A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills

Sushrut Dhungana; Samik Sharma

doi:doi:10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11

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A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills

Sushrut Dhungana^*

, Samik Sharma

Published in Science Journal of Business and Management (Volume 12, Issue 4)

Received: 23 August 2024 Accepted: 19 September 2024 Published: 10 October 2024

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Abstract

This research aims to explore the relationship between travel motivation, tourists’ attitudes, and travel intention, with a specific focus on Chandragiri Hills a new destination that has attracted many domestic and international tourists, since its inception in 2016. Yet the academic research of its tourism dynamics remains limited. Utilizing a descriptive survey questionnaire, data were collected from 450 tourists to analyze the construct of travel motivation, attitude towards the destination, and travel intention. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed altogether 30 measurement items regarding travel motivation, attitude, and travel intention. The data were analyzed using the theory of planned behaviour. The findings of the study revealed that motivation significantly influences both tourist's attitude and their travel intention. Novelty-seeking, relaxation, and social interaction are the chief push factors contributing to positive attitudes towards the destination. The findings have meaningful implications for tourism marketing strategies, whereby such motivational factors come to the centre to develop the attractiveness of Chandragiri Hills and improve tourism management practices. The result contributes to a greater understanding of tourist behavior in emerging destinations and provides insight into how effective planning and management could work within the tourism sector.

Published in	Science Journal of Business and Management (Volume 12, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11
Page(s)	74-84
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Travel Motivation, Attitude, Tourist Destination, Travel Intention

1. Introduction

The tourism industry has opened a new economic opportunity for many countries, especially for developing countries

[1]

. It is widely acknowledged that tourism benefits any country or place and that it should be used as a tool for development in specific destinations, particularly those with numerous tourist attractions

[2]

. Destination's key resources are its climate, ecology, traditions, and architecture, and its secondary resources are then initiatives that are specifically targeted at tourists, such as catering, lodging, transportation, and activities

[3]

. New and potential destinations are being explored, developed, and then opened with different facilities to promote tourism; such destinations comprise both primary and secondary resources that act as major attractions to visitors.

The subject of destination selection by travellers has been one of the major areas of focus among researchers, and there are several factors influencing travel intention

[4]

. Culture, travel motivations, finances, and previous experiences are among the factors for consideration

[5]

. In line with this, Cooper and Hall state that tourism is influenced by a variety of factors that govern its relative distribution

[6]

. Push and pull factors are the two highly explored dimensions in the earlier studies of travel motivations

[7]

. Motivation has been defined as practices required in starting, directing, and maintaining physical and psychological activities

[8]

. Along with motivation, attitude is highly studied in tourism. The person's overall assessment of performing the behavior is referred to as attitude. The research has shown that the intention is determined by the attitude towards the behavior

[9]

. Travel behavior denotes how a tourist acts before, during, and after a trip based on their attitudes

[10]

. Understanding travel behavior will help in market planning and development of the product, resulting in an increase in the number of visitors to the destination. Thus, travel behavior and travel motivation are considered important fields in the tourism research literature

[11, 12]

. Cheng, Lam, and Hsu explained that attitude represents a person’s overall positive and negative beliefs and evaluations of the behavior

[13]

. In line with this, Chou, Chen, and Wang assumed that attitude refers to a favourable or positive feeling toward performing a behaviour

[14]

. In tourism marketing, attitude and motivation have been widely researched and applied. Thus, the new destinations need to understand the travel behaviour, motivation, and attitudes of the tourists to implement effective marketing strategies. Chandragiri Hill is one such destination recently developed in Nepal, featuring both primary and secondary resources that motivate visitors to make travel decisions. Understanding the motivation factors in relation to behavioural aspects will help in destination development. The purpose of this research is to empirically examine the relationship between motivation attitude and travel intention of the tourists visiting Chandragiri Hills.

Statement of problem

Tourism has the potential to make several economic and socio-cultural contributions, and travelling has become a popular activity in modern life, playing a key role in economic development. Among its most important contributions are national integration and the creation of opportunities through economic linkages at the tourist destination. Chandragiri opened for tourism in 2016, and the number of tourists, both foreign and domestic, has steadily increased year after each year. However, from a research perspective, the area’s tourism remains largely unexplored. As Chandragiri is emerging as a popular tourist destination for both foreign as well as domestic tourists, there is a pressing need to explore the factors that motivate and attract visitors. Understanding these factors will support more effective planning and development of strategies for improved tourism management.

2. Literature Review and Study Framework

2.1. Travel Motivations

Motivation in tourism, driven by a variety of needs and desires, plays a crucial role in understanding tourists' behavior and destination choices. Motivation is an emotional term that refers to driving power inside people that impels them to take action

[15]

. While push and pull motivations have been widely accepted, they are used mainly in the study of the actions of visitors and play a useful role in the understanding of tourism. A broad range of needs and desires can inspire and affect the actions of visitors

[16]

. Motivation comprises the mental and psychological states, or specific needs and desires that cause individuals to act or behave in a certain way, thereby maintaining human behavior and energy levels in the human body

[17, 18]

. Understanding tourist motivation predicting tourist behaviour and identifying its implications for destination management strategies are important.

When it comes to the study of motivation, Maslow’s theory of need is one of the most widely used framework to describe the principle of motivation. Five sets of goals are used in the theory, which is also referred to as basic needs: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem, and self-actualization

[19]

. Tourists often choose the destination based on these needs: seeking convenience, escape to fulfil safety needs, and pursuing unique and novel experiences for relaxation to get away from the stress of daily life. These choices collectively contribute to the pursuit of self-actualization through personal growth and well-being.

Tourists' choices and behaviors are shaped by diverse motivations and the attraction of destination attributes through push and pull factors. For instance, Chang found that the motives for package tour travelers are: relaxation and pleasure, social relationships, socioeconomic factors, and socio-psychological needs

[20]

. In contrast, Correia et al. identified the travel motivations for exotic destinations: knowledge, leisure, socialization, facilities, core attractions, and landscape features

[21]

. Likewise, Goossens found that tourists are pushed by their emotional needs and, therefore, are related to their pleasure-seeking motivation and choice behavior

[22]

. Furthermore, Dann describes it as a push-pull motivation factor

[23]

. The push factors include a tourist's desire to travel, and the pull factors include the destination choice relative to its attributes

[24]

. Finally, Novelty-seeking is an inner urge that stimulates individuals to engage in observation, exploration, manipulation, and questioning

[25]

Motivation and Travel Intention

Travel intention, as a crucial mediator between motivation and behaviour, remains underexplored in tourism research. The behaviour of the travellers can be assumed by their intention. Travel intention can be defined as the commitment to travel. Ajzen and Fishbein described behavioural intentions as the possibility of someone performing a specific behaviour in the future

[26]

. Intentions are presumed to apprehend the motivational factors that impact a person’s behaviour

[27]

. Intention serves as an important mediator that connects motivation to future travel behaviour. Only limited empirical research has examined the importance of the role of intention in travel motivation. Indeed, the intention has been one of the least researched areas of tourism. Only a few empirical examinations of travel intention for specific destinations and products are found in the literature. However, several researchers claim that motivations are varied and people travel to fulfil different needs, which makes it possible to read tourist intentions for behavior

[28, 29]

. Besides, behavioral intentions are an indication of the willingness to undertake a given behavior and are expected to represent actual behavior

[27]

. Thus understanding these intentions can offer insights into tourists’ future actions and decision-making processes.

Travel motivations are an essential part of travel behaviour that leads to action; this belief has been extensively researched and applied in tourism marketing strategies. The desire to see the unseen and know the unknown pushes people to travel to new places and motivates them to visit new destinations

[30]

. In the case of Chandragiri Hills, a newly developed destination, its features are capitalized to attract tourists as they travel to know and understand what they have known and what they haven’t. Qu and Wong examined Hong Kong residents’ intention to go on cruises in relation to motivation factors and found that accommodation, food and beverage, and entertainment are the most important determinants of intention to go on cruises

[31]

. Shim, Gehrt, and Siek found that mature travellers who self-perceived themselves as younger tend to have a more positive affective attitude, have travelled more frequently in the past, and show a stronger intention for future travel

[32]

Researchers argued that people’s intentions and behaviour are never driven by a single reason and normally it is the combination of several reasons that motivates people to have a certain intention or perform certain behavior

[33]

. Bamberg suggested, “intentions represent a person’s motivation, conscious plan or decision to exert effort to perform the behaviour”

[34]

. Likewise, Baloglu studied tourist intention in relation to information sources, socio-psychological motivations, and destination image revealing that a combination of perceptual evaluations, use of information sources, and travel motives determines a traveller’s intention to visit a place

[35]

. Based on the above discussion, the first hypothesis developed for the current study is presented below:

H1: Tourists’ travel motivation positively influences travel intention.

Travel Motivation and Tourists’ Attitude toward the Destination

Motivation, such as novelty and relaxation factors, significantly shape tourists' attitudes toward destination choices. Motivation is a primary phase of taking action

[36]

, and it affects attitude because a person's attitude toward a particular behavior is determined by behavioral conviction

[37, 38]

. Furthermore, Gnoth explored this relationship between tourism motivation and attitudes and developed a framework where attitude is determined by motivation

[39]

. The Theory of Reasoned Action has been extensively used in predicting human behaviour from the viewpoint of attitude theory

[40]

. Huang and Hsu found a significant effect of novelty and relaxation motivation on tourists’ attitudes toward revisiting Hong Kong

[41]

. Similarly, Lam Hsu conducted empirical studies with 353 mainland Chinese tourists in 2004, and again in 2006 with 480 Taiwanese to predict travel behaviour and intention of destination selection based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, they found that tourist belief in both push and pull motivational factors is the determinant of their affective dimension of attitude toward visiting Hong Kong

[42, 12]

Wong, Cheung, & Wan applied the expectation, motivation, and attitude model to better understand the relationship between travel motivation and tourists’ attitudes in their study, in which they found a positive impact of travel motivation on tourists’ attitudes toward visiting the destination

[43]

. Based on this argument the second hypothesis constructed is as follows:

H2: Tourists’ travel motivation positively influences their attitude toward the destination.

Attitude towards destination and travel intention

In tourism, attitude towards a destination significantly influences travel intentions and future tourist behaviour, driven by perceptions and emotional responses to the destination's features.

Attitude and behaviour are interrelated, but they might differ while making a comprehensive decision to do something. Fishbein and Ajzen proposed that the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) affects human behavior, and such behavior is built on intentions resulting from attitudes and subjective norms

[44]

. Likewise, Brock and Green claimed attitude is a key determinant of behavior and is a widely studied outcome variable

[45]

. Additionally, other marketing literature has revealed that attitude has a strong positive effect on intentions

[38]

. In the current research, the target behavior is the travel intentions and tourist attitude towards the destination (Chandragiri Hills).

Attitude is a predisposition to perceive certain behaviours or things as satisfactory or unsatisfactory

[46]

. It comprises three components: the cognitive component involves beliefs derived from perceptions of information and experiences, directly influencing attitudes. For instance, if an individual has positive knowledge about something, they will likely develop a favorable attitude towards it. The affective component reflects the consumer’s emotions or feelings toward an object, evaluated using criteria such as good or bad, and like or dislike. Finally, the behavioural component represents the probability or tendency of consumers to engage in certain behaviours as a result of their attitudes, which, in marketing, often translates to their intention to buy.

Attitude plays a significant role in deciding whether to travel, especially when a new destination is discovered or developed. The destination features affect the attitude of the tourist's decision to travel. Although attitude is an important predictor of intention, travel intention has two sources: personal sources and information sources. In the process of forming perception, information sources are relatively important

[47]

. In tourism, attitude is tourists’ inclination or feelings toward a vacation destination and the services provided in the destination, which is based on a perception of tourism products and attributes of the destination

[48]

. Likewise, Lee found that tourist attitude affects future tourist behavior

[49]

. Based on the above discussion, the third hypothesis constructed for the current study is presented below.

H3: Tourists’ attitude towards destinations positively influences travel intention.

2.2. The Research Context and Gaps

Tourism has the potential to make several economic and socio-cultural contributions, and travelling has become a popular activity in modern life and is contributing considerably toward economic development. National integration and developing opportunities through economic linkages at the destination are the most important contributions. Chandragiri has been opened for tourism since 2016. Thereafter, the flow of tourists, both foreigners and domestic, has increased year after year. Chandragiri welcomes around 1500-2000 visitors daily. Along with this destination, it provides services to about 12,000 visitors a day. Chandragiri has turned out to be one of the most visited retreat sites in the country, as it offers many activities to entertain and amuse guests of all age groups. The company also has a five-star, 100-room boutique resort that was awarded the ‘International Hospitality and Travel Award 2019’

[50]

. Academically, the tourism sector of the area has remained unexplored from a research point of view. Chandragiri is emerging as a popular tourist destination for both foreign as well as domestic tourists. So, there is a need to explore and identify the factors that motivate and attract tourists to visit Chandragiri, which will help in effective planning and framing strategies for better management of tourism. The following theoretical framework is to be proposed and tested for generalizability purposes:

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Figure 1. Theoretical Framework proposed and tested in the study.

3. Respondent Information

Most respondents were male (54.2%), between the ages of 25 and 35 (45.1%), and bachelor degree (44.7%). Approximately 54.7% of respondents were married. Finally, 65.8 % respondents were employed. The detail is illustrated in Table 1.

Table 1. Respondent Information.

Characteristics		Frequency	Percentage
Gender	Male	244	54.2
Gender	Female	206	45.8
Age	20-35	203	45.1
	36-45	122	27.1
	46-55	105	23.3
	55 above	20	4.5
Education	High School	128	28.4
	Bachelor	201	44.7
	Masters	107	23.8
	Above master	14	3.1
Marital status	Single	246	54.7
Marital status	Married	204	45.3
Employment status	Employed	296	65.8
Employment status	Unemployed	154	34.2

4. Research Design and Methodology

To ensure the objectivity and accuracy of the research, the following steps have been followed.

4.1. The Research Site/Context

Since its inception, that is, August 2016 till the end of June 2017, more than half a million tourists visited Chandragiri and the company paid Rs. 60 million in revenue to the government

[51]

. Chandragiri is situated at an elevation of 2,540 metres above sea level. Chandragiri Hills Limited launched a cable car that links Thankot with Chandragiri and also operates restaurants, bars, conference centres and branded shops and is very close to Kathmandu. It has become a hotspot among tourists since August 2016 and has emerged as a preferred integrated tourist destination with an increased inflow of domestic as well as international travellers into the scenic hilltop. Visitors can enjoy an incredible view of many snow-capped mountains ranging from Mt. Everest to Mt. Annapurna from the view tower, located at a height of 2,547 metres along with a panoramic view of the Kathmandu Valley and Chitlang in Makawanpur district. It also holds historical and religious significance, the then King Prithvi Narayan Shah had devised a plan to annex the three cities of the Kathmandu valley, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan into his kingdom after viewing them from Chandragiri hilltop. Travellers can worship the Baleshwar Mahadev temple, which is now in a new look.

4.2. Questionnaire Development

Questionnaires were developed under a descriptive format where participants were asked to rate the three constructs, travel motivation, attitude towards the destination, and travel intention. The items in the construct have been generated from different sources and processes such as reviewing the existing literature, detailed is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Sources of questionnaire development.

Construct

Number of Items

Source of Information

Tourist Motivation

Hanqin and Lam

[51]

; C. H. C. Hsu et al.

[52]

; Kozak

[29]

Travel intention

Assaker and Hallak

[53]

& Chen and Tsai

[54]

Attitude towards destination

C. H. C. Hsu et al.

[52]

; Lam and Hsu

[42]

4.3. Data Collection and Sampling Technique

On average, 1,500 to 2,000 people visit the destination during the weekdays, whereas 4,000 to 5,000 visit the hill on weekends. Among them, 80 percent are domestic visitors, and the rest are foreigners, a lot of whom are Chinese

[50]

. So the current researcher utilized Rose, Sprinks & Canhoto method to calculate the sample size

[55]

. Primary data were collected using a questionnaire survey with the travellers who visited Chandragiri Hills during the weekends of January and February. The researchers intercepted potential respondents who were 20 years, and above at the sites using a. Before the data collection, a pilot survey was conducted on 100 respondents selected conveniently during December. Altogether 600 questionnaires were distributed out of which 450 questionnaires were useable for the study. The researcher used Cronbach's alpha coefficient to measure the scale's internal consistency, a scale greater than 0.7 is acceptable

[56]

. Table 3 displays the result of the reliability test.

Table 3. Reliability and validity test.

No.	Construct	Cronbach’s Alpha	Measure
1	Uniqueness	0.834	Acceptable
2	Convenience	0.923	Acceptable
3	Escape	0.907	Acceptable
4	Novelty seeking	0.756	Acceptable
5	Knowledge about destination	0.812	Acceptable
6	Historical	0.731	Acceptable
7	Safety	0.846	Acceptable
8	Attitude towards destination	0.922	Acceptable
9	Travel Intention	0.819	Acceptable

5. Data Analysis and Discussion

5.1. Exploratory Factor Analysis

Exploratory Factor Analysis was used for reducing and summarizing data. The main purpose of using factor analysis is to summarize the information in a minimum number of factors. Thus principal component analysis along with varimax rotation was used. Factor analysis was conducted separately on the entire constructed variable to conform to the conceptual assumption of Factor analysis

[57]

Bartlet-test of sphericity (BTS), a test for checking the presence of correlation, and “Kaiser’s Measure of Sampling Adequacy” (KMO) test for sampling adequacy were conducted before performing factor analysis. The result revealed that the value of “KMO” > 0.50 and BTS >0, which accepts the application of factor analysis on the data

[57]

The removal of the factors was done using the criteria of Eigenvalue and variance explained. Only those factors taken whose Eigenvalue is greater than 1 and cumulative variance explained was above the threshold limit of 50%. factor analysis was made based on factor loadings. Items with factor loading <0.50 as well as items that loaded on more than one factor were deleted

[58]

. Factor analysis was applied on the three scales separately. The results are explained below.

Initially, the tourist motivation construct consisted of 35 items, which were reduced to 21 items. The retained items congregated under seven factors namely uniqueness, escape novelty seeking, knowledge, convenience, historical, and safety. Moreover, these seven factors accounted for about 71% of the variation, and Eigenvalue >1 for all factors, which is presented in Table 4.

Travel intention consisted of five items. One item was removed because of a low factor loading of <0.50. The remaining three items congregated under a single factor explaining about 69% of the total variance. Moreover, the Eigenvalue calculated was 3.164., as shown in table 4.

The scale measuring attitude towards destination comprised six items. None of the items were removed, and the items congregated under one factor. The items have factor loading >0.50. The total variance was explained by this construct as about 61% with an Eigenvalue 2.784, as shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Summary of Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Construct	M	SD	FL	CF	EV	VE (%)	KMO
Scales		3.79	0.875			71.117	.760
Travel Motivation
Uniqueness	3.92	0.782			3.312	11.190
Un1	3.96	0.852	0.812	0.698
Un2	4.06	0.796	0.790	0.669
Un3	3.75	0.968	0.892	0.823
Novelty Seeking	4.03	0.915			2.594	9.56
NS1	4.27	0.865	0.722	0.624
NS2	3.79	0.966	0.812	0.664
Escape	4.04	0.836			2.201	7.60
Es1	4.02	0.830	0.753	0.624
Es2	4.19	0.786	0.759	0.624
Es3	3.91	0.894	0.710	0.587
Knowledge	3.79	0.876			3.342	12.164
Kn1	4.14	0.746	0.698	0.609
Kn2	3.70	1.004	0.874	0.834
Kn3	3.54	0.912	0.893	0.842
Kn4	3.80	0.844	0.786	0.690
Convenience	3.49	0.859			2.697	10.382
Ce1	3.36	0.854	0.810	0.694
Ce2	3.61	0.816	0.785	0.699
Ce3	3.52	0.909	0.890	0.538
Historical	2.83	0.957			3.079	10.423
Hl1	2.64	0.955	0.845	0.834
Hl2	2.96	0.857	0.644
Hl3	2.89	1.061	0.880	0.798
Safety		4.49	0.905			2.693	9.798
Sf1	3.65	0.879	0.754	0.682
Sf2	3.58	0.926	0.705	0.713
Sf3	3.24	0.912	0.816	0.876
Attitude	2.14	0.699			2.784	69.896	0.799
At1	2.83	0.722	0.696	0.579
At2	1.81	0.701	0.790	0.490
At3	2.30	0.727	0.738	0.802
At4	1.79	0.629	0.750	0.598
At5	2.00	0.719	0.806	0.649
Travel Intention	1.63	0.632			3.164	61.452	0.842
Ti1	1.44	0.526	0.895	0.806
Ti2	1.46	0.617	0.802	0.646
Ti3	1.84	0.691	0.762	0.575
Ti4	1.79	0.696	0.798	0.633

5.2. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

In the present study, CFA was performed to assess the fitness, reliability, and validity of latent constructs. The reason for doing this analysis is to test how a well-measured variable represents a smaller number of constructs. The researcher here has to ascribe variables to each factor based on preconceived theory. Thus, CFA statistics tell how the specification of the factor matches reality, that is, the actual data.

The results of the analysis are presented in Table 5. The model satisfied all acceptance criteria in all the variables taken for the study (travel motivation, attitude, and travel intention) i.e X²/df below 2, goodness-of-fit index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), and comparative fit index (CFI) above 0.9, standardized Root Mean Square Residual (RMR) and root mean square error of approximation RMSEA below 0.05. The model yielded good fit indices.

Table 5. Summary of Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

Indices	Tourist motivation	Attitude Towards destination	Travel intention
X²/df	1.937	1.754	1.841
RMR	0.052	0.007	0.006
GFI	0.942	0.983	0.960
AGFI	0.803	0.864	0.973
P (RMSEA < 0.05)	0.045	0.03	0.043
CFI	0.994	0.986	0.987
RMSEA	0.056	0.039	0.028

5.3. Correlation Analysis

According to the result presented in Table 6. The correlation coefficients between the antecedents of travel motivation and travel intention are 0.474**, 0.504**, 0.527**, 0.501**, 0.657**, 0.538**, and -.0104**, significant at 1%; it indicates that there is a significant relationship between travel motivation and the travel intention. Hence, the first hypothesis, tourists’ travel motivations positively influence travel intention, is accepted. This finding shares a close linkage with that of

[59]

, the researcher applied functional theory to examine travel motivations. The study revealed that when people travel, they have multiple inner psychological needs, and the decision to travel or travel intention may be triggered by an internal desire to satisfy a need.

The correlation coefficients between the antecedents of travel motivation and attitude have demonstrated a statistically significant, positive relationship. The correlation coefficients between uniqueness, convenience, escape, novelty-seeking, knowledge, and history with attitude are 0.586**, 0.348**, 0.698**, 0.397**, 0.584**, and 0.673**respectively. The value is significant at 1%, indicating a significant relationship between travel motivation and the attitude towards the destination. Whereas the correlation coefficient value of safety with attitude is 0.008** this indicates that safety doesn’t influence the tourist's attitude towards the destination. This indicates that the second hypothesis, i.e., tourists’ travel motivation positively influences their attitude toward the destination is accepted. This finding partly aligned with the finding of Pereira, Joyti and Hussain their finding reveals that among the eight motivation variables i.e., escape, knowledge and places, religion, economic, self-realization, safety, and physical and natural beauty, only three dimensions, that is, escape, knowledge and places, and safety, are positively and significantly affect tourists’ attitude toward the destination

[60]

Likewise, the correlation coefficients between the antecedents of attitude and travel intention are 0.011**significant at 1% this indicates that there is a positive significant relationship. Thus the third hypothesis, tourists’ attitude towards destination positively influence travel intention is accepted. This finding is parallel with that of Um and Crompton, their finding reveals that attitude is influential in determining whether a potential destination is selected as part of the evoked set and in selecting a final destination

[61]

Table 6. Summary of correlation analysis.

	Uniqueness	Convenience	Escape	Novelty Seeking	Knowledge	Historical	Safety	Attitude	Intention
Uniqueness	1
Convenience	.490**	1
Escape	.548**	.625**	1
Novelty	.384**	.373**	.547**	1
Knowledge	.587**	.634**	.678**	.621**	1
Historical	.441**	.564**	.528**	.498**	.681**	1
Safety	.423**	.496**	.429**	.416**	.603**	.507**	1
Attitude	.586**	.348**	.698**	.397**	.584**	.673**	.008**	1
Intention	.474**	.504**	.527**	.501**	.657**	.538**	.010**	.011**	1

6. Conclusion

This research explored the relationship between travel motivation and tourists’ attitudes toward a destination and travel intention. TPB aids in comprehending the relationships between tourist motivation, attitude, and intentions. Seven motivation factors were identified in this study: uniqueness, convenience, escape, novelty-seeking, knowledge, safety, and history, which have been empirically tested using exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. Out of the seven motivation dimensions identified by the study except for safety, all other factors positively influence the attitude and travel intention. There is a significant positive relationship between attitude and travel intention as well. Chandragiri Hills has now become a popular destination as it has several features to attract tourists. The study indicates that the values that tourist carry while visiting a specific destination satisfy their internal desires to travel and experience those qualities that they value positively influence their perception towards the destination, and in return, this positive perception contributes to the development of a favorable attitude towards that destination.

6.1. Theoretical Implication

Theoretically, the current research is one of the first attempts to develop and empirically test a conceptual model on travel motivation, attitude and intention. Previous studies on travel motivations have often noted that the desire to see the unseen and know the unknown pushes people to travel to new places and motivates them to visit new destinations

[30]

. Motivations are varied and people travel to fulfil different needs, which makes it possible to read tourist intentions for behavior

[28, 29]

. Consumer behavior is a dynamic and continuous process so understanding this study of motivation is important. The second contribution rests in the special context in which this study was carried out. Even though push and pull motivation factors have been widely accepted, and used mainly in the study of the actions of visitors in tourism, a wide range of needs and desires can inspire and affect the actions of visitors

[16]

. Motivations are the mental and psychological state of a person or specific needs and desires that cause them to act or behave in a certain way, thereby maintaining human behavior and energy levels in the human body

[17, 18]

. Most of the prominent models of travel behavior were developed in developed countries. In this regard, this study focused on an under-studied but important topic and market. Travel motivation to the Chandragiri Hills shed light on the Nepalese domestic market; this study contributes to the extant literature by offering a comprehensive motivational model in the course of consumer behavior.

6.2. Practical Implications

The findings of this research provide valuable insight into the tourist travel motivations, travel intention and tourist attitudes towards the destination. It also provides important managerial implications for the government and tourism marketers. They can jointly promote the destination as it has a lot of potential to develop as one of the best tourist destinations on the outskirts of Kathmandu Valley. Chandragiri Hills should also create bundles of fun activities at a reasonable cost. The destination has a good potential to develop as a popular destination for the day out with family living in the Kathmandu Valley, so the company can come up with packages and offers to target tourists outside the valley. For the corporate and the business houses, it can be a perfect destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. To achieve the target and catch the company along with the local government should promote safety within the tourism environment, to ensure a thoroughly safe tourism destination

6.3. Limitations and Future Research

The conclusions of this study are subject to several limitations. Firstly, this study focuses on domestic tourists only, so the study cannot be generalized to foreign tourists. Secondly, the data were collected when people were relieved from COVID-19, and people have just started to come out of their house, so when things get back to normal the findings might not be relevant. Thirdly factors considered for the study could be affected by age and other demographic variables, so in this case, a future study can be done by segregating and comparing different attributes of demographic variables. To get a deeper understanding qualitative studies can be done to investigate other variables unidentified beneath the phenomenon.

Abbreviations

EFA	Exploratory Factor Analysis
CFA	Confirmatory Factor Analysis
KMO	Kaiser’s Measure of Sampling Adequacy
BTS	Bartlett-test of sphericity
GFI	Goodness-of-Fit Index
AGFI	Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index
CFI	Comparative Fit Index
RMR	Root Mean Square Residual
RMSEA	Root Mean Square Error of Approximation

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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APA Style

Dhungana, S., Sharma, S. (2024). A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills. Science Journal of Business and Management, 12(4), 74-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11

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ACS Style

Dhungana, S.; Sharma, S. A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills. Sci. J. Bus. Manag. 2024, 12(4), 74-84. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11

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AMA Style

Dhungana S, Sharma S. A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills. Sci J Bus Manag. 2024;12(4):74-84. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11

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@article{10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11,
  author = {Sushrut Dhungana and Samik Sharma},
  title = {A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills
},
  journal = {Science Journal of Business and Management},
  volume = {12},
  number = {4},
  pages = {74-84},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjbm.20241204.11},
  abstract = {This research aims to explore the relationship between travel motivation, tourists’ attitudes, and travel intention, with a specific focus on Chandragiri Hills a new destination that has attracted many domestic and international tourists, since its inception in 2016. Yet the academic research of its tourism dynamics remains limited. Utilizing a descriptive survey questionnaire, data were collected from 450 tourists to analyze the construct of travel motivation, attitude towards the destination, and travel intention. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed altogether 30 measurement items regarding travel motivation, attitude, and travel intention. The data were analyzed using the theory of planned behaviour. The findings of the study revealed that motivation significantly influences both tourist's attitude and their travel intention. Novelty-seeking, relaxation, and social interaction are the chief push factors contributing to positive attitudes towards the destination. The findings have meaningful implications for tourism marketing strategies, whereby such motivational factors come to the centre to develop the attractiveness of Chandragiri Hills and improve tourism management practices. The result contributes to a greater understanding of tourist behavior in emerging destinations and provides insight into how effective planning and management could work within the tourism sector.},
 year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills

AU  - Sushrut Dhungana
AU  - Samik Sharma
Y1  - 2024/10/10
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11
T2  - Science Journal of Business and Management
JF  - Science Journal of Business and Management
JO  - Science Journal of Business and Management
SP  - 74
EP  - 84
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-0634
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11
AB  - This research aims to explore the relationship between travel motivation, tourists’ attitudes, and travel intention, with a specific focus on Chandragiri Hills a new destination that has attracted many domestic and international tourists, since its inception in 2016. Yet the academic research of its tourism dynamics remains limited. Utilizing a descriptive survey questionnaire, data were collected from 450 tourists to analyze the construct of travel motivation, attitude towards the destination, and travel intention. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed altogether 30 measurement items regarding travel motivation, attitude, and travel intention. The data were analyzed using the theory of planned behaviour. The findings of the study revealed that motivation significantly influences both tourist's attitude and their travel intention. Novelty-seeking, relaxation, and social interaction are the chief push factors contributing to positive attitudes towards the destination. The findings have meaningful implications for tourism marketing strategies, whereby such motivational factors come to the centre to develop the attractiveness of Chandragiri Hills and improve tourism management practices. The result contributes to a greater understanding of tourist behavior in emerging destinations and provides insight into how effective planning and management could work within the tourism sector.
VL  - 12
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Sushrut Dhungana

School of Arts,Kathmandu University, Kathmandu, Nepal

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0006-7437-201X
Samik Sharma

Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM), Kathmandu, Nepal

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0006-5981-086X

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Figure 1

Figure 1. Theoretical Framework proposed and tested in the study.

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Dhungana, S., Sharma, S. (2024). A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills. Science Journal of Business and Management, 12(4), 74-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11

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ACS Style

Dhungana, S.; Sharma, S. A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills. Sci. J. Bus. Manag. 2024, 12(4), 74-84. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11

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AMA Style

Dhungana S, Sharma S. A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills. Sci J Bus Manag. 2024;12(4):74-84. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11,
  author = {Sushrut Dhungana and Samik Sharma},
  title = {A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills
},
  journal = {Science Journal of Business and Management},
  volume = {12},
  number = {4},
  pages = {74-84},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjbm.20241204.11},
  abstract = {This research aims to explore the relationship between travel motivation, tourists’ attitudes, and travel intention, with a specific focus on Chandragiri Hills a new destination that has attracted many domestic and international tourists, since its inception in 2016. Yet the academic research of its tourism dynamics remains limited. Utilizing a descriptive survey questionnaire, data were collected from 450 tourists to analyze the construct of travel motivation, attitude towards the destination, and travel intention. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed altogether 30 measurement items regarding travel motivation, attitude, and travel intention. The data were analyzed using the theory of planned behaviour. The findings of the study revealed that motivation significantly influences both tourist's attitude and their travel intention. Novelty-seeking, relaxation, and social interaction are the chief push factors contributing to positive attitudes towards the destination. The findings have meaningful implications for tourism marketing strategies, whereby such motivational factors come to the centre to develop the attractiveness of Chandragiri Hills and improve tourism management practices. The result contributes to a greater understanding of tourist behavior in emerging destinations and provides insight into how effective planning and management could work within the tourism sector.},
 year = {2024}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study on Travel Motivation, Attitude, and Travel Intention of the Tourists Visiting Chandragiri Hills

AU  - Sushrut Dhungana
AU  - Samik Sharma
Y1  - 2024/10/10
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11
T2  - Science Journal of Business and Management
JF  - Science Journal of Business and Management
JO  - Science Journal of Business and Management
SP  - 74
EP  - 84
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-0634
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20241204.11
AB  - This research aims to explore the relationship between travel motivation, tourists’ attitudes, and travel intention, with a specific focus on Chandragiri Hills a new destination that has attracted many domestic and international tourists, since its inception in 2016. Yet the academic research of its tourism dynamics remains limited. Utilizing a descriptive survey questionnaire, data were collected from 450 tourists to analyze the construct of travel motivation, attitude towards the destination, and travel intention. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed altogether 30 measurement items regarding travel motivation, attitude, and travel intention. The data were analyzed using the theory of planned behaviour. The findings of the study revealed that motivation significantly influences both tourist's attitude and their travel intention. Novelty-seeking, relaxation, and social interaction are the chief push factors contributing to positive attitudes towards the destination. The findings have meaningful implications for tourism marketing strategies, whereby such motivational factors come to the centre to develop the attractiveness of Chandragiri Hills and improve tourism management practices. The result contributes to a greater understanding of tourist behavior in emerging destinations and provides insight into how effective planning and management could work within the tourism sector.
VL  - 12
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download