Understanding Constraints and Their Impact On School Excursion Tourism

Abstract

School excursion tourism is a relatively underresearched and poorly understood segment of the tourism industry despite its strong economic potential. This article draws on the leisure constraints theory to examine barriers to overnight school excursions in Australia. A self-completed online survey by 1,314 school excursion decision makers measured the importance of these constraints to overnight school excursions, together with information on the schools' characteristics. The results reveal a four-factor structure instead of a three-factor structure, with structural constraints divided into destination and school-based structural factors. Intrapersonal and interpersonal constraints were also found to be important in undertaking overnight school excursions. Our analysis also revealed that constraints differ based on school characteristics, reconfirming that the school market is not a homogenous one. The article concludes with recommendations for destination and attraction managers interested in increasing school excursion visitations.