III.5.6. Psychological aspects

Those people who do sport or who are sport tourists have a lot of common motivators, including for example the preservation of health, physical and mental wellbeing and adventure seeking.   

Everybody may experinece the „flow”, which gives a feeling of optimal contentedness in exchange for the efforts done, whatever the aim of the sport is. (Jackson and Csíkszentmihályi 2001). In sport there is a reversed relationship between risk and lifestyle. Those people who live extremely busy lives, usually look for quieter, low-intensity sport activities, while those people, who live monotonous lives, go for ’adventures’ in sport. It is obvious, too, that, when travelling, the majority of sport tourists intend to pursue the type of sport they do when they are at home. The new environment, the new experiences have a motivating effect., so, when being away from home, people tend to be more active. (GfK Hungária Market Research Institute 2008)

It is quite natural, too, that self-realization is one of the important factors in sport tourism. (Self-expression, self-development). People like to be assessed, to compete and to acquire a kind of rank or status. (Examples include the acquisition of the title of a champion, or travelling to distant, high-orestige sport events). Accomplishments also play a role. People want to reach the peak, achieve something special, have as many achievements, as possible. (E.g. run the marathon, ironman competititons), or, they want to see as many sport venues as possible.