A study of tourist's motivation, intention and willingness to pay premium for ecotourism

Abstract

The tourism business has grown dramatically in recent years. The tourism industry contributes significantly to a country's economic development as it provides various employment generation opportunities. Goa, India's smallest state, is a popular tourist destination that draws visitors from all over the world. Numerous people in Goa, particularly those living around the coast, earn their livelihood by engaging in tourism related activities. The sun and sand of Goa are well-known. It is surrounded by natural beauty and includes a variety of heritage sites, churches museums and temples. Goa is promoted internationally as a beach tourism resort that has reached its peak. As a result, there is a need to promote additional tourism options. The current research focuses on Goa's ecotourism. An attempt is made to identify latent motivational factors. Latent motivational factors were identified and categorised. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Chi square test were employed to analyse the data. This study also aimed to investigate how demographic characteristics affect travellers' intentions to engage in ecotour-ism and their willingness to spend more on ecotourism. The study revealed that demographic considerations have no bearing on tourists' desire to participate in ecotourism. Tourists' willingness to spend more for ecotourism is also unaffected by demographic factors.