A study on investigating tourism guiding students' push and pull study motivations

Motivation is very important in understanding the behavior of individuals. In the pertaining body of knowledge, the motivation has been covered in terms of motives of tourists, but the issue of why tourism students travel to an institution or region to study has not received sufficient attention. In this context, the aim of this study is to examine tourism students' motivation within the scope of push-pull factors. In order to address this aim, the population of the study consists of students studying tourism guidance. These students were selected by adopting purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Data were collected from 373 students in total and included in the research analysis. The collected data were analyzed by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. It was found that "Academic Achievement and Desire For Personal Development" among the push factors positively and significantly affected career choice. In addition, among the pull factors, "Emotional and Physical Proximity", "Desire for International Travel and Experience" and "Quality of Higher Education Institution" affected self-efficacy perceptions, while "Tourism Attractiveness", "Desire for International Travel and Experience" and "Quality of Higher Education" affected career choice. It is predicted that these findings will be useful in the creation of theories related to motivation. Moreover, the research findings will provide important guidelines for institutions related with tourism guidance.