Demographic Influences on Basic Psychological Needs and Behavioral Intentions of Cultural Tourists

Abstract

This research examines whether cultural tourists' basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) and behavioral intentions (revisit intention and word-of-mouth communication) differ according to demographic variables (age, gender, education level, marital status and monthly income level). The research adopts a quantitative research method and analyzes the data obtained from 342 domestic cultural tourists visiting Istanbul through multiple data collection methods including both online and face-to-face surveys. The research findings show that the basic psychological needs of cultural tourists are largely independent of demographic factors. While no significant differences were found in autonomy, competence and relatedness needs according to gender, education and income level, only relatedness needs differed between age groups. In addition, a significant difference was found in tourists' revisit intentions according to marital status.