Chapter 3 Objective and Subjective Factors Shaping Tourism Learning Objectives: Explain the objective factors Explain the effects of cultural background on travel decisions. Explain the effects of time & income on travel decisions. Explain the effects of socio-economic background on travel decisions. Explain the effects of psychographic background on travel decisions. Explain the subjective factors—Motivations

Overview The objective factors Why people travel? (reasons) The effects of TIME on travel The effects of INCOME on travel Other SOCIOECONOMIC variables effects on travel The effects of CULTURE on travel The effect of PERSONALITY on travel Other forces Why people travel? (reasons) Motivation Pull motivation & Push motivation Motivation theories and implications Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; The travel career ladder (TCL; Pearce 1988, 1991, 1993); Iso-Ahola’s (1982) optimal arousal theory; Plog’s (1974) allocentric-psychocentric theory.

Barriers to Travel 1. Cost 2. Lack of time 3. Health limitations 4. Family stage 5. Fear and safety 6. Lack of interest

The effects of TIME on travel Time can be spent in one of three ways: Work: Maintenance: activities that are necessary to sustain and maintain life, such as eating, sleeping, maintaining the house. Leisure: the time remaining after work and maintenance activities have been completed.

Vacation time as of July 2003 Country Days by law Average Sweden 25 25-35 Austria 30 Denmark Germany 24 Italy 20 Norway 21 Spain France 25-30 Switzerland Ireland 28 Australia Finland Netherlands Portugal 22 United Kingdom Belgium Greece 23 Japan 10 17.5 China 15 U.S. 10.2

The effects of TIME on travel China’s situation? To meet the growing demand for leisure travel among China’s own citizens and to encourage personal consumption for economic growth, the central government has issued a number of policies to promote tourism. In 1992, weeklong holidays were first introduced; In 1995, a five-day work week was introduced; Starting in 1999, three weeklong holidays were established around May 1(May Day/Labor Day), October 1 (National Day), and the lunar Spring Festival of Chinese New Year. Starting in 2008, only two weeklong holidays were remained around October 1 (National Day), and the lunar Spring Festival of Chinese New Year.

The effects of INCOME on travel Personal income Taxes Disposable income Personal outlays Discretionary income Consumer durables Savings Recreation

The effects of INCOME on travel Personal Income An individual's total annual gross earnings coming from wages, business enterprises and various investments. Income tax A tax levied on net personal or business income. A tax on any money earned during a fiscal year, usually filed on a yearly basis. Disposable Income The amount of income left after paying taxes. Discretionary Income The amount of an individual's income that is left for spending after the essentials have been taken care of. Individual income that is not allocated for necessary items such as food and shelter. Dual Income, No Kids - DINKS A household in which there are two incomes and no children. DINKS are often the target of marketing efforts for luxury items such as expensive cars and vacations.

Personal income in the United States Personal income for the population age 25 or older. Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/personal-income-in-the-united-states

Income in the United States SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2006 http://www.answers.com/topic/personal-income-in-the-united-states

Other SOCIOECONOMIC variables effects Age Generational influence Sex Education Life cycle stages

Class model regarding the social structure of the United States. This particular model was introduced by William Thompson and Joseph Hickey in Society in Focus in 2005.

The effects of CULTURE on travel Culture can be defined as a “set of beliefs, values, attitudes, habits, and forms of behavior that are shared by a society and are transmitted from generation to generation”.

The effects of culture on travel Hofstede found the value patterns vary along four main dimensions: Power Distance (social hierarchy, formality) Individualism vs Collectivism (individual/group achievements) The closeness of the relationship between one person and other persons. Femininity vs Masculinity (social roles) Uncertainty Avoidance (ambiguity) How to deal with the uncertainty of future; The role of opinion leaders is strong and safety is important in high scoring countries. Hofstede (1980, 2001)

Evidence for Different Work Values across Cultures

Country Cluster and their Value Systems Source: Jackofsky, Slocum & McQuaid (1988). ‘Cultural Values and the CEO: Alluring Companions?’, The Academy of Management Executive, Vol 11(1), 39-49; Original Source: Hofstede, G. (1980a). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publications

The effect of PERSONALITY on travel Introverts (introverted): look into themselves and tend to be shy and reserved. Extroverts (extroverted): Are other-oriented, looking outside the self, and tending to be objective rather than subjective in outlook. People from the East prefer dependable types of travel while people from the West prefer more venturesome types of travel;

Other External Factors Impacting Tourism Political stability Energy prices rising directly affects consumer disposable income Exchange rate The Canadian dollar is expected to stay on par with current levels. Outbound Canadian travel will remain strong. Public health issue — SARS，H1N1 flu According to the Conference Board of Canada……..Canada’s comparative advantage is slipping

Tourism Motivations Robert W. McIntosh, Charles R. Goeldner, JR Brent Ritchie (1995) proposed four basic tourism motivations in their book named Tourism: Principles, Practices and Philosophies: Physical Cultural Interpersonal Status and prestige

Motivation Motivation: the drive to satisfy needs and wants, both physiological and psychological through the purchase and use of products and services. Push motivations: internal, socio-psychological motivations that predispose the individual to travel. (whether to go?) Pull motivation: external motivations that attract the individual to a specific destination once the decision to travel has been made. (where to go?)

Push and Pull factors People travel because they are pushed by physiological, psychological, intangible and internal factors; and people travel also because they are pulled by the unique things a destination features, such as image, recreation facilities, education, appreciating scenery, safety, gambling and foods.

Motivational Push Items

Motivational pull items

Motivation theories The present research concentrates on the development, modification, and potential enhancement of one of the existing theories of tourist motivation. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; The travel career ladder (TCL; Pearce 1988, 1991, 1993); Iso-Ahola’s (1982) optimal arousal theory; Plog’s (1974) allocentric-psychocentric theory.

Maslow’s Theory Sought to explain why people are driven by particular needs at particular times Human needs are arranged in a hierarchy When the important need is satisfied, it stops being a motivator

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self Actualization Esteem Needs (self-esteem) Social Needs (sense of belonging, love) Safety Needs (security, protection) Physiological Needs (hunger, thirst)

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs According to Maslow there are five needs forming a hierarchy. Maslow’s needs and their order of priority are: Physiological -- food, water, shelter, reproduction Safety -- stability, security, structure Love -- affiliation, affection, sense of belonging Esteem -- success, self worth, achievement Self-actualization -- self fulfillment, personal growth Maslow’s suggested that a person will be motivated to fulfill a higher level need only if lower needs have already been fulfilled.

The travel career ladder Pearce’s Travel Career Ladder is based on a hierarchy of travel motives and builds on Maslow’s model (in Pearce et al., 1998). Each person has a “travel career” just as they have a “work career”. People start their travel careers at different levels during their travel careers. Broadly, the TCL theory proposed that people progress upward through the levels of motivation when accumulating travel experiences. People’s travel decisions and decision-making processes are not static; they change over a person’s lifetime based on their travel experiences.

The travel needs ladder Fulfilment needs Need for self-actualization Need for flow experience Self-esteem/development needs (Other directed) Need for status Need for respect recognition Need for achievement (Self-directed) Need for self-development Need for growth Need for mastery, control competence Need for self-efficacy Relationship needs (Other directed) Need to reduce anxiety about others Need to affiliate (Self-directed) Need to give love, affection Safety/security needs (Other directed) Need for security (Self-directed) Need to reduce anxiety Need to predict and explain the world Relaxation needs (Externally oriented) need for escape, excitement, curiosity Need for arousal, external excitement, stimulation (Internally oriented) Need for rest, eating, drinking Need for relaxation (manage arousal level) People tend to ascend the ladder as they become more experienced travelers Higher-level motives include low-level motives. Lower-level motives have to be satisfied or experienced before high-level motives come into play The travel needs ladder

Optimal Arousal Theory Optimal Arousal Theory, also named two dimensional theory of tourist motivation, is developed by S. E. Iso-Ahola’s. The basic principle behind the optimal arousal theory is that a person seeks out a level of stimulation that is best for him/her as an individual. If a person’s life is too quiet, the person may seek out stimulation through activity. If too much is happening in a person’s world, then the person seeks to cut off stimulation and find a quieter environment. Tourism provides an excellent means of accommodating a person’s need for an optimal level of stimulation. Someone whose day-to-day life is overbearing may choose to visit a remote, peaceful setting to counter the pressures of home and work. Someone whose work and life are boring may want a vacation that supplies adventure and excitement.

Iso-Ahola’s theory of seeking and escaping Source: Iso-Ahola, S. E. (1984). Social psychological foundations of leisure and resultant implications for leisure counseling. In Leisure counseling: concepts and applications, E. T. Dowd, ed., pp. 97-125. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

Plog’s allocentric-psychocentric theory Psychocentric-allocentric model This work was historically important in providing one organizing theory of travel motivation. It offers only a single trait: a static and extrinsic account of tourist motivation It is not of universal application It is limited by its formulation in the tourism context of the early 1970s

Plog’s distribution of psychological segments -five types personality Plog (1973) used a psychometric scale to categories tourists into allocentric, mid-centric and psychocentric, depending on individual's relative focus on their own culture and the one they are visiting. Psychocentrics tourists like good facilities; nice swimming pools; well-organized trip; pub lunches.

Plog’s distribution of psychological segments The personality scale helps to explain why destinations rise and fall in popularity. In particular, tourists’ personality characteristics determine their travel patterns and preferences. Resource: Stanley Plog, Why destination areas rise and fall in popularity, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly; Jun 2001; 42, 3; ABI/INFORM Global, pg. 13

Psychographic positions of destinations (1972) Psychocentric: Conservative in travel pattern, prefer ‘safe’ destinations. Allocentric: Adventurous and discover , prefer ‘new’ destinations. Resource: Stanley Plog, Why destination areas rise and fall in popularity, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly; Jun 2001; 42, 3; ABI/INFORM Global, pg. 13

Psychographic positions of destinations (2001) Resource: Stanley Plog, Why destination areas rise and fall in popularity, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly; Jun 2001; 42, 3; ABI/INFORM Global, pg. 13