Tell Me Who You Think You Are and I Tell You How You Travel : Exploring the Viability of Market Segmentation by Means of Travelers' Stated Personality: Insights from a Mature Market (Switzerland)
Journal
Tourism Analysis
ISSN
1083-5423
ISSN-Digital
1943-3999
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2012-08
Author(s)
Abstract
People travel to different destinations for different reasons. In this study, we investigate the viability of market segmentation by personal traits (based on and exemplified by Jungian's MBTI variables) of travelers from Switzerland, by performing a data-driven a posteriori segmentation by means of k-means clustering. To identify the segmentation power of personal traits, this analysis is complemented with a multiple discriminant analysis as well as a number of contingency tests to identify differences between the segments. We identified four clearly definable segments, which differ in terms of the psychographic traits of the segment members but also in terms of some sociodemographic characteristics as well as travel profiles. Despite a growing body of work on classical market segmentation, there is a growing but still limited number of works on potentialities of psychographic approaches relating to a traveler's traits and/or peronality as a segmentation basis in tourism.
Language
English
Keywords
Market segmentation
Segmentation criteria
Personal traits
Self-stated personality
Tourism marketing
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Cognizant Communication Corp.
Publisher place
New York, NY [u.a.]
Volume
17
Number
3
Start page
285
End page
298
Pages
14
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
216881