Analysis of adventure tourists motivations in

Sri Lanka:
Based on the international tourists who experienced
adventure activities in Sri Lanka.

2016

Pai Chai University.

To fulfill the requirements for the degree of Bachelors
of Tourism and Event Management (TEM)

Department of Tourism and Event Management

Primary Supervisor: Pro. Park June Yong.

The undersigned has examined the dissertation entitled: Analysis of adventure

tourists motivations in Sri Lanka: Based on the international tourists who experienced
adventure activities in Sri Lanka presented by Bandula Madusanka Padmaperuma, a
candidate for the degree of bachelor of Tourism and Event Management.

Adviser, Supervisor & Examiner:

June, 2016

Juneyong Park ,Ph.D

Professor
Department of Tourism Management
Pai Chai University, South Korea.

II

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...........................................................................................vi
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1
1.1 The Aim and Objectives of the Study.....................................................1
1.2 The Methodology Applied in the Study ................................................... 2
CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND ................................................................................... 3
2.1 Tourism in Sri Lanka ............................................................................ 4
2.1 Safety of Adventure Tourism in Sri Lanka .............................................. 5
CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................... 6
3.1 Tourist Motivation ................................................................................ 6
3.2 Adventure Tourism .............................................................................. 6
3.3 Adventure Motivation ........................................................................... 7
3.4 Summary ............................................................................................ 7
CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 8
4.1 Selection of Research Instrument......................................................... 8
4.2 Questionnaire Design .......................................................................... 8
4.4 Data Analysis Methods ....................................................................... 10

III

CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS & DISCUSSION.

5.1 The Demographics Features of the Sample................................... 12
5.2 Respondents Nationality ............................................................. 13
5.3 Respondents Travel Characteristics ............................................. ..14
5.4 The Main Information Sources..16
5.5 Preferred Adventure Activities17
5.6 Respondents Recommendation18
5.7 The Attributes of Adventure Recreational Activities19
5.8 The Dimensions of Adventure Recreational Motivations..20
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION22
6.1 Summary of Results..22
6.2 For Future Studies..23
REFERENCES.24
COVERING LETTER25
APPENDIX A: SURVEY INSTRUMENT..26
APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET28

IV

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Demographic Profile of Respondents ........................................................ 12
Table 2: Respondents Nationality ......................................................................... 13
Table 3: Adventure Travel Characteristics of the Travelers ......................................14
Table 4: Frequency of Adventure Information Sources in Decision Making ............... 16
Table 5: Tourists Preferred Adventure Activities in Sri Lanka ................................... 17
Table 6: Tourists Recommended Adventure Activities ............................................. 18
Table 7: Attributes of the Adventure Recreational Activities .................................... 19
Table 8: Adventure Recreational Motivation Rankings ............................................. 20

FIGURES
Figure 1: 8 Wonderful Categories of Sri Lanka Tourism Industry ................................ 3
Figure 2: The Activities in Sri Lankan Adventure Tourism Industry..............................4
Figure 3: Adventure Motivations............................................................................... 7

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would prefer to take this opportunity to thank many people who supported for this
dissertation and research. Firstly, I would like to present my honest appreciation to
professor Park June Yong. Without his supports and encouragement, I will not be able
to fulfill my study in South Korea. His knowledge, feedback and advices helped me to
complete this dissertation.
Secondly, I would like to give a special thanks to Mr Lasantha and Ms Kumudu
Gajanayaka for their endless support to collect data in Sri Lanka. Their assistance and
patience have been invaluable to success this research and study.
Thirdly, I want to thank my parents for everything that they have done for me. Their
boundless love, encouragements and support behind the scenes help me to complete
my dream of studying abroad. Also, I would like to thank my high school friends and
teachers for their supports. Finally, I would prefer to thank for the tourists who
participated for this survey. Additionally, I appreciate all oversea students who are
currently studying at Pai Chai University in South Korea.

VI

ABSTRACT
Adventure tourism includes both physical and cultural interaction between the
nature and a tourist. The concept of adventure includes the wish of a guest for
unusual activities and experiences. Therefore, the objective of this research is to
discover the motivations of the tourists who experienced adventure recreational
activities in Sri Lanka. This study emphasizes the importance of tourist motivations to
engage with adventure activities. A significant anticipation of this research is to study
tourist motivation theories in practical tourism industry. Additionally, the major focus of
this study is to develop a usable model of tourist motivations to choose Sri Lanka as an
adventure destination.
To conduct this research, a self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain the
data. Limited by the time and money available for the study, the sample of the study
was 100 foreign tourists who had adventure recreational activities in Sri Lanka. After
collecting data, discrete variable analysis and descriptive factor analysis were conducted
to validate the influence of demographics and travel characteristics. Also, one-way
ANOVA tests were adopted to explore the adventure travel motivations. Therefore, I
truly believe this research and study will help to deliver better and quality services for
international tourists.

Keywords: The tourists who experienced adventure recreational activities ; adventure

motivation ; Sri Lanka ; adventure tourist.

VII

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION
As an island in Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka has numerous amounts of tourist places
and attractions. Especially, for adventure tourism, Sri Lanka has a large of potential
adventure tourist attractions and tourist places. According to Sri Lanka tourist bureau,
Sri

Lanka

has

lots

of

adventure

tourist

places

such

as

Hikkaduwa ,Kitulgala,Baticallo, Segiriya and Gall. Each place has divers

adventure sports. For example, Hikaduwa is famous for surfing, Kitulgala is famous
for white water rafting, and Baticallo is famous for diving. Therefore, this study
concentrates on participants travel characteristics and their motivations to engage with
recreational adventure activities in those places. It will help to tourism administrators to
implement effective and efficient marketing strategies for international tourist.

1.1 The Aim and Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study is to understand adventure travel motivations in Sri Lanka.
The research objectives basically focus on international tourists adventure motivations.
More specifically, the study objectives are:
1. To discover how tourists get travel information for adventure travel in Sri Lanka.
2. To identify the motivations of adventure activities in Sri Lanka.
3. To investigate the ranks of the recreational adventure activities based on the
international tourist who experienced adventure activities in Sri Lanka.

1.2 The Methodology Applied in the Study

This survey uses a quantitative method to determine adventure motivations of
international tourists in Sri Lanka. It applies a questionnaire to collect data. The target
population is the international tourists who experienced recreational adventure activities
in Sri Lanka. Limited by the time and money available for the study, the sample for the
study was 100 foreign tourists. The questionnaire was available only in an English
version because English is the second official language in Sri Lanka. After the data
collection, a statistical computer software package (MINITAB) was used for the data
process.

CHAPTER 2 : BACKGROUND
2.1 Tourism in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Tourism focuses on eight product categories under the theme of 8
wonderful experiences in 8 wonderful days. The eight letters in the country name SRI
LANKA, shown in 8 different colors symbolize the 8 different product categories that Sri
Lanka Tourism wants to promote (Tourism development strategy report 2011-2016).
Figure 1: 8 wonderful categories of Sri Lanka tourism industry.

1. Beaches

- Pristine

-S

2. Sports & Adventure

- Thrills

-R

3. Heritage sites

- Heritage

-I

4. Mind and Body wellness

- Bliss

-L

5. Scenic beauty of the country - Scenic

-A

6. Wild life & Nature

- Wild

-N

7. People & Culture

- Essence

-K

8. Year-round Festivals

- Festive

-A

In this category, sport & adventure tourism is at the second place. In fact, most of
tourists who participate in adventure and sport activities are the tourists who come to
Sri Lanka for pleasure & holiday purposes. Therefore, Sri Lanka tourist bureau has
recognized adventure tourism as a unique attraction in Sri Lanka. As a result of that, Sri
Lankan adventure tour operators have launched a wide variety of tourist-oriented
activities.

The scope of activities in Sri Lankan adventure tourism industry can be divided into
three groups. Those are aviation-based, water-based and land-based activities.
Aviation- based adventure activities consist of ballooning, paragliding, scenic flights &
sea plane ride, helicopter ride and sky diving. Water-based adventure activities consist
of white water rafting, surfing, black water rafting, Water skilling and jet skiing. Landbased adventure activities consist of Mountaineering, mountain biking, rock climbing,
waterfall climbing, canyoning, forest camping and caving.
Figure 2: The activities in Sri Lankan adventure tourism industry.

Aviation-based activities:

ballooning
paragliding
scenic flight.
sea plane ride
helicopter ride
sky diving
Water-based activities:

Land-based activities:
mountaineering
mountain biking
rock climbing
waterfall climbing
bungee jumping
forest camping
canyoning
caving

white water rafting

black water rafting
jet skiing
surfing
water skilling
waterfall climbing

2.2 Safety of Adventure Tourism in Sri Lanka

Every adventure has its particular form and amount of risk which is a stimulatory
motive

to

participate

in

the

activity

(Vester,

1987;

see

Glichrist

et

al.,

1995:12),(Adventure tourism, by colin, JohnSwarbrooke).This means adventure tourism

and risk have already been highlighted. Therefore, it is essential and necessary to
mention about safety of Sri Lankan adventure tourism. To protect international tourists
in Sri Lanka, government has lunched lots of programs. According to Gazette of the
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka of August 07 (2009), Sri Lanka has
empowered coast guard department for tourist protection and for other purposes. The
functions of that department are:
a) To participate in search and rescue operations for human beings in times of
natural catastrophes and to assist in salvage operations in relation to vessels and other
goods after such catastrophes and other accidents at sea (Gazette, August 07, 2009).
b) To assist in the preservation and protection of maritime and marine
environment (Gazette, August 07, 2009).
Additionally, Sri Lanka gives tourist information via government information center. If
tourists want to confirm their travel information they can access to government
information center website (http://gic.gov.lk/ ) or they can dial 1919 to have
information quickly in different language. Furthermore, Sri Lanka provides lots of
convenience to the tourists through the tourist bureau. If tourists want to confirm their
information they can access to tourist bureau website (http://www.srilanka.travel/) or
they can call 1912 to get information. Sri Lankan government is providing these kinds of
ways and protection for tourists to fulfill their travel in Sri Lanka.

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter introduces the concept of tourist motivations, adventure tourism and
adventure recreational motivations. Particularly, the introduction of psychological
explanation of motivation and adaptation are discussed in the field of tourism. It
provides proper and clear understand about adventure tourism.

3.1 Tourist Motivation

Goodall (1988) suggested that the tourists motivations were to escape from work and
routines, or to relieve everyday worries. However, a social psychological model of
tourist motivation was proposed by Iso-Ahola (1983). This model emphasized the
consideration of the personal and interpersonal dimensions of tourists.The main factors
of Iso-Aholas model were summarized into four dimensions:
(1) Escaping from the personal environment.
(2) Getting away from the interpersonal environment.
(3) Looking for personal intrinsic rewards.
(4) Seeking interpersonal intrinsic rewards.

3.2 Adventure Tourism

Adventure tourism is an outdoor leisure activity that takes place in an unusual, exotic,
and remote or wilderness destination. It involves some form of unconventional means of
transportation, and tends to be associated with low or high levels of activity (Canadian
Tourism Commission, 1995:5, in fennel, 1999:49).
Cater (2000) comments that adventure tourism is fundamentally about active
recreation participation, and it demands new metaphors based more on being, doing,
6

touching and seeing rather than just seeing (Adventure Tourism, by Colin,
JohnSwarbrooke ). This suggests that adventure travel and tourism are somewhat more
extensive than tourism or leisure.

3.3 Adventure Motivation

Adventure motivations are important for tourism to categorize tourist behaviors. In
Buckley research, fourteen of motivations of adventure travelers have been identified
(Buckley, 2012). These motivations are classified into three themes. First, the theme
internal, performance of activity. It includes thrill, fear, control, skills, achievement,
fitness and risk. Second, internal/external, place in nature. It contains nature, art, and
spirit. Third, external, social position includes friends, image and escape.
Figure 3: Adventure motivations.

Internal, performance
of activity

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

Thrill.
Fear.
Control.
Skills.
Achievements.
Fitness.
Risk.

Internal/external,
places in nature

1) Nature.
2) Art.
3) Spirit.

External, social position

1)
2)
3)
4)

Friends
Image.
Escape.
Compete.

3.4 Summary
The effect of motivation provides better understanding about tourists and useful
information of destinations. Therefore, it is necessary to research and analyze the
motivations. It will propel domestic and international tourists to engage with adventure
recreational activities in Sri Lanka.

CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY
This study concerns tourist's motivations in Sri Lanka. In fact, the essential objective
of this investigation is to build a model of adventure motivations. The research
instrument and sampling selection are described in this chapter. Also, the development
of the questionnaire and the treatment of data are described in detail. In addition, a
step-by-step series of methods for conducting this research and a brief justification of
the statistical analysis are also presented in this chapter.

4.1 Selection of Research Instrument.

This study engages with the tourists motivations of adventure activities in Sri Lanka.
It focused on the tourists who had adventure tours in Sri Lanka. To get data from the
tourists, the self-administered questionnaire involves for recording their answers
accurately. In most of research, Sample size is crucial to develop a survey instrument.
The reason is the size of a sample ought to be determined by the two considerations of
cost and time. Therefore, the general population of this study is the tourists who
experienced adventure activities in Sri Lanka. For this survey, 100 self-administered
questionnaires were distributed. However, 70 participants initially participated.

4.2 Questionnaire Design.

To design questionnaire, most investigators have used close- ended and open-ended
questionnaires to conduct their survey (Salant & Dillman, 1994), (McIntyre, 1999), (The
SAGE Handbook of Social Research Method). According to this format, this
questionnaire was designed in select format and writing format to get respondents
opinions quickly and accurately. To complete this questionnaire quickly, this survey was
designed to be less than 3 pages in length. The questionnaire was divided into 2 parts,
with a total of 14 questions.

The first section of the survey contained two themes. Those are participants
backgrounds and their personal adventure travel characteristics (Appendix A).The first
four questions were designed to investigate demographic variables such as gender, age,
nationality and the travel frequency in Sri Lanka. Next three questions were specifically
centered on five-point scale ranging from 1=1st choice very unimportant to

5=5th

choice very important. Those questions were based on adventure experiences such as
information sources, what kind of adventure activities have they done and would they
like to try it again in Sri Lanka. Next five questions were also based on the participants
adventure experiences such as the main travel purpose, whether they would
recommend the destination to friends and relatives, the strongest influencers, as well as
the level of price acceptance. To get tourists adventure experiences, ten popular
adventure sports were provided for this investigation. Those popular adventure sports
were caving, rock climbing, rafting, hot air ballooning, deep sea fishing, trekking and
hiking, diving, waterfall climbing, paragliding and general activities.
The next section was the most crucial and essential part of the whole survey. It
focused on (tourists motivations) the recreational motivations of the tourists (Appendix
B). These questions were designed to grasp why tourists participating in adventure
recreational activities. Basically, researchers use a Likert-type scale to conduct their
surveys because that format is simple and effective. Also, it is convenient for the
respondents to record their opinions and motivations by circling a specific value.
Additionally, it is economical and flexible. Therefore, this survey adopted a five-point
Likert-type scale for their responses. Seventeen items were measured on a five-point
scale ranging from 1 = very unimportant to 5 = very important. The first part of
section two is contained three questions to understand tourists opinions of adventure
recreational activities in Sri Lanka. The second part of section two is contained fourteen
questions to investigate the target groups adventure motivations in Sri Lanka.

4.3 Data Analysis Methods.

Firstly, all of the data were selected, coded and categorized. In order to gain
effective outcome, invalid responses were eliminated by the investigator. After using
the Minitab 17 program, various statistical techniques were conducted to analyze the
data. The questionnaire items have been analyzed by using discrete variable analysis,
descriptive statistic factory analysis, and one way ANOVA method.
The discrete variable analysis was used to describe the respondents demographic
data such as gender, age , nationality and travel frequency. Furthermore, their travel
characteristics, travel companion, main travel purposes, they would recommend Sri
Lanka to other tourists, the strongest influencer and price acceptance were analyzed by
using descriptive analysis and discrete variable analysis. Means, percentages, standard
deviations, frequencies and coefficients were calculated using statistical analysis.
Through using one-way ANOVA method, the adventure motivations of the target
participants were identified clearly. The differences and correlations between these
motivations and the relationship between the motive factors and travel behaviors were
also described by using one-way ANOVA test.

10

CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS & DISCUSSION

The main objective of this research is to expose tourists motivations of adventure
recreational activities in Sri Lanka. The target sample group consisted 70 tourists who
experienced adventure tours in Sri Lanka. They completed a self-administered
questionnaire designed by the researcher. In the first part of this survey (Appendix A),
first four questions were about personal information, next three questions were
concentrated about adventure recreational activities, and next five questions were
regarded travel characteristics. In the second part of this survey (Appendix B), the
remaining questions were centered on fourteen motivational items. The motivation
section of the survey was designed as a Likert-type scale. Therefore, tourists were able
to rate the items based on their preference. The findings were calculated through
discrete variable analysis, descriptive factor analysis and ANOVA test. As a result of
findings, this chapter clarifies into following sections:
1) The Demographics Features of the Sample.
2) Respondents Nationality.
3) Respondents Travel Characteristics.
4) The Main Information Sources.
5) Preferred Adventure Activities.
6) Respondents Recommendation.
7) The Attributes of Adventure Recreational Activities.
8) The Dimensions of Adventure Recreational Motivations.

11

5.1 The Demographic Features of the Sample.

There are 70 valid survey instruments in this study. These variables are based on
gender, age, and travel frequency. The demographic characteristics of adventure
participants are presented in table1.

Table 1: Demographic Profile of Respondents.

Variable

Subgroups

N (70)

(%)

Gender

Male
Female

43
27

61.43%
38.57%

Age

27-30
31-34
35-38
39-43

17
23
19
11

24.29%
32.86%
27.15%
15.71%

1 trip
2 trips
3 trips
4 trips

45
23
1
1

64.29%
32.86%
1.43%
1.43%

Frequency of
Travel

61.43% of the survey responders are male, while the remaining 38.57% are female.
By concerning age, these tourists are divided into four groups. 32.86% tourists are
between 31-34 ages, 27.15% tourists are between 35-38 ages, 24.29% tourists are
between 27-30 ages and 15.71% tourists are between 39-43 ages. Therefore, it is
indicating most of middle age tourists are having adventure recreational activities in Sri
Lanka. Then the main concern of this survey about frequency of travel in Sri Lanka. It
was found that 64.29% had made 1 trip to Sri Lanka, 32.86% travelled 2 times, and
1.43% of the tourists toured more than 3 times.

12

5.2 Respondents Nationality.

Table 2 shows respondents nationalities. This study was similar to Sri Lanka tourism
development authority annual statistic report in 2014. According to that report, 16.4%
of tourists were from India, 10.8% of tourists were from The United Kingdom of Great
Britain and 6.3% of tourists were from Germany.
Table 2: Respondents Nationality.
Nationality

Count

Percentage

India
UK
Germany
Middle East
USA
France
Australia
Russia
China
Ukraine

18
13
7
6
6
5
4
4
4
3

25.71%
18.57%
10.00%
8.57%
8.57%
7.14%
5.71%
5.71%
5.71 %
4.29%

In this survey, 25.71% of the survey respondents are from India, 18.57% tourists are
from UK, 10% tourists are from Germany, 8.57% tourists are from Middle East and
United State, 7.14% tourists are from France, 5.71% tourists are from Australia, Russia
and China, and 4.29% tourists from Ukraine. Therefore, India, Great Britain and
Germany exist as the leading tourist producer to the country. According to Sri Lankan
demographers, there are two major reasons for this. First, Sri Lanka is located in Indian
Ocean. As a result of that, Indian tourists can easily travel to Sri Lanka. Second, it was
under British colonization and protection. As a result of that, The United Kingdom and
European countries such as Germany, France and Ukraine tourists chose Sri Lanka as
their tourist destination.

13

5.3 Respondents Travel Characteristics.

The findings in Table 3 describe the data from 70 respondents. This table mainly
divided into 5 sections. Those sections concern tourists travel companion, main travel
purposes, how did they get influence to have adventure tours in Sri Lanka, what do
they think about adventure activity prices and will they recommend Sri Lanka to others
as an adventure tourist destination.
Table 3: Adventure Travel Characteristics of the Travelers.
Adventure Travel
Patterns

Subgroups

N(70)

(%)

Travel Companion

Myself only
Travel Group
Family

34
26
10

48.57%
37.14%
14.29%

Main purpose

Travelling for general reasons (such

as to see the country)

43

61.43%

Travelling for general reasons, but

also do an adventure activity when at
a destination

19

27.14%

Travelling just for adventure activities

11.43%

Recommendation
for friends

Yes
No

66
4

94.29%
5.71%

Influencer

Self
Friend/s
Can accept

37
33
25

52.86%
47.14%
35.71%

The prices are too expensive

12

17.14%

Some are reasonable, some are not

11

15.71%

Not care

20

28.57%

Prices of Adventure
activities

14

The first choice for travel companions was myself. It was 48.57% from 70 tourists.
which meant that a large number of tourists preferred to have self-travel .The
proportions of those who travelled with travel group and those who had travel with
family were 37.14% and 14.29%, respectively. Of the survey participants, 61.43%
stated that the main purpose for their travel was on general reason such as see the
county. However, 27.14% mentioned like see the country, but also to experience
adventure activities when at a destination and 11.43% alluded that the main purpose
of their travel for adventure activities.
Almost all of the respondents (94.29%) who engaged with adventure recreation
reported that they would recommend Sri Lanka to their friends and relatives for
adventure activities. Interestingly, 52.86% tourists pointed out that the most influential
person (stimulating resource) them to participate in adventure activities was themselves.
47.14% tourists pointed out that the most influential motivation was friends for
adventure activities in Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, the pricing aspect of the investigation of adventure recreation was
based on the participants experiences and feelings. 35.71% of the participants stated
that some prices of these recreational activities could accept, 17.14% of participants
stated as prices are too expensive, 15.71% of participants stated that some prices are
reasonable and some are not and the remaining 28.57% of participants stated that they
didnt concern about price.

15

5.4 The Main Information Sources.

In this section, investigator provided multiple choices to the survey participants. The
participants could choose several primary information sources to help them for decision
making. Table 4 shows the results.
Table 4: Frequency of Adventure Information Sources in Decision Making.
Information Sources

Mean

SE Mean

StDev

Median

Advices from friends

4.043

0.107

0.892

4.000

Sri Lanka tourist

bureau
Advice from family

3.743

0.138

1.151

4.000

3.300

0.119

0.998

3.000

Newspapers/magazines

3.200

0.125

1.044

3.000

TripAdvisor

3.229

0.138

1.157

3.000

Other, specify

2.586

0.126

1.056

2.000

Twitter

2.386

0.134

1.120

2.500

Travel agent

2.357

0.129

1.077

2.000

Facebook

1.943

0.145

1.214

2.000

Guide books

1.100

0.0361

0.3022

1.000

Advices from friends was ranked first, with a mean of 4.043, which indicates that
recommendations by friend was the most significant information source when
designing vacation and adventure recreational activities in Sri Lanka.

Interestingly,

Sri Lankan tourist bureau was found as a second favorite information source with a
mean of 3.743. Thirdly, advices from family was ranked as a third information source
with a mean of 3.3. Especially, Magazines and TripAdvisor (M=3.2) still play a crucial
web search role in tourists lives. Respectively, other, specific (M=2.586), Twitter
(M=2.386), travel agent (M=2.357) and Facebook (M=1.943) were other preferred
information sources. Also, some tourists still use traditional methods (e.g.: guide books
(M=1.1)) to obtain travel information.

16

5.5 Preferred Adventure Activities.

This table mainly concerns about adventure activities that tourists preferred in Sri
Lanka. Those activities are rafting, trekking and hiking, surfing, deep sea fishing,
waterfall climbing, diving, rock climbing, paragliding, and other specific activities such
as mountain biking and general activities. To measure tourists preferred activities,
researcher has used descriptive factory analysis research method.
Table 5: Tourists Preferred Adventure Activities in Sri Lanka.
Variable

Mean

SE Mean

StDev

Median

Rafting

3.786

0.148

1.238

4.000

Trekking and Hiking

3.743

0.123

1.031

4.000

Surfing

3.657

0.163

1.361

4.000

Deep Sea Fishing

3.586

0.129

1.083

4.000

Waterfall climbing

3.571

0.140

1.174

4.000

Diving

3.557

0.171

1.431

4.000

Rock Climbing

3.386

0.140

1.171

3.000

Paragliding

3.071

0.138

1.159

3.000

General activities in

2.957

0.149

1.245

3.000

Other, specify

2.829

0.133

1.116

3.000

Hot Air Ballooning

2.757

0.112

0.939

3.000

Among other adventure activities, Water rafting was ranked as a first preferred
Activity (M=3786). Secondly, trekking and hiking ranked with the highest mean score of
3.743.Thiredly, surfing was ranked as a third adventure preference with a mean of
3.586. Respectively, deep sea fishing (M=3.586), waterfall climbing (M=3.571), diving
(M=3.557), rock climbing (M=3.386), paragliding (M=3.071), general activities
(M=2.957), other specific activities (M=2.829) and hot air ballooning (M=2.757) were
other preferred adventure activities in Sri Lanka.

17

5.6 Respondents Recommendation.

This table mainly concerns about recommended adventure activities to others. The
findings of this table are similar to tourists preferred adventure activities (table 5).
Table 6: Tourists Recommend Adventure Activities.
Variable

Mean

SE Mean

StDev

Median

Rafting

3.786

0.148

1.238

4.000

Trekking and Hiking

3.743

0.123

1.031

4.000

Surfing

3.657

0.163

1.361

4.000

Deep Sea Fishing

3.586

0.129

1.083

4.000

Waterfall climbing

3.571

0.140

1.174

4.000

Diving

3.557

0.171

1.431

4.000

Rock Climbing

3.386

0.140

1.171

3.000

Paragliding

3.071

0.138

1.159

3.000

General activities in

2.957

0.149

1.245

3.000

Other, specify

2.829

0.133

1.116

3.000

Hot Air Ballooning

2.757

0.112

0.939

3.000

Lots of tourists recommended water rafting as a first recommendation to others

(M=3.786). Secondly, trekking and hiking were recommended with the highest mean
score

of

3.743.

Thirdly,

surfing

was

recommended

as

third

adventure

recommendation with a mean of 3.586. Respectively, deep sea fishing (M=3.586),

waterfall climbing (M=3.571), diving (M=3.557), rock climbing (M=3.386), paragliding
(M=3.071), general activities (M=2.957), other specific activities (M=2.829) and hot
air ballooning (M=2.757) were recommended. After analyzing table 5 and table 6, we
can predict most of tourists have recommended the adventure sports that they
preferred and experienced in Sri Lanka.
18

5.7 The Attributes of Adventure Recreational Activities.

In this research, the meanings of the adventure recreational activities are shown in
Table 7. To calculate this section, investigator used one-way ANOVA method.

Table 7: Attributes of the Adventure Recreational Activities.

Mean

StDev

Ranking

1) Has to be exciting (gives me a thrill/adrenaline

rush).

4.2143

0.8146

2) Has to be in a remote area.

3.743

0.879

3) Has to be risky.

1.2143

0.4470

Attributes of the term adventure recreational

activities

Most of respondents alluded that has to be exciting (gives me a thrill/adrenaline

rush) as a most representative interpretation, with a mean of 4.2143. Which means
most of tourists expect excitement from adventure tours. As a second most chosen
explanation, respondents have chosen Has to be in remote area (M=3.743). Which
indicates most of tourists want to see country side, as well as they want to do
adventure tours. Finally, a number of participants thought that has to be risky
(M=1.2143). It was the unimportant response of this survey.

19

5.8 The Dimensions of Motivation.

Table 8 lists the mean values of 14 motivational items of the tourists who
experienced adventure activities in Sri Lanka. To understand tourists motivational
factors, researcher used one-way ANOVA test.
Table 8: Adventure Recreational Motivation Rankings.
Motivation

Mean

StDev

Ranking

3.9714

0.8160

2) Experience new and different lifestyles.

3.857

1.120

3) Learn new things and increase my

knowledge and skills.

3.743

0.912

4) Share experiences with friends back

home.

3.671

1.018

5) See the world and experience a new

culture.

3.500

1.126

6) I have never experience it before.

3.443

1.044

7) To have an adventure.

3.271

1.179

8) To show other people my skills.

3.171

1.239

9) For the friendship.

3.157

1.016

10) For self-expression.

3.014

1.291

10

11) Travel on low cost.

2.629

1.310

11

12) Do something exciting and thrilling

2.629

0.966

11

13) Meet new and different people.

2.414

1.123

12

1.3571

0.6378

13

1) Enjoy different scenery.

14) To face the risk and danger.

20

Table 8 lists the mean values of 14 motivational items of adventure tourism in Sri
Lanka. The motivations of the tourists ranged from the highest mean score of 4.00, to
the lowest mean score of 1.3571. Among these items, 10 items ranging from 3.96 to
3.0, while 4 items were below 3.00. The items that have ranging from 3.97 to 3.0 are
enjoy different scenery(M=3.9741), experience new and different life styles (M=3.857)
,learn new things and increase my knowledge and skills (M=3.743), share experiences
with

friends

back

home(M=3.671),

see

the

world

and

experience

new

culture(M=3.500), I have never experience it before(3.443), to show other people my

skills(M=3.271), for the friendship(M=3.171) and for self-expression(M=3.157),
respectively. Also, the items that have a rank below 3.00 are travel on low cost
(M=2.629), do something exciting and thrilling (M=2.629), meet new and different
people (M=2.414) and to face the risk & danger (M=1.3571).
By concerning attributes, those motivations can be divided in to two categories.1)
extrinsic motivation and 2) intrinsic motivations. The items which all score above 3.0
are intrinsic motivations. However, the items which all are below 3.0 are not intrinsic
motivation such as travel on low cost, do something exciting, meet new and
different people and to face the rick & danger. The reason is those items are not able
to boost the participants cognitive, physical and social development. Also, it will not
enrich their personal knowledge and skills through actions. Therefore, they are extrinsic
motivations.

21

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION
The aim of this research is to understand tourists adventure motivations in Sri Lanka.
Firstly, the objectives and background of the study were described. Secondly, the
research procedure and the instrument used to collect the data were delineated in
detail. Finally, the results were analyzed using appropriate methods, then discussed. In
this chapter, the findings of discussion chapter (Chapter 5) have concluded for brief
investigation.

6.1 Summary of Results

This survey mainly focused on respondents demographic profiles, their adventure
travel characteristics and the relevant adventure motivational dimensions. According to
this study, there is a tendency of middle age tourists participation for adventure
recreational activities in Sri Lanka. Also, the leading tourist producer for adventure
recreational activities, India, Great Britain and Germany listed in table 2.
The main purpose of travel in Sri Lanka was for general reason such as to see the
beautiful places and to experience activities that have never been experienced before.
As a result of that purpose, tourists have propelled to experience adventure activities
and they have agreed to accept adventure sport activity prices as well. As the main
information sources in decision making to choose Sri Lanka as an adventure destination,
advices from friends were ranked in first place and Sri Lanka tourist bureau website was
ranked in second place. Likewise, most of tourists experienced and recommended
adventure activities were water rafting, hiking and surfing, respectively.
After applying one-way ANOVA test, table 8 and table 7 were analyzed by the
researcher. It shows motivations of adventure recreational activities. The repeated
decision making for adventure recreational activity was that has to be exciting, while
the significant motivations and purposes of adventure recreational activities were
22

to

enjoy different scenery, to experience new and different life style, to learn new
things and increase my knowledge and skills, to share experiences with friends back
home and see the world and to experience new culture. In this research, these
models of tourist motivations and travel characteristics found as significant findings of
adventure recreational motivations in Sri Lanka.

6.2 For Future Studies

Actually, this investigation was to study adventure tourism in Sri Lanka. Hence, it can
be referenced to other related research. By using this research method, future studies
could use similar method to investigate tourists adventure motivations in another
destination as well. Discovering the demographic and travel characteristics of adventure
motivations can be applied to adventure tourism (market) in Sri Lanka. For example,
some recreational activities such as white water rafting, surfing, waterfall climbing.
Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a further survey in future to understand tourists
satisfaction, relaxation and priority of decision making.

23

REFERENCE

Anol Bhattacherjee, 2012, SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH: principles,

methods, and practices, Published under the Creative Commons Attribution,
Pages 14-24.
Dr. Sue Greener, Dr. Joe Martelli, 2015, an introduction to business
research methods, pages 10- 82.
Leonard Bickman, Julia Brannen, 2008, the SAGE Handbook of social
research methods, SAGE London, pages 12-17.
Tourism development strategy report (2011-2016), Sri Lanka tourist Bureau,
Ministry of Economic development, pages 15-18.

Parliament of the democratic socialist republic of Sri Lanka, (08/07/2009),

Government Development Policy Framework, Published as a Supplement to
Part II of the Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,
page 3.
Sri Lanka annual Statistic report, 2014, Sri Lanka tourism development
Authority, pages 8-9.
WEB REFERENCE

Sri Lanka coast guard department, (9/4/2016),

(http://www.coastguard.gov.lk/index.php?%20id=31).

internet

code,

Sri Lanka tourist bureau, (9/4/2016), internet code, (http://www.srilanka.travel/).

24

Covering letter of questionnaire paper:

5th of March 2016

Dear Sri / Madam,

Request a help to conduct a survey.

I am Bandula Madusanka Padmaperuma. Currently, I am studying my
bachelor degree at Pai Chai University in South Korea. My major is Tourism
and Event Management. For final year dissertation, I am conducting a survey
based on adventure tourism in Sri Lanka. The reason is it is one of booming
tourism industry and Sri Lanka tourist bureau has insisted about adventure
recreational activities. Therefore, I really expect your kind help to conduct
this survey.

Yours sincerely,
4th year University Student,
(Tourism and Event Management Department, Computer Science Department)

Bandula.

E-Mail: bandulasisi1990@yahoo.com
Pai Chai University, South Korea

25

Questionnaire.
Adventure Tourism and Research in Sri Lanka.
This questionnaire examines motivation of adventure tours and the participations of
adventure tourism. Answering requires 10-15 minutes of your time.
Appendix A
Part 1: Personal Adventure Travel Information.
1)
2)
3)
4)

Gender: 1) Male
2) Female
Age: (.....)
Nationality: ()
How often do you travel in Sri Lanka each year? :(.)times
(Write an oval or a square on appropriate number.)
st

Scale: 1=1 choice very unimportant; 2=2nd choice somewhat unimportant; 3= 3rd choice neither
unimportant nor important; 4=4th choice somewhat important; 5 =5th choice very important.
4) Where do you usually get adventure travel information prior
to departure?
1) Facebook
1
2
3
4
5
2) Guide books
1
2
3
4
5
3) Twitter
1
2
3
4
5
4) Sri Lanka tourist bureau
1
2
3
4
5
5) TripAdvisor
1
2
3
4
5
6) Advice from friends
1
2
3
4
5
7) Advice from family
1
2
3
4
5
8) Newspapers/magazines
1
2
3
4
5
9) Travel agent
1
2
3
4
5
10) Other, specify
1
2
3
4
5
Scale: 1=1st choice very unimportant ; 2=2nd choice somewhat unimportant; 3= 3rd choice neither
unimportant nor important ; 4=4th choice somewhat important; 5 =5th choice very important.
5) Which of the following adventure activities have you done in
Sri Lanka?
1) Caving
2) Rock Climbing
3) Rafting
4) Hot Air Ballooning
5) Deep Sea Fishing
6) Trekking and Hiking
7) Diving
8) Waterfall climbing
9) Paragliding
10) Other, specify
11) General activities in Sri Lanka

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

26

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

(Write an oval or a square on appropriate number.)

Scale: 1=1st choice very unimportant ; 2=2nd choice somewhat unimportant; 3= 3rd choice neither
unimportant nor important ; 4=4th choice somewhat important; 5 =5th choice very important.
08) Which would you encourage others to do?
1) Caving
2) Rock Climbing
3) Rafting
4) Hot Air Ballooning
5) Deep Sea Fishing
6) Trekking and Hiking
7) Diving
8) Waterfall climbing
9) Paragliding
10) Other, specify
11) General activities in Sri Lanka

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

4) With whom do you usually travel on your adventure trip in Sri Lanka?

1)

Myself only

2)

Travel Group

3)

Family

.
11) What is your main purpose when traveling in Sri Lanka?
1) Travelling for general reasons (such as to see the country)

2) Travelling for general reasons such as to see the country, but also do an adventure activity
3) Travelling just for adventure activities

12) Who influences you the most to participate in adventure activities in Sri Lanka?
1)

Self

2)

Friend/s

14) In generally, do you think the prices of adventure activities in Sri Lanka are acceptable?
()
12) Would you recommend Sri Lanka as an adventure-tourism destination to your friends and
relatives?
1)

Yes

2)

27

No

Appendix B

Part 2: Adventure Experience Motivation.

(Write an oval or a square on appropriate number.)
Scale: 1=very unimportant; 2=somewhat unimportant; 3= neither unimportant nor important; 4=
Somewhat important; 5 = very important

13 ) In your opinion, what aspects are important for an

Activity to be adventurous?
1) Has to be exciting (gives me a thrill/adrenaline rush)
2) Has to be risky (something could go wrong)
3) Has to be in remote areas.

1
1
1

2
2
2

3
3
3

4
4
4

5
5
5

(Write an oval or a square on appropriate number.)

Scale: 1=very unimportant; 2=somewhat unimportant; 3= neither unimportant nor important; 4=
Somewhat important; 5 = very important

14) Why do you participate the adventure tourism

activities?

1) Experience new and different lifestyles.

2) Do something exciting and thrilling.

1
1

2
2

3
3

4
4

5
5

3) See the world and experience a new culture.

4) Meet new and different people.

5) Travel on low cost.

1
1

2
2

3
3

4
4

5
5

1
1
1
1
1
1
1

2
2
2
2
2
2
2

3
3
3
3
3
3
3

4
4
4
4
4
4
4

5
5
5
5
5
5
5

6) To face the risk and danger.

7) For self-expression.
8) To show other people my skills.
9) Learn new things and increase my knowledge and skills.
10) I have never experience it before.
11) For the friendship.
12) Enjoy different scenery.
13) Share experiences with friends back home.
14) To have an adventure.

Thank you very much again for your participation in this important survey.

28