Motivational Factors of Sabahan Youth for Visiting Dark Tourism Sites

Abstract

This study was conducted to understand the Sabahan youths' understandi ng, knowledge, and motivation for visiting dark tourism sites. The the ory of push-pull framework is a popular theory for explaining why yout h choose to visit one destination over another, the type of experience , and the type of activity. The overall purpose of this study is to ut ilise the push-pull theory in combination with four dark tourism varia bles (unique learning experience, casual interest, engaging experience , and dark experience) to better understand the motivation factors of Sabahan youth for visiting dark tourism sites in Sabah, Malaysia. A to tal of 384 respondents were collected from the distribution of questio nnaires, and the data is analysed by SPSS software to ensure the quest ionnaire's suitability and reliability by using Cronbach's Alpha. Most Sabahan youths have visited the common places such as Agnes Keith Hou se, Kundasang War Memorial, Petagas War Memorial, Sandakan Memorial Pa rk, and Monsopiad Cultural Village. The theory of push-pull factors wa s utilised to address the following research objectives: (i) to identi fy the Sabahan youths' understanding and knowledge of dark tourism; an d (ii) to determine the Sabahan youths' motivation factors for visitin g dark tourism sites. The dark tourism variables utilised for this stu dy were adapted and supported by previous dark tourism research by (Al lman, 2017).