International market potential of avitourism in South Africa

Abstract

Despite rapid growth of avitourism globally, the international market potential of avitourism in South Africa, which has remarkable birdlife, is not fully utilised. This research aimed to profile international avitourists by investigating their behavioural involvement, motivations, preferences, agreement to ecotourism principles, and awareness of avitourism in South Africa. Primary data were gathered by distributing questionnaires at the British Birdwatching Fair and Dutch Vogelfestival. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were applied. The results indicated that avitourists differ in terms of behavioural involvement, motivation and preferences for each fair and birder type (casual, active or committed), but agreed on ecotourism principles. A second-order CFA model for avitourist motivation revealed three new constructs – wellbeing, intellectual activity and engagement. Respondents indicated relatively low awareness but high interest in visiting South Africa as a birding destination. The results support the South African avitourism industry potential in product development and destination marketing.