Should I stay or should I go out? Leisure and tourism consumption of geocachers under the existence of COVID restrictions and economic uncertainty in Poland

Abstract

Geocaching is a sport-recreation activity considered as a post-modern treasure hunting game. The aim of this study was to group geocachers by how they consumed leisure and tourism services during COVID restrictions and at a time of economic uncertainty in Poland. An empirical research was conducted with Polish geocachers (n = 389) to identify their types based on their ‘staying home’ and ‘getting out’ attitudes. Moreover, the research identified some predictor variables that significantly distinguish between the geocachers’ preferences regarding ‘staying home’ and ‘getting out.’ The Principal Component Analysis allowed to reduce the 26 motivation items into 5 dimensions: Sociability and Self-Expression; Nature Desires; Solitude Seeking; Challenge; and Routine-Breaker. Nature Desires was the only type of motivation found to be a significant predictor. This paper offers a unique perspective on how Polish geocachers behaved during the COVID threat.