Introduction to Tourism Essay Example

Wan, and Chi (2008). These needs motivate individuals towards a particular destination while push motivations explain the needs and desires for travel, according to Chan and Baum (2007).The tourist market can be divided into distinct groups based on their preferences and motivations for travel, as recognized by Cohen (1972) who first proposed the idea. These typologies, which are theoretical but will be discussed, are summarized in Figure 3 based on Mehmetoglu's 2004 article. According to Mehmetoglu, Cohen based his typologies on a continuum from those preferring familiarity to novelty, where institutionalized was more familiar and non-institutionalized was more novelty seeking. Smith (1977) observed a sample of tourists and based his findings on the effect they had on the place, but his typologies were less applicable than Cohen's. In 1979, Cohen proposed a new continuum based on different tourist experiences, as shown in Figure 3. In addition to tourist typologies, personal holiday experience can also be categorized into phases, such as the one I had in Graskop, Mpumalanga last year in December (2).During the anticipation phase of our holiday, we felt the need to escape from the city and were motivated by the attractions of popular places such as Gods window and the Bourke luck pot holes. The affordability of accommodation was also a significant factor in our decision making, along with a mix of push and pull factors. We booked a month ahead, increasing our anxiety and desire to travel, and engaged in information search, decision making, planning, and expectation formulation, all of which were influenced by our motivations (Higham, 2003).

The journey to the destination took about six hours, during which we made stops at

other sites like Pilgrims Rest. This made it seem like our trip had already started before we got to our actual destination. The length of the travel influenced the infrastructure and services required by us as tourists (Higham, 2003).

On-site activities during our holiday included fun excursions and experiencing awful weather conditions that led to a tent being washed away. These activities made our holiday memorable. Evaluation of experiences during on-site activities was impacted by preconceived expectations developed during the anticipatory phase. If expectations are not met, it can result in disappointment that may affect future experiences and decisions (Lee, 2007).The journey back from the holiday was less intense than the travel to and marked the end of the vacation. This phase typically involves fewer expectations and may overlap with the recollection phase. During the return journey, memories of the holiday experience may be evoked. The recollection phase occurs after the return trip and includes recalling the experience through photos or conversations with friends or travel companions.

The motivations for going on a holiday can be push factors such as the need to relax and leave one's normal environment or pull factors where specific places are desired for their cultural activities and experiences. In this case, we chose Graskop over Durban because it offered more culture and activities for families.

According to Cohen's 1972 typologies, we participated in familiar, institutionalized activities as individual mass tourists on this holiday. As we were motivated by pull factors, we were more inclined to visit popular sites, making us tourists seeking recreation.

In conclusion, there is a connection between tourist phases and motivations as certain factors can influence the tourist activities and lead

to different phases of the experience.Authors like Cohen and Smith have identified different categories of tourists based on their motivations, as the experiences of each tourist vary.