Sustainability, Destination Choice and Tourist Behaviour – Case of Latvia
Aija van der Steina and Ilze Medne 1
1 University of Latvia
To cite this text:
Steina, A. v. d. & Medne, I. (2010), Sustainability, Destination Choice and Tourist Behaviour – Case of Latvia, Percursos & Ideias, Vol. 2, pp. 3-12.
Abstract
As can be seen from the Latvian example, factors characterising sustainability play an ever more significant role in the tourists’ choice of the destination. The research authors have divided Latvian inbound leisure and weekend break tourists into 3 groups (segments): sustainability oriented tourists, tourists with unpronounced / insignificant sustainability features and non-sustainability oriented tourists. The groups were divided in accordance to the tourists’ attitude towards sustainability factors: authentic cultural heritage, unspoilt nature, unpolluted environment, welcoming attitude of the local people and tourism intensity (not too “touristy”). The research analyses in depth sustainability oriented tourist and non-sustainability oriented tourist behaviour and satisfaction.
Keywords
Sustainable tourism, Tourist behaviour, Customer satisfaction.