Visitors’ motivational factors in National Park Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
Biga, Tihana (2014)
Biga, Tihana
HAAGA-HELIA ammattikorkeakoulu
2014
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 1.0 Suomi
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2014121519719
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2014121519719
Tiivistelmä
Nature and natural parks have fascinated travelers for many years. Today millions of visitors travel to explore the authenticity of these destinations. This study aims to identify what motivates tourists to visit natural heritage sites, especially National Park Plitvice Lakes, which has been one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites since 1978. Research questions aim to provide answers to which push and pull factors of motivation, and which other motivation factors influence the visitors’ decision to visit the National Park Plitvice Lakes. Further it aims to provide recommendations of these motivational factors for the site management. Crompton’s (1979) and Dann’s (1981) push and pull motivation model is used as a theoretical framework for this stydy.
The method used in this study was a questionnaire-based survey. The survey was self-administered and the data was collected from 415 visitors in National Park Plitvice Lakes between July 10th and July 25th 2014. The questionnaires were analyzed using Webropol, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. The study identifies five push factors of motivation influencing visitors’ decision making; novelty seeking, family togetherness, curiosity, need for escape and relaxation, and nature appreciation. The three pull factors this study identified were natural resources, role of natural heritage site, and location. Other motivational factors which played a role in visitors’ decision making were found in this study as; role of social media and recommendation, uniqueness of landscape, and the image of the place.
A better understanding of the visitors’ behaviour and their motives for travelling is crucial for providing good services for the customers. Therefore, the findings of this study present implementations and recommendations for marketing and sales, gate and ground managers and for the administrators of National Park Plitvice Lakes. Marketing and sales could offer more information about the possibilities in the Park through all seasons, using the social media, such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Gate and ground managers could evoke the interest of visitors with different leaflets and bro-chures, and administrators could bring more story and history of the Park alongside waterfalls and lakes.
The method used in this study was a questionnaire-based survey. The survey was self-administered and the data was collected from 415 visitors in National Park Plitvice Lakes between July 10th and July 25th 2014. The questionnaires were analyzed using Webropol, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. The study identifies five push factors of motivation influencing visitors’ decision making; novelty seeking, family togetherness, curiosity, need for escape and relaxation, and nature appreciation. The three pull factors this study identified were natural resources, role of natural heritage site, and location. Other motivational factors which played a role in visitors’ decision making were found in this study as; role of social media and recommendation, uniqueness of landscape, and the image of the place.
A better understanding of the visitors’ behaviour and their motives for travelling is crucial for providing good services for the customers. Therefore, the findings of this study present implementations and recommendations for marketing and sales, gate and ground managers and for the administrators of National Park Plitvice Lakes. Marketing and sales could offer more information about the possibilities in the Park through all seasons, using the social media, such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Gate and ground managers could evoke the interest of visitors with different leaflets and bro-chures, and administrators could bring more story and history of the Park alongside waterfalls and lakes.