TITLE: A STUDY ON TOURISM LOCATION PREFERENCES BY YOUNGSTERS
Author: Neha Prasad
Introduction
Tourism preferences among youngsters have gained importance due to their increasing travel frequency and influence on tourism trends. Factors such as natural beauty, adventure, culture, and climate play a major role in shaping destination choices. India offers diverse tourism locations, and destinations like Udaipur, Kerala, Manali, and Kashmir attract a large number of young tourists. This study aims to analyse youngsters’ preference towards these selected tourism locations using primary data collected through a Google Form and statistically examined using ANOVA.
Objective
To examine whether there is a significant difference in youngsters’ preferences towards the selected tourism locations—Udaipur, Kerala, Manali, and Kashmir
Literature review
· Gorbatov and Chuvatkin (2021) found that young travellers’ preferences are shaped by a combination of recreational, emotional, and social motives, with natural attractions and entertainment being key factors in choosing tourist destinations.
· Buffa (2015) showed that young tourists’ attitudes and behaviours are increasingly influenced by sustainability and authentic experiences, indicating that experiential factors play a vital role in destination choice among youth.
Data collection
The study is based on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire administered using Google Forms. Respondents were asked to rate their preference for selected tourism destinations—Udaipur, Kerala, Manali, and Kashmir—on a 1 to 10 rating scale, where 1 represents very low preference and 10 represents very high preference. A total of 45 respondents participated in the survey, and equal numbers of observations were maintained for each destination to ensure balanced data for the purpose of ANOVA analysis.
Data Analysis
|
Source of Variation |
SS |
df |
MS |
F |
P-value |
F crit |
|
Rows |
68.32576 |
43 |
1.588971 |
0.844159 |
0.726773 |
1.521821 |
|
Columns |
28.78788 |
2 |
14.39394 |
7.646949 |
0.000878 |
3.102552 |
|
Error |
161.8788 |
86 |
1.882311 |
|||
|
Total |
258.9924 |
131 |
|
|
|
|
Ho (Null Hypothesis): There is no significant difference in youngsters rating among tourism location in India.
H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): Atleast one tourism location differs significantly from others.
Since the p-value (0.726) is greater than 0.05, we accept the null hypothesis (Ho). This indicates that there is no statistically significant difference in youngsters rating among the four places.
Conclusion
The study highlights those youngsters exhibit broadly similar preferences towards the selected tourism locations in India. This indicates that each destination holds comparable appeal among young travellers, suggesting a balanced interest rather than a strong inclination toward any single location. The findings imply that tourism destinations should focus on maintaining and enhancing overall experience quality to continue attracting the youth segment.
Reference
1. Buffa, F. (2015). Young tourists and sustainability: Profiles, attitudes, and implications for destination strategies. Sustainability, 7(10), 14042–14062.
2. Gorbatov, S., & Chuvatkin, P. (2021). Motivational factors influencing young tourists’ destination choice. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 114, 455–463.