A Discussion of the application of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to Contemporary Tourist Psychology

by Arjun Pillai

Introduction to Global Hospitality Operations
Tutor: Mr. Paul Reynolds
Le Cordon Bleu
Masters of International Hospitality Management

27th July 2013

What do tourists want? A specific exploration into this aspect of tourism could prove to be beneficial to those who facilitate the industry, and whom reap its harvest. Psychological motivation patterns could prove to be crucial in understanding that very question –‘what do tourists want?’ Abraham Maslow’s (Maslow 1943) hierarchy of needs may be a useful tool in understanding tourist psychology. Maslow wrote that there are five needs of motivation in the human condition. These, in order of their attainment are, physiological, security, social, esteem and self-actualizing needs. These needs are based on the concept of ‘pre-potency’ where the achievement of a new need, rests on the attainment a prior need in the hierarchy. The current essay argues that tourist psychology relates to all levels in the hierarchy, and will cover each need in the hierarchy and its relation respectively below.
Before delving into each of Maslow’s specific needs and how they pertain to tourist psychology it would be prudent to first analyze the psychology of our template tourist – Tourist X. In doing so we may then address how each of Maslow’s hierarchies could differ between the psychological desires of Tourist X. The first assumption of Tourist X is that he or she has the ability to indulge in the best that the tourism industry has to offer. The second assumption is that Tourist X has both unconscious and conscious desires. Lastly the Tourist X rests along a spectrum coined as a ‘psychographic personality type’ bell curve of psychological traits and characteristics (Plog 2001).
Plog (2001) motioned that a tourist