Photographic Tourism: Motivations and Behavior of Photo Tourists

In recent years, a special category of tourists has emerged, who intend to travel even to distant destinations in order to live the experience and emotions that the photography of a subject will offer them. This subject is the driving force behind so-called Photographic Tourism. Photographic tourism is considered a special form of tourism and constitutes a tourist activity where the “photographic tourist” consumes tourist goods and services to travel to various destinations with the ultimate aim of taking photographs. There is a clear difference between forms of tourism where photography plays a supporting role, compared to this form of tourism where the primary motivation, and the entire nature and planning of the trip, is shaped around photography. This research attempts to understand the motivations and travel behavior of photo tourists. Thus, qualitative research was applied and eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with Greek photo tourists of different photographic interests and geographic allocation. The results reveal the specific characteristics, psychological benefits and motivations of photographic tourists. Also, important findings emerged in relation to their relationship with the tourism industry, such as accommodation and travel facilities, information and other tourism-related services.