Ninth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

This research provides new insights into segmenting prospects for tourism by focusing on consumption occasions rather than prospect attributes. Segmentation typically selects personal attributes which correlate with consumption behaviors, such as geographic location, psychographics – such as lifestyle or values, related behaviors, or benefits sought. While these attributes may predict probabilities of engaging in a particular behavior, such as visiting a destination, they only predict probabilities and often provide little insight into motivations. This study proposes and tests an alternative segmentation of tourist populations that focuses on the appetites for tourism and how those appetites are addressed by destinations and activities. Appetites for tourism are multidimensional - destinations, activities, experiences, outcomes, etc. This research explores the array of tourism appetites, creates segments based on those appetite dimensions, and compares these with segments built from demographics, geographics, and psychographics. The project began with a series of depth interviews, followed by a series of online surveys (currently in the field), targeting approximately 500 travelers. Based on pilot studies of automobile purchases and sports consumption, we anticipate a set of appetite segments that both contradict and reinforce personal-attribute-based segments. This provides deeper insights into tourism motives and effective segmentation. These appetite segments allow destinations to better target key prospects with specific offerings.