Page 1 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

Research Project Proposal

Page 2 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah




Name : Md Faruk Miah



Address : 4 Ash Road, London - E15 1HL, United Kingdom



Mobile : 0044 7939841232



Email : elitefaruk_london@yahoo.com

Page 3 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

Table of Contents


Contents Page No.
1. Research title 04
2. Introduction 04
3. Research aim and objectives 05
4. Statement of the research problem 05
5. Research questions and hypotheses 05
6. Rationale 06
7. Literature review 07
8. Methodology 10
9. Limitations and ethical issues 12
10. Conclusion 12
Key References 13













Page 4 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

1. Research Title:

Investigating destination attributes, tourist motivation and travel values of the Bengali
community in London to Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh




2. Introduction:


Today tourism has been considered as a great phenomenon involving movement of millions
of people all over the world as the largest and fastest growing single industry in the world. In
tourism industry, more than 235 million people employment opportunities generating around
9.2% of global GDP (WTTC, 2010). The tourism is sharply increasing in spite of having
global economic downturn, even during the first two months of 2010 worldwide the number
of international tourist arrivals raised by 7% (WTO, 2010). The World Tourism 2020 Vision
forecasted that the world tourist arrivals will reach to 1,561.1 million in 2020.


The fastest growing tourism regions are in the Third World countries and Bangladesh is one
of them to be flourished and promoted significantly and effectively (Echtner and Prasad,
2002). Coxs Bazar, a place of tourists paradise with natural and man-made artistic
attractions is ready to welcome the tourists around the globe. The increasing trend of tourism
industry indicates some vital factors to the host community and tourists such as economic
development, greater scopes for understanding, making stronger regional bonding, exchange
of cultural beliefs and values, refreshment and entertainment, education, spiritual
enlightenment, sustainable development and many more.




Page 5 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

3. Research aim and objectives:
The aim of this research study is to explore three dimensions of tourist behavior regarding
destination attributes, motivational factors and travel values of the Bengali community in
selecting Coxs Bazar as a tourist destination. There are some specific research objectives to
carry out the aim which are as follows:
i. To study about the tourism resources and attractions currently offered to the tourists,
ii. To analyze the push and pull factors related with the choice of a tourist destination,
iii. To investigate various travel values regarding destination attributes of the participants
in selecting a tourist destination.

4. Statement of the research problem:
The tourist market share and revenues are comparatively lower than neighbour countries even
though Bangladesh is endowed with enormous destination attractions due to the lack of
promotional activities, the ignorance about the motivational factors and the overall apathy
about the travel values of all the tourists visiting Coxs Bazar (Patwari, 1993; Hossain, 1999;
Hossain and Hossain, 2002).

5. Research questions and hypotheses:
On the basis of the research problem, there are few research questions along with relevant
hypotheses formulated which are given below:
Q-1: What are features of Coxs Bazar as a tourist destination?
H-1: New, innovative and unique features of a destination always attract tourists.
Q-1: Are the destination attractions accessible for the tourists in electronically and
physically?
H-2: Knowing information prior about a destination and easy transportation system are
significantly valuable in selecting a tourist destination.
Q-3: Is it offering both push and pull factors to meet the tourists need, want and demand?
H-3: Sometimes, tourists want to get rid of boredom and monotony while others prefer to
visit friends, families and relatives.
Q-4: How are the travel values judged towards future tourism development and tourists
satisfaction?
H-4: The feedback from the tourists focuses on the pros and cons of a tourist destination as
an integral part of future development initiatives.
Page 6 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah


6. Rationale:
There are different journals and books studied and explored regarding tourism, tourist
attraction, promotional tools and destination development especially in terms of different
factors associated with destination attractions, tourist/travel motivation and travel values. The
brief description of some of those literatures have been mentioned and discussed beforehand
in the section of previous research studies.

There are only a very few concerned literatures and research studies available about Coxs
Bazar, Bangladesh especially in the field of tourist/travel motivation and travel values.
However, Meng et al. (2008) studied the effects of gender differences on the perceptions of
destination attributes, tourist motivation and travel values and leading to further research
opportunity in another location. In addition, Kim et al. (2002) and Hong et al. (2009)
analyzed the relationship between push and pull factors in tourist/travel motivation and
revisiting a destination and indicates for future study opportunity on the interaction of
tourist/travel motivation and travel values for tourist market expansion. Furthermore, there is
also a further research opportunity to justify the relationship between push and pull factors of
foreign tourists for greater understanding about tourist behavior in a broad context studied by
Bashar et al. (2008). Thus, this research study can assist to understand the tourist behavior in
three main dimensions including destination attributes, tourist/travel motivation and travel
values of the Bengali community in London to Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh which could
contribute to the body of knowledge.

The above discussion highlights the further research scopes in different aspects of tourism
especially to attract more tourists to Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh for which this research study
will be carried out to enhance the body of knowledge. In this study, the feedback will be
evaluated from the tourists those who visited or visit Coxs Bazar about tourism amenities
used in their stay as well as their feelings towards their overall satisfaction level. The
promotional tools and feelings about the tourism resources will be assessed to find out more
effective promotional methods and ways of further tourism resources development to meet
the current and increasing tourism market demand. This is optimistic to achieve the desired
objectives through this research study.
Page 7 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah


7. Literature review:

Tourism is the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of
tourists, business suppliers, host governments and host communities in the process of
attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors (Goeldner et al., 2000). Moreover, the
term tourism means the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their
usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other
purposes (WTO). In this research study, the primary focus on understanding tourist/travel
behavior based on destination attributes, factors of tourist/travel motivation and travel values
of the Bengali community in London to Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh.


7.1 Previous Research Studies:
Tourism is a multifaceted industry and opens doors for both the host and tourist on behalf of
a destination country as a medium of exchange. Tourism is an important tool for local
economic development as well as infrastructural growth. Promoting the local residents and
tourism-related stakeholders are essential to achieve a tourism-led development in a tourist
destination area (Matarrita, 2010). Tourism is comprised with various components like
accommodation, dining establishments, recreational properties, tourism attractions, travel
intermediaries, transportation and other supporting sectors in which the people can be
involved in different ways. These tourism elements act as destination attributes and have a
great influential role in economic development, practicing cultural beliefs and values,
environmental protection, preservation of historical sites, natural and artificial tourism
attractions after all, to all of the destination attributes (Blake et al., 2008; Tao et al., 2009).

In promoting destination attributes, the host government along with the involvement of
international, national, regional and local organizations is required to be well coordinated to
the potential tourists (Soshiroda, 2005). In this process, the tourism stakeholders are
encouraged to take part in decision-making, sharing benefits, developing opportunities and
utilizing the tourism resources for local and tourism industrys interests in a pro-active
manner (Tosun, 2005). Education and training among local people can represent a good
Page 8 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

impression as part of destination attributes (Echtner, 1995; Sebele, 2010). Tourism attraction
is a function of a site (destination attribute), a marker (an informative element) and a tourist
(Richards, 2002). However, the tourists are positively inclined to discounted facilities,
promotional offers and take risk to those destinations but good knowledge can moderate this
intention (Wong et al., 2009).

Many researchers have investigated tourist/travel motivation from different views like
sociology, psychology and anthropology (Maslow, 1970; Cohen, 1972; Crompton, 1979;
Dann, 1977). In this research study, the tourist/travel motivation focuses on the analysis of
two different aspects namely push factors and pull factors that have been are commonly
accepted and practiced (Yuan et al., 1990; Uysal et al., 1993). In these terminologies, push
factors describe the internal forces of people for which they are pushed to travel whereas pull
factors state the external forces of destination attributes that appeal the potential
tourists/travelers to travel there. Push factors include intangible or intrinsic aspirations of the
individual tourist/traveler. On the other hand, pull factors consist of those elements which
emerge the destination attractiveness as it is perceived by the tourists/travelers. These may
contain tangible destination attributes, marketed image of the destination, tourists perception
and benefit expectation (Baloglu et al., 1996).

Push and pull factors in tourist/travel motivation are also influenced in different settings like
nationalities, tourist destinations and events to select a destination finally (Jang et al., 2006).
These intrinsic and extrinsic factors develop the perceptions of an individual tourist/traveler
even though the perceptions could be different depending on the time, actual destination
attributes and how the tourist/traveler processes information (Gartner, 1993; Dann, 1996;
Baloglu et al., 1997). These motivational factors act together in a dynamic and evolving
context in destination selection process (Correira, 2000) and the tourist/travel motivation is
seen as a multidimensional concept that focuses on tourist decision (McCabe, 2000).

Tourism is a paradigm of human beings and human nature and it is always a complex task to
find out the reasons, needs and wants of the tourists for travelling to a particular destination
(Yoon et al., 2005). The tourists expect their participation in destination attractions
(instrumental performance) and the psychological interpretation of a destination product
(expressive attributes) to fulfill their requirements and develop travel values (Noe et al.,
Page 9 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

2003). In tourism industry, push and pull factors represent demand (tourist/travelers desires)
and supply (tourist destination attributes). In some cases, higher cost of travel, government
regulations, destination image and reputation, international political situations, personal
safety issues, fear of terrorism, health epidemics play a vital in selecting a destination
(Prideaux, 2005). The preconceived image of a destination (Bosque et al., 2008), variety
seeking tendency, gender differences (Meng et al., 2008), partners influence, satisfactory
level of previous experience, personal feelings and preferences are closely related with the
perceptions of destination attributes, tourist/travel motivation and travel values (Hong et al.,
2009).

There is a need of well coordination among push and pull factors as like as the
tourists/travelers would be benefitted based on their motives from the destination attributes in
an effective manner. These factors need to be properly judged and evaluated in attaining
positive travel values among the tourists/travelers in different aspects of destination attributes
(Kim et al., 2002). Travel values act as like as mirrors of tourism industry and bring a broad
range of impacts including social, cultural, economic and environmental either positively or
negatively for the host community (Salencon, 2004; Ahammed, 2010).


7.2 Implication of the Study:
The main implication of this research study is to know travel motives affecting in choosing a
destination. This will also facilitate scopes for the analysis of destination attributes, market
segmentation and tourist market expansion based on the participants feedback. After all, this
research study will focus on different aspects of travel values leading to future development
initiatives and suggestions for further implications based on theoretical and empirical
analysis.




Page 10 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah


8. Methodology:



8.1 Research design:
This research study focuses on the specific Bengali community in London towards travel
motivation and values leading to greater understanding of tourist behavior in a broad context
as like as an inductive research approach. The survey-based research design is expected to be
used in required data collection. The participants are encouraged to take part in survey as the
tourists are the integral part and parcel of understanding tourist behavior. For that reason, the
survey-based research design is practiced rather than any other research design for better
outcomes.


8.2 Data collection:
The secondary sources include tourism related books, journals, magazines, online sources of
information, newspapers and reports to collect the required data whereas primary sources of
data include field survey. In questionnaire survey, a closed-ended question will be used as an
integral part of quantitative research approach. The participants will be asked to fill up the
questionnaires in person to get the actual and real feedback. The number of respondents is
160 and paper-and-pencil questionnaire administration mode will be performed to collect the
required data from the respondents.


8.3 Sampling and sample size:
In questionnaire survey, the research population is the Bengali community in London and
preferred to take into account the sample size- 160 participants as part of probability random
sampling so that any individual could participate for effective and better outcomes.


Page 11 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah



8.4 Timetable:

The following chart represents the required tasks and timeframe to accomplish the research
project within the timeline:

Weeks Tasks Expected Time Supervision Period
Week-1
Start the research topic and idea
generation
Jan. 24-Jan. 30
Supervision under
the supervisor
Week-2
Discuss about the research guidance
with the instructor
Jan. 31- Feb. 6
-
Week-3
Prepare the research project proposal
Feb. 7-Feb. 13
Supervision under
the supervisor
Week-4
Submit the research project proposal
Feb. 14-Feb. 20
-
Week-5
Develop the literature review
Feb. 21-Feb. 27
Supervision under
the supervisor
Week-6
Explore various sources of
secondary data
Feb. 28-Mar. 6
-
Week-7
Explore various sources of
secondary data
Mar. 7-Mar. 13
-
Week-8
Discuss with the supervisor for the
required and consistent data
Mar. 14-Mar. 20
Supervision under
the supervisor
Week-9
Justify the consistency among the
literatures studied and explored
Mar. 21-Mar. 27
-
Week-10
Finalize the consistent and relevant
literature review with the topic
Mar. 28-Apr. 3
Supervision under
the supervisor
Week-11
Prepare a questionnaire for field
survey to collect data
Apr. 4-Apr. 10
Supervision with
the supervisor
Week-12
Perform field survey
Apr. 11-Apr. 17
-
Week-13
Perform field survey and analyze
data for using in the project
Apr. 18-Apr. 24
-
Week-14
Use the practical data and conclude
with probable suggestions
Apr. 25-May 1
Supervision with
the supervisor
Week-15
Discuss with the supervisor and
prepare for final submission
May 2-May 8
Supervision with
the supervisor
Week 16
Final submission of the research
project
May 9-May 15
-



Page 12 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

9. Limitations and ethical issues:
There are some limitations in this research study including various literatures and previous
research studies have been discussed and used as references from related journals and books
to represent the concepts regarding the research topic. Here, the probability random sampling
and in-person questionnaire survey are practiced to generalize the understanding of tourist
behavior as much as possible. In addition, this research study also concentrates on academic
purpose of research, reference list of many researchers those contributed in conceptual
development of research topic and not to any damage to the anonymity of participants. This is
particularly focused on Bengali community and therefore, it may not fit with other ethnic
backgrounds.

10. Conclusion:

At last, it can be stated that this research study would facilitate better understanding about the
destination attributes, push and pull factors along with the travel values for promoting Coxs
Bazar as an international tourist destination. This also focuses on discussing the tourists
behavior towards different attributes of Coxs Bazar and the feedback of their travel
experiences regarding the current and less developed factors but potential to fulfill the future
market demand effectively and efficiently. However, this research study may also assist to
the body of knowledge through the dealing with travel behavior analysis.


Page 13 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

Key references:


Ahammed, S. S. (2010) Impact of tourism in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh North South
University, Dhaka-Bangladesh


Baloglu, S. and Brinberg, D. (1997) Affective Images of Tourism Destination Journal of
Travel Research, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 11-15.


Baloglu, S., & Uysal, M. (1996) Market segments of push and pull motivations: a canonical
correlation approach International Journal of contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 3,
No. 8, pp. 32-38

Bashar, A. and Som, A. (2010) An analysis of push and pull travel motivations of foreign
tourists to Jordan Intemational Joumal of Business and Management Vol. 5, No. 12

Blake, A.; Arbache, J. S.; Sinclair, M. and Teles, V. (2008) Tourism and poverty relief
Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 107-126, Great Britain

Bosque, I. R. and Martin, H. S. (2008) Tourist satisfaction: a cognitive-affective model
Annals of Tourism Research, Volume 35, No. 2, pp. 551-5713, Great Britain

Cohen, E. (1972) Toward sociology of international tourism Social Research, Vol. 39,
No.1, pp. 164-82


Correira, A. (2000) A procura turistica no Algarve Universidade do Algarve, Unpublished
PhD thesis in Economics, Faro

Crompton, J. (1979) Motivations of pleasure vacations Annals of Tourism Research, Vol.
6, No. 4, pp. 408-424.

Dann, G. (1977) Anomie, ego-enhancement and tourism Annals of Tourism Research, Vol.
4, pp. 184-194.

Dann, G. (1996) Tourist Images of a Destination: An Altemative Analysis Recent
Advances in Tourism Marketing Research, pp. 45-55, The Haworth Press: New York, USA

Page 14 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

Echtner. C. M. (1995) Entrepreneurial training in developing countries Annals of Tourism
Research, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 119-134, Great Britain

Echtner, C. M. and Prasad, P. (2003) The Context of Third World Tourism Marketing, Annals of
Tourism Research, Vol. 30, No. 3

Gartner, W. (1993) Image Formation Process Communication and Channel Systems in
Tourism Marketing, pp. 191-215, Haworth Press: New York, USA


Goeldner, C.; Ritchie, B. and McIntosh, W. (2000) Tourism principles, practices and
philosophies 8
th
edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Canada


Hong, S.; Lee, S.; Lee, S. and Jang, H. (2009) Selecting revisited destinations Annals of
Tourism Research, Volume 36, No. 2, pp. 268-294, Great Britain

Hossain, Md. Afjal & Hossain, Md. Jakir (2002), Marketing Promotion Strategies of the
Tourism Industry in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study of Some Selected Tour Operators,
Social Science Review, Vol. 19, No. 2
Hossain, Md. Afjal (1999), Marketing of Tourism Industry in Bangladesh: An Empirical
Study of Performance and Strategies, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Pune, India,

Jang, S., and Wu, C-M. E. (2006) Seniors' travel motivation and the influential factors: an
examination of Taiwanese seniors Tourism Management, Vol. 27, pp. 306-316


Kim, S. and Lee, C. (2002) Push and pull relationships Annals of Tourism Research, Vol.
29, No. 1, pp. 257260, 2002

Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality. 2
nd
eedition. Harper and Row

Matarrita, D. (2010) Beyond growth reaching tourism-led development Annals of Tourism
Research, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 1141-1163, Great Britain

McCabe, A. (2000) Tourism motivation process Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 27, No.
4, pp. 1049-1052.

Page 15 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

Meng. F. and Uysal. M. (2008) Effects of gender differences on perceptions of destination
attributes, motivations and travel values: a study of nature-based resort destination Journal
of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 16, No. 4

Noe, F. P., Jurowski, C., Cumbow, M. W. and Uysal, M. (1996) The effects of instrumental
and expressive factors on overall satisfaction in a park environment Journal of
Environmental System, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 47-67.

Patwari, Col (Rtd) Bazlul Ghani (1993), Review and Proposals for the Development of
Tourism Industry in Bangladesh, Dhaka Courier, Vol. 10, Issue 13

Prideaux, B. (2005) Factors affecting bilateral tourism flows Annals of Tourism Research,
Vol. 32, No.3, pp. 780-801, Great Britain

Richards, G. (2002) Tourism attraction systems: exploring cultural behavior Annals of
Tourism Research, Volume 29, Issue 4, pp. 1048-1064, Great Britain

Salencon, S. (2004) Tourism, a tool for poverty alleviation Bournemouth University,
Bournemouth-United Kingdom

Sebele, L. S. (2010) Community-based tourism ventures, benefits and challenges: Khama
Rhino Sanctuary Trust, Central District, Botswana Tourism Management Vol. 31, pp. 136-
146

Soshiroda, A. (2005) Inbound tourism policies in Japan from 1859 to 2003 Annals of
Tourism Research, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 1100-1120, Great Britain

Tao, T. and Wall, G. (2009) Tourism as a sustainable livelihood strategy Tourism
Management, Vol. 30, pp. 90-98
Tosun, C. (2005) Stages in the emergence of a participatory tourism development approach
in the Developing World Geoforum Vol. 36, pp. 333-352

Uysal, M. and Jurowski, C. (1993) An empirical testing of the push and pull factors of
tourist motivations Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 844-846

Page 16 of 16 Submitted by Md Faruk Miah

Wong, J. and Yeh, C. (2009) Tourist hesitation in destination decision making Annals of
Tourism Research, Volume 36, No. 1, pp. 6-23, Great Britain

Yoon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2005). An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction
on destination loyalty: a structural model Tourism Management, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 45-56.


Yuan, S. and McDonald, C. (1990) Motivational determinants of international pleasure
time Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 42-44.