Analysis of motivation, travel risk, and travel satisfaction of Taiwan undergraduates on work and travel overseas programmes: Developing measurement scales

Travel is an increasingly important aspiration for young people around the world. In order to explore other places and their culture, and to relax, have fun, and save money to travel, combining overseas work and travel is now a popular young students' activity. Such student travel has a history of 30 years and in 2011 7 countries have permitted a work and travel visa to be issued to Taiwanese students. Every year almost over 3000 Taiwanese young people travel overseas, especially to the United States of America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, to both work and travel in those countries. There they can improve their language skills, expand their international viewpoints and experience different cultures. This study looks at the relationships between work and travel overseas motivations, perceived travel risk and satisfaction for young people, and uses a sample of 151 Taiwanese undergraduates working and traveling in the U.S.A., Australia and New Zealand during 2008 to 2010. Three hypothesized relationships are examined with reference to perceived risk, motivation and satisfaction and measurement scales are proposed.

► One tentative finding from this study is that travel risk has a significant positive effect on participating motivation of undergraduates, but not on travel satisfaction.
► It is suggested that those working overseas are akin to adventure tourists.
► Work and travel overseas is known to be a special experience in an undergraduate’s overall life.