Abstract:

Have the fundamentals of travel truly changed across generations? The behavior of tourists and their consumption patterns throughout life are influenced by events that shape each individual’s attitudes, values, and beliefs. Travel behavior helps in understanding the factors that motivate tourists. In this way, information is provided about travel patterns and preferences. The present study examines the differences regarding motivational factors and travel preferences. The study brings to the reader’s attention the Ciucaș Mountains - a Romanian tourist region. The proposed analysis aims to be a useful tool in creating objective statistical databases regarding how people perceive a series of issues related to tourism and tourist activities. It also seeks to present the way people react in situations that involve adaptation to newly developed conditions. In Romanian everyday perception, this type of analysis may be considered a novelty. For these reasons, the scientific presentation of results and the highlighting of the particularities of an environment require greater transparency and adaptation for each level of perception, whether individual and/or collective, in order to eliminate errors arising from people’s perceptual processes. The statistical data were collected following the application of a questionnaire conducted among 100 tourists. This type of study may prove useful in future information efforts addressed to members of human society, as well as in engaging local authorities in managing situations generated by this type of phenomenon. The findings contribute to a better understanding of travel patterns and offer practical insights to tourism professionals whose goal is to develop tourist offers.