MOTIVATIONAL ASPECTS FOR HUMAN MOBILITY AND PERSONAL CONSUMPTION FOR TOURISM-RELATED NEEDS

Abstract

Tourism, as one of the business sectors directly exposed to the constant fluctuations and dynamic changes of the world economy, has not only a substantial socio-economic impact, but also serves, inter alia, as a platform for human mobility, social interaction, showcasing the human inclination for displacement and travel throughout his lifespan. As a global industry, positioned between the ever-changing tourists’ needs and expectations, and with the ever-growing competition on the global tourist market, tourism industry stakeholders must “trigger” one’s motivation to travel, by understanding person’s mindset in order to offer package that would motivate the person to “get attached” to it. Motivating the individual, as a potential tourist i.e. buyer of products and/or services on the tourist market, is one of the key elements to the development of marketing strategies that will lead to increased sales, loyalty and enhanced customer satisfaction. The motives for human travel and mobility play an important role in the process of choosing destinations, types/range of activities and planning of tourism services. Understanding these motives is crucial for the development of tourist destinations, as well as for the provision of relevant services that will meet the needs and expectations of tourists. In this aspect, tourism market research is inevitable process that involves data collection, analysis and interpretation to better understand tourists’ needs, habits and behaviour, and is essential in the context of formation of successful tourism strategies or adequate positioning of the tourist offer. If stakeholders in the tourism understand the motives for human travel and mobility and if they use adequate research, segmentation and motivational methods, they would be able to design personalised tourist package that will satisfy one’s specific personal needs and successfully navigate a particular individual to “get attached” to their tailor-made offer. The application of different motivational marketing methods can significantly increase the attraction of new, as well as the retention of the existing ones, which will ultimately lead to improved competitiveness and sustainable success in the tourism industry. In this paper, we explore the motivational factors for human mobility and travel by analysing the relationship between the individual, as a central point in the concept of “human mobility”, on one hand, and the “tourism market and propaganda”, on the other hand, and also explore the influence of a selected economic indicator (GDP per capita) to the personal consumption for tourism-related needs.