Classification of Tourists
Do you stay in your bubble?
Environmental bubble - Surrounded by
similar living environment when travelling abroad
What makes you feel comfortable
and safe when travelling?
Find the points in your travel leaflets!
Brainstorm with your neighbour!
Write down your findings inside the bubbles.
Fly with a reputable airline.
Time limit: 5 minutes
Environmental bubble?
• A coach with air-conditioning
• Include travel insurance
• A comfortable hotel/
accommodation
• Choose a reputable travel
agency
• Well planned itinerary
• Eat Chinese food
• Chinese-speaking tour guide
• Staff with professional training
• Speak or read the same
language
• Sufficient rest time
• Breakfast at hotel
• Buffet, choose your
own food
• Fastpass in theme park
• Special queue
Cohen’s Classification
Tourism combines
curiosity to seek out new experiences
with the need for
security of familiar reminders of home
Curiosity
Security
seek out new experience
Drifter
Explorer
familiar reminder of home
Individual
mass tourist
Organized
mass tourist
Cohen’s Classification
Non-Institutionalized
Tourists
are loosely attached to the tourist
establishment
expose to host community
Explorer
Drifter
Institutionalized Tourists
are dealt with in a routine way by
the tourist establishment
e.g. travel agencies, hotel chain
Individual
Mass
Tourist
Organized
Mass
Tourist
Where is the tourist? p.2
Spend most of the time
inside/ always inside
Go further away from
it/ far away from
Cohen’s Classification p.3
Organized Mass Tourist
• least adventurous
• spend most of their time in their comfortable
“environmental bubble” throughout their
trip
• the itinerary is decided in advance
• attractions are guided and well fixed
• tourists have no decision on their trip
Cohen’s Classification
Individual Mass Tourist
• similar to the organized mass tourist
• the tour is not entirely fixed
• have certain control over their time and
itinerary
• but all the major arrangements are still made
through travel agencies
Cohen’s Classification
Explorer
• arrange their trips alone
• go somewhere unusual
• look for comfortable accommodation and
reliable transportation
• retain some of the basic routines and comforts of
their native way of life
• try to mix with local people and speak their
language
• dare to leave their “environmental bubble”
Cohen’s Classification
Drifter
• go further away from the “environmental bubble”
• keep away from the accustomed ways of life in
home countries
• no fixed itinerary
• plan trips wholly on their own
• live with local people
• often take odd-jobs to keep themselves going
What type is it? p.2
What’s your travel personality?
• Do the psychological test to know your
travel personality at besttripchoices.com
• Jot down your type and some keywords of
your characteristics
Plog’s Classification p.4
• Destination popularity VS traveller’s personality
Your travel personality
• Authentic = Psychocentric
• Mid-authentic = Near psychocentric
• Centric authentic = Mid-centric
• Centric venturer = Mid-centric
• Mid-venturer = Near allocentric
• Venturer = Allocentric
Plog’s Classification p.5
Allocentric Type
• seek new experiences and
adventure
• outgoing and self-confident
• enjoy meeting ppl from different
cultures
• explore an area
• make own travel arrangements
• choose activities and tourist
attractions
Plog’s Classification
Psychocentric Type
• conservative, inhibited and unadventurous
• return to familiar destinations
• want to relax
• expect the type of food and activity
• prefer heavily structured itinerary
• safety and security are important
Plog’s Classification
Mid-centric Type
• between allocentric and psychocentric
• not particularly adventurous
• receptive to new experience
Plog’s Classification p.4
Can you classify the
destinations into 5?
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South Africa
Canada
Kuala Lumpur
Antarctica
Macau
India
Singapore
Russia
Cambodia
United Kingdom
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Bangkok
Guangzhou
Czech Republic
Australia
South America
Congo
Shenzhen
France
Vietnam
USA
Major points to study
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Understand Cohen's classification
Understand Plog's classification
Give examples on each types of tourists
Identify the concerns and needs of different
types of tourist