A study to examine the role of environmental motivation and sensation seeking personality to predict behavioral intention in volunteer tourism

Abstract

The first, objective of this study is to understand the role of environmental motivation and sensation seeking personality in predicting intention to be involved in VT. The second objective is to examine whether the theory of reasoned action could be extended by adding two new variables -environmental motivation and sensation seeking personality. The last objective is to understand the difference intention in difference periods of time -within one, three, and five years; Volunteer tourism is about combination of volunteering and tourism activities that require participants to pay their own costs -transport, accommodation, meals, and even contribute to the project offered in a destination. Researchers claimed that there is an overlap between volunteer tourism and eco-tourism. This claim referred to two reasons: most of projects are relating to environment and part of motivations of the participants relate to environment. The author adapted the theory of reasoned action by adding new variablessensation seeking personality and environmental motivation. The author considers that this is an experimental study as there has not been documented that a single environmental motivation has an influence on behavioral intention, particularly in the tourism field. The author collected data using an online survey and approached volunteers, tourists, and volunteer tourists to participate in an online survey conveniently. In total, 551 respondents participated, coming from developed and developing countries. Data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (structural equation model). Three fitted models were built representing intention within one year, three years, and five years. Almost all hypotheses in all models were accepted. This quantitative study proves that environmental motivation and sensation seeking personality have different influences on intention to be involved in VT in different periods of time. In addition, it shows that theory of reasoned action can be extended by adding new variables -environmental motivation and sensation seeking personality variables.

The determinants of Muslim millennials’ visiting intention towards halal tourist attraction

“…Hence, Muslim millennials would feel comfortable when visiting Lombok. This result is in line with previous studies conducted by Lam and Hsu (2006), Miao (2015), Zarrad and Debabi (2015), Suhud (2014), Khan et al (2017) and Hasan et al (2018) showing that motivation in travelling has been measured as behavioural beliefs and subjective norms. This result also confirms that motivation as an important predictor in choosing a destination.…”

Predicting the Role of Motivation, Sensation-Seeking, and Constraints in Shaping Visitors’ Intention and Stage of reading to Visit a Folk Theatre

“…In the current study, variety of indicators that adapted from validated sources in the tourism and leisure literature have been applied. We used a seven-point Likert scale with research indicators from Suhud (2014). This scale ranged from 1 for extremely disagree to 7…”

“…for extremely agree. To measure attitude, we employed a seven-option bipolar semantic scale with indicators from Han, Lee, and Lee (2011) and Suhud (2014). We assess constraints using previously validated scales developed by Kerstetter et al (2002) on a seven-point Likert scale.…”

Factors Influencing the Satisfaction Among Volunteers in Volunteering at Matang Wildlife Centre, Sarawak

“…Such studies could add to the body of knowledge about nature conservation by demonstrating millennials' attitudes (Woosnam et al, 2019). The participants' attitudes, norms, personalities, and environmental motivation factors influence their intention to take part in volunteer tourism (Suhud, 2015).…”