This research will focus mainly on Sri Lankan travellers between Sri Lanka and Australia whose major trip purpose was to visit friends and relatives (VFR). The main purpose of the study is to examine the variety-seeking behaviour of Sri Lankan VFR travellers whose main trip purpose is visiting friends and relatives in Sri Lanka and Australia. Trip purpose and destination patterns are two major influences on travel variety-seeking behaviour and VFRs are classified into four types: single-destination/single purpose, multi purpose, multi-destination, and multi-destination/multi-purpose. Therefore, this study will examine quantitative estimates of the flow through effects on the economy of each country, assessing the spending patterns of the visitors and the hosts.

1.1 The specific aims are

The study will investigate:

· Whether visiting friends and relatives is the only motivation of the VFR traveller?

· Is the trip restricted to only VFR?

· Past studies to explore whether people from different countries have common attitudes towards travel decision-making.

· Will investigate the behaviour and expenditure patterns of VFR traveller.

· The benefits to the tourism industry in both Sri Lanka and Australia.

· Whether it is the visitor or the host who plays the more important role in determining visitor behaviour patterns.

· The differences in travel distances, length of stay, usage of commercial accommodation, and also the age groups, social and economic backgrounds.

2. Contribution to Knowledge

This research will extend Foxall’s Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM) to address the related issues of variety seeking behaviour of Sri Lankan VFRs and their economic contribution during their holiday. The contribution that this research will make includes:

· No previous studies have investigated the variety-seeking behaviour of VFR travellers and this study seeks to address this deficiency.

· The results will indicate the economic contribution made by the Sri Lankan expatriates to Sri Lanka’s economy.

· An improved understanding of families and friends when visit their families and relatives will be helpful to travel and tourism organisations.

· VFR market spending will be useful for future resource allocation and spending by the tourism industry in Sri Lanka and Australia.

· This research will also develop a new approach to VFR model to analyse the effects of Sri Lankan travel.

· The framework will inform the body of knowledge in VFR variety seeking behaviour and VFR spending patterns.

3. Budget

A budget of approximately $500 will be required for data collection to cover postage costs.

4. Time Scale

	2	0	0	3			2	0	0	4
Months	9	10	11	12	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Proposal Writing
Literature Review *
Questionnaire Design
Pilot Study
Data Collection
Data Analysis/interpret
Thesis Writing

1. Title of the Program

“Variety-seeking behaviour and the Economic Impact of Sri Lankans when Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) in Sri Lanka and Australia”.

2. Aims of the Research

The general aim of the research is to study the variety-seeking behaviour of Sri Lankans whose main motive was to visit friends and relatives. The study will also have a specific focus on quantitative estimates of the flow-through effects on the economy of each country, by assessing the spending patterns of the visitors and the hosts.

2.1 General Aim

The main general aim is to provide a detailed analysis of the motivations of Sri Lankan (expatriates and their relatives and friends) VFR travellers, and their hosts’ spending pattern. This will be undertaken with a view to drawing attention to the existing diverse opinions about the role of the VFR traveller. A subsidiary aim is to determine how the tourist industry has assessed this specific market. A more detailed explanation of the specific aims of the research follows.

2.2 Specific Aims

A specific aim of this research will be to investigate whether visiting friends and relatives is the only motivation of the VFR traveller or is it part of their variety-seeking behaviour. Would travellers have selected a different travel destination if they had no other motivation to select Australia or Sri Lanka other than visiting friends and relatives? The study will compare its findings with the past findings of similar studies. The research will also attempt to explore the benefits to the tourism industry to both Sri Lanka and Australia. Other questions this research will seek answers are:

Is VFR a sustainable market?

What sectors of the economy derive the most benefits of VFR travellers

Is it the visitor or the host that plays the more important role in determining the behaviour patterns of visitors?

The four types of VFRs (single destination/single purpose, multi purpose, multi destination, and multi destination/multi purpose) will be examined to find if they are homogeneous? The study will also investigate whether the destination patterns make a difference in VFR’s other trip behaviour (tripographics) when coupled with trip purposes. It will examine lengths of stay, usage of commercial accommodation among VFR travellers classified by a combination of trip purposes and destination patterns. Once these questions are addressed the characteristics of VFR attitudes, spending patterns, and specific benefits will be clarified.

Significance of the Research

Despite the fact there are many research on VFR, little empirical research has been conducted to analyse the variety seeking behaviour of VFR and its economic impact on country of origin and the visiting country. This research aims to present a critical review of a broad range of relevant aspect of VFR travel while being focussed specifically on variety seeking behaviour. It will also develop a model based on the BPM to analyse the recent travel behaviours of Sri Lankan VFR to Australia. This study will benefit a wide range spectrum of specialists including, academics, travel operators, other businesses through the acquired knowledge and expertise to better understand the impact of the economic contribution derived on the basis of the results from quantitative economic modelling.

Seaton (1996) found that in 1996 only 36 countries in the world had included VFR in their tourism analysis and claimed that countries which do not accept it as an important and major market segment of tourism will miss out on significant source of income. In their comparison of travel patterns of Dutch long-haul VFR and non-VFR travellers to the USA and Canada, Yuan, Tsao-Fang and Joseph D. Fridgen, (1994) documented the sizeable economic contribution made by the potential International VFR markets to local communities.

Many developing countries such as Sri Lanka have not understood or accepted the important role of the VFR market through spending incurred during visits and also in bringing the hard to get foreign currencies from the place of work of these expatriates. King (1996) suggested that VFR is a component of hybrid travel, and that travellers often exhibit a mixture of pleasure, business and VFR travel experiences, and motivations. This was also confirmed by Hu and Morrison (2002). The latter authors noted that VFRs are often multi-destination and/or multi-purpose travellers, and often stop for other purposes, such as shopping, relaxation, business, and sightseeing on the way to or from visiting their friends and relatives. This study will enable tourism organisations and other relevant agencies to notice the importance of VFR market and also to plan goals for the future.

4. Literature Review

VFR sector of the tourism industry was not identified as an important part of tourism until the late 1980s (Denman 1988; Seaton 1994). It is only in the last six years that there has been a serious worldwide focus on the importance of VFR market. Moscardo, Pearce, Morrison, Green, and O’Leary, (2000) stated that many authors in the mid 1990s argued that the VFR sector was neglected. The growing number of studies published on VFR as well as the staging of some dedicated conferences show that it is no longer a completely neglected sector of the tourism industry. Tourism marketers also are less neglectful, with a range of special promotional alternatives targeted at the VFR sector being developed (Morrison, Hsieh, and O’Leary 1995; King 1996; White 1996).

Travellers who participate in a range of tourist activities that might include renewing or enjoying social connections constitute one type. Travellers whose sole purpose is VFR might be less interested in other tourist activities therefore the whole travel experience might be entirely focussed on social obligations is second group.

Seaton and Palmer (1996) argued that VFR trips are numerically important but involve shorter stays and lower levels of spending than all tourism and also that young singles and childless couples visit more friends than other groups. Travel involving visits to friends and relatives can have a range of differentiating attributes. These could include being part of a family or friend’s important events such as weddings, funerals, or to return to the place of birth. Visiting friends and relatives could be combined with business or with a holiday in a popular destination.

It is believed that VFR travellers are more likely to reside in the community with family and friends than to use commercial accommodation. But recent studies by D.K.Shifflet and Associates Ltd for the American Hotel and Lodging Association (2001) found that ‘visiting friends and relatives’ do not always want to stay with friends and relatives’. This indicates that VFR travel is not exclusively VFR, but that there are other reasons for travelling. Staying with friends and relatives is becoming less important, and VFR is becoming an important factor in hotel industry. King’s (1996) argument that the accommodation sector shows little interest in the VFR market was disputed by Braunlich and Nadkarni (1995) who argued that VFR travellers can and do use commercial accommodation. Braunlich and Nadkarni (1995) found that VFR travel comprises over half of all pleasure travel and that over one fifth of VFR travellers use hotels. Gamage and King (1999) stated that to have an accurate measurement of the VFR travel and tourism expenditure, it is necessary to highlight overseas travel patterns. It is also necessary to investigate the travellers’ attitudes and perceptions towards visiting their ancestral country.

Most of the existing literature treats VFR travellers as if they have only one purpose, assuming that VFR travellers are interested only in visiting family and/or friends and that other travel motives or desires are secondary. Morrison, Hsieh, and O’Leary, (1995), however, analysed VFR as an activity rather than as a prime travel motivation and found that, in some cases, VFR was just one of several activities desired by tourists. There are few publications on the issue of VFR in tourism and even less research done on variety seeking behaviour and factors that influence people to travel and choose certain destinations. VFR only came into prominence in the mid 1990s and the literature then was focused on VFR, its effect on accommodation, economy and behaviour, and not on other reasons for travel by VFR travellers.

Pessemier (1978) argued that people seek to find variety in their daily lives, under different conditions. McAlister and Pessemier (1982) found that there are two reasons to explain this behaviour; firstly, some believe variety-seeking behaviour is the result of other motivations (derived), and secondly, some see variation as a motivation in and of itself (direct). Different situations and uses also make the behaviours change due to time constraints or the location of consumption. Hebb, 1955: Leuber, 1955 added to this argument and stated that ‘the source of variety-seeking behaviour is the internal need for stimulation’.

People’s behaviour for change in tourism, leisure, and recreation can fundamentally be influenced by desire. Variety-seeking travel behaviour was found to be a norm in recreation choice (Kemperman, Borgers, Oppewal, and Timmermans, 1995). Many potential reasons affect this form of variety-seeking behaviour. Some individuals have a desire to experience new travel destinations, or may want to allocate their leisure budgets and time more effectively across different travel type or areas (Kemperman et. al., 1995). Variety that was sought in a multi destination trip will include shopping, sightseeing, attending a cultural heritage attraction, and visiting the houses of friends and relatives. Variety-seeking behaviour explains why a significant number of visitors prefer hybrid or multi-purpose trips (i.e. travel with more than one trip purpose) and trips to more than one destination (multi-destination trips). There are two major factors that influence the variety-seeking behaviour as suggested by Hoyer and Ridgeway (1984); firstly, individual-level characteristics (i.e., people’s traits and motives) and secondly, product level characteristics (i.e. the number of alternatives available). Therefore, variety-seeking behaviour can be expressed as the interaction between an individual and a product.

5. Conceptual Framework

Swarbrooke & Horne (1999) identified the development of a conceptual framework as the most important part of any research project, involving conceptual development. A conceptual framework indicates how the researcher views the concepts involved in a study and in particular the relationships between concepts. To develop a conceptual framework, the researcher first needs to identify and then define the concepts to explore relationships between the concepts, and finally operationalise them.

In this study conceptual framework was developed with the view of the research problems and aims in mind. Reason for travel identified in this study are: what influences people to VFR, is it because they are seeking different type of holiday, or is it because their attitude when VFR is different than any other holiday, or do they mix leisure with work? This study it is restricted to only Sri Lankan travellers due to time and expenditure restrictions. Also it will study the main destination of the Sri Lankan traveller and their social background.

CONCEPT	DESCRIPTION	OPERATIONALISATION
Reasons for travel
Influencing Factors Variety Seeking Behaviour Attitude Purpose Leisure and Basics	The reason for selecting a destination or holiday, range of different activities sought, person's feeling towards something/ someone.	Response (agree strongly, agree, disagree strongly, etc) to a number of statements on a given topic. Number of different activities catered for what they require, demands, level of requirements determined by comparisons.
Who travels
Sri Lankan Visitors Friends and Relatives	Past, present and potential groups involved. Visitor evaluation of visit.	Background, relationship, purpose, reason. Visitor evaluation (e.g., on scale of 1-5) of each stage of the visit.
Where?
Destinations Alternatives	The place to be visited and what other alternatives are available	Satisfaction level, evaluation of experiences, comments on experience. Future intentions.
What background?
Social and Economic Circumstances	Social circumstances and circumstances likely to influence or constrain leisure, e.g. age, gender, occupation, family responsibilities. Socio- economic or political position of a group of people in society.	Combination of persons' occupation, income and education level.

5.1 Research Questions

The following questions will be generated from the above conceptual framework.

Major question: ‘Is the Sri Lankan VFR traveller influenced by variety-seeking behaviour when visiting friends and relatives?’

6. Research Methodology and Data Collection

Freudian theory explains consumer behaviour is guided by the primary desire to maximise pleasure and avoid pain. It directs a person’s psychic energy toward pleasurable acts without regard for any consequences. Some will argue that consumers choose products, services and other activities over others because they are associated with a certain lifestyle. Based on the Foxall’s Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM) the following theoretical framework was developed from the conceptual framework described earlier. BPM relates patterns of consumer choice to their differing environmental consequences. It explains purchase and consumption responses in terms of the contingent relationships among the behaviour in question, its stimulus antecedents, and its reinforcing and punishing consequences (Foxall, 1990).

Main reasons when considering to Visiting Friends and Relatives would be:

· strongly influenced by other people (family and friends)

· considerable emotional significance

· family commitments

· lifestyles

· word of mouth recommendation of friends of elatives

The research model in this paper will adopt a macro framework. It will examine the VFR traveller’s behaviour towards making the decision to travel to certain destinations and also who spends and on what during their holiday. Based on the above reasons for VFR the following model was developed.

Text Box: Negative reinforcement:

Cost
Cognitive dissonance
Disconfirmation of expectations

Text Box: Current behaviour setting:

Emotional attachments
Status
Social conditions
Cultural influences
Economic conditions
Religious believes

This model provides an account of VFR traveller choice founded on behaviour analysis. It explains purchase and consumption responses, its stimulus antecedents, and its reinforcing and punishing consequences. Emotional attachments are; nostalgia, romance, adventure, escapism, fantasy, need to satisfy others, and to show-off achievements. Visiting one’s relatives and also due to promotions by advertisements or word of mouth about a destination can lead a decisions based on emotions. Status is exclusivity, fashionability, obtaining a good deal, and ostentatious spending opportunity. People have a tendency to evaluate themselves, their professional accomplishments and their material well being relative to others or comparison of one’s standard of living with one’s neighbours. In social conditions some different products and stores are perceived by consumers to be appropriate for certain social classes. For example “haves” and “have-nots” and “haves” using Mercedes or Rolls Royce cars. Equally only certain relatives can afford to travel and visit their relatives overseas. Cultural influences are sightseeing and experience new cultures. A consumer’s culture determines the overall priorities that the consumer attaches to different activities and products, and it also mandates the success or failure of specific products and services also some consumers in individualist cultures attach more importance to personal goals. Under economic conditions consumers will gather as much data as needed to make an informed decision. Variety seeking can influence a consumer to switch from their favourite product to a less pleasurable item. Soloman (2002) explains this as consumers are willing to trades enjoyment for variety and that variety seeking is a choice strategy that occurs as a result of pleasurable memories for varied sequence. People with religious believe will travel to certain destinations due to their religious importance. E.g. Laudes and Mecca

When the environment provides positive reinforcement in the form of a reward, the response is strengthened and appropriate behaviour is learned (Soloman ,2002). For example if a traveller is acknowledge by his friends and relatives in the home country as he has achieved something impossible by visiting his friends and relatives in another country, this will have the desired effect for him.

Negative reinforcement also strengthens responses so that appropriate behaviour is learned. For example a traveller will regret of a holiday if outcomes are negative and will think he should have visited different destination, friends or relatives.

Informational reinforcement is provided by feedback on the consumer’s performance, especially the social status produced by conspicuous consumption.

This study will use primary and secondary data. Primary data will be obtained from a questionnaire distributed to Sri Lankan national residents in Sri Lanka and expatriates living in Australia. The survey will be conducted in Melbourne and Sri Lanka. Secondary data will be obtained from Immigration authorities of both countries, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and travel and tourism organisations. It is important to collect new information (primary data) and also to gather existing data (secondary data) including official government statistics and also data from leisure or tourism agencies. Swarbrooke & Horner (1999) stated that “secondary data play a variety of roles in a research project, from being the whole basis of the research to being a vital or incidental point of comparison”. As per ABS statistics, there are more than 40,000 expatriate Sri Lankans living in the state of Victoria. Most visit Sri Lanka and host their friends and relatives when they visit Australia.

Primary data:

The primary data relating to VFR behaviour and expenditure will be collected at two points.

Surveys will be conducted at the Melbourne Airport. The main sample would be visitors to and from Sri Lanka and Australia. They will be interviewed and also a questionnaire given for self-completion with stamped envelope for completion later, if preferred.

A survey will be carried out in Victoria among the Sri Lankan community at Sri Lankan functions and gatherings to ascertain the behaviour and the spending patterns of Sri Lankan VFR traveller.

A structured questionnaire will be developed for this purpose of the surveys. The questionnaire developed will take into account the key issues identified, the conceptual framework and the research questions identified earlier. The questionnaire will consist of three sections. The first section will gather data about respondent travel characteristics such as purpose of the visit, number of trips to Australia and Sri Lanka in the last five years, e.g. where they stayed, reasons and spending patterns by whom and why?

The second section will collect data about the reasons for selecting a particular destination and will be modified as necessary to suit the situation. The respondents will be asked to rate their choice, expectation and perceptions of each of the destinations. Also the activities involved during their visits and who made the decisions and planning. In addition, a question on respondent overall satisfaction with their choices will be included and this will be measured using a five-point scale (1 = very dissatisfied, and 5 = very satisfied). The final section of the questionnaire will gather demographic data about respondents’ such as age, sex, education level, profession and income.

This data should provide clear, accurate and comprehensive information about Sri Lankan VFR travellers to and from Australia. ABS figures will provide a platform to profile the Sri Lankan VFR market and to further investigate their tripographics. These results will be complemented by personal interviews and the information collected by means of the surveys through questionnaires. For the personal questionnaire the questions will be in-depth, and specific, e.g., which of the countries you would like to visit on holiday in the future and why?

The minimum age for the respondents will be 18 years since it may be difficult to gather accurate information from very young children. Also, it may be considered ethically unacceptable to subject children to the sort of questioning which adults can freely choose to answer or not. The sample will be between 500 and 1000 and will be randomly chosen (every other person of either sex) from the categories given below at the above-mentioned locations. These data will be collected within a period of two months.

· The origin countries chosen will be Sri Lanka and Australia because its residents have traditionally been a major and economically vital travel market for VFR (Gamage and King 1996).

· Expatriates visiting their friends and relatives in Sri Lanka.

· Relatives, friends and business people coming to Australia from Sri Lanka for a holiday, business or education.

· Business people arriving in Sri Lanka from Australia.

· Regular tourists arriving in Sri Lanka from Australia.

· Travel agents specialising Sri Lanka in Australia.

· Travel agents specialising Australia in Sri Lanka.

Secondary data:

· Data collected by immigration authorities at ports of entry (Arrivals/Departures International tourism data) from government international arrivals and departures statistics.

· Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

7. Data Analysis:

Firstly, the statistical differences in socio-demographics and tripographics among the four VFR variety-seeking groups will be examined by using chi-square tests.

The two factors that will be used as independent variables will be destination patterns and trip purposes. The destination pattern variable (D) will have two levels, single-destination (VFR visitor who do not stop between the origin and the destination) and multi-destination (VFR visitor who visit other places at least once, in either direction). Trip purpose will also have two levels; single purpose (either way to visit friends and relatives) and multi purpose (different trip purpose other than VFR). The dependent variables will be travel distance (TD), length of stay away from home (SA), and nights in commercial accommodation (CA), are the most used characteristics in describing trip behaviours.

Secondly, GLM Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) of factorial design will be used to further investigate the composition of groups defined by trip purposes and destination patterns. Multivariate ANOVA will be employed instead of ANOVA to account for the inter-relationships among the travel distances, length of stay, and nights in commercial accommodation. This will allow the testing of the effects of trip purposes and destination pattern on the means of various groupings of the joint distribution of the dependent variables. The use of MANOVA goes beyond analysing only the differences among groups by assessing whether their purposes and/or destination patterns created groups with differences (Hair, J.F., R. E. Anderson, R. L. Tatham, and W. C. Black, 1998).

The results from GLM MANOVA will show the age and household size of the four groups and also the distribution of each of the age categories. Importantly it will indicate the popularity of the travel purpose also which age categories were not at all interested in visiting family and friends and who would enjoy visiting other places for sightseeing, shopping, relaxation or business. It will also show which group (single, couples or families) of travellers will compose VFR travel parties together with the size of households involved.

The results of this research will be provided to Sri Lankan and Australian Travel and Tourism Agencies.

8. Equipment Required:

A Laptop computer is needed when travelling for research with Internet facilities (Self provided).

Adequate software to analyse data.

Access to stationery supplies including postage and photocopying. References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Population Census – population by birth of country http://www.abs.gov.au/.

Braunlich, C.G., and Nadkarni, N., (1995). ‘The importance of the VFR market to the Hotel Industry’. Journal of Tourism Studies. Vol 6, No. 1, 38-47.

Denman, R. (1988). ‘A response to the VFR market’. BTA/ETB Consultancy report.

Gamage, A and King, B., (1999). ‘Comparing migrant and non-migrant tourism impacts’. International Journal of Social Economics. Vol 26, 1/2/3, 312-324.

Hair, J.F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., and Black, W. C., (1998). Multivariate Data Analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Hebb, D.O. (1955). Drives and the C.N.S. (Conceptual Nervous System). Psychological Review, Vol 62, 243-254.

Hu, B. and Morrison, A.M., (2002) Tripography: ‘Can destination use patterns enhance our understanding of the VFR market?’. Journal of Vacation Marketing. Vol 8, No. 3, 201-222.

Hoyer, W.D, and Ridgway, N.M. (1984). ‘Variety seeking as an explanation for exploratory purchase behaviour: a theoretical model’. In T.C.Kinnear (Ed.), Advances in consumer research, Vol XI, 114-119. Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.

Kemperman, A., Borgers, A., Oppewal, H. and Timmermans, H.J.P.(1995). ‘Variety-seeking behaviour in consumer choice of theme parks’. Proceedings of the fourth international outdoor recreation & tourism trends symposium and the 1995 national recreation resources planning conference, 43-49.

King, B. (1996). ‘VFR – A Future Research Agenda’ in Yaman, H.R. (ed.) VFR Tourism: Issues and Implications Conference Proceedings, Melbourne.

King, B and Gamage. A M. (1994). ‘Measuring the value of the ethnic connection: Expatriate travellers from Australia to Sri Lanka’. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 33, No 2, 46-49.

Leuba, C. (1955). ‘Toward some integration of learning theories: the concept of optimal stimulation’. Psychological Reports, Vol I, 27-33.

Morrison, A.M., Hsieh. S., and O’Leary, J.T. (1995). ‘Segmenting the Visiting Friends and Relatives market by holiday activity participation’. Journal of Tourism Studies, Vol. 6, No. 1, 48-63.

Moscardo, G., Pearce, P., Morrison, A., Green, D., and O’Leary, J., (2000). ‘Developing a typology for understanding visiting friends and relatives markets’. Journal of Travel Research. Vol 38, 251-259.

McAlister, L. and Pessemier, E. (1982). ‘Variety seeking behaviour: an interdisciplinary review’. Journal of Consumer Research., Vol 9, No 4, 311-322.

Pessemier, E.A. (1978). ‘Stochastic properties of changing preferences’. The American Economic Review. Vol 68, No 2, 380-385.

Seaton, A.V. (1994). ‘Are relatives friends? Reassessing the VFR category in segmenting tourism markets’. Tourism: The State of the Art, Wiley, London, pp 316-321.

Seaton, A.V. (1996). ‘Making (even more) Sense of the VFR Category in Tourism Analysis. in Yaman, H.R. (ed.) VFR Tourism: Issues and Implications Conference Proceedings, Melbourne.

Seaton A.V. and Palmer, C. (1996). ‘The structure of Domestic VFR Tourism in the UK 1989-1993, and What It Tells Us About the VFR Category’. in Yaman, H.R. (ed.). Melbourne.

Shifflet, D.K. and Associates. (2001). ‘Hotel industry sees major opportunity to help families and friends’ [online]. http://www.dksa.com/vfr.htm [February 3, 2002].

Solomon, M.R. (2002). ‘Consumer Behaviour’. 5^th ed. Prentice Hall International, Inc. Mexico.

Stoessel, H. (1997), ‘Impact on socioeconomic, cultural and environmental development’. presentation at first International Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Vietnam, Hué, Vietnam, 22-23.

Swarbrooke, J and Horner, S. (1999). ‘Consumer Behaviour in Tourism’. Butteerworth-Heinmann. Oxford. England.

World Travel and Tourism Council (2000) Annual Report on ‘High Lights for 1999’. http://www.world travel and tourism council.com

Yuan, Tsao-Fang and Fridgen, J.D. (1994). ‘Visiting friends and relatives travel market: The Dutch case’. Journal of Tourism Studies, Vol 6, No. 1, 19-26.

I have developed 3 hypothesis and main questions based on my Conceptual Framework and the Model. I have given the details below.

Main questions of the thesis (goals and objectives):

Is the Sri Lankan traveller influenced by Variety Seeking Behaviour when visiting Friends and Relatives?
Would Sri Lankan travellers selected a different destination if not for Visiting Friends and Relatives?
When making a decision to travel, will they take into consideration of their positive or negative past experiences?
Is VFR the only reason when selecting a destination?

Hypothesis 1: Sri Lankan travellers are strongly influenced by family and friends, social and economic circumstances, quality of leisure participation and high holiday expectations when making a decision to travel. The decisions are also influenced by past experiences, cultural and religious believes.

Hypothesis 2: Their main reasons for travel are considerable emotional attachments to the family, family commitments such as to show gratitude to parents, be part of important family occasions and to show-off or increase in social status.

Hypothesis 3: Sri Lankan visitors do not participate in quality leisure activities during their holiday and also do not use commercial accommodation.

Hypothesis 4: Sri Lankan visitors expect their visitors to make most of the decisions of their holiday and also spend money for their holiday.

Following questions covered the antecedents of the Model: (numbers below is the

numbers of the questionnaire).

Emotional Attachments: 4, 5, 10, 11, 25

Status: 12

Social Conditions: 6, 8, 15, 16, 28

Cultural Influences: 20, 26

Economic Conditions: 7, 29, 30, 31

Religious Believes:

Past Experiences: 3, 9, 13

Following questions cover the consequences:

Negative reinforcement: 17

Positive reinforcements: 18, 24, 34

Informational reinforcements: 19, 23, 32, 33

Hypothesis 3: 21, 22.

I have collected most of the literature to all aspect of the model and others. It is a matter of putting them in order to make it clear. I want to finish the questionnaire first.

Please note that the questionnaire needs polishing. I have adopted the questionnaire from few past questionnaires. They are:

Mrs. Huong Nguyen of Victoria University - School of Hospitality, Tourism & Marketing.
BME Perspectives – Tourism Concern – London – Perspectives on Travel

e-mail Michael@tourismconcern.org.uk

3. Ireland Questionnaire – Bushducks Global adventures.

Questionnaire

Dear Sri Lankan/Australian Visitor,

As a visitor, you are very important to Sri Lanka/Australia. This survey will help in my research which is part of

my Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA). Please complete the questionnaire as best as you could.

Q1. Where is your permanent residency? (Circle response)

(a) Sri Lanka (b) Australia (c) Other, please specify……………….

If Australia how long? …………… (years).

Q2. What is your Nationality? (Circle response)

(a) Sri Lankan (b) Australian (c) Dual (d) Other …………………

Q3. Have you travelled overseas on holiday before? Yes No

If Yes, which countries did you visit?

(a) Sri Lanka (b) Australia (c) Other ………………………

When did you visit Australia/Sri Lanka? ………………….

How long did you stay? ………………… (days)

How many times have you travelled? ………………. (time/s)

If No, how likely is your intention of travelling on holiday in the next five (5) years?

Not Likely Somewhat Likely Very Likely

(a) To Sri Lanka 1 2 3 4 5

(b) To another country (Please specify) 1 2 3 4 5

Q4. Your future plans to visit (a) Australia or (b) Sri Lanka (Please rate the importance of each of the following

reasons for you when travelling to Australia or Sri Lanka next time).

Not at all Moderately Extremely

Important Important Importsnt

(a) To have a holiday 1 2 3 4 5

(b) To do business 1 2 3 4 5

(d) To participate in a family function 1 2 3 4 5

(e) To visit places where I &/or my family came from 1 2 3 4 5

(f) To get married 1 2 3 4 5

(g) To visit my family’s ancestral place of worship 1 2 3 4 5

(h) To find a life partner 1 2 3 4 5

(i) To experience first-hand Sri Lankan/Australian customs 1 2 3 4 5

(j) To visit cultural/historical site/s 1 2 3 4 5

(k) To see the developments and changes in Sri Lanka 1 2 3 4 5

(l) To show/teach my family our cultural values 1 2 3 4 5

(m) To experience new cultures 1 2 3 4 5

(n) To visit religious places/reasons. 1 2 3 4 5

Q5. Which of the following represents the main reason for your trip to Sri Lanka/Australia? Please circle answer.

(a) Pleasure - Vacation

- Shopping/dinning/entertainment

- Group tour

- Visiting friends & relatives

(b) Personal - Studies

- Medical reasons

- Other business reasons

Q6. Who is most likely to accompany you?

Not likely Somewhat likely Very likely

(a) No one 1 2 3 4 5

(b) family, friends and relatives 1 2 3 4 5

(d) Organised tour group 1 2 3 4 5

(e) Other (please specify………………………….) 1 2 3 4 5

The duration of your stay will be …………. (days)

Q7. Where did you get the information about Sri Lanka/Australia?

(a) family/friends (b) business associates (c) embassy (d) media-(e.g. radio/TV/newspapers)

(e) Other, Please specify ………..

Q8. Do you have family, friends and relatives in Australia?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q9. How many times have you travelled to Sri Lanka/Australia during the last five years?

(a) Once (b) Twice (c) Three times (d) Four times (e) Five or more

Q10. Please rate on a five point scale the importance to you of the following statements when you travelled. (1 =

not at all important, 5 = extremely important).

Not at all Moderately Extremely

Important Important Important

(a) To spend time with my relatives 1 2 3 4 5

(b) To spend time with my friends 1 2 3 4 5

(d) To attend to business only 1 2 3 4 5

(e) To have a good holiday 1 2 3 4 5

(f) To be with my friends, relatives & business 1 2 3 4 5

(g) For business and holiday 1 2 3 4 5

(h) To have a holiday while visiting friends &/or relatives 1 2 3 4 5

Q11. Please rate the following statements on a five point scale according the importance them to you when you

make your decision to travel. (1 = not at all important, 5 = extremely important).

Not at all Moderately Extremely

Important Important Important

(a) I always select a destination for which I have an emotional attachment

such as family, friends, sentimental value. 1 2 3 4 5

(b) It is important the destination to be more romantic 1 2 3 4 5

(d) It is important to have a memorable experience 1 2 3 4 5

(e) I visit my friends and relatives whenever I feel homesick 1 2 3 4 5

(f) Visiting friends and relatives is my way of escaping from routine life,

stress, and when I want a break. 1 2 3 4 5

(g) I travel only to satisfy my friends and family. 1 2 3 4 5

(h) Visiting my overseas friends and relatives is a good opportunity to

Show-off to my other family and friends. 1 2 3 4 5

(i) Travel decisions were made mainly on other’s recommendations 1 2 3 4 5

(j) I prefer to visit a destination where I have friends and/or relatives 1 2 3 4 5

(k) I never visit a destination if I don’t have friends and/or relatives 1 2 3 4 5

Q12. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements. 1 = strongly disagree, and 5 = strongly disagree.

Strongly Disagree Agree Highly Strongly

Disagree Agree Disagree

(a) Visiting friends and relatives makes me an important person in society. 1 2 3 4 5

(b) No other relative or friend has travelled overseas to visit friends

and relatives. 1 2 3 4 5

(d) VFR shows that my friends and relatives doing well. 1 2 3 4 5

(e) It is the trend in Sri Lanka to VFR. 1 2 3 4 5

(f) It makes me proud when visiting friends and relatives overseas. 1 2 3 4 5

(g) It gives me the opportunity to buy foreign gifts for people in Sri Lanka. 1 2 3 4 5

(h) It is a good opportunity to show-off. 1 2 3 4 5

(i) It is to prove I have obtained good deal when travel to VFR. 1 2 3 4 5

(j) It makes me socially equal when VFR. 1 2 3 4 5

(k) It makes me socially acceptable in the society. 1 2 3 4 5

(l) It will also show that I can afford to travel overseas. 1 2 3 4 5

(m) It will help me to maintain or improve my social status. 1 2 3 4 5

(n) Culturally it is important to look after your family. 1 2 3 4 5

Q13. Is Visiting Friends and Relatives the more common form of travel for yourself or do you often take other

types of holidays that do not include VFR?

(a) Visiting Friends and Relatives

(b) Book own accommodation and travel

(d) All inclusive

Q14. Do you see travel as an important activity or priority in people’s lives? Yes No If Yes;

(a) We all need the opportunity to take a break

(b) It is important to get in touch with the local culture in the place I am visiting

(d) Other …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Q15. Did you or intend to participate in any sports or outdoor activities?

Yes No Don’t know

Q16. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements. 1 = strongly disagree, and 5 = strongly disagree.

Strongly Disagree Agree Highly Strongly

Disagree Agree Disagree

(a) Before the trip I estimated my costs to see if I can afford it. 1 2 3 4 5

(b) I didn’t have to worry about the cost as I have enough money. 1 2 3 4 5

(d) I didn’t have to worry about cost as my friends paid for it. 1 2 3 4 5

(e) I have taken into consideration all the options available before my

final decision to travel. 1 2 3 4 5

(f) I change my plans to VFR as it is cheaper. 1 2 3 4 5

(g) Cost was not an important factor in my decision to VFR. 1 2 3 4 5

(h) I made my decision solely on my past experiences. 1 2 3 4 5

(i) I always listen to others who has more experience in travelling before

making my final decision to travel. 1 2 3 4 5

Q17. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements. 1 = strongly disagree, and 5 = strongly disagree.

Strongly Disagree Agree Highly Strongly

Disagree Agree Disagree

(a) I have always had bad experiences when VFR. 1 2 3 4 5

(b) My past bad experiences don’t bother me when making decisions. 1 2 3 4 5

(d) Increase costs will be an important factor in my future decisions to travel. 1 2 3 4 5

(e) I am not sure if I made the right decision by VFR in Sri Lanka/Australia. 1 2 3 4 5

(f) Things were different to my expectations. 1 2 3 4 5

(g) My bad experiences have discouraged me to travel again. 1 2 3 4 5

(h) I had problems with my friends and/or family while visiting. 1 2 3 4 5

(i) I wish I travelled somewhere else than VFR. 1 2 3 4 5

(j) I regret travelling to certain destinations. 1 2 3 4 5

(k) Overseas travel always attracts some bad experiences. 1 2 3 4 5

Q18. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements. 1 = strongly disagree, and 5 = strongly disagree.

Strongly Disagree Agree Highly Strongly

Disagree Agree Disagree

(a) My main aim was to buy things for my friends and family at home. 1 2 3 4 5

(b) My shopping expenses exceeded all my expectations. 1 2 3 4 5

(d) Always I find prices are cheap when travelling. 1 2 3 4 5

(e) Always I find the qualities of the goods are better overseas. 1 2 3 4 5

(f) I enjoy the variety of food available when travelling. 1 2 3 4 5

(g) My main reason for travel is sight-seeing. 1 2 3 4 5

(h) I always find it is an unique experience to travel overseas. 1 2 3 4 5

Q19. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements. 1 = strongly disagree, and 5 = strongly disagree.

Strongly Disagree Agree Highly Strongly

Disagree Agree Disagree

(a) I always feel proud and important after travelling overseas. 1 2 3 4 5

(b) I have feel been respected more after VFR. 1 2 3 4 5

(d) I always expect only good experience from my travel. 1 2 3 4 5

Q20. What importance do you place on connecting (and/or re-connecting with your cultural roots when visiting

your ancestral homeland.

(a) Crucial (b) Important (c) Neutral (d) Not important (e) other………………………

Q21. In your previous travel, where did you stay?

(a) High-class hotel

(b) Small hotel

(d) Guesthouse

(e) Bed and Breakfast

(f) Hostel

(g) Caravan

(h) Self-catering

(i) Camping

(j) With family and friends

(k) Other, please explain ……………………………………………..

Q22. Main type of accommodation that you are likely to use.

Not likely Somewhat likely Very likely

(a) The home (of family/friends/relatives) 1 2 3 4 5

(b) Commercial accommodation (hotel, motel, rented house etc) 1 2 3 4 5

Q23. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements. 1= strongly disagree, and 5= strongly disagree.

Strongly Disagree Agree Highly Strongly

Disagree Agree Disagree

(a) It is important to stay with family, friends & relatives 1 2 3 4 5

(b) I like to visit a place to pursue my personal interests 1 2 3 4 5

(d) Prestige is an important reason for travelling abroad 1 2 3 4 5

(e) Overseas holidays are better value money 1 2 3 4 5

(f) It is important to show people that I can afford a holiday 1 2 3 4 5

(g) I want leisure and comfortable place to stay while on holiday 1 2 3 4 5

(h) When travelling it is important to buy gifts for families, friends,

relatives, and business contacts 1 2 3 4 5

(i) Travel decisions are made by me or family & not the host/s 1 2 3 4 5

(j) Travel decisions are made by the host/s 1 2 3 4 5

(k) I travel to places where my family wants me to 1 2 3 4 5

(l) I travel to places where my host/s wants me to 1 2 3 4 5

Q24. Rate the following factors according to their importance to you when choosing a travel destination (both

Domestic and International) on a 5-point scale

Not at all Moderately Extremely

(a) Beautiful Scenery 1 2 3 4 5

(b) Kind and friendly people 1 2 3 4 5

(d) Good lifestyle 1 2 3 4 5

(e) Good shopping opportunities 1 2 3 4 5

(f) Different food 1 2 3 4 5

(g) Enhancement of kinship relationships 1 2 3 4 5

(h) Prestige destination 1 2 3 4 5

(i) Exciting and colourful city life 1 2 3 4 5

(j) Low cost, cheap local goods 1 2 3 4 5

(k) Peaceful and quite 1 2 3 4 5

(l) Good sport and recreation facilities 1 2 3 4 5

(m) Clean environment 1 2 3 4 5

(n) Safe location 1 2 3 4 5

(o) Quality of accommodation 1 2 3 4 5

(p) Being different 1 2 3 4 5

(q) Nightlife and entertainment 1 2 3 4 5

(r) Ease of getting there 1 2 3 4 5

(s) Understanding the language 1 2 3 4 5

Q25. How would you rate the following statement (on a 1-5 scale?)

(a) It is important to have family in the destination I travel 1 2 3 4 5

(b) It is important to have friends in the destination I travel 1 2 3 4 5

(d) It is not important to have family & friends in the destination I travel 1 2 3 4 5

(e) It is more important the destination to be more interesting & attractive 1 2 3 4 5

Q26. If you have visited Sri Lanka/Australia previously, will you:

(a) Return to places you previously visited.

(b) Visit new areas.

Q27. How many days will you spend in Sri Lanka/Australia? …… (days)

How far in advance did you begin planning this trip? ........days or …..weeks ……… months

Q28. Were all the costs of this trip paid by you or member of your family or hosts?

(a) Myself (b) Family (c) Friends (d) Hosts (e) Other

……………………………….

Q29. On what do you spend money before you start your trip? (Please circle)

(a) airfares (b) gifts (c) shopping for self (d) accommodation (e) transport (f) other, please

specify………………………….

Q30. How much did you spend for the trip? (Please circle)

(a) less than A$ 100 (b) A$ 101-500 (c) A$ 501-1000 (d) A$ 1001-1500 (e) A$ 1501-2000 (f)

more than A$ 2000

Q31. Please estimate how much your travel party spent Sri Lanka/Australia during this trip (estimate as best as you

can)

(a) A$ …………… Lodging

(b) A$ …………… Airline tickets

(d) A$ …………… Admissions and entertainment

(e) A$ …………… Food and supplies bought at stores

(f) A$ …………… Motor vehicle expenses (petrol, oil & repairs)

(g) A$ …………… Taxi, bus, train, etc

(h) A$ …………… Other purchases (e.g. souvenirs. gifts etc)

Q32. Rate the following statements according to their importance when you making the decision to travel.

Not at all Moderately Extremely

Important important important

(a) Visiting family, relatives and friends 1 2 3 4 5

(b) Attending business matters 1 2 3 4 5

(d) To show-off 1 2 3 4 5

(e) Participating family events 1 2 3 4 5

(f) Participating cultural/religious events 1 2 3 4 5

(g) It is maintaining family status 1 2 3 4 5

(h) Previous experience 1 2 3 4 5

(i) What others have said 1 2 3 4 5

(j) Family commitments 1 2 3 4 5

(k) Having extra money to spend 1 2 3 4 5

(l) Having relatives and friends in the destination 1 2 3 4 5

(m) Always travel to destinations where I have relatives/friends 1 2 3 4 5

(n) Variety in a destination is important 1 2 3 4 5

(o) Low cost of travelling is important 1 2 3 4 5

Q33. When you think of a destination to visit, please rate the following statements from 1-5, where 1 is Strongly

disagree with the statement and 5 is Strongly agree with the statement. (Please circle number/s

corresponding to your response).

(a) Sri Lanka/Australia is a genuine country, offering authentic, real people

and experiences 1 2 3 4 5

(b) Fulfilled all my expectations 1 2 3 4 5

(d) I would like to visit Sri Lanka/Australia again than visiting another country. 1 2 3 4 5

(e) I always participate in other activities during my holidays. 1 2 3 4 5

(f) All the decisions were made by me during my holiday. 1 2 3 4 5

(g) My host/s made some decisions during my holiday. 1 2 3 4 5

(h) Decisions were made by me and host/s during my holiday. 1 2 3 4 5

(i) My host/s spent most of my expenses during my holiday. 1 2 3 4 5

Q34. Which of the following best describes you? (Please circle one response only)

(a) I would like to return to Sri Lanka/Australia in the near future

(b) I would not like to return to Sri Lanka/Australia in the future.

Q35. Some details about yourself.

Age ……….. years Male Female

Country of birth: Sri Lanka Australia: Other (Please specify) ………..

Your household structure in your home country:

(a) Single, living alone (b) Single, living with children (c) Single, living with extended family (d)

Married, living with spouse (e) Married, living with spouse and children (f) Married, living with

extended family.

Your highest education qualification:

(a) Up-to year 10 (b) Up-to year 12 (c) Diploma (d) University Degree (e) Masters Degree (f)

PhD/DBA

Your Occupation:

(a) Manager/Administrator (b) Trades & Salesperson (c) Retired (d) Unemployed (e) Professional

(f) Workers (g) Student (h) Other, Please specify…………….. Full Time/Par Time/Casual ……….

Annual Income: (Please circle)

(a) less than A$ 10,000 (b) A$ 10,001-20,000 (c) A$ 20,001-30,000 (d) A$ 30,001-40,000 (e) A$

40,001-50,000 (f) over A$ 50.001

If you are a Migrant:

Did you come to Australia as:

(a) a refugee (b) an independent migrant (c) business migrant (d) family re-union migrant (e)

overseas student (f) tourist (g) other ……………..

Q36. Briefly explain your overall visit grades. (What did you like & dislike about the attractions about Sri

Lanka/Australia.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………

……………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thank You for your help.

Please return your questionnaire to me by sealing it in the stamp addressed envelope provided and dropping it in mail.

Refer any questions about the survey to:

Thinking Made Easy

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July 03, 2008

Variety Seeking Behaviour and the Economic impact of Sri Lankans when Visiting Friends and Relatives in Sri Lanka and Australia

1.1 The specific aims are

2. Contribution to Knowledge

3. Budget

4. Time Scale

1. Title of the Program

2. Aims of the Research

2.1 General Aim

2.2 Specific Aims

Significance of the Research

4. Literature Review

5. Conceptual Framework

Who travels

5.1 Research Questions

6. Research Methodology and Data Collection

7. Data Analysis:

8. Equipment Required:

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1.1 The specific aims are

2. Contribution to Knowledge

3. Budget

4. Time Scale

1. Title of the Program

2. Aims of the Research

2.1 General Aim

2.2 Specific Aims

Significance of the Research

4. Literature Review

5. Conceptual Framework

Who travels

5.1 Research Questions

6. Research Methodology and Data Collection

7. Data Analysis:

8. Equipment Required: