Using Ranking Data to Understand International Surfers' Travel Motivations

Abstract

Some emerging destinations are looking to surf tourism as a development strategy. Surf tourism stakeholders can better govern surf tourism development if they know more about the surf travelers themselves. To better understand the behavior of surf tourists, this research uses ranked data to explore items in three major categories: 1) surf-related travel attributes; 2) destination attributes; and 3) general experience attributes. Findings suggested that swell consistency and wave size, accommodation, and escapism were among the most popular items, while aspects such as surf photography, nightlife, and access to competitions were among the least popular. These preliminary findings may assist emerging destinations in their surf tourism development plans as well as identify important areas for future research.