Motivations analysis in ecotourism through an empirical application: Segmentation, characteristics and motivations of the consumer

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing interest of tourists in the environment and movements directed towards the enjoyment of the natural environment. This study is designed to analyze the motivations and the demand segmentation in ecotourism taking as reference the functional theory. The empirical analysis was carried out in Santay Island National Recreation and Morro Mangrove Refuge in Ecuador. About the data analysis, a factorial analysis and a k-means non-hierarchical segmentation were performed. The results show that there are several motivational factors in ecotourism: “Self-development”, “Interpersonal relationships”, “Building personal relationships and Ego-defensive function”, “Reward”, “Escape”, “Nature appreciation”. There are three segments of ecotourists: “Multiple motives”, “Nature”, and “Reward and Escape”.