Determinants of inbound travellers’ motivation to select Sri Lanka as a preferred holiday destination: Perspective of Russian travellers

Abstract

This study explored the determinants of inbound traveller motivations to select Sri Lanka as a destination of choice for holidays. It specifically looked at the Russian travellers, since the influx of Russian travellers visiting Sri Lanka has significantly increased over the last six months, as per the arrival statistical reports published by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). This study attempted to understand what motivates Russian travellers to choose a holiday destination in general and Sri Lanka in particular by using the push and pull factors in the theory of motivation, to explore what they think of Sri Lanka as a holiday destination and to identify the ideal product mix to target them. A qualitative study was conducted with 18 in-depth interviews with Russian nationals who had taken a foreign holiday within the last three years. The purposive sampling technique was used to choose the relevant participants for the study. The interviews were conducted between February 20, 2022, to March 3, 2022. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The NVivo software was used for thematic analysis. This study identified numerous push and pull motivation factors affecting outbound visits of Russian travellers in general and Sri Lanka in particular.