Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2019 Understanding Motor Vehicle-Based Travel: Examining the Experiences of Yukon Tourists Natalia Wegrzyn [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Environmental Studies Commons Recommended Citation Wegrzyn, Natalia, "Understanding Motor Vehicle-Based Travel: Examining the Experiences of Yukon Tourists" (2019). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 2137. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2137 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Understanding Motor Vehicle-Based Travel: Examining the Experiences of Yukon Tourists By Natalia Agnieszka Wegrzyn Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Honours), York University, 2013 THESIS Submitted to the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty of Arts In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Environmental Studies in Geography degree Wilfrid Laurier University 2019 Natalia Wegrzyn 2019 © Abstract In the past several decades, scholarly research has simultaneously expanded in three research areas: northern tourism, drive tourism and the tourist experience. This study used an exploratory approach to understand the relationship between those three areas through a case study of the Yukon. Lead by four guiding questions 1) what are motor vehicle-based tourists’ expectations of Yukon? 2) how do Yukon tourists’ expectations influence their motor vehicle travel? 3) how does the motor vehicle influence tourists’ experience in the Yukon? and 4) how is Yukon reflected in the narratives of motor vehicle-based tourists? a mixed methods approach was used to collect data, and both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to analyze the results. Thirty-nine participants completed semi-structured questionnaires on-site and in-person. Through a combination of content analysis and descriptive statistics, this study answered the guiding questions using the quantitative results and the themes and categories that were derived from tourists’ narratives. Participants from this study were largely repeat visitors to Yukon who started their trip from withinCanada seeking nature-based experiences as much as they sought motor vehicle-based travel. Key instrumental and affective motor vehicle attributes were found to be central to the motor vehicle-based tourist experience including convenience, independence, freedom, reliability and road access while the nature environment and personal development were also important motivations. This study also found seven categories to represent the tourist experience in the Yukon including ‘unique opportunities and service expectations’, ‘travel adventure’, ‘pristine nature’, ‘engaging places’, ‘meaningful interrelationships and solitude’, ‘unexpected weather’, and ‘sharing i stories’. Meaningful interrelationships and solitude were found to be the most consequential of the narratives because of the lasting impression they left in participants’ narratives. As visitor numbers increase in the Yukon by way of various marketing strategies, changes in tourist demand and the onset of climate change and warming temperature, this travel market will likely increase. Diversifying the drive tourism market in the Yukon by developing different products to match the different needs of various subgroups will be beneficial to tourism businesses as well as fostering sustainable practices. More studies like this one will be needed to track changes in tourists’ travel patterns and preferences. ii Acknowledgements I am very grateful to all the people who made it possible to complete this final thesis product. This includes all the participants who took the time to respond to my rather lengthy questionnaire. I would like to thank the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University for the resources and funding opportunities I was offered during my study period. Without those resources and opportunities, it would not have been possible for me to complete this thesis. I am most grateful to my thesis advisor, Dr. Scott Slocombe for his undue patience as I tried to make sense of the research topic and the collected data. I would also like to thank him for the number of times he spent reading my endless revisions. I would also like to thank my committee member, Dr. Kelley McClinchey for her insights into my study topic, as well as Dr. Christopher Lemieux for his suggestions on my research methods. iii Table of Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv List of Tables vi List of Figures viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Guiding Questions .........................................................................................................3 1.2 Literature Introduction ...................................................................................................3 1.3 Methods and Case Study ................................................................................................6 1.4 Outline of Thesis ............................................................................................................8 Chapter 2: Literature Review 9 2.1 Northern Tourism...........................................................................................................9 2.2 Drive Tourism ..............................................................................................................15 2.3 Experiences and Narratives ..........................................................................................23 2.4 Summary ......................................................................................................................32 Chapter 3: Research Methodology 33 3.1 Methodology ................................................................................................................34 3.2 Methods........................................................................................................................38 3.3 Case Study Background ...............................................................................................51 3.4 Summary ......................................................................................................................61 Chapter 4: Results 62 4.1 Demographics ..............................................................................................................62 4.2 Pre-Trip Planning .........................................................................................................63 4.3 Trip Experience ............................................................................................................76 4.4 Post Travel ...................................................................................................................91 4.5 Results from the Yukon Visitor Tracking Program ...................................................104 Chapter 5: Discussion 111 5.1 This Research and the YVTP .....................................................................................111 5.2 Narrative Themes .......................................................................................................118 5.3 Drive Tourism in the Yukon ......................................................................................133 iv 5.4 Summary ....................................................................................................................145 Chapter 6: Summary and Conclusions 146 6.1 Summary of Thesis ....................................................................................................146 6.2 Limitations .................................................................................................................148 6.3 Narratives and Implications .......................................................................................150 6.4 Recommendations to the Government of Yukon.......................................................151 6.5 Recommendations for Future Research .....................................................................154 6.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................155 Appendix A: Questionnaire 156 Appendix B: Summary of Important Information 172 Appendix C: Recruitment Poster 173 Appendix D: Open-Ended Questions 174 References 192 v List of Tables Table 1: Derived themes and definitions .......................................................................... 49 Table 2: Yukon border crossing statistics by transportation method obtained from the Yukon Tourism Visitation Reports ................................................................................... 56 Table 3: Comparing tourist characteristics between YVTP and this study ...................... 59 Table 4: Type of information expected/desired from tourism destination websites ......... 66 Table 5: Participants’ rated experiences ........................................................................... 72 Table 6: Year and season of trip ....................................................................................... 76 Table 7: Travel duration to reach Yukon .......................................................................... 77 Table 8: Origin of trip ......................................................................................................