Approaches to Tourism Motivation Focusing on Acropolis Museum Visitors

The paper attempts an inquiry on tourism motivation having examined a random sample of 300 tourists after they have visited the Acropolis Museum of Athens. The issue of tourism incentives and more specifically the push and pull factors of tourism behavior were explored using quantitative method with questionnaires, while the collected data were analyzed by SPSS. The results showed that experiencing emotions, gaining meaningful experiences and opportunities for personal improvement are among the moderate to very important motivations for travel, while the experience of seeing the monuments and “real” objects themselves, the desire for knowledge and acquaintance with different places and people are included to very strong motivations. The members of the sample regarding pull factors degraded physical activities and sports as well as nightlife and shopping, while, on the other hand, cultural heritage, sights, archeological sites, and other cultural institutions, like museums and galleries, attracted a very high percentage of interest. The data were also analyzed in terms of gender, age, and educational level, in order to map with more pluralism the tendencies and interests of the participants. The conclusions are expected to contribute to a more efficient tourism planning in the future and to achieve a greater degree of tourist satisfaction.