The rally experience: Exploring motivation patterns of Australian Grey Nomads

Senior tourists are key figures in the world's drive tourism market. This study focusses on the 'Grey Nomads' in Australia, the core aim being to understand the tourists' motivations patterns for attending recreational vehicle (RV) rallies. At a typical RV rally in a key regional destination, 170 questionnaire-based surveys were collected. Building on the theoretical analysis of travel motivation studies, factor analysis of the combined internal and destination feature motivational attributes suggested five key motivations with three hierarchical levels of influence. The leading motivational influences were destination attractiveness and the appeal of the rally itself, while the desire to enhance one's relationship and socialisation were a powerful part of the total pattern. Escape and achievement, and knowledge enhancement, were important but significantly less prominent in the overall arrangement of the motivating forces. An analysis of the rally goers' activities on site and in the region reinforces the hierarchical nature of the RV participants' motivation. This work helps to better understand the forces shaping senior RV tourists' travel choices and also offers implications for regional destinations that are seeking to attract the large, nationally important and mobile tourism community.