TOURIST MOTIVATION: PUSH AND PULL TOWARSD, SRI LANKA

When planning a tourism trip an individual has to answer the questions like where, which, when, and how etc. and the answers are highly influenced by the nature and level of the travel motives of the tourist. The answers to the above questions are also considered as the travel motivations of the tourists. These answers are vital for destination managers to formulate marketing strategies. This paper is to identify the push factors that influence travel desires and the pull factors that influence the selection of Sri Lanka as holiday destination. The study adopts questionnaire survey by personal interviews with 204 tourists through convenience sampling. A Bonferroni method of multiple comparisons was utilized for data analyzing. Four groups of motives are identified i.e. primary, secondary, moderately and least. Results highlighted the most influenced push motive as the rest and relaxation needs of the tourists. In addition, escape from the busy job, be away from the monotones and busy life, experience different lifestyles, learn new things, and search new knowledge, significantly influenced the tourists to have their vacations. The most influencing destination related pull factors are the natural beauty and the diversity of flora and fauna of Sri Lanka. Additional factors that significantly influenced the selection of Sri Lanka include Sri Lankan culture, Buddhism, archeological and historical monuments, diversity of attractions, food & beverages, safety of the destination, etc. Finally the study discusses the marketing implications related to the study areas.Key Words: Travel Motive,; Destination Selection, Tourism, Push & Pull MotivesFor full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.l