concept in the context of travel motivation.

RELATED PAPERS

Communicationes Archaeologicae Hungariae

Kriszta Marczel

Cognizance Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (CJMS)

Usman Waheed , Muhammad Numan , Cognizance Journal Multidisciplinary Studies

Jean-Claude Dumoncel

Journal of Propulsion and Power

Edgar Choueiri

Carlos Arquimedes

Randwick International of Social Science Journal

richmond blay

Arduino Maiuri

Ayer. Revista de Historia Contemporánea

Ignazio Veca

Radiocarbon

Steve Renette , Michael Lewis , André Tomé

Milan S Dimitrijevic

Biker Ram III

Jose Luis Fernandez

Cadernos de Literatura em Tradução

Fernanda Boarin Boechat

Anelau Rimetz

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development

soumen jana

GIL Jahrestagung

Ewa Burszta-Adamiak

DOUGLAS GUEDES BATISTA TORRES

办理麦克马斯特大学毕业证/成绩单修改 加拿大文凭MMU文凭证书学位证书

Hans-Dieter Sues

Jurnal Pemberdayaan: Publikasi Hasil Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat

Nurjannah Abdullah

Riska Putri sari

Vanessa Perdu Ortiz

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024