THE RESEARCH OF SKIER MOTIVATIONS AND FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICE OF A SKI DESTINATION

Abstract

The main aim of this research is to explore skiers as a segment of the Serbian tourism market, i.e., their reasons of choosing a ski destination for travel. In order to find the answers about the motives of ski tourists, quantitative research was conducted. The data was collected through a Questionnaire on the reasons ski tourists travel and the factors influencing their choice of ski destination. The research represents a pilot project, conducted on a suitable sample of 92 tourists in the Republic of Serbia. The reasons why ski tourists travel to Serbia are divided into three groups: psychological reasons (active holidays, health, enjoyment, relaxation, self-achievement, fleeing from everyday life, and staying in nature); social reasons (spending time with the family, spending time with friends, getting to know new people, new experiences) and reasons for status and prestige (development / testing of ski skills, desire for recognition, proving oneself to others, social recognition, demonstration of skills). The data were analyzed using software SPSS for Windows version 20. The results are presented by the means of descriptive statistics, and since data were normally distributed, the differences were determined by the means of parametric statistical technique, ANOVA method. The research results showed that in the overall sample the most important reasons for traveling are those of a psychological nature, followed by reasons of a social nature, while for skiers in Serbia status and prestige are the least important reasons.