ABSTRACT
Exploring tourist motivations is a difficult task that has been undertaken, over a long period and under various aspects, by many scholars. The first studies on the motivations of tourists often highlighted only one main motivation to undertake travel. But looking for a single factor to explain visitors’ desire to travel over time has become less feasible, considering the complexity of reality. Thus, different motivational dual models have been proposed. Many other dichotomies have been elaborated over the years, not always achieving a certain adequacy in providing motivational understanding of experiential reality. In fact, it was noted that many factors increasingly affect the trip, combining, overlapping and colliding with each other. Therefore, we can point out the experiential realms of Pine and Gilmore as a starting point for new studies on tourism, modulated according to dual passive/active participation and absorption/immersion dualism: entertainment, esthetic, educational and escapist. Furthermore, we can observe dynamic drivers of tourist experiences. These drivers change and evolve during and after the trip, reflecting personal responses to emotional inputs received during the visit period.
