Why hikers hike: an analysis of motives for hiking

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hiking has become an increasingly popular activity for all age groups and can be seen as one of the major nature-based tourist activities. As in other areas of tourism, a trend toward a growing emphasis on quality is identifiable in hiking tourism. To better address the needs and demands of hiking tourists, knowledge of motives for hiking is crucial. Focusing on the context of hiking tourism, the aim of this study is to examine the motives of hikers and to identify possible underlying individual differences in motives. By using an adapted questionnaire based on the existing inventory ‘Bernese motive and goal inventory in leisure and health sports’ (BMZI), hiking tourists at three different locations in the Black Forest in Germany were interviewed. A total of 113 questionnaires were used for statistical analysis. First, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to classify motives for engaging in hiking, resulting in five motives: ‘experience of nature’, ‘health’, ‘distraction’, ‘social contact in sport’, ‘physique’, and ‘competition’. Second, further analyses revealed significant differences in terms of gender, age, educational level, frequency of exercising, frequency of hiking, and type of vacation regarding single motives for hiking, with the motive ‘health’ showing most differences according to sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics (i.e. gender, frequency of exercising, frequency of hiking). The results of this study provide a better understanding of hiking tourists and their motives. Furthermore, the results are useful for organizations, marketing, destinations, and networks in the field of sport and tourism to promote hiking tourism.