Motivation for Travel in the Period of post COVID-19
Wiese, Julia (2022)
Wiese, Julia
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202205128771
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202205128771
Tiivistelmä
Covid-19 Pandemic has influenced how people feel, think, live, work communicate, socialize, spend their leisure time, and travel. This study was conducted to look deeper into the motivational factors of EU-based travelers. The aim was to study, why travelers whose permanent residence is EU choose to travel in post-covid-19 times abroad.
The study was done as qualitative research with semi-structured interviews. The aim of the study was to gain insight from the travelers and find out the true motives that push travelers to travel in post-covid-19 times abroad. Comparison analysis was also made to see how travelers’ views and motives have changed when comparing before and after covid-19 times. Thirty skype interviews were conducted during the time period of 10 days, in March 2022, and all of the respondents were asked a set of questions regarding the before-pandemic times, as well as the after-pandemic times.
The theoretical model, based on which the study was made, was comprised from the motivation theories presented by Plog (1974), Dann (1977), Iso-Ahola (1991), Maslow (1943), Crompton (1977) and Pearce and Lee (2005) and suggested that travel motivation is based on the following factors: safety and security, satisfaction and psychological needs, quality, weather, location, activities, escape, family bond, relaxation, new experiences, socialization and belongingness, self-evaluation and realization.
The qualitative analysis showed that the main driving force behind the change in travel motivation was fear when comparing before and after covid-19 times. Fear made respondents change their travel-related decisions and motives accordingly. The unexpected war between Ukraine and Russia added more fear and uncertainty into the respondents’’ lives, also including uncertainty regarding their financial situation. Uncertainty was the reason behind the fear which controlled respondents’ decision-making process, including motivation to travel as well.
Fear was the driving force that pushed the respondents to make their travel decisions concentrating mainly on safety and security matters first. Other aspects which were closely related to safety and security factors were: family bond, relaxation, escape, satisfaction of psychological needs, weather, and location. Safety and security, as well as family bond were the major factors that motivated respondents to travel abroad in post-covid-19 times. Safety and security worked as a contrary factor to escape the fear and stress of the home atmosphere related to the covid-19 pandemic, and this is what motivated the travelers to take a travel decision based on the hope of feeling relaxed and being in a stress-free atmosphere during their travel, while in peace and calmness to be able to concentrate more on their family bond factor within their family.
The study was done as qualitative research with semi-structured interviews. The aim of the study was to gain insight from the travelers and find out the true motives that push travelers to travel in post-covid-19 times abroad. Comparison analysis was also made to see how travelers’ views and motives have changed when comparing before and after covid-19 times. Thirty skype interviews were conducted during the time period of 10 days, in March 2022, and all of the respondents were asked a set of questions regarding the before-pandemic times, as well as the after-pandemic times.
The theoretical model, based on which the study was made, was comprised from the motivation theories presented by Plog (1974), Dann (1977), Iso-Ahola (1991), Maslow (1943), Crompton (1977) and Pearce and Lee (2005) and suggested that travel motivation is based on the following factors: safety and security, satisfaction and psychological needs, quality, weather, location, activities, escape, family bond, relaxation, new experiences, socialization and belongingness, self-evaluation and realization.
The qualitative analysis showed that the main driving force behind the change in travel motivation was fear when comparing before and after covid-19 times. Fear made respondents change their travel-related decisions and motives accordingly. The unexpected war between Ukraine and Russia added more fear and uncertainty into the respondents’’ lives, also including uncertainty regarding their financial situation. Uncertainty was the reason behind the fear which controlled respondents’ decision-making process, including motivation to travel as well.
Fear was the driving force that pushed the respondents to make their travel decisions concentrating mainly on safety and security matters first. Other aspects which were closely related to safety and security factors were: family bond, relaxation, escape, satisfaction of psychological needs, weather, and location. Safety and security, as well as family bond were the major factors that motivated respondents to travel abroad in post-covid-19 times. Safety and security worked as a contrary factor to escape the fear and stress of the home atmosphere related to the covid-19 pandemic, and this is what motivated the travelers to take a travel decision based on the hope of feeling relaxed and being in a stress-free atmosphere during their travel, while in peace and calmness to be able to concentrate more on their family bond factor within their family.