Understanding Youth Travel Motivation: Empirical Evidence from Kundasang, Sabah

Tourism is an important driver for the economy, and youth tourism has been identified as a major contributor to this industry. While this is an important segment, it has unique characteristics and demand patterns that differ from other groups of travelers. This study aims to investigate the demographic profiles of Malaysian youth travelers and what motivates them to travel. The study’s target respondents are students who have visited Kundasang, a popular tourist destination in Sabah. Questionnaires were distributed from September to November 2024. The majority of the respondents agreed that they chose to travel for internal motivation such as relief from academic stress and relaxation. The findings also show that source of income plays a major role in motivating these students to travel. In term of demographics, females were found to prefer both push elements (emotional relief and social involvement) and pull aspects (natural beauty, cultural experiences, and adventure activities). Males are similarly drawn to these qualities, have a lower level of agreement on these factors. The prospect of this group of tourists is significant both now and in the future, makes it important for the tourism marketers to understand. The findings of this study provides useful insights for the tourism marketers, particularly to those who target the youth tourists as their major audience.