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One of the fundamental questions that researchers of tourism ask is why do people go on holiday? This essay will argue that tourists go on holiday for a number of diverse reasons, not all of which are apparent to the tourist themselves or to the many theorists who seek to analyse the tapestry of tourist motives. The majority of discussions on the reasons why people go on holiday tend to be contained within the sociological work of Cohen and the social psychological work of Pearce. Their research into this area provides a framework from which it is possible to analyse the major factors relating to why people go on holiday. It is important to define exactly what a holiday is. A holiday may be described as comprising of several components. Which include: the act of travelling, a temporary stay, a particular destination, and activities undertaken at that destination (Haywood et al, 1990: 88). For the purposes of this essay a people embarking on a holiday shall be classified as tourists. The international Union of Travel Organisations divides tourists into two groups: visitors making at least one overnight stop in a country or region and staying at least 24 hours (Shaw and Williams: 1994). However, ca
More recent studies conducted by Plog cited in the Annals of Tourism Research (1995), reveal two most often cited reasons for going on holiday: first is the chance to relax and release stress; and second, the freedom of not having to live by schedules. For example, these holidays might include engaging in light leisure activities not available at home. Subsequently by digging deeper into these findings, it is possible to unearth the bare facts about why people go on holiday. The explorer will seek out the new, the unfamiliar and the strange. This finding is echoed in Pearce's (1982) finding that people have a lifetime career in tourism and their reasons to holiday change accordingly. Pearce, (1993) goes on to develop this theory with his blueprint for the analysis of tourists motivations. For example, Plog's allocentric tourist or Cohen's drifter or explorer would be motivated to go on holiday by such factors as perceived exotic destinations that offered the possibility of challenging and adventurous situations. MacCannell (1976) uses a framework of modernity and its evolution in western societies to explain why people go on holiday. Another reason is the desire to spend quality time with friends and family and to keep the sense of togetherness alive - "a sort of bonding and filial enrichment" (Plog, 1995). On the other hand Plog's psychocentric and Cohen's mass tourist would be motivated to go on holiday by destination factors that offered the possibility of familiar atmosphere and organised tourist activities. In contrast to the explorer and drifter there are the organised mass tourist and the individual mass tourist. ! This was corroborated by Loker and Murphy (1997) who carried out a nation wide study of 690 young back packers in Australia and found that they were motivated by the need for excitement/adventure and meeting local people, However, not all respondents had the same motive profile. Plog found that psychocentrics prefer familiar destinations and allocentrics prefer less touristic destinations. Hence, according to Plog, there is a greater need for people on a higher income to relieve and ease stress from their lives. Further to this!, research revealed that females were more likely to be associated with higher Environmental Controllability motivators; this alone adds another dimension to the equation.
Common topics in this essay:
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Shaw Williams,
Annals Tourism,
Loker Murphy,
Self-Developers Achievers,
Environmental Controllability,
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individual mass,
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cohen 1972,
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annals tourism research,
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Acceptance Essays
