Travel motives of participants in the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour

The Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour is the largest cycling events in South Africa. The event attracts approximately 32 000 cyclists from around the world and is hosted in the city of Cape Town. The question underlying this research is, what are the motives for cyclists participating in this event. Therefore the purpose of this article is to determine the reasons (the travel/participation motives) that cyclists participate. The literature review recorded that little research has been done on travel motives of participants in sport events and this was the first of its kind in South Africa. The research was conducted by means of a questionnaire survey and 583 questionnaires were administered. A factor analysis was conducted to determine the travel motives. Five factors were identified socialisation, event attractiveness, personal motivation, escape & relaxation and event attributes. The motives for cyclists are primarily intrinsic. Some of these motives were confirmed by similar research in the field of leisure travel, but new motives were also noted.