The chapter includes:

• An introduction to the motives that lead to holiday taking and holidaymaking.

• Links between personality and motivation.

• The relationship between 'pull' and 'push' motives.

• Arousal and physio-psychological measures and neuroscience.

• Image creation and escape.

• Holidays and dysfunctional society.

Introduction

The motivations for holidaying taking and making are many. They range from just simply relaxing to the challenging, such as hiking along a mountainous trail. Over a lifetime, holiday motives may change. The holiday needs of individuals with young children to care for are different from those of a teenager escaping from family bonds for the first time, or from a more elderly couple possibly visiting places with a sense of nostalgia. This chapter introduces an initial exploration of holiday motives by reference to two well-established theories. The first is what is termed 'wanderlust'. Gray (1970) was among the first contemporary economists to recognise the role of tourism in international trade. Writing in 1982, he defined wanderlust as 'the visit to a different place. Here the intent is not to do what could be done less efficiently at home but to do something different from the range of activities available at home' (Gray, 1982: 109). It is perceived as an inherent need to travel to different places, something that is intrinsic to many people. Writing from a northern hemisphere perspective, many of these commentators linked a wanderlust to a 'sun lust' (Gray, 1970), noting the then emergent package holiday industry when Canadians, Northern Europeans and those living in the northern United States would seek winter holidays in more southern latitudes to ensure a warm summer stay.