The link between travel motives and activities in nature‐based tourism

Abstract

PurposeThe essence of the demand for nature‐based tourism is an important issue seen from both an academic and practitioner's perspective. One approach to understanding it is to examine the relationship between tourists' travel motivations and activities. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to conduct an empirical study of the links between travel motivations and travel activities within the nature‐based tourism context.Design/methodology/approachPerforming a series of logistic regression analyses, the authors have adopted this approach to empirically investigate the travel motivations and activities (participated/planned to participate) of a sample of nature‐based tourists in Northern Norway.FindingsThe study clearly confirms the strong link between travel motivations and activities. More specifically, the study findings are moderated by the fact that “Novelty”, “Prestige”, and “Physical activity” are the main sources of motivation for participating in whale safaris, fishing and hiking respectively. Furthermore, the findings show that non‐Norwegian tourists are considerably more likely than Norwegians to participate in these nature‐based activities. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are also provided.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey was conducted in a limited geographical area, and the results should accordingly be tested in several places. Analysis of other motives and activities will provide further information.Practical implicationsKnowledge about factors motivating tourists to participate (or not) in certain nature‐based activities is of value to the industry, both in marketing and providing service to the customers.Originality/valueThe paper adds useful knowledge to the relationship between nature‐based tourists' travel motivations and activities.