Visitor Behaviour and Management : Kaikoura in New Zealand

Running head: VISITOR BEHAVIOUR AND MANAGEMENT
VISITOR BEHAVIOUR AND MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Findings...........................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the destination.........................................................................................................3
Motives influencing tourists to visit Kaikoura............................................................................4
Issues that might impact the tourism in Kaikoura.......................................................................5
Competitors..................................................................................................................................6
Recommendation.............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7

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Executive summary
This paper will reflect on one of the most beautiful destinations in terms of tourism, Kaikoura
which is located in New Zealand. This paper will analyze this tourist destination and provide the
key attractions which has helped this destination grow and the motives of the tourist that
encourages their decision making in terms of choosing to visit Kaikoura. Environmental and
ethical impacts are a huge concern in this tourist destination which will be discussed in the paper
alongside the major competitor of Kaikoura which is Mirissa, a town in Sri Lanka. This paper
will provide suitable recommendations for Kaikoura in order to operate in a more sustainable
manner and other strategies which will help Kaikoura to enhance the quality of their tourism
services and help Kaikoura in their growth and development.

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Introduction
The tourism industry is one of the most dynamic as well as an important industry as it
highly contributes to the economy of a country. Thus, it has been seen that countries these days
highly focus on tourism and factors that can attract tourists to visit the destinations which
positively impacts the destination as well as the industry. According to scholars, it is highly
important to identify key factors that motivate tourists to select a destination which helps in
tourism industries to modify operate in a manner to encash on those motives for the successful
development and growth of the industry (Kock et al, 2019). This paper will focus on the tourist
destination, Kaikoura, New Zealand and analyze the tourist destination and provide suitable
recommendations in order to achieve long term sustainability.
Findings
Overview of the destination
Kaikoura is a coastal town which is located on the South Islands of New Zealand.
Kaikoura is situated about 181 kilometers north of the Christchurch on South Island and is
nestled between the South Pacific Ocean and the Southern Alps. This place is famous for the
abundant wildlife and the population of sperm whale. Whale watching and swimming with
dolphins are one of the most famous activities for which people visit this destination and it has
been seen that this destination highly encashes on experiential tourism (Lück, 2016). The
beautiful picturesque view alongside with various adventure activities has shaped up the tourism
in Kaikoura which has helped me in grabbing the attention of several visitors to consider coming
to this destination. This destination gives the tourist an insight of their town by showcasing their

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lavender farms, Maori tours and provides them wonderful experience by activities like whale
watching, sea kayaking, rock climbing, quad biking and many more.
Kaikoura tourism is seen to be operated by the natives of the town, who belong to the
Ngai Tahu tribe and the town has very little population of around 4000 people and majority of
them are in the tourism business which has helped in the growth of the community in the town in
a fruitful (Kaloumaira, 2017). The people highly focus on hygiene and operate in ways in order
to reduce the risk of any kind of damage to the nature. The involvement of the local community
and maintaining hygiene has paved way for the town to develop sustainable tourism.
Motives influencing tourists to visit Kaikoura
Kaikoura is a beautiful place which is surrounded by nature and provides the tourists or
visitors with picturesque view which gives people a unique and different experience which is
irreplaceable. According to scholars, there are various different kinds of motives that have a huge
influence on the decision making process of a visitor while choosing the destination they would
like to travel like relaxation, business, strengthening ties with one’s family, prestige, social
interaction and many more (Olsen, Vogt & Andereck, 2018).. However, the motives that
encourage tourists to visit Kaikoura are the following:
Recreational motives- Kaikoura is a beautiful place which is surrounded by natural
beauty. Recreational activities in tourism help tourist or visitors to escape from their daily
routine which helps them to relax. Holland et al, (2018) states recreational motivations includes
social as well as psychological dimensions of the tourist who participate in the recreational
activities.

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Cultural motives- According to scholars, cultural motives of a tourist is defined as the
desire of visitors to gain knowledge about different cultures (Petrevska, 2017). Kaikoura is
operated by the native tribes and is seen to conduct Maori tours which provide an insight of their
culture to their tourists. This is one of the factors that help in attracting tourists to visit the town.
Unique and variety seeking motive- Most travelers or tourists travel to different countries
in order to gain new experiences and seek variety which they cannot get in other places. ()
generally people visit tourist destinations to explore and experience different outdoor activities,
exotic atmosphere and traditional food (Chan, To & Chu, 2016). Kaikoura is seen to fulfill all
these experiences of the tourists as one of the major unique selling point of this destination is
whale watching and swimming with dolphins which is not provided by many destinations and
the picturesque view alongside delicious traditional food of the Maori people add to the beautiful
experience which attracts the tourists to visit the town.
Issues that might impact the tourism in Kaikoura
Kaikoura is one of the ideal tourist destinations in the world which provide visitors with a
beautiful and unique experience which one might cherish for life. Kaikoura is seen to depend on
natural resources which help in providing the tourists with unique experience however it can be
seen that there are environmental as well as ethical factors which can have a huge impact on the
tourism of Kaikoura which can reduce the number of tourists visiting the town.
Climate change is one of the biggest factors which can have negative impacts on this
industry. Climate change is seen to have negative impacts on the attraction sector of the tourism
industry as it rises the average temperature of the climate in the system (Nerem et al, 2018).
According to scholars, climate change has resulted in the rise in sea levels which can cause
serious issues like destructive erosion and cause harm to marine life (Clark et al, 2016). Kaikoura

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is seen to provide experiential tourism to their visitors by whale watching activities, swimming
with dolphins and many more which involve marine life and if this is threatened then the town is
likely to lose their key elements which attract tourists to visit the destination.
Majority of the activities in Kaikoura need to use cruises and boats in order to carry out
the activities. The cruises might collide with the marine animals which can harm them which
later may cause issues in operating their tourist activities. There are many tourists who do not
have the same respect like other people and might pollute natural environments by littering
which can harm the environment and can have an impact on the tourism in the town.
Competitors
Kaikoura is seen to have a huge competition in terms of providing experiential tourism to
the visitors and one of the biggest competitors of this tourist destination is Mirissa, Sri Lanka.
Mirissa is considered to be one of the most important tourist destinations in Sri Lanka which
provides tourist with experiential tourism like whale watching, surfing, visiting picturesque
beaches and have been promoting Mirissa as an ideal place for destination wedding
(Mirissatourism.lk., 2020).
Mirissa has various factors that have become an advantage for them like providing
picturesque views, traditional food, beautiful beaches, activities like whale watching, surfing,
conducting destination weddings which has helped in attracting several tourists and has
contributed highly to the economy of Sri Lanka. However, there are various issues that Mirissa
has been facing which is becoming their weakness like lack of surfing experts, reduction in the
beauty of the beaches and unethical whale watching. According to scholars, Mirissa beaches
have been losing their touch due to the rise in tourism activities near the beach which has been
polluting the beach (Sjöberg & Påhlsson, 2019). De Vos et al, (2016) opines whale watching in

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Mirissa has caused harm to the whales which has made government take important steps to
ensure whale watching is conducted in an ethical manner.
Recommendation
Kaikoura is seen to be one of the most famous tourist destinations in New Zealand however it
can be seen that it is affected negatively by environmental as well as some operational impacts.
Thus, it is important for Kaikoura to come up with suitable strategies and ideas which can help
them in growing and developing sustainably and reduce the risk of being impacted negatively
which are the following.
 Kaikoura needs to come up with strict policies and guidelines for tourists so that they do
not cause any environmental damage like littering.
 Kaikoura needs to take up measures that will help in reducing the impact of climate
change like use of green transportation, using solar energy and recycle wastes.
 Ethical whale watching and swimming with dolphins and other activities need to be
conducted so that the marine life is not harmed. The cruises should operate in sustainable
power ensuring minimum impacts of marine life as it is an important aspect of tourism in
Kaikoura.
Incorporating these strategies may help Kaikoura in becoming more sustainable and grow their
tourism successfully.
Conclusion
Kaikoura is considered to be one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in New
Zealand which provides tourist and visitors with exceptional and unique experiential tourism

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which is unmatched. Kaikoura is seen to have made a positive change in the tourism industry as
it positive affects the local community as they are in charge of the tourism there. However, it can
be seen that only industry that exists in this town is the tourism industry and there are some
issues that can negatively impact the industry like climate change and it is highly important for
Kaikoura to come up with strategies and upgrade their tourism activities in order to encourage
tourist to visit the destination which will help Kaikoura prosper and flourish in the near future.

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Reference
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