An Empirical Study of the Determinants of Wellness Tourist Motivation in India

Abstract

The desire of people to stay fit has increased research in the wellness sector. The success of a wellness destination is primarily attributable to an understanding of travel motivation so as to better market it. There exists little research on wellness tourists’ needs, motivations, behaviour and revisit intentions in the Indian context. This research attempts to determine the factors influencing the travel motivation of wellness tourists, their levels of motivation, and to analyse the influence of demographic factors on the Indian wellness market. Factor analysis is used to identify factors that motivate the wellness tourist as well as to examine their motivation levels. A questionnaire was developed based on a literature review. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect the data. The results show that 57.89% of the sample population had high levels of motivation to visit wellness facilities in India. Relaxation and escape, socialisation and kinship, country specific attributes, and destination and service specific factors were identified to be the most influential factors explaining approximately 52% of tourists’ motivation. The findings of this study can be used by both private and government service providers to promote wellness tourism in India.

Keywords: Wellness Tourism, Tourist Motivation, Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis, Structural Equation Modelling, India

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