IngentaConnect Cave Tourism: Tourists' Characteristics, Motivations to Visit, an...

Authors: Kim, Samuel Seongseop¹; Kim, Miju¹; Park, Jungwoong¹; Guo, Yingzhi²

Source: Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Volume 13, Number 3, September 2008 , pp. 299-318(20)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

Geotourism is one among many types of ecotourism or nature tourism. Cave tourism within geotourism has gained popularity in Korea. The study's objectives include cave tourists' characteristics, segmenting them according to motivation factors, and finally identifying who they are. The sample population for this research consisted of tourists who have visited the Hwansun Cave in Samchuk City. Among a total of 547 questionnaires distributed, 537 questionnaires were used for further data analyses. On the basis of cluster analysis using the motivation factors, cluster 1 was named an “escape-seeking group”, cluster 2 was termed a “knowledge- and novelty-seeking group”, cluster 3 was called a “novelty-seeking group” and cluster 4 was termed a “socialization group”. Differences in socio-demographic variables, beliefs about cave tourism resources, preferred cave tourism products, satisfaction with this tour, willingness to participate in another cave tour and belief in the value of cave tourism resources were found among the four clusters. The study's findings were expected to be helpful in understanding who they are.

Keywords: geotourism cave tourism; motivation

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/10941660802280448

Affiliations: 1: Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, Korea 2: Department of Tourism, Fudan University, China

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Cave Tourism: Tourists' Characteristics, Motivations to Visit, and the Segmentation of Their Behavior