**4.2. Travel incentives**

example, a WHM who traveled to Japan said, *"My father hoped that I would not go. Since I could not even fry an egg, he wondered how I was going to survive abroad" (J1, 2014)*. Furthermore, the work that WHMs engaged in were in primary industries, and their families were worried that they could not endure the hardships or were not used to laborious work and were worried about their daily lives. A WHM who engaged in agricultural work in Australia stated, *"At that time, my parents felt that I would not be able to adjust, and would come home after one or two months. At that time, I already knew that I would be picking strawberries (agricultural work), and I would come home if I could not take it" (A1, 2014)*. In addition, there were issues of personal safety, and this was a substantial force of obstruction for the female population. A female WHM who went to Canada stated, *"Our family is a traditional, conservative family, and they are more worried about* 

The present study found that when female WHMs were deciding whether to participate in working holidays, they would consult traditional religious beliefs or intangible supernatural forces within Taiwan's cultural atmosphere, such as fortune telling, Tarot cards, and so on. For example, one participant mentioned, *"Because my parents have more traditional views and they believe that girls like me should be married and live a stable life, they had my fortune told" (A1, 2014)*. Although traditional intangible forces are not the main factor influencing decisions to participate in working holidays, they have a certain level of influence. For instance, one participant stated, *"My greatest obstacle was that I had my fortune told and asked whether I should participate in this working holiday. The fortune teller said the outlook was not good, which made me very uneasy at that time, and afraid that I would encounter misfortunes. After that, one of my classmates was learning to read Tarot cards and I asked them to read mine, which also influenced* 

The present study found that the riskless theories proposed by Golledge and Stimson do not occur readily in real environments [22]. Hence, individuals are often unable to adopt "economic rationality" in their thinking in order to choose the best alternative when deciding to travel. On the contrary, during the decision-making process of participating in working holidays, individuals may face substantial uncertainty when performing weighted analysis of their personal subjective views and preferences and constantly revise their thinking. In addition, the present study also found that travel obstacles that influenced WHMs included leaving their past comfortable "environmental bubble" [27], and the anxiety induced by working alone abroad. In order to eliminate their personal insecurities, some WHMs sought comfort from intangible forces, which is a common phenomenon in Eastern countries, and this had a certain level of influence. Furthermore, WHMs' personal travel budget formed a constraining "economic threshold" in this study, as not all WHMs were able to successfully find suitable jobs when they were traveling. Therefore, during the personal job hunting process, WHMs needed to possess a certain level of finances to meet the initial costs of living in

*whether a girl on her own abroad would encounter any dangers" (C4, 2014).*

*4.1.4. The impact of intangible forces*

76 Mobilities, Tourism and Travel Behavior - Contexts and Boundaries

*my decision slightly" (C3, 2014).*

*4.1.5. Re-analysis*

the destination country.

#### *4.2.1. Expansion of personal horizons*

Curiosity and exploration are motivations for humans to travel. To some youths, a lack of experiences abroad or the influence of peers causes them to have a high level of curiosity toward foreign countries. Thus, they use working holidays as a means to explore the world and realize their personal dreams. This is a deeper level of inner need. For example, one participant stated, *"I had not been abroad, and so I wanted to participate in a working holiday. I felt like I wanted find a country to explore and enhance the width and breadth of my life" (A2, 2014)*. If WHMs had past experiences of independent traveling, they were more prone to travel to other countries through these working holidays in order to come into contact with people, events, and objects that were different from their past experiences. This enabled them to engage in continuous self-reflection, absorb different values and thus achieve self-actualization, which fulfills a higher level of need. Another participant also stated, *"By leaving Taiwan and living in a different city or country, I was hoping to live in a different place and come into contact with different people and different perspectives through my travels" (C3, 2014).*

#### *4.2.2. Transformation of stressful emotions*

For youths who have graduated and entered the workplace, long-term exposure to the workplace can easily lead to anxiety, tension, and other negative emotions. Thus, due to physical and mental fatigue, they hope that a long vacation can help them to avoid stress, relieve tensions, escape from fatigue, and find complementarity and balance in body and mind. For example, one participant stated, *"Because I had worked for a long time, I wanted to rest. This trip was for rest and to travel. I wanted to travel around to sightsee and relax" (C3, 2014).* In other words, a major reason for engaging in working holidays is to provide a breathing space through this channel. This allowed the WHMs to temporarily escape the workplace; enter a completely unfamiliar environment; live with more carefreeness in order to seek the release of all restraints, grievances, and ailments; and relax completely. As pointed out by another participant, *"Maybe because I accumulated too much stress, my immunity was dysfunctional and I came down with many strange illnesses. At that time, I really wanted to leave the company and rest" (J2, 2014).*

#### *4.2.3. Earning the first pot of gold*

For many new graduates, engaging in independent travel first requires undertaking employment to earn sufficient travel funds, whereas working holidays are a means to earn money. One WHM mentioned, *"For independent travel, you might run out of travel funds one day. If you work at the same time, you can also earn some travel funds, which is a better method" (C4, 2014).* Within this context, the emergence of "working holidays" happens to form a third option, which allows participants to work and play at the same time, experiencing diverse leisure activities while also earning their daily living expenses through labor opportunities in foreign countries. This satisfies the original intention of working holidays. As mentioned by one participant, *"I was able to experience local life and also earn money. I initially wanted to travel, work, and experience at the same time. Yes! This was my goal for going in the first place" (C1, 2014).*

#### *4.2.4. Seeking peer companionship*

The present study found that during the working holiday period, if there was insufficient tourism information and resources in the foreign country, having a companion was extremely beneficial to the generation of working holiday behaviors. The advantages were that WHMs had someone to rely on and could take care of each other. In addition, having a companion helped to reduce the anxiety and fear produced on a psychological level and boosted their courage to undertake a working holiday. As mentioned by one participant, *"After all, everything was very unfamiliar, and so with a companion abroad we could share our troubles and support each other in some circumstances" (C2, 2014)*. As working holidays involve traveling abroad for up to 1 year, they present a greater challenge to the young female population. Hence, the companionship of peers can mutually boost their courage, and when they encounter problems or setbacks, they will have someone to accompany them to resolve their problems. This will increase their willingness to travel abroad to participate in working holidays. In addition, due to considerations for personal safety, peer companionship is an important factor for females when participating in working holidays. As mentioned by one participant, *"I feel that especially for females, when you go somewhere unfamiliar and know nothing about the place, having someone to accompany you and to find your way together gives a very warm and different feeling. So, for girls, I recommend finding someone to boost each other's courage" (A1, 2014).*

#### *4.2.5. Mastering social connections*

Long-term and long-distance cross-spatial movement will often lead to worries. Despite a lack of prior experience in traveling abroad, if WHMs have familiar social networks in their destination country (e.g., relatives, classmates, friends, etc.), it will help to enhance their willingness to participate in working holidays. As mentioned by one participant, *"Since someone I knew had migrated to Canada, even though it was unfamiliar, I felt more at ease because someone was over there" (C1, 2014).* In other words, social connections played an important role in working holidays in Australia, Canada, and Japan. Having someone to depend on in an unfamiliar country provided WHMs with peace of mind. In addition, social contacts can also increase the opportunities for employment and shorten the time taken for job searching during the working holiday, even enabling WHMs to find a job immediately after arriving in their destination country. Another participant stated, *"It is better if you have friends there. You can take care of each other. I got my first job through their recommendation, so I had quite a good job immediately, and did not need to spend too much time finding jobs" (C2, 2014).*

#### *4.2.6. Re-analysis*

Travel incentives on the level of psychology, income earning, and interpersonal relationships all had different extents of influence on the personal decision-making process of WHMs, which promoted their willingness to travel abroad to participate in working holidays. Specifically, the income earning dimension was both a restriction and an opportunity; hence, it was a "doubleedged sword." In other words, individual finances were one of the limiting factors that formed a travel obstacle; however, in terms of WHMs' motivation, working holidays were also a means to earn income or cover local travel expenses. In addition, the present study found that the travel behavior of WHMs was also influenced by their peer groups. The formation of travel groups with members in the same stage of life enhanced the feasibility of travel behavior, which reflects the importance of peers in traveling, as highlighted in the individual-community theory [20].
