Willingness to travel as an extension of leisure activity seriousness – A study about Finnish hunters

Abstract

This article examines the relationships between leisure activity seriousness and travel intention. The concept of seriousness, introduced by Lee and Scott (2013), combines constructs from serious leisure and recreation specialization, such as behavioral commitment, personal commitment, perseverance, career progress, effort and identity. The study uses this framework to investigate relationships of these seriousness constructs with travel intention for hunting tourism, focusing on Finnish hunters. Data collected via a web survey consists of 1662 respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used as analysis methods. The results indicate three seriousness related constructs personal commitment, career progress, and effort have a positive effect on willingness to travel. Finnish hunters who consider hunting as an important leisure activity, want to increase their hunting knowledge and develop their hunting skills, are more likely to travel abroad to participate in hunting. Managerial implicationsFor the service provider, it is of utmost importance to have an in-depth understanding about each customer group and their expectations, to be able to provide them with the best possible prerequisites for a hunting experience. Not all hunting tourists are similar. Managerial implications based on this study indicate that Finnish hunters interested in travelling abroad for hunting, consider themselves personally committed to hunting and are looking to improve their skills and progress in their hunting career. To create a satisfying hunting tourism offering for such hunting tourists, the service provider should offer a possibility for hunters to challenge their skills and to experience something new, which can progress their hunting career.