Understanding the leisure motives of visitors to tourist attractions

Abstract

In a period when tourism is contracting, and in a destination with an extensive range of visitor attractions, the importance of local residents visitation is accentuated. The aim of this study was to explore whether there are differences across segments of the local resident market in terms of their motives for engaging in leisure activities within the context of tourist attractions. This study was set within the context of Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne has changed in recent years in terms of the range of attractions available to residents. A sample of 1005 local residents was used as the basis of this study. Cluster analysis was used to segment the sample, based on the intended frequency of visitation to a set of attractions. The motives for engaging in leisure were then explored for each of the segments using Unger and Kernan’s (1983) Subjective Leisure Scale (SLS), which encompasses six motivational domains namely intrinsic satisfaction, perceived freedom, arousal, mastery, involvement and spontaneity, was applied in this study of leisure activities was used as the basis of identifying the motives for visiting the attractions. The results indicate that the local resident attraction market can be segmented into discernable segments based on intended use of them. Statistically significant differences were identified across the six clusters for each of six constructs of the LMS. The constructs of intrinsic satisfaction, perceived freedom and arousal emerged as those that are more important motivating factors, however, than the constructs of mastery, spontaneity and involvement. The results are discussed within the context of the attraction sector and further research is then proposed to better understand the role of leisure for local residents within the context of tourism.