Push and Pull Motivations of Sport Climbers Within the Scope of Outdoor and Adventure Tourism

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine the push and pull motivations of sport climbers within the scope of outdoor and adventure tourism. The phenomenology approach, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was preferred in the study. The study group consisted of twenty-one (21) rock climbers who were determined by convenience and criterion sampling methods. The research was conducted in the Kokluce Canyon region in Gaziantep. As a result of the analysis, two main themes (push and pull motivation), twelve sub-themes and thirty codes were emerged. It was determined that the most important pushing motivations for choosing sport climbing were spiritual regeneration and then socialization. Having fun, being happy, meeting new people and socializing at the destination were important intrinsic motivation reasons of the climbers. The most important pulling motivations in choosing the climbing area were the results such as having many and different difficulty levels of the routes and the ease of transportation. As the routes in the climbing destination have a wide variety, quality and are in different difficulty; the easy access to the region and the proximity of the region are an important environmental motivation. As a result, it could be said these motivation sources for the rock- climbing destination provide opportunities for diversifying the adventure tourism products, providing a sustainable adventure tourism, and guiding the relevant federations and local governments.