MOTIVATORS AND DETERMINANTS OF INTENTION TO VISIT THEME PARKS

Abstract:

Understanding what motivates the tourist to visit theme parks can help in the development of strategies for organizations working in the field of leisure, entertainment and tourism. The objective is to identify the motivators and determinants of the consumer's intention to visit theme parks. Through an online survey, data was collected from 260 participants and these data are analyzed through multiple regression. In general, the results showed that, of the constructs proposed in the theoretical model, where both motivational factors and determining factors exert a positive influence on the intention to visit, even if, in certain cases, the motivational factors will exert an even greater force on the outcome. It also indicated that, although the literature of consumer behavior brings the consumption of theme parks as a type of hedonic consumption, we can analyze a rational characteristic in the determining factors, which highlighted the importance of price in the process of intention to visit. From a theoretical point of view, the contribution of this research stems from the investigation of a still unheard of context in the literature of tourist consumer behavior, bringing a new view of the probable intention to visit of the consumer who has a certain propensity to acquire this type of service. In practice, it can help managers understand which attributes are most important to their potential customers in their decision-making.

Keywords:
Theme parks; Intention to visit; Motivational factors; Determinant factors