Why do tourists seek souvenirs?
In French, the word "souvenir" is commonly used as a verb and means "to get back to myself", or "to remember (from the Latin subvenir - to come to mind). In English, "Souvenir" is a noun - an object which something (a place, a person or experience) is remembered.
Although buying souvenirs has become a popular activity amongst tourist, very little research has been undertaken to establish why travellers buy souvenirs.. Different types of tourists prefer different types of souvenirs and different types of tourist have different intentions on why they purchase souvenirs.
Even age differences come into play. Younger tourists will seek to buy souvenirs with an entertainment value whilst older folks tend to buy souvenirs with an aesthetic value. Attitudes towards other cultures also influence the purchase intention. Those tourists who respect and tolerate other cultures will appreciate more the experience they encountered during their holiday and hence will be tempted to buy local products as souvenirs.
People have different reasons for purchasing sourvenirs. Some find it useful and make a memory connection, while others buy it as a work of art or admire the intricate craftsmanship. There are many tourists who buy souvenirs to help sustain the local community and protect their livelihood.There are those who collect a load of miniature artefacts and statures as a hobby and a visual checklist of the places they have visited.
Where to here to buy?
Today, one can go online and order a Chinese made miniature Eiffel Tower and have it shipped from Paris to Colombo without the need to set foot in France .Thankfully that has not come to pass and the buying of souvenirs on holiday, is very much alive today.
In a study done in several years ago, 70% of the respondents indicated that souvenirs are an important part of the holiday experience, and only 20% of travellers return home empty. With the growing trend towards locally-sourced and handmade products, over half of all travellers opt to do their souvenir shopping in local markets or specialty stores. Contrary to popular belief, less than a quarter of travellers will purchase souvenirs from tourist landmarks or attractions.
Over 2.3 Million tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2018. Based on the above study, potentially, 1.8 million visitors would have…or should have purchased souvenirs - or did they? Do we know how much we earned from the sale of souvenirs last year?
Are we making maximum use of the opportunity to benefit from this ‘multi-billion Rupee’ market?
Hospitality Sri Lanka
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