Motivated but Constrained: A Four-Country Latent Profile Analysis of Generation Z Travel Motivation and Constraints with Japan as a Test Case

Variable-centered tests of the constraint negotiation thesis show whether the effect of constraints varies with motivation, but not how many people remain motivated despite strong constraints. This study aimed to identify subgroups of Generation Z defined jointly by travel motivation and travel constraints and to compare them across countries. Latent profile analysis was applied to cross-sectional online survey data from Generation Z respondents in Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore (n = 300 each). Because the motivation and constraint scales lacked scalar invariance, indicators were standardized within country and profiles compared in shape and composition; intention (partially scalar invariant) was compared in level. Aspiring-but-constrained profiles (above-average motivation and highest constraints within country) comprised 12% to 24% of each sample and ranked first or second on intention. In every country, a low-motivation profile had the lowest intention. Japanese respondents reported the lowest intention; the association between profiles and intention was not weaker in Japan, but the sample had fewer high-motivation, low-constraint respondents and a large flat majority with lower intention than comparable profiles elsewhere. The findings are consistent with a precondition of the negotiation thesis and distinguish targets for constraint reduction and demand creation.