Veganism and Its Influences on Travellers’ Destination Choice
Nguyen, Tra My (2019)
2019
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019120825333
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019120825333
Tiivistelmä
This thesis has been commissioned by Vegaaniliitto – The Vegan Society of Finland. The aim of this thesis was to explore the influences and challenges that veganism has on travellers when choosing a travel destination. In order to understand the process of choosing a travel destination, a variety of literature on travel motivations, decision-making process, and destination choice has been studied. The theoretical framework also discusses the concepts and origins of veganism and vegetarianism and introduces various philosophies of veganism as well as other issues surrounding this lifestyle.
The chosen research methodology is qualitative research and was conducted in the form of a semi-structured interview. Four vegans were interviewed about their personal views and experiences on how their lifestyle has influenced their travel habits, especially their travel decision-making process and destination choice. All interviews were conducted through Skype. The results were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed.
As the number of respondents was limited, the results are not representative for the segment of vegan tourists as a whole but rather relate to the influences of veganism on destination choice on an individual level. According to the results, the vegan lifestyle has a major influence on travel destination choice, especially when vegan cuisine is the main travel motivation. The respondents who describe themselves as “food travellers” choose a travel destination based on the availability of vegan foods at the destination and tend to search for information on vegan restaurants and shops at the destination before going there. Those with different travel motivations such as cultures, events and festivals, nature and outdoor resources, rest and relaxation, adventure, enhancement of kinship, work, and social interaction do not perceive the vegan lifestyle as a determining factor for their choice of travel destination but rather a contributing one. Amongst all the respondents, the influences that veganism has on destination choice were mostly positive, though some respondents feel restricted to visiting certain destinations where animal abuse and environmental neglect exist.
The chosen research methodology is qualitative research and was conducted in the form of a semi-structured interview. Four vegans were interviewed about their personal views and experiences on how their lifestyle has influenced their travel habits, especially their travel decision-making process and destination choice. All interviews were conducted through Skype. The results were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed.
As the number of respondents was limited, the results are not representative for the segment of vegan tourists as a whole but rather relate to the influences of veganism on destination choice on an individual level. According to the results, the vegan lifestyle has a major influence on travel destination choice, especially when vegan cuisine is the main travel motivation. The respondents who describe themselves as “food travellers” choose a travel destination based on the availability of vegan foods at the destination and tend to search for information on vegan restaurants and shops at the destination before going there. Those with different travel motivations such as cultures, events and festivals, nature and outdoor resources, rest and relaxation, adventure, enhancement of kinship, work, and social interaction do not perceive the vegan lifestyle as a determining factor for their choice of travel destination but rather a contributing one. Amongst all the respondents, the influences that veganism has on destination choice were mostly positive, though some respondents feel restricted to visiting certain destinations where animal abuse and environmental neglect exist.