What inspires you to visit our welcoming home? Tourist motivation for visiting rural destinations: The case of Jammu and Kashmir

This study investigates the push and pull factors influencing tourists' motivations to visit the Jammu region of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, classifying these motivations into key dimensions. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 380 tourists, selected via simple random sampling. Twenty motivations (10 push and 10 pull factors) were analyzed using one-sample t-tests, paired-sample t-tests, Pearson correlation analysis, mean ranking, and factor analysis. The one-sample t-test showed that both push and pull motives significantly exceeded the neutral midpoint on the Likert scale, indicating their strong influence on travel decisions. The paired-sample t-test found no significant difference between the importance of push and pull factors, while Pearson correlation confirmed a strong positive relationship. Factor analysis revealed three key dimensions: ‘Cultural and Experiential Motivation,’ ‘Environmental and Personal Well-being Motivation,’ and ‘Social and Emotional Motivation,’ with cultural motivation being the most influential. These findings suggest strategies for promoting heritage sites, eco-tourism, and community-based initiatives to enhance sustainable tourism in the region. This study contributes to tourism scholarship by providing a deeper understanding of visitor motivations and informing targeted tourism development strategies.