Travel Motivation: a Tale of two marine destinations in South Africa

South Africa is not only known for being a wildlife and nature-based destination but offers a wide variety of marine related tourism products. The latter include scuba diving, snorkelling, swimming, world class surfing and whale watching. To capitalise on these assets, marketers clearly state that it is necessary to understand the market and the reasons why people travel. Therefore the purpose of this research is to determine the travel motives of tourists to two marine destinations. Very little research in this regard has been conducted in South Africa. The two marine destinations are Jeffreys Bay and Hartenbos. Two surveys were conducted by means of a structured questionnaire where 202 questionnaires were completed at Hartenbos and 210 at Jeffreys Bay. The statistical analysis entailed descriptive statistics and then more specific a factor analysis. The results revealed both common and different motivational factors when comparing the two marine destinations with one another as well as with other studies conducted. The following motivational factors overlap for the two destinations: escape and relaxation, destination attractiveness, and site attractiveness as well as personal attachment. For Jeffreys Bay, however, leisure activities and novelty were identified and for Hartenbos, socialisation and trip features as additional motives for travelling. These results therefore confirm that different destinations have different motives.