Table 1 Categorization of tourists’ primary motivations for visiting Galápagos by general topic
Topic | Number of respondents | Example responses |
|---|---|---|
Characterization of tourists’ primary motivations | ||
Animals/nature | 62 | “See the Galapagos Tortoise;” “To see nature that is about to go extinct” |
Unique location | 17 | “A vacation that is different than everything else” |
Part of South America tour | 9 | “Part of a bigger South America trip;” “28-day excursion” |
Bucket list item | 10 | “Bucket list item;” “Always wanted to come to Galapagos” |
Landscape | 7 | “The landscape, animals, and history” |
Beaches | 6 | “White beaches” |
Ecotourism | 5 | “Ecotourism haven;” “ [A] place that’s cared for regulation about wildlife in place” |
Family | 4 | “Family and tourism” |
Diving | 4 | “Exploring biodiversity underwater” |
Honeymoon | 4 | “Honeymoon; bucket list vacation” |
Schedule flexibility | 3 | “Always wanted to come to Galapagos; had some time” |
Ecuadorian nationalism | 3 | “To get to know something important to the country” |
Other | 3 | “Offered on the internet at a good price;” “She wanted to go” |
Island history | 2 | “[H]istory associated with animals” |
Darwin and evolution | 2 | “Nature and environment; Darwin” |
Tourism | 2 | “Family and tourism” |