Socio-demographic determinants of travel motivation and behaviour of visitors in nature-based destinations in northern Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed to assess socio-demographic determinants of travel motivation and behavior of visitors in nature-based destinations in Northern Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was administered to 575 respondents at Chad Basin National Park; CBNP (69), Gashaka Gumti National Park; GGNP (165) and Yankari Game Reserve; YGR (341). Data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Results revealed that majority of the respondents at CBNP were males (72.5%), majority of the respondents at GGNP were females (77.6%) and majority of the respondents at YGR were males (53.1%). Visitors were majorly motivated to come to CBNP for enjoyment of nature (27.5%) while source of information about the parks revealed previous trip as the highest in CBNP (29%) and YGR (36.1%) while GGNP recorded friends and relatives as the highest (45.5%). They were majorly motivated to visit GGNP because they wanted to be away from hustle and bustle of cities (33.3%) and they were motivated to visit YGR for game viewing (33.4%). Furthermore, there is significant relationship between travel motivations and sex, marital status, education, occupation, nationality (P<0.01). The determinants of travel motivations were monthly income, occupation and nationality while the determinants of travel behaviours were the socio-demographic factors except age. Game viewing and nature attributes of nature-based destinations should be developed more as these attributes motivate people to visit the sites.

Socio-demographic Variables and Push Travel Motivation: Tourists Visiting a Protected Area in South Africa

“…The study results show that 69.2% of respondents surveyed in the HiP were employed, while 30.8% were unemployed, indicating that most respondents surveyed were working or had a job -assuming they had disposable income and thus could afford to travel. These results confirm findings from the previous studies (such as those of Allaberganov & Preko, 2022;Stylidis, 2022;Wambani, Ogunjinmi & Oladeji, 2020).…”

“…Tourism researchers (for example Lewis & D'Alessandro, 2019;Wambani, Ogunjinmi & Oladeji, 2020) concluded that tourism participation is strongly related to age, which is a significant socio-demographic factor that indicates how destinations may proceed with marketing segmentation. According to Ma et al (2018), age has a favourable influence on tourists' desire for leisure and nature exploration.…”

“…Wangari (2017) advocates that the likelihood of an individual involvement in wildlife activities differs with age, implying that the probability of activity participation increases when an individual is young and lowers as that individual matures. Senior tourists tend to be a "specific market segment" seeking a tourist's destination that provides "quiet, culture, environment, climate, quality of life, and accessibility" (Wambani, Ogunjinmi & Oladeji, 2020). Furthermore, Ma et al (2018) studied the relationship between tourist socio-demographic variables, motivation, and satisfaction to predict their visitation patterns and travel behaviours to Guangdong Forest nature reserves.…”