TYPES of TOURIST
Chapter Contents
I.
Segmentation: By definition
II. Segmentation Methods
a)
b)
c)
Segmentation by purpose
Psychographic (cognitive-normative)
Interactional
III. The Needs and Impacts of Different Types
of Tourists
IV. Types of Tourists and Economic Policy of
Destinations
1
TOURIST TYPES
I. Segmentation
* Segmentation: to classify customers into
several groups or categories in terms of their
common preferences and needs
* Two main reasons for segmentation:
1. To rationalize marketing efforts of suppliers
2. To examine various economic limitations and
contribution, thus formulate policy based on
behavioral or psychological economics
2
TOURIST TYPES
II. Segmentation Methods

I. Segmentation by Purpose:
(a) Recreational purposes (leisure)
(1) Holiday (2) Health and Sports (3) Religion VFR, Study
Holiday purposes include sunlust and wanderlust
(b) Business purposes
(i) Company Business
(ii) Convention
(iii) Sales trips
(iv) Incentive trips
3
TOURIST TYPES
II. Segmentation Methods

1. Segmentation by Purpose (cont.)
Recreational or Leisure travels and VFR can be seen as
final demand while business travel is mostly a derived
demand or secondary demand.

Recreational Travelers are subject to personal economic
constraints but Business Travelers are largely
institutionalized and limited by corporate economics.

Leisure travel demand is more income and price elastic than
business travelers.

Incentive travel is specific and both Business and Leisure
Travels
4
TOURIST TYPES
II. Segmentation Methods
Types of Tourists by Purposes of Travel
Tourists and excursionists
Recreational Purposes
Holiday
Health&
Sport
Sunlust
Wanderlust
Business Purposes
Religion VFR
& study
Company B
Conventions
Sales trips
Incentive trips
5
TOURIST TYPES
II. Segmentation Methods

2. Psychographic Segmentation: uses
psychological variables.

A limited number of traits which are important for
tourists: venturesomeness, hedonism, dogmatism,
intellectualism.

These traits influence tourist activity or the
purchasing characteristics of tourists.

Stanley Plog developed a model to divide tourism
markets based on their venturesomeness:
6
II. Segmentation Methods
2. Psychographic Segmentation (cont.)
* (a) Allocentric: highly venturesome;
make own travel arrangements, visit remote and
unfamiliar destinations, learn local culture, and rarely
repeat visit to the same place.


(b) Mid-centric: liking to explore but with comfort; uses
travel distributors, but make own package, travel
reasonably far but to known destinations, balance
novelty with home comforts.

(c) Psychocentric: disliking unfamiliarity and risks; use
organized inclusive tours (package tours), travel often to
familiar destinations culturally similar to home, board in
mass accommodation or, often repeat visit.
7
TOURIST TYPES
II. Segmentation Methods

3. Interactional Segmentation: to segment
tourists with respect to the effect on the tourism
destination.
(a) Explorer: small in numbers, virtually no
consumption of tourism products, negligible
economic impact
(b) Elite: relatively small number, price-inelastic
demand for very high quality products, may
cause investment to follow into destinations.
8
TOURIST TYPES
II. Segmentation Methods

3. Interactional segmentation (contd.)
(c) Hosted or second homers: constant travel demand, but
boarded by hosts or in own accommodation, hence low
consumption product, but cause increase in general local
expenditure
(d) Individual: numerous, wide ranging travel, demand
maybe price-elastic, significant demand for domestic tourism
products
(e) Mass-or charter: very numerous, sectors of the travel
industry wholly dependent on them, major impact and costs
at destination, may cause significant investment in
destination by generator owned business.
9
Figure: Eric Cohen’s classification of tourist typologies
TOURIST TYPES
III. The Needs and Impacts of Different Types of Tourists

Variations between types of tourists:
1. Length of stay: from a week to 30 days
2. Overall & seasonal demand stability:
(a) VFR and luxury recreational tourism is the least sensitive
to demand variation
(b) Leisure Travel is constrained by school vacations, work
entitlements, climatic conditions
(c) Business Travel is influenced by the long term stability of
demand affected by economic cycle in Tourist Generating
Regions.
11
TOURIST TYPES
III. The Needs and Impacts of Different Types of Tourists
3. Repeat visiting & Marketing Costs:
(a) The psycho-centric tourists and second
home owners are most likely to repeat a visit
to a destination. Because they are willing to
visit familiar destinations
(b) Cruise passengers exhibit high repeat
purchasing (because of strong brand loyalty)
(c) Repeat visiting decreases tourism
marketing costs.
12
TOURIST TYPES
IV. The Type of Tourists and Economic Policy of
Destinations

To maximize economic profits we need to:
1. to identify discrete tourist market segments
2. to assess the stability and demand patterns of
each segment
3. to evaluate the returns or profit contributions
realized from each segment
4. to allocate resources to attracting each
segment, in other words, making cost-benefit
analysis in the tourism sector
13
End of Slides
14