Segmenting outbound tourists based on their activities: toward experiential consuption spheres in tourism services?
Journal
Tourism Review
ISSN
1660-5373
ISSN-Digital
1759-8451
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2013-06
Author(s)
Abstract
Classical socio-demographic segmentation approaches of tourists mostly fail to cluster customer groups appropriately. More recent segmentation approaches have employed a more customer-centric perspective, attempting to capture consumer behavioral patterns. Within such segmentation, one very promising approach examines the activities pursued by tourists. This research aims to identify activity patterns of outbound travelers for segmentation and ultimately to recognize experiential consumption spheres created by tourists at a destination.
This paper applies a posteriori, data-driven, activity-based segmentation to outbound travelers.
The present study identifies six activity-based clusters: average short-haul holiday experiences (Cluster 1); short repeat healthy winter experiences (Cluster 2); new beach experiences (Cluster 3); short social encounter experiences (Cluster 4); new place experiences (Cluster 5); and seniors' new place experiences (Cluster 6).
This research is unlike many other studies that apply segmentation to inbound travelers. The authors' approach analyzes outbound travelers and is based on the notion that activities are the basis of the experiential consumption of consumers and the idea that customers co-create experiences in so-called experiential consumption spheres during activity-based encounters with service providers at a destination.
This paper applies a posteriori, data-driven, activity-based segmentation to outbound travelers.
The present study identifies six activity-based clusters: average short-haul holiday experiences (Cluster 1); short repeat healthy winter experiences (Cluster 2); new beach experiences (Cluster 3); short social encounter experiences (Cluster 4); new place experiences (Cluster 5); and seniors' new place experiences (Cluster 6).
This research is unlike many other studies that apply segmentation to inbound travelers. The authors' approach analyzes outbound travelers and is based on the notion that activities are the basis of the experiential consumption of consumers and the idea that customers co-create experiences in so-called experiential consumption spheres during activity-based encounters with service providers at a destination.
Language
English
Keywords
activity-based segmentation
experiential consuption spheres
outbound travel
tourism
Switzerland
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Publisher
Emerald Group Publishing
Publisher place
Bingley UK
Volume
68
Number
3
Start page
21
End page
43
Pages
23
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
227737