Improving the Efficacy of Destination Marketing Strategies: A Structural Equation Model for Leisure Travel

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The objective of this paper is to study the consumer’s internaland external motives to travel and identify the sources of information that influence these motives in destination choice. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The study used primary data of 400 tourists in Goa, a popular tourist destination of India. Factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques were used to develop a framework of constructs that could explain the causal relationships between information sources, internal motives and external motives. Findings: Destination and holiday marketers need to understand and customize to the consumer’s pre-visit preferences and processes. Growth in tourism has led to severe competition among leisure destinations. The study highlights that information sources have a positive significant influence on internal motives but fail to influence external motives. These suggests that instead of emphasizing on the destination attributes the marketers need to attract and activate the ‘need for travel’ in tourists through well designed and customized information materials. The study also finds that internal motives influence external motives, thereby emphasizing the role of internal motives on destination choices. Applications/Improvements: The findings can help tourism service providers to increase marketing efficiencies by developing strategically appealing pre-visit promotional plans that convert potential consumers into tourists. Keywords: Consumer Behavior, Destination Marketing, Information Sources, Leisure Travel, Motivation