Sport tourism, as a segment of tourism, is one of the fastest growing industries. Sport events have grown enormously over the last two decades and, as a part of sport tourism, they are a very powerful tool that is used to market a country. Sport tourism also creates an internationally recognised image and attracts tourists from all over the world. One of the internationally recognised sport events held annually in Cape Town is the Pick In Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour (ACT). Originally started in 1977, it has grown to attract 32 000 cyclists by 2008. However, as with any event, the ACT's life cycle reached a climax and is currently on a downward slope, in terms of participation figures. This decline was the motivation for starting this study. As such, it was determined that the goal of this study would be to profile the participants in the ACT as this information could provide some of the reasons for the decline in numbers. In order for the researcher to successfully profile the participants, three objectives were formulated. Firstly, the reasons why cyclists participated in the ACT, in other words their travel motives, were examined. Secondly, it was determined which variables had a significant influence on cyclists' spending behaviour while visiting Cape Town. Finally, conclusions and recommendations were presented, and a profile of the participants was compiled. The research was done by means of using a questionnaire with three sections. The first section sought demographic information while section B measured the spending behaviour of the respondents. The last section established what motivated the cyclist to participate in the ACT. The survey took place from 5 - 8 March 2008 during the registration period at the Good Hope Centre of the city of Cape Town. A total of 583 completed questionnaires were received by the fieldworkers. The data analyses were then performed by firstly capturing the data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The statistical program, SPSS, was then used for the further analyses. A factor analysis was performed in order to achieve the first objective of determining what motivated cyclists to participate in the ACT. Then a regression analysis helped to establish which variables influenced cyclists' spending. After all the analytical procedures were completed, the results of the factor analyses indicated the cyclists were motivated by the attractiveness of the event, by personal motivation and by a desire to escape from the daily routines and so to relax. The regression analyses lead to the results that the following variables determine how much money cyclists spend; marital status; province of residence; the number of nights stayed in Cape Town and which accommodation cyclists used. These results both confirmed and contradicted the results of previous research, even though this was the first time this type of research had been applied to a sport event in South Africa. This research can be used by event organisers to apply more effective target marketing and to develop new strategies to encourage an increase in participation figures. This research can also be used to improve business relationships between the different role players in an event. Further, product improvements can be made from certain recommendations. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Syftet med vår studie är att utifrån resemotivet image studera på vilka sätt image och dess indelningarutgör faktorer när turisterna väljer destination att besöka. Med ‘dess indelningar’ syftar vi till att undersöka kognitiv och affektiv image har en betydande roll för människor bosatta i Sverige när de väljer att semestra i landet. Vidare har vi även för avsikt att studera och besvara om det finns likheter och/eller skillnader mellan olika demografiska grupper där kön och ålder ligger i fokus.  Vi har grundat studien i fyra olika teman: Image, WOM/eWOM (Word of mouth/electronic Word of Mouth), Staycation och Resemotiv. Dessa teman är även de som utgör vår studies teoretiska ramverk. I denna studie har vi använt oss av en kvantitativ metod där vi valt att nyttja oss av en enkätstudie för att samla in data och studiens vetenskapsteoretiska förhållningssätt är socialkonstruktionism. Utifrån vårt syfte och frågeställningar har vi sedan valt att strukturera upp frågorna i enkätverktyget Survey & report och därefter har vår insamlade data analyserats med hjälp av verktyget SPSS för att nå fram till studiens resultat. Vårt resultat påvisar att image som resemotiv har en betydande roll när människor väljer semesterdestination inom Sverige. Däremot syns det att image som eget begrepp inte är välkänt bland våra respondenter när de får resonera kring sitt eget resemotiv. Vi diskuterar detta närmre i vårt analyskapitel vilket sedan övergår till att presentera våra slutsatser och förslag på framtida forskning. / The purpose of our study is to, based on the travel motive image, study in which ways image and its division constitute factors when tourists choose a destination to visit in Sweden. With ‘its division’, we aim to investigate whether cognitive and affective image has a significant role for people living in Sweden when they choose a vacation in the country. Furthermore, we also intend to study and answer whether there are similarities and/or differences between different demographic groups where gender and age are in focus. We have based the study on four different themes: Image, WOM/eWOM (Word of Mouth/electronic Word of Mouth), Staycation and Travel motives. These themes are also those that constitute the theoretical framework of our study. In this study, we have used a quantitative method in which we have chosen to use a questionnaire study to collect data and the study's scientific theoretical approach is social constructionism. Based on our purpose and questions, we have then chosen to structure the questions in the survey tool Survey & report and then our collected data has been analyzed with the help of the tool SPSS to reach the study results. Our results show that image as a travel motive plays a significant role when people choose a holiday destination within Sweden. On the other hand, it seems that image as its own concept is not so well known among our respondents when they can reason about their own travel motive. We discuss this in more detail in our analysis chapter, which then moves on to present our results and proposals for future research.

During the recession period of 2008/2009, global tourism declined by 8%. This was also evident is South Africa with the domestic travel market shrinking by 8% as well. However, this did not apply to the Kruger National Park (KNP) which experienced a sustained Accommodation Unit Occupancy growth of 1.6% during the same period. Visitors to the KNP thus see it as an attractive holiday destination irrespective of tough economic conditions characterised by less disposable income. To sustain this growth, it is important to be aware of the reasons visitors still visit the KNP during a recession. The aim of this study was to determine the reasons why visitors still travelled to the KNP during the 2008/2009 recession. This can be done by analysing the visitors’ behaviour and the motivational factors (internal feelings of the visitors) and determinants of the demand (income and exchange rates for instance) that influenced visitors’ choice to visit the KNP. To achieve this aim, a survey was conducted at the KNP between 15 and 20 December 2009 (high season). A total of 355 questionnaires were completed, after which a number of analyses were done to determine the effects of the recession on travel behaviour. For the purpose of this study, two articles were written. Article 1 is titled: “Motivations of visitors to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 recession period”. The aim of this article was to determine the motivations of visitors to the KNP during the recession. A factor analysis on the motivations to visit the park was conducted, of which the following factors obtained the highest mean values: Escape, Wildlife experience and Family benefits. Push factors to the KNP were important to such an extent that visitors regarded visiting the park as a primary need or lifestyle. The results furthermore showed that visitors might have adapted their spending behaviour at the park to still afford to visit the park during the recession. This article provides a better understanding of visitors’ feelings towards the KNP, especially amidst recessions which, in turn, will improve niche marketing and a competitive advantage. Article 2 is titled: “Factors that influenced demand to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 economic recession”. The aim of this article was to identify the determinants that influence the demand for visits to the KNP. Due to the homogeneous nature of the park’s market, the results of the stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed a few socio-demographic and behavioural determinants that influenced visitors’ demand to the park. The motives Escape and Souvenirs were the only two behavioural determinants while the provinces Gauteng and Mpumalanga were the only socio-demographic determinants. These two provinces are the two main markets for the KNP. Visitors indicated that visiting the KNP is a great way of escaping their busy metropolitan areas, especially in the Gauteng province. Mpumalanga residents have many tourism attractions in their province thus lowering the chances that they will visit the KNP. The determinant Souvenirs indicates that visitors adapted their spending at the park to still be able to afford visits. It was also found that demand to visit the park was not greatly influenced by the recession, because visitors could adapt their spending at the park. This is the first time the determinants of demand to a national park during a recession period have been conducted. The study indicated that visiting natural areas may have become a primary need or part of a lifestyle, especially during the 2008/2009 recession period. This article gives park management guidelines that will ensure the sustainability of the KNP because this information now allows for well-planned, thorough marketing and management of the park. In the case of KNP, which has a homogeneous market, the number of determinants identified influencing demand for visiting the park is fewer than has been found in other studies done on heterogeneous markets. This study therefore also makes a valuable methodological contribution in relation to analysing demand of homogeneous and heterogeneous markets. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The tourism industry is becoming increasingly more competitive, making it essential for tourism destinations to understand why tourists travel to specific destinations. Travel motives are seen as important factors affecting tourist behaviour. Understanding the travel motives of tourists is essential information for the development of a tourism product and its marketing strategy. Tourists to different destinations have different internal reasons for doing so, and wish to fulfil certain needs. These needs motivate tourists to choose a certain destination and, therefore, identifying the travel motives of tourists to tourism destinations will help the destination to better target their marketing strategies to tourists with common motives. The aim of this study is to determine the travel motives of tourists to selected national parks in South Africa as well as to determine whether there are differences and/or similarities between these motives. The parks concerned are the Addo Elephant-, Augrabies Falls- and Golden Gate Highlands National Parks. This will assist SANParks in their future marketing efforts and help to better understand why the tourists choose to visit the respective parks. A literature review regarding tourist behaviour was carried out to achieve Objective 1, which was to conduct a theoretical analysis of tourist behaviour. The primary reasons for understanding tourist behaviour are to be able to retain your customer for life, to fulfil the tourists’ needs and to develop better target marketing strategies. To understand tourists’ travel motives better, studying tourist behaviour becomes important. The tourist’s decision-making process (that forms part of the tourism behaviour model) is divided into six stages. These are, awareness of a need; seeking information; evaluation of information; decision making; action or buying and postpurchase evaluation. The tourist behaviour model consists of a number of factors that influence this decision-making process, including internal (for example perception, learning and motivation) and external (for example culture, social class and family) influences as well as personal (race, gender and age) and market-related (climate, economy and government) influencers. The most important influence relevant to this study is motivation. To achieve Objective 2, which was to conduct a theoretical analysis of travel motives of tourists to nature based products, a literature review concerning the travel motives of tourists was carried out. This revealed that a number of different travel motives to tourism destinations have been identified. Internal needs motivate tourists to travel to specific destinations, in the hope of fulfilling these needs. Research on travel motives is based on a number of theories, and some of the important motives that arose were: nature, wildlife, escape, relaxation, education, novelty, socialisation, family recreation and destination attractions. In conclusion, there are similarities as well as differences in the travel motives of tourists to different natural areas. Objectives 3 and 4 included determining the profiles as well as the travel motives of tourists to the selected national parks. Secondary data was used to determine the profiles and travel motives of the tourists. The first section focused on the profiles of the tourists, which proved to be quite similar in all three parks, with minor differences regarding province of residence and the languages spoken. The second section focused on the travel motives of these tourists, and a factor analysis was used to extract six factors from the data. These factors were: relax and socialise, park attractions, nature and wildlife, knowledge-seeking, photography and park activities. The factors of tourists to each park were compared by means of a practical significance test (ANOVA) to determine the differences in travel motives to each park. The results revealed that certain travel motives were more important to certain of the three selected national parks, for example: knowledge-seeking is more important to tourists visiting the Addo Elephant National Park, relax and socialise is more important to tourists visiting the Augrabies Falls National Park, and park activities are more important to tourists visiting the Golden Gate Highlands National Park. By determining the differences and similarities in travel motives to the three selected national parks, the aim of this study was achieved. The results are in agreement with other researchers’ findings that there are a number of travel motives motivating tourists to visit certain destinations, and this study determined that these motives differ from destination to destination. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The ABSA Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK) is one of the biggest and most popular Afrikaans arts festivals in South Africa, and since its modest beginnings in 1994, the festival has grown significantly with an estimated 85518 visitors attending the festival in 2010. The festival furthermore has a considerable economic impact on the host community of Oudtshoorn and the surrounding regions. The direct spending by festival visitors during the 2010 festival was estimated at R109.7 million, that consists of tickets bought at the festival, memorabilia, food, restaurants and beverages, transport, accommodation and entertainment. Benefits associated with these spending patterns include an increase in job opportunities for the residents, more entertainment opportunities, improvement of residents’ lifestyles and opportunities for expanding businesses to name but a few. However, the number of tickets bought for shows and productions at the KKNK has decreased drastically over the last six years, visitor numbers have decreased and this will result in a decrease in the total revenue and economic impact this festival has on the local community of Oudtshoorn. Therefore, the festival needs to be managed in a sustainable way through improving the entertainment offered at the festival. The festival guide and promotion material should be designed in such a way that they meet the needs of visitors and offers the necessary information services to create a unique festival experience for visitors. The specific services visitors need must be provided, such as shuttle services and security. The purpose of this research is to identify the key success factors (KSFs) in managing the visitors’ experience at the KKNK. To achieve this, a quantitative survey was done by distributing 500 questionnaires amongst the visitors to the festival in 2010 from the 1st to the 8th of April. A total of 443 completed questionnaires were received back. In Chapter 2, an analysis on the background and different theories of event tourism, special events, arts festivals, management and KSFs were investigated. Previous studies on the KSFs were also identified which rendered valuable and proved that different tourism operations including events and arts festivals have different KSFs. Furthermore, this analysis revealed that there exist different markets with their own individual needs and reasons for attending the arts festivals and therefore have their own expectations of what needs to be included in a unique festival experience. Chapter 3 consists of Article 1, and the main purpose of this article was to identify the various key success factors visitors to the KKNK see as important in satisfying their needs and providing a unique festival experience. A factor analysis was performed and identified the following KSFs: Safety and Personnel, Marketing and Accessibility, Venues, Accommodation and Ablutions, General aspects and Social impact, Parking and Restaurants and Shows and Stalls. The results indicated that professional staff, adequate safety and emergency services, clear indications, easy accessible venues, quality accommodation, affordable children activities, quality food providers and a variety of shows are important KSFs to provide visitors with an unforgettable festival experience. Chapter 4’s (Article 2) main purpose was to divide or segment visitors to the KKNK based on their travel motivation to attend the festival and their rating of the importance of the KSFs into separate markets. This purpose was achieved by performing a factor analysis on the travel motivations to identify the main travel motives for visitors to attend the KKNK, this was followed by a cluster analysis based on the travel motives where three clusters were identified namely Escapists, Festival Junkies and Culture seekers. The clusters festival organisers should focus their management skills and resources on are the Festival Junkies and Culture Seekers. After performing ANOVA and Chi–square tests the results showed statistically significant differences between the three clusters based on age, years attended the festival, length of stay, total spending, all the KSFs, gender and rock shows as visitors preferred type of show or production. The results therefore reveal that there are three different markets based on their travel motives who attend the KKNK, furthermore each of these three clusters has their own preferences, characteristics and ratings on which KSF will contribute in enhancing their festival experience. This was the first study of its kind in South Africa. Therefore, it contributes to the event management literature. Festival organisers can also use the results of this research to improve the KKNK’s sustainability and success by applying the KSFs and increase tickets sales for shows and productions, attract a younger market and attract visitors who spend more at the festival, by providing for the needs of specific markets and creating a unique festival experience for each visitor. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Tourism comprises the world's largest industry, and beaches (marine tourism) are considered as one of the major tourism attractions in the world. Marine tourism includes different aspects such as the ocean, coastal water sports, hotels and restaurants, island and beach resorts, recreation, fishing boat operators, cruise ships and charter yacht companies. One of the main contributors to marine and wildlife tourism in South Africa, is South African National Parks (SANParks), comprising of 21 national parks. Of the 21 National Parks six are marine national parks covering 4004.4 square kilometres namely West Coast, Wilderness, Tsitsikamma, Addo Elephant, Agulhas and Table Mountain National Parks. The two most known Marine National Parks in South Africa are Tsitsikamma and Addo Elephant National Parks: Addo Elephant for the fact that it is the only national park in South Africa hosting the BIG 7, namely elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, whales and great white sharks. Tsitsikamma National Park is important as it is the first and oldest Marine National Park in Africa. South African National Parks receive thousands of visitors each year and tourists visiting these parks are a source of revenue for national parks and by determining travel motives, marketing can be undertaken more effectively, and specific factors can be taken into account when the marketing strategies are being planned. The literature review indicated that an understanding of tourist motives is a key aspect in understanding tourist behaviour. If the travel motives of tourists are known to product owners, in the case of South African National Parks, they will assist the product owner with product development as well as its marketing strategy. By understanding tourist behaviour one can understand why tourists buy certain products and why they make certain decisions. Tourist behaviour can be analysed in terms of the purchasing process a tourist goes through when making a decision. Different tourists will have different decision making processes and will have different motives for buying different products and services. To be able to understand how buyers proceed through the decision making process one has to look at the tourist decision–making process which consists of different influences like demographic factors, the marketing mix, internal/ psychological, external/social and situational factors. From the literature review, the following travel motivations theories were identified: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Murray's classification of needs, Mill and Morrison's needs and wants theory, Push and Pull theories and the Sun lust and Wanderlust theory. It was found in the literature review that there are some travel motives that are found in most of the nature based destinations such as “relaxation and escape”, “learn about nature” and “park attributes” to name but a few. The research, however, also found that travel motives are closely linked to what these destinations offer and it was also found that different marine destinations seem also to have different travel motives. The aim of this study is, therefore, to determine the travel motives of tourists to selected Marine National Parks in South Africa. Secondary data was used to determine the visitor's profile as well as the factor analysis on travel motives. Four hundred and eight questionnaires were administered to the Addo Elephant National Park and 495 to the Tsitsikamma National Park. The data analysis consisted of two parts, the first part was descriptive data and here the profile of the visitors to the two selected marine national parks was discussed. In the second part a factor analysis was conducted. The aim of a factor analysis is to reduce the data and to assist in the interpretation of the data. A factor analysis further describes the variance–covariance relationship among a number of variables in terms of a few underlying but unobservable random quantities, called factors. For this research a principal axis factor analysis with Oblimin with Kaiser Normalisation rotation was performed on the 22 travel motive items. The visitors' profiles for both the parks were quite similar except for the following: The largest percentage of the visitors to Tsitsikamma National Park were Afrikaans speaking and not as in the case of Addo Elephant National Park most tourists were English speaking, The major markets for Addo Elephant National Park, were the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces and for the Tsitsikamma National Park the major markets were Gauteng and the Western Cape Provinces. The factor analysis regarding travel motives revealed the following four factors: Education and knowledge seeking, Relaxation and escape, Park attributes and Family togetherness. A comparison was done regarding the travel motives of tourists to the two national parks to determine if there were any differences. A small to medium effect size was found for “relax and escape” and “education and learning about wildlife”, therefore, a small to medium statistical significant difference were found. This research confirmed that different marine destinations have different travel motives. Therefore, marketers can use this information and focus on individual marketing for each park based on the products they offer. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

During the recession period of 2008/2009, global tourism declined by 8%. This was also evident is South Africa with the domestic travel market shrinking by 8% as well. However, this did not apply to the Kruger National Park (KNP) which experienced a sustained Accommodation Unit Occupancy growth of 1.6% during the same period. Visitors to the KNP thus see it as an attractive holiday destination irrespective of tough economic conditions characterised by less disposable income. To sustain this growth, it is important to be aware of the reasons visitors still visit the KNP during a recession. The aim of this study was to determine the reasons why visitors still travelled to the KNP during the 2008/2009 recession. This can be done by analysing the visitors’ behaviour and the motivational factors (internal feelings of the visitors) and determinants of the demand (income and exchange rates for instance) that influenced visitors’ choice to visit the KNP. To achieve this aim, a survey was conducted at the KNP between 15 and 20 December 2009 (high season). A total of 355 questionnaires were completed, after which a number of analyses were done to determine the effects of the recession on travel behaviour. For the purpose of this study, two articles were written. Article 1 is titled: “Motivations of visitors to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 recession period”. The aim of this article was to determine the motivations of visitors to the KNP during the recession. A factor analysis on the motivations to visit the park was conducted, of which the following factors obtained the highest mean values: Escape, Wildlife experience and Family benefits. Push factors to the KNP were important to such an extent that visitors regarded visiting the park as a primary need or lifestyle. The results furthermore showed that visitors might have adapted their spending behaviour at the park to still afford to visit the park during the recession. This article provides a better understanding of visitors’ feelings towards the KNP, especially amidst recessions which, in turn, will improve niche marketing and a competitive advantage. Article 2 is titled: “Factors that influenced demand to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 economic recession”. The aim of this article was to identify the determinants that influence the demand for visits to the KNP. Due to the homogeneous nature of the park’s market, the results of the stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed a few socio-demographic and behavioural determinants that influenced visitors’ demand to the park. The motives Escape and Souvenirs were the only two behavioural determinants while the provinces Gauteng and Mpumalanga were the only socio-demographic determinants. These two provinces are the two main markets for the KNP. Visitors indicated that visiting the KNP is a great way of escaping their busy metropolitan areas, especially in the Gauteng province. Mpumalanga residents have many tourism attractions in their province thus lowering the chances that they will visit the KNP. The determinant Souvenirs indicates that visitors adapted their spending at the park to still be able to afford visits. It was also found that demand to visit the park was not greatly influenced by the recession, because visitors could adapt their spending at the park. This is the first time the determinants of demand to a national park during a recession period have been conducted. The study indicated that visiting natural areas may have become a primary need or part of a lifestyle, especially during the 2008/2009 recession period. This article gives park management guidelines that will ensure the sustainability of the KNP because this information now allows for well-planned, thorough marketing and management of the park. In the case of KNP, which has a homogeneous market, the number of determinants identified influencing demand for visiting the park is fewer than has been found in other studies done on heterogeneous markets. This study therefore also makes a valuable methodological contribution in relation to analysing demand of homogeneous and heterogeneous markets. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The tourism industry is becoming increasingly more competitive, making it essential for tourism destinations to understand why tourists travel to specific destinations. Travel motives are seen as important factors affecting tourist behaviour. Understanding the travel motives of tourists is essential information for the development of a tourism product and its marketing strategy. Tourists to different destinations have different internal reasons for doing so, and wish to fulfil certain needs. These needs motivate tourists to choose a certain destination and, therefore, identifying the travel motives of tourists to tourism destinations will help the destination to better target their marketing strategies to tourists with common motives. The aim of this study is to determine the travel motives of tourists to selected national parks in South Africa as well as to determine whether there are differences and/or similarities between these motives. The parks concerned are the Addo Elephant-, Augrabies Falls- and Golden Gate Highlands National Parks. This will assist SANParks in their future marketing efforts and help to better understand why the tourists choose to visit the respective parks. A literature review regarding tourist behaviour was carried out to achieve Objective 1, which was to conduct a theoretical analysis of tourist behaviour. The primary reasons for understanding tourist behaviour are to be able to retain your customer for life, to fulfil the tourists’ needs and to develop better target marketing strategies. To understand tourists’ travel motives better, studying tourist behaviour becomes important. The tourist’s decision-making process (that forms part of the tourism behaviour model) is divided into six stages. These are, awareness of a need; seeking information; evaluation of information; decision making; action or buying and postpurchase evaluation. The tourist behaviour model consists of a number of factors that influence this decision-making process, including internal (for example perception, learning and motivation) and external (for example culture, social class and family) influences as well as personal (race, gender and age) and market-related (climate, economy and government) influencers. The most important influence relevant to this study is motivation. To achieve Objective 2, which was to conduct a theoretical analysis of travel motives of tourists to nature based products, a literature review concerning the travel motives of tourists was carried out. This revealed that a number of different travel motives to tourism destinations have been identified. Internal needs motivate tourists to travel to specific destinations, in the hope of fulfilling these needs. Research on travel motives is based on a number of theories, and some of the important motives that arose were: nature, wildlife, escape, relaxation, education, novelty, socialisation, family recreation and destination attractions. In conclusion, there are similarities as well as differences in the travel motives of tourists to different natural areas. Objectives 3 and 4 included determining the profiles as well as the travel motives of tourists to the selected national parks. Secondary data was used to determine the profiles and travel motives of the tourists. The first section focused on the profiles of the tourists, which proved to be quite similar in all three parks, with minor differences regarding province of residence and the languages spoken. The second section focused on the travel motives of these tourists, and a factor analysis was used to extract six factors from the data. These factors were: relax and socialise, park attractions, nature and wildlife, knowledge-seeking, photography and park activities. The factors of tourists to each park were compared by means of a practical significance test (ANOVA) to determine the differences in travel motives to each park. The results revealed that certain travel motives were more important to certain of the three selected national parks, for example: knowledge-seeking is more important to tourists visiting the Addo Elephant National Park, relax and socialise is more important to tourists visiting the Augrabies Falls National Park, and park activities are more important to tourists visiting the Golden Gate Highlands National Park. By determining the differences and similarities in travel motives to the three selected national parks, the aim of this study was achieved. The results are in agreement with other researchers’ findings that there are a number of travel motives motivating tourists to visit certain destinations, and this study determined that these motives differ from destination to destination. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The ABSA Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK) is one of the biggest and most popular Afrikaans arts festivals in South Africa, and since its modest beginnings in 1994, the festival has grown significantly with an estimated 85518 visitors attending the festival in 2010. The festival furthermore has a considerable economic impact on the host community of Oudtshoorn and the surrounding regions. The direct spending by festival visitors during the 2010 festival was estimated at R109.7 million, that consists of tickets bought at the festival, memorabilia, food, restaurants and beverages, transport, accommodation and entertainment. Benefits associated with these spending patterns include an increase in job opportunities for the residents, more entertainment opportunities, improvement of residents’ lifestyles and opportunities for expanding businesses to name but a few. However, the number of tickets bought for shows and productions at the KKNK has decreased drastically over the last six years, visitor numbers have decreased and this will result in a decrease in the total revenue and economic impact this festival has on the local community of Oudtshoorn. Therefore, the festival needs to be managed in a sustainable way through improving the entertainment offered at the festival. The festival guide and promotion material should be designed in such a way that they meet the needs of visitors and offers the necessary information services to create a unique festival experience for visitors. The specific services visitors need must be provided, such as shuttle services and security. The purpose of this research is to identify the key success factors (KSFs) in managing the visitors’ experience at the KKNK. To achieve this, a quantitative survey was done by distributing 500 questionnaires amongst the visitors to the festival in 2010 from the 1st to the 8th of April. A total of 443 completed questionnaires were received back. In Chapter 2, an analysis on the background and different theories of event tourism, special events, arts festivals, management and KSFs were investigated. Previous studies on the KSFs were also identified which rendered valuable and proved that different tourism operations including events and arts festivals have different KSFs. Furthermore, this analysis revealed that there exist different markets with their own individual needs and reasons for attending the arts festivals and therefore have their own expectations of what needs to be included in a unique festival experience. Chapter 3 consists of Article 1, and the main purpose of this article was to identify the various key success factors visitors to the KKNK see as important in satisfying their needs and providing a unique festival experience. A factor analysis was performed and identified the following KSFs: Safety and Personnel, Marketing and Accessibility, Venues, Accommodation and Ablutions, General aspects and Social impact, Parking and Restaurants and Shows and Stalls. The results indicated that professional staff, adequate safety and emergency services, clear indications, easy accessible venues, quality accommodation, affordable children activities, quality food providers and a variety of shows are important KSFs to provide visitors with an unforgettable festival experience. Chapter 4’s (Article 2) main purpose was to divide or segment visitors to the KKNK based on their travel motivation to attend the festival and their rating of the importance of the KSFs into separate markets. This purpose was achieved by performing a factor analysis on the travel motivations to identify the main travel motives for visitors to attend the KKNK, this was followed by a cluster analysis based on the travel motives where three clusters were identified namely Escapists, Festival Junkies and Culture seekers. The clusters festival organisers should focus their management skills and resources on are the Festival Junkies and Culture Seekers. After performing ANOVA and Chi–square tests the results showed statistically significant differences between the three clusters based on age, years attended the festival, length of stay, total spending, all the KSFs, gender and rock shows as visitors preferred type of show or production. The results therefore reveal that there are three different markets based on their travel motives who attend the KKNK, furthermore each of these three clusters has their own preferences, characteristics and ratings on which KSF will contribute in enhancing their festival experience. This was the first study of its kind in South Africa. Therefore, it contributes to the event management literature. Festival organisers can also use the results of this research to improve the KKNK’s sustainability and success by applying the KSFs and increase tickets sales for shows and productions, attract a younger market and attract visitors who spend more at the festival, by providing for the needs of specific markets and creating a unique festival experience for each visitor. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Tourism comprises the world's largest industry, and beaches (marine tourism) are considered as one of the major tourism attractions in the world. Marine tourism includes different aspects such as the ocean, coastal water sports, hotels and restaurants, island and beach resorts, recreation, fishing boat operators, cruise ships and charter yacht companies. One of the main contributors to marine and wildlife tourism in South Africa, is South African National Parks (SANParks), comprising of 21 national parks. Of the 21 National Parks six are marine national parks covering 4004.4 square kilometres namely West Coast, Wilderness, Tsitsikamma, Addo Elephant, Agulhas and Table Mountain National Parks. The two most known Marine National Parks in South Africa are Tsitsikamma and Addo Elephant National Parks: Addo Elephant for the fact that it is the only national park in South Africa hosting the BIG 7, namely elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, whales and great white sharks. Tsitsikamma National Park is important as it is the first and oldest Marine National Park in Africa. South African National Parks receive thousands of visitors each year and tourists visiting these parks are a source of revenue for national parks and by determining travel motives, marketing can be undertaken more effectively, and specific factors can be taken into account when the marketing strategies are being planned. The literature review indicated that an understanding of tourist motives is a key aspect in understanding tourist behaviour. If the travel motives of tourists are known to product owners, in the case of South African National Parks, they will assist the product owner with product development as well as its marketing strategy. By understanding tourist behaviour one can understand why tourists buy certain products and why they make certain decisions. Tourist behaviour can be analysed in terms of the purchasing process a tourist goes through when making a decision. Different tourists will have different decision making processes and will have different motives for buying different products and services. To be able to understand how buyers proceed through the decision making process one has to look at the tourist decision–making process which consists of different influences like demographic factors, the marketing mix, internal/ psychological, external/social and situational factors. From the literature review, the following travel motivations theories were identified: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Murray's classification of needs, Mill and Morrison's needs and wants theory, Push and Pull theories and the Sun lust and Wanderlust theory. It was found in the literature review that there are some travel motives that are found in most of the nature based destinations such as “relaxation and escape”, “learn about nature” and “park attributes” to name but a few. The research, however, also found that travel motives are closely linked to what these destinations offer and it was also found that different marine destinations seem also to have different travel motives. The aim of this study is, therefore, to determine the travel motives of tourists to selected Marine National Parks in South Africa. Secondary data was used to determine the visitor's profile as well as the factor analysis on travel motives. Four hundred and eight questionnaires were administered to the Addo Elephant National Park and 495 to the Tsitsikamma National Park. The data analysis consisted of two parts, the first part was descriptive data and here the profile of the visitors to the two selected marine national parks was discussed. In the second part a factor analysis was conducted. The aim of a factor analysis is to reduce the data and to assist in the interpretation of the data. A factor analysis further describes the variance–covariance relationship among a number of variables in terms of a few underlying but unobservable random quantities, called factors. For this research a principal axis factor analysis with Oblimin with Kaiser Normalisation rotation was performed on the 22 travel motive items. The visitors' profiles for both the parks were quite similar except for the following: The largest percentage of the visitors to Tsitsikamma National Park were Afrikaans speaking and not as in the case of Addo Elephant National Park most tourists were English speaking, The major markets for Addo Elephant National Park, were the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces and for the Tsitsikamma National Park the major markets were Gauteng and the Western Cape Provinces. The factor analysis regarding travel motives revealed the following four factors: Education and knowledge seeking, Relaxation and escape, Park attributes and Family togetherness. A comparison was done regarding the travel motives of tourists to the two national parks to determine if there were any differences. A small to medium effect size was found for “relax and escape” and “education and learning about wildlife”, therefore, a small to medium statistical significant difference were found. This research confirmed that different marine destinations have different travel motives. Therefore, marketers can use this information and focus on individual marketing for each park based on the products they offer. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.