Push and Pull: SOURCE MARKETS
Culture a major pull factor
Culture is a major pull factor. The World Tourism Organisation asserted that cultural tourism accounts for 37% of global tourism, and predicated that it will increase at the rate 15% per year.
Safety is also an important pull factor.
Destinations can market themselves as safe destinations and this can give them a competitive advantage in certain cases. For instance, LGBT tourists are widely welcomed in Malta, whereas other countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East, are not so tolerant and public displays of affection are generally not tolerated. Malta therefore markets itself as a perfect destination for LGBT travellers and subsequently attracts many LGBT visitors. This is niche marketing.
Status and prestige motivators
Ego-enhancement' comes from people's need to be recognised and appreciated. Travel increases prestige; however, it is often temporary. This concept is related to the notion of being someone else and experiencing things one would not normally experience. This motivation is concerned with the desire for recognition and attention from others to boost personal ego. This category also includes personal development in relation to the pursuit of hobbies and education.
Conclusion
Generally, the average tourist is not aware of what push and pull factors are. Nonetheless, those working in the tourism industry, especially marketers and researchers, need to be aware of them. Understanding motivations can help marketers and destination managers retain existing visitors and can also help them provide a higher quality product or service. It is therefore important to be aware that different cultures generally have different expectations when traveling and destination managers will need to ensure their expectations are met or ideally exceeded.
For example, Malta
People come to Malta for many different reasons, however its cultural attractions and climate were cited as the most popular reason by tourists in a recent research study.
WHAT IS PULL?
Pull motivations are external, situational or cognitive aspects that make the tourist travel to a destination, attracted by the destination's attributes and influenced by publicity/promotion, giving a perceived image of a destination. This essentially means the attractive attributes a destination has which entices the tourist to visit. Attributes deemed attractive include; beaches, attractions cultural activities, gastronomy and events.
WHAT IS PUSH?
Push factors are related to the notion of escaping. One of the most common reasons to travel is to escape and 'get away from it all'. This drive is referred to as 'anomie' in academic tourism literature. People want to escape from their normal lives for an array of reasons, including; family, work, daily routine, post-relationship drama, boredom, creditors and prestige increase.
Another push factor...
The opportunity of meeting new people, who are outside of their usual social perimeter, is also a push factor. Traveling allows people to meet and interact with people they would not normally encounter normally. Finally, escaping from the demands of society is another important push factor for researchers to consider.
What is push and pull?
The subject of tourist motivation involves questions about why people travel. - Understanding why people travel is the key to ensuring a destination's and resort's success. It is closely related to marketing, because without understanding what drives people to travel, marketers and destination managers will find it difficult to attract tourists. Push factors are socio-psychological whereas pull factors are calculated and marketing driven.
There are four categories of motivation, according to McIntosh et al, (1995).
These are: - Physical motivators - Cultural motivators - Interpersonal motivators - Status and prestige motivators
Definition
Traditionally, push factors are considered important in initiating travel desire, while pull factors are considered more decisive in explaining destination choice (Bello and Etzel, 1985).
