THE INFLUENCE OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ON TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR OF VISITORS TO NATURE-BASED PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Nature-based products in South Africa are playing an increasingly important role in attracting visitors to the country. It thus becomes more important to understand the travel behaviour of visitors as this can influence future development and marketing strategies to these products. However information in this regard is lacking which creates challenges in the sustainable development of nature-based products. It is therefore the aim of this paper to determine the influence of demographic factors on travel behaviour of visitors to nature-based products in South Africa. A survey was done in 2010 which included nine National Parks in South Africa resulting in 1300 questionnaires. A factor analysis on travel motivations revealed five factors with the highest mean value obtained for „relaxation?. A second factor analysis for park experiences also revealed five factors with the highest mean value obtained for „activities and facilities. A t-test for Equality of Means was calculated for age, home language, presence of children and province, and revealed significant differences on both travel motivations and park experiences. Most differences exist on Relaxation and Learning for travel motivations and Maintenance for park experiences. An ANOVA was done on qualification and travel motivations and park preferences and revealed only one significant difference.