Sample topics – Factors affecting

rural tourism motivation

By Gyan Mani Adhikari
Background of the Study
• Rural tourism comprises with natural beauty, quaintness, otherness, non-industrialization,
distance and an absence of core activities that create value in the consumer
eye(Anderson,2007). It implies that rural tourism is an image or a set of images constructed
by the tourists and sellers throughout the history, geography and culture of the territory.
• Rural tourism is possible only when there is distinctiveness in the rural areas i.e. rurality
that allows tourists to get in the everyday life and culture of the rural residents.
• Motivation of the tourists stem from the domain of human psychology(Chung,2020).
• Rural tourism destination offers different products and services to attract tourists and each
tourist has the opportunity to choose from among different destination. Therefore, the
reasons for travelling and choice of different destinations should be measured as the
variables affecting tourist motivation for choosing different destinations. For this reason,
motivation has a special significance in tourism studies and a variety of research has been
done in this regard.
Research Issues
• A sound understanding of travel motivation plays a critical role in predicting future
travel pattern. The big answer to the question. “Why do people travel?” has occupied
the minds of tourist researchers for many years. Motivation plays a significant role in
influencing travel decisions and tourist behavior(Deegan, 2005) as it explains why
people travel, why they engage in the activities they do while on holiday and why
they select a specific destination(Heitman,2011) and what motivation is effective in
choosing a particular destination(Pereira et al. 2019).
• According to Alyward(2009) although tourism is booming globally, rural tourism is still
underdeveloped compared to urban tourism despite the tremendous advances mode
by e-tourism. Rural tourism is still not the first choice of most tourists, probably
because of most tourists, probably because of commercial, economic, accessibility
and infrastructure of the destination, availability of skills and interest of investors.
• What are the factors affecting rural tourism motivation?
Objectives, Rationale and
Methodology
Objective
• To identify factors affecting rural tourism motivations

Rationale
• The choice of rural tourists’ motivations as the main theme of the
study can be justified by this argument from …… according to which
“it is possible that by studying tourist motivation in relation to rural
tourism, existing knowledge on this under-researched and
misunderstood tourism sector can be enriched”.
Methodology
• The study is designed in the form of a literature review i.e.
conceptual/ theoretical review and empirical review to identify the
factors affecting rural tourism motivations.
• Information is collected from websites, journals, reports, ……
• Methods of analysis-
Theoretical Review
The sunlust and wanderlust theory –developed by Goildner in 1990.
• The sunlust theory stated that travelers are attracted to places that
can provide them specific facilities that do not exist in their own place
of residence. The concept of wanderlust refers to travelers’ desire to
go from a known place to an unknown place.
• Other theories
Motivation Theories Tourist motivations Literature

Rituals Inversion Theory The motives of traveler are to get new impression and Graburn(1983)
escape from the routine.

Plog’s Psychographic The motives of traveler are influenced by Plog(2002)

Tourist Portrait psychographic characteristics of the traveler.

The Sunlust and Need and desire of the specific facilities that do not McIntosh,
Wanderlast Theory exist in their own place of residence, travelers desire Goeldner(1990);
to go from a known place to unknown place. Basher, Ajloni(2012)

The Push and Pull Desire to satisfy once need, attraction of tourist Dann
Theory destinations. (1977);Hallab(1999)

The personal and Self-determination, a sense of competence or (Mannell, Iso-Ahola

Interpersonal Theory mastery, challenge, learning, exploration, and 1987, Hallab(1999)
relaxation, social interactions.
Motivation Theories Tourist motivations Literature

The Physical Status and Person’s bodily health, physical rest, MacIntosh,
Prestige, Cultural and participation in sports, and the need for Goeldner(1990) ;
Impersonal Motivation recreation at the beach, tourist self- esteem Tsephe, Obono(2013)
Theory and personal development, the desire to gain
knowledge about the cultural activities, desire
to meet new people, visit friends, get away
from the routine conventions of life, or make
new friends.

The Inner-Directed and Tourist’s emotions, cognitive factors.

Outer-Directed
 Empirical Review
• Review Steps:
Objectives/Methodology/Findings/Conclusion/Implications
• Bajrani, et al.(2019) explored the motives that attract tourists to visit
rural areas in Serbia. The study employed explorative research design.
The study found that tourists are motivated to travel by push and pull
factors. The study concluded that promotion of supply side factors is
most essential to attract tourists. The study recommended that policy
makers and tourism entrepreneurs should focus on the development
of rural areas according to the preferences of tourists.
Factors of rural tourism and motivations Literature

Escape from routine Romera et al. (2011)

Pleasure and relaxation for soul and body Halder(2007); Romera et al.
(2011);Madhavan,Rastogi(2013)
Memorable lifetime experience and the Pesonen,Komppula(2010); de Almeida(2010)
closeness of the family
Seeking for adventures in the mountain, living Basher, Ajloni(2012); Haldar(2007);Bothma(2009)
in tents, tracking, and sports

Personal enrichment and individual growth de Almeida(2010)

Learning about local nature Pesonen, Komppula (2010)

Safety and friendly environment of the local de almeida; Madhvan Rastogi(2013)
community Pesonen,Komppula(2010)
Factors of rural tourism and motivations Literature

Peacefull, pollution free environment, nice Pesonen, Komppula(2010;

landscapes, un-urbanized green areas Haldar(2007)

Affordability in terms of transport, political, Basher, Ajloni(2012); Haldar(2007)

situations, and expenses
Example:

Ghalegaun Home Stay is the popular Homestay in Nepal that takes you to Ghalegaun, a village at
an altitude of 2020m comprising of the exceptional Gurung culture and their traditional village
lifestyle. As it is located at the foothills of the Lamjung Himal, so it has some of the best views of
the surrounding mountain ranges along with deep valleys with river basins. Some of the mountain
peaks that are visible from here are the Annapurna I, Annapurna II, Annapurna III,
Machapuchhare, Buddha Himal, and Himalchuli. Himalayan Monk offers different homestay
packages in Nepal like Lwang Ghalel Homestay, Kaskikot Village Homestay including Ghalegaun
Home Stay.

The people of Ghalegaun are very warm and friendly and strive to provide their precious guests
with the best hospitality. They serve you with fresh organic food straight from their garden and
fields. The meal also is prepared in firewood which brings out the original taste of the traditional
cuisines. Since you stay with the host family and have a meal along with them, you can get to know
more about the culture and some interesting stories of the village and people. You can also find a
tiny museum that displays the Gurung culture and lifestyle of the people towards the south-west
of the village. Further, you can explore to find a tea garden to the west of the village and a
monastery to the north. The early morning view of the sunrise from the village viewpoint is
breathtaking. You can see a herd of sheep basking as the sun rises. They are guarded by the
famous, the gigantic, Tibetan mastiffs.
Discussion
• Based on theoretical review and review of empirical studies, it is found
that rural tourism factors are matched with the tourism motivation
theories. It implies that people are willing to travel from one place to
another place due to following factors.
• i. The need to escape- Most travelers visit rural areas to escape from
their busy lives(Crompton, 1979).
• ii. Pleasure and relaxation iii. Memorable and life time experience iv.
Adventure v. Safety vi. Affordability vii. Learn more about nature viii.
Pollution free, peaceful, Hassle free environment and beautiful
landscapes, ix. Personal enrichment
• These factors can also be observed in Ghalegau Homestay like……
Conclusion
• Rural tourism………….? Motivation of the tourists stems from the domain of human
psychology. The purpose of the paper is to identify the factors motivation to rural
tourism. The study followed descriptive analysis with reviewing theoretical and empirical
literature.
• A review of existing tourism motivation theories is conducted followed by a review of
empirical studies related to factors affecting rural tourism motivation. The study
concluded that………………………
• The main contribution of this paper reside in the fact that it provides evidence on the
suitability of existing tourism motivation theories for identifying of rural tourism
motivations instead of just choosing one theory over another done in their existing
research. The study recommended that service providers and destination managers
should work at ensuring tourists motivation environment to ensure their visits. Future
research will attempt to empirically validate the theoretical model proposed by this
paper……………