Psychological Dimensions of Tourism

Psychological Dimensions of Tourism

If you were to find as to why your neighbor or friend is taking a holiday, that neighbor or friend could probably give you a long list of good reasons. These reasons, however, would be influenced by his personality type, education, values he attaches rest and relaxation, seeing different places than his own, meeting his family members or enjoying the sun, surf, and sea. Therefore, it becomes important to differentiate between various stated reasons and motivations for travel. The various reasons stated by tourist to travel may not all be motivations for travel. The various reasons started by tourists to travel may not all be motivations. Many of these may be of the destinations. Although important, these reasons are not motivations. Motivation can be defined as a force within an individual which compels him/her to do something to fulfill a psychological or a biological desire.

A focus on consumer (Tourism on consumer behavior):

In attempting to account both for consistency of and change in behavior, psychologists have found it useful to use certain concepts. We have been able to understand behavior by determining

1. The motives, driver, or concerns which are being satisfied by the action, and
2. The attitude and information that the person uses to decide what response he should make in a given situation.

A motive can be defined as a person’s basic predisposition to reach for or to strive towards a general class of goals. Motivated striving may be based upon biological needs and desire acquired through an extended period of past experience. Attitude, on the other hand, is a more circumscribed concept. It can generally be considered of as an inner factor predisposing one to react positively or negatively towards attitude towards an object is likely to depend on upon:

1. The basic motive with which the object is associated and
2. The degree to which the object is received as instrumental for satisfying or blocking these motives.

The question of motivation is basically the question of “why”. Why does Mr.X go to the temple? Why does his brother go out on strike and parade in the picked line four hours a day? Why does his aunt rigorously observe all the cultural taboos? Why has his cousin complained against him to hs employers? The answers to these questions are usually given in terms of individual motivations:Because Mr. X seeks social approval because his brother seeks more benefits from his employer because his aunt seeks status and security because his cousin to express his rebellion against the family of Mr. X.

In any account of the behavior of people, we start our description with reference t some kind of active driving force; “the individual seeks” , “the individual wants” , “the individual fears”, and so on. In addition, we specify an object or condition towards which that force is directed: “he seeks wealth” , “he wants peace” , “he fears something”. The study of the relationship between these two variables, the driving forces and the object or condition towards which that driving force is directed, is the study of dynamics of behavior or motivation. The basic principles or dynamics accounting for the behavior of going to a temple, joining a particular association, choosing a mate, etc. are the same no matter now simple or how complex the activity.

Such principles, if they are to be helpful in making accurate predictions of an individual behaviour and in increasing our understanding of social phenomenon, must answer questions such as:

• What induces these driving forces of wanting, seeking fearing in the individuals?
• What determines, for different individuals the specific nature of the objects or conditions towards which these driving forces are directed?
• How does it happen that in achieving his goal the individual sometimes carries out this integrated series of acts?
• What happens when the individual, no matter how strong the driving force, fails to achieve his goal?

Knowing the answer to such questions, certain other important questions arise:

• Does everyone have the same wants, needs and fears be changed?
• Can one goal be substituted for another goal to satisfy the same wants?
• How can conflicting demands be resolved?

The answer to these involves basic principles of perception, thinking and learning, as well as of motivation. The question of motivation is the question of “why”:

• Why do some people travel and others not?
• Why in a particular country do more people engage in tourism than in another?
• Or for that matter why one member of a family undertakes travel and others do not?

The answers to all these questions have been given in the preceding paragraphs. Various studies of tourism psychology and motivation show that individuals normally travel for more than one reason, and for many, perhaps the majority, tourism is the outcome of a combination of motivations.

References:

1. A.K.Bhatia. Tourism development Principles and Practices. New Delhi: Sterling Publisher Pvt.Ltd, 2009.
2. Pariyar, P. 2011. A DECADE OF TOURIST ARRIVAL IN NEPAL : A Project Work Report , BBS final year, Finance group (Tourism) Faculty of Management , Public Youth Campus, Dhobichaur, Kathmandu, Nepal
3. Limbu, B. "Tourism." Tourism. 20 12 2010.
4. Runckel, Charles. www.Business-in-Asia.com. 2007. <http://www.business-in-asia.com/asia/medical_tourism.html>.
5. Singh, Gurjit. Tourism and amp; it impacts. n.d.