A STUDY ON YOUTH BEHAVIOR TOWARDS THE NORTH VIDZEME BIOSPHERE RESERVE IN LATVIA
Presented by: Anda Arklina
Description
The purpose of this study is to explore the young visitors’ intentions to visit the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve in Latvia (target audience Gen Z and Gen Y, 15–25-year-old youth—the oldest part of the Gen Z and the younger part of Gen Y). The integrated research method was used: an online survey was conducted for data collection (n=317), and focus group discussions and observations (three groups— from Latvia and Estonia) were held to study youth traveling behavior in the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve. Findings showed that most youth are highly motivated to visit biosphere reserve by push and pull factors and agreed that visiting the biosphere reserve relieves stress, helps to socialize and allows to escape from daily routine. It was concluded that the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve has a weak destination image in the perception of youth. Almost all respondents agreed that there was a lack of visibility of the area, but mentioned that would be more motivated to visit the biosphere reserve if they could see their friends visiting it and posting about it on social media. Research pointed out that there is significant difference between generations in motivation to visit biosphere reserve.Reference:
We-phd-03
Session:
PhD session
Presenter/s:
Anda Arklina
Presentation type:
PhD session
Chair:
Michael Bosnjak, Oksana Tokarchuk
Date:
Wed, 16 Dec
Time:
18:30 - 19:00
Session times:
17:30 - 19:00