Article

Winter Tourist Segments in Austria: Identifying Stable Vacation Styles Using Bagged Clustering Techniques

Journal of Travel Research

February 2003
41(3)

DOI:10.1177/0047287502239037

Authors:

Sara Dolnicar

The University of Queensland

Friedrich Leisch

BOKU University

Market segmentation is a very popular and broadly accepted way of increasing profitability. The number of reports published on a posteriori market segmentation studies has rapidly increased since Haley’s milestone publication on benefit segmentation in 1968. Nevertheless, it is common practice to use a single segmentation base only and to run a single calculation of a single algorithm, which dramatically increases the chance of building an entire marketing plan on a random solution of the algorithm chosen. The application presented constructs winter vacation styles based on guest survey data, avoiding both weaknesses mentioned before. Through the replicative framework provided by bagged clustering, potentially suboptimal random solutions are avoided. Independent partitioning of vacation activities and travel motives leads to more holistic segments. By looking for overand underrepresentation of all combinations of the behavioral and psychographic segmentation, vacation styles are identified and studied in detail.

Dendrogram for the psychographic data set

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Profile chart for Behavioral Type 1

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Profile chart for the culture fans

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Mosaic chart of cross-tabulation

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Stability comparison (activity data)

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Winter sports tourism to urban destinations: Identifying potential and comparing motivational differences across skier groups

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2021

Winter tourism is often associated with rural areas and snow-based sporting activities. However, urban destinations can also offer outdoor winter sports and an integrated set of urban tourism product bundles not only sports-related. Previous research has strongly focused on highly developed rural winter sports destinations but has barely explored the case of urban destinations offering winter sports as an integrated activity in their urban tourism product bundles. This paper, therefore, investigates the potential for market innovations that combine urban assets with winter sports activities by segmenting urban winter sports tourists and extending the understanding of urban tourism attractiveness. This paper identifies skiers’ motivation factors for visiting urban destinations with a winter sports infrastructure. It builds on a three-step quantitative approach (N = 338) with factor analysis, cluster analysis and posthoc testing to compare cluster means. The results highlight five push (exciting, knowledge, relaxation, achievement and family) and six pull factors (basic assets, urban assets, natural scenery, social events, economic aspects and winter sports activities), which can be clustered into three unique and statistically different groups: “moderate skiers”, “urban recreational skiers” and “focused skiers”. Addressing these identified clusters highlights the market potential of bundling winter sports and urban tourism, thereby addressing customers who have not been of strategic relevance for winter destinations. Additionally, urban winter destinations can gain a unique selling proposition and help to counteract crowding tendencies in rural alpine winter sports while also improving urban destination attractiveness post-COVID-19. Management implications Our findings deliver empirical support for destination managers' efforts in establishing urban destinations as alternative skiing hotspots (cf. Grenoble and Innsbruck). Urban destination managers should evaluate destinations' profiles and consider including (winter) sports as an integrated activity in their urban tourism product bundles. Winter sports can help to diversify urban destinations and improve their strategic positioning. Segmentation studies help marketers to address specific target groups; in the urban winter tourism context, these often include “moderate skiers”, “urban recreational skiers” and “focused skiers”. Empirical findings show that skiers' request multi-optional holidays with urban assets and not only sports-related activities. An innovative combination of urban tourism with winter sports offers new experiences and helps to increase visibility and customer satisfaction in competitive markets. Urban areas offer touristic infrastructure and authentic local assets which contribute to the overall tourism experience of winter sports tourists

Segmentation of active international sport tourists by destination loyalty

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2021

Destination loyalty has become a crucial concept in both academia and practice. Numerous studies have revealed the antecedents of destination loyalty to discriminate from other rival destinations. Although increasing destination loyalty is anticipated as the key milestone to achieve from both practical and academic purposes, previous research lacks understanding of the characteristics and profile of loyal travellers. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to segment the profile of active international sport tourists by their perceived destination loyalty and to reveal the differences among three segments of their destination loyalty: low, high, and extremely high. Using a paper–pencil questionnaire, data were collected from international tourists who visited the Niseko ski resort in Japan (N = 298). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis, chi-square test using residual analysis, and ANOVA with post hoc analysis implies that there were significant differences among the three segments. The more loyal tourists feel toward the destination, the more involved with and familiar with a sport they perceive themselves to be, and the more they have visited the destination previously. These results of this study contribute to destination marketing organizations, in particular for snow resorts, to understand their loyal customers, which will be the fundamental material to build their management strategy.

Vacation interests and vacation type preferences in Austrian domestic tourism

Article

Feb 2020

This research aimed to identify the vacation lifestyle patterns in Austrian domestic tourism. Through a scale development process with 561 domestic vacationers in Vienna, 12 vacation interest dimensions were determined. Emerging dimensions were further analyzed to identify their links with five tourism types (recreational, historical-cultural, environmental, thermal hot-spa, and urban tourism). The findings provide Austrian destination marketers with a new strategic perspective for segmentation analysis in the domestic tourism realm.

Segmenting visitors’ motivation, price perceptions, willingness to pay and price sensitivity in a collaborative destination marketing effort

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2019

While several studies segment the motives of travellers, the relationship between these segments, and the travellers’ price perceptions, their willingness to pay (WTP), and price sensitivity remains scantly researched. Applying a neural gas algorithm to segment the travel motives of 714 visitors to Langenfeld, Austria, reveals the existence of three motivation clusters that are different in terms of the minimum, maximum and fair prices that travellers are willing to pay. Also, based on four self-assembled holiday packages offered as part of a collaborative destination marketing effort by different providers in Langenfeld, we demonstrate that visitors are willing to pay different prices for the selected packages and this has an influence on profitability of the destination. Implications for destination marketing and pricing strategies are offered.

Segmentation of trek and trail race runners as tourists

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2021

This paper seeks to supplement the theory of sports marketing with additional knowledge on the participants in trek and trail races, provide basis for better understanding of their motives and behavior. The research instrument is a questionnaire consisting of 30 questions where the first part concerns with behavior at races; the second part consists of statements about the motives and the third part of descriptive questions. There were 194 participants who were interviewed by an online survey. The statistical analysis was conducted using factor analysis and cluster analysis. Five different factors / types of motivation and behavior of trek and trail race runners were extracted. Cluster analysis was also conducted and three cluster solutions were retained. Implications for marketing practice, limitations of the research and recommendations for future research were also given.

Clustering nature-based tourists by activity. Social, economic and spatial dimensions

Article

Dec 2019
TOURISM MANAGE

This study develops a typology of tourists visiting a nature-based destination as a function of outdoor activities. It then identifies social, economic and spatial differences between them. A cluster analysis is applied to survey data collected in the Great Masurian Lakes region of Poland. Six clusters were identified: angling sailors, non-angling sailors, cyclists, anglers, water recreationists and passive tourists. The results show that these groups differ not only in terms of their social and demographic features, or travel patterns. Spatial analyses identify important differences in spatial behaviours, while the Travel Cost Method highlights major differences in the economic value of nature. This new methodological framework shows that cluster analyses, combined with spatial and economic analyses, may be an extremely useful tool for planners and destination managers. The results contribute to the discussion on tourists' use of a nature-based destination.

Tourism Management Perspectives Understanding how Amsterdam City tourism marketing addresses cruise tourists' motivations regarding culture

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2018

This paper argues that a gap exists between the marketing of shore excursions and cruise tourists' expectations of 'local flavor' experiences. The paper first establishes that this discrepancy exists, then aims to refine the focus of marketing and promotion, and finally proposes strategies for improving cruise tourists' satisfaction. Amsterdam, a city eager to attract more cruise tourists, is chosen as the case area to evaluate the alignment of marketing and passenger expectation. The study is based on an analysis of tours proposed by cruise companies, using a word frequency analysis of their narratives, and on structured interviews with 228 passengers. The result indicates that marketers should more effectively focus on and promote 'local flavor' experience. They could place a stronger emphasis on local identity by cooperating with more local partners and engaging tourists in product design.

Network approach to tourist segmentation via user generated content

Article

Nov 2018
ANN TOURISM RES

The study contributes to the tourism literature by demonstrating an approach to segmenting tourists using network analysis with user-generated content. Online reviews of destination attractions are considered as a proxy for visitation data reflective of tourists’ interests. The connectivity between attractions is represented with a network of links created by tourists visiting and reviewing multiple attractions. Attraction clusters are revealed by segmenting this network using network analysis tools. Two segmentation solutions are provided: a posteriori, in which only review information is taken into account, and mixed, in which tourist groups are defined a priori by their travel interests and age, and this information is combined with visitation information. The findings are validated using geovisualization and by comparing them with randomly simulated models.

Why wine tourists visit cellar doors: Segmenting motivation and destination image

Article

Jan 2018

This study examines the relationship between the motivation of wine tourists to visit cellar doors and destination image perception. A survey of tourists resulted in 676 useable questionnaires. Using a novel segmentation method, self-organizing maps, and bagged clustering, the study identified 5 distinct motivation clusters. These clusters were different on only gender and previous visit to the wine region. Three clusters of destination image were identified using the same segmentation method. Significant relationships were found between the motivation and destination image clusters. Implications for destination marketing and managing the tourist experience at the winery cellar door are discussed.

Remembering Friedrich "Fritz" Leisch

Article

Jan 2025

Düldül Dağı Çukurova'nın Kış Turizmi Merkezi Olabilir mi?

Chapter

Full-text available

Oct 2023

Yusuf Cagri Türkseven

Cluster Analysis in Marketing Research

Chapter

Full-text available

Feb 2019

This chapter gives an overview of the various approaches and methods for cluster analysis and links them with the most relevant marketing research contexts. We also provide pointers to the specific packages and functions for performing cluster analysis using the R ecosystem for statistical computing. A substantial part of this chapter is devoted to the illustration of applying different clustering procedures to a reference data set of shopping basket data. We briefly outline the general approach of the considered techniques, provide a walk-through for the corresponding R code required to perform the analyses, and offer some interpretation of the results.

Quelques problématiques autour du clustering : robustesse, grande dimension et détection d'intrusion

Thesis

Full-text available

May 2022

Edouard Genetay

Le clustering vise à regrouper les données observées en différents sous-ensembles partageant des propriétés similaires. Le plus souvent ce regroupement se fait via l’optimisation d’un critère choisi à l’avance. Dans cette thèse CIFRE, nous avons étudié le clustering sous trois aspects différents.Dans une première partie, nous proposons une méthode d’estimation robuste de K centroïdes basé sur le critère, dit des « K-means ». Nous proposons également une méthode d’initialisation robuste de la procédure. D’une part, la robustesse des procédures proposées a été testée par de nombreuses simulations numériques. D’autre part, nous avons montré un théorème donnant la vitesse de convergence d’un estimateur idéalisé en présence d’outliers ainsi qu’un théorème donnant le breakdown point de la méthode. Dans une seconde partie nous nous plaçons dans le cadre d’un mélange équilibré de deux gaussiennes isotropes, centré en l’origine, afin de fournir la première analyse théorique d’un estimateur de clustering basé sur un critère d’entropie conditionnelle. Nous montrons que le critère est localement convexe, offrant d’une part des vitesses d’apprentissage rapide et d’autre part une inégalité oracle en grande dimension, lorsque le vecteur moyen de séparation est sparse.Dans une troisième partie, plus pratique et consacrée à des graphes en cybersécurité, nous regardons si l’évolution du nombre de clusters obtenus par une méthode d’optimisation de modularité peut révéler des anomalies causées par une intrusion dans un système informatique.

Hardly homogenous: a multi-year analysis of attendees at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival

Article

Mar 2022

As an essential space for progress, growth, and advocacy, LGBT2Q+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Two-Spirit, Queer and additional identities) festivals and events cultivate transformative storytelling experiences that preserve history and create community. However, little research has been conducted regarding who attends small scale LGBT2Q+ festivals. The current research attempts to fill these gaps by examining attendees and outcomes at the in-person 31st and virtual 32nd annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) in 2019 and 2020. A Qualtrics survey for both years was conducted. With a combined sample size of 573, results showed a heterogeneous attendee population beyond demographics. Clusters were not statistically different across sexual orientation and gender identity, demonstrating that these may not be appropriate segmentation criteria for LGBT2Q+ people and festivals. A discussion of future research needs and the implications of this research for industry, the LGBT2Q+ community, and academic researchers conclude the study.

K-bMOM: A robust Lloyd-type clustering algorithm based on bootstrap median-of-means

Article

Oct 2021
COMPUT STAT DATA AN

The median-of-means is an estimator of the mean of a random variable that has emerged as an efficient and flexible tool to design robust learning algorithms with optimal theoretical guarantees. However, its use for the clustering task suggests dividing the dataset into blocks, which may provoke the disappearance of some clusters in some blocks and lead to bad performances. To overcome this difficulty, a procedure termed “bootstrap median-of-means” is proposed, where the blocks are generated with a replacement in the dataset. Considering the estimation of the mean of a random variable, the bootstrap median-of-means has a better breakdown point than the median-of-means if enough blocks are generated. A clustering algorithm called K-bMOM is designed, by performing Lloyd-type iterations together with the use of the bootstrap median-of-means strategy. Good performances are obtained on simulated and real-world datasets for color quantization and an emphasis is put on the benefits of our robust intialization procedure. On the theoretical side, K-bMOM is also proven to have a non-trivial probabilistic breakdown point in well-clusterizable situations.

The impact of political decisions on the tourist accommodation occupancy -Central Europe in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2021

Bartosz Korinth

Tourism is one of the most dynamically developing branches of many national economies, remaining to this day one of the most important industries in the world. However , the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, or to be more precise, radical measures introduced by most governments to prevent its spread, have led to its collapse. The aim of the article is to look at the changes in the occupancy of tourist accommodation facilities (which resulted from political decisions) and to indicate which of these decision s seem most justifiable and relevant. When it comes to the research area, Central Europe was chosen as it is a region which, in the last few years, has recorded annual increases in international tourist traffic. Based on the results of the study conducted , we may state that all Central European countries have recorded a decrease in the occupancy of tourist accommodation facilities in the period from March to June 2020 (a decrease of app. 85% in comparison to the same period last year). Among the least affected by the crisis are Austria, Switzerland, and Slovenia. The situation in the so-called Alpine countries is due to the fact that their governments decided to unfreeze the economy quite early.

Rozwój i funkcjonowanie stacji narciarskich w polskich Karpatach / Development and functioning of ski stations in the Polish Carpathians

Book

Full-text available

Jun 2014

Kinga Jadwiga Krzesiwo

Nowadays, ski tourism is an important factor of socio-economic development of many mountain locations and regions, including the Polish Carpathians. Mass character and the size of the related financial turnover of ski tourism causes the localities to perceive in it the source of local enterprise development and employment growth in local communities. Dynamic development of ski resorts sometimes leads to conflicts in the natural and social dimension. The past two decades have brought quantitative and qualitative changes in the course of tourism phenomenon and in the development of tourism localities in Poland. Deep structural transformations also refer to the activities of ski resorts. The Carpathian Mountains belong to the most important and the most intensively developed tourist regions for downhill skiing in Poland. Therefore, they are an “attractive” study area on current problems of the development of locations equipped with ski infrastructure, especially those that specialize in providing services for skiers. The main aim of the study is to present the development of ski infrastructure in the Polish Carpathians, to present its contemporary state and to recognize conditions, directions and barriers to the development of ski resorts in the area. The spatial extent of the research involves all, that is 118, locations equipped with the infrastructure for downhill skiing in the Polish Carpathians in 2012. Detailed studies were carried out in the largest 16 ski stations1, in which the total transport capacity of ski lifts and cableways is greater than, or equals, 5000 persons per hour. There are such ski stations as: Brenna, Szczyrk, Ustroń and Wisła in the Silesian Beskids, Zwardoń, Korbielów and Zawoja in the Żywiec Beskids, Krynica and Wierchomla in the Sądecki Beskids, Ustrzyki Dolne in the Bieszczady Mountains and Białka Tatrzańska, Bukowina Tatrzańska, Czarna Góra, Małe Ciche, Zakopane and Witów in the Tatras and the Podhale region (Fig.1). The research process consisted of three stages. The first stage of the study included: - gathering and analysis of the research literature, - cartographic and statistical stocktaking of ski infrastructure, - reconnaissance field studies, - preparation of interview questionnaires. The complexity of research issues required conducting detailed field studies in the second stage, such as: - stocktaking of ski and accompanying infrastructure, - survey interviews with skiers and snowboarders on the perception of Polish ski resorts in the aspect of their tourist competitiveness (the survey interviews were conducted with 1978 people in the winter seasons: 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, in the ski resorts operating in the 16 locations adopted to the study), - survey interviews with owners of ski resorts on problems of the development and functioning of their resorts (they were conducted with 35 representatives of ski industry from January 2010 to March 2012 in the 15 locations adopted to the study and in Istebna, Jurgów, Lubomierz, Kluszkowce, Koninki, Rzyki and Tylicz). The third stage of the work was to create a database and cameral study of source materials. For the purpose of statistical processing of the data, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient were employed. Traditions of skiing in Poland date back to the late nineteenth century and are associated with the popularization of ski-hiking in the mountains, on marked routes between mountain shelters. In the 1960’s, there was a decline in popularity of ski-hiking in the mountains, in favour of downhill skiing. The highest number of ski lifts were constructed between 1970 and 1989. In 1989, the best developed base for downhill skiing characterized the Silesian Beskids and the Żywiec Beskids, as well as the Podhale region (Table 13, Fig. 13). After 1989, the qualitative development of ski infrastructure was faster than its quantitative development. In periods of 1989-1999 and 1999-2012 the number of ski lift devices rose by 49.1% and 25.6% (Fig. 15), and their total transport capacity rose by 61.6% and 66.7% (Fig. 16). An inventory from the beginning of 2012 shows that the infrastructure for downhill skiing in the Polish Carpathians includes 511 ski lift devices with a total transport capacity of over 347 000 persons per hour and 565 ski runs with a total length of over 320 km (Table 17). Best-developed tourist regions of the Polish Carpathians in terms of ski infrastructure are the Tatras and the Podhale region, as well as the Silesian Beskids (Fig. 17). At the beginning of 2013, there were 40 routes for cross-country skiing with a total length of about 150 km in 19 Polish Carpathian locations (Table 19). These routes function only with the proper thickness of the natural snow cover. There were 25 working ski jumps in 9 locations of the study area. The highest number of this type of objects were located in Wisła (6), Zakopane (5) and Szczyrk (3) (Table 20). The Principal Component Analysis was used to identify the main factors which determine the activity of ski tourism. The calculation takes into account the following characteristics of the respondents: age, education, territorial origin, the average monthly income per family member, travel time from home to the ski station, frequency of visits to the ski station, length of stay in the ski station, skill level of skiing/snowboarding, the number of Polish locations and the number of countries to which one went skiing/snowboarding. Three factors were identified. They explain 53.3% of the total variation (Table 35). The first factor, explaining 22.2% of the total variation (Table 35, Fig. 27), indicates that the basic determinant of the development of ski tourism in the study area is the high activity of good skiers/snowboarders who live relatively close to the ski areas. This factor emphasizes the importance of urban centers lying in the foreland of the Carpathians as the “driving force” of the development of ski tourism. The second factor explains 19.1% of total variation (Table 35, Fig. 27). The relationships between the variables in this factor indicate a relationship between skiing and longer recreational stays. This relationship is important for a group of people achieving above- -average income. The third factor, explaining 12.0% of the total variation (Table 35, Fig. 27), indicates the importance of ski activity for young people with relatively high skiing/snowboarding skills. The basic characteristics that differentiate the tourist demand in the studied ski stations are: skill level of skiing or snowboarding, frequency of visits to the ski station, travel time from home to the ski station and length of stay in the ski station. To separate the locations similar in terms of these characteristics, the autor carried out their classification according to specific criteria. Then, using differentiated classes of ski stations, an indicator determining the relationships between the total transport capacity of ski lifts and cableways in the ski stations and the number of beds, and an indicator showing the place of tourism in the functional structure of the locations, the autor separated eight groups of ski stations (Table 40). They differ in: the level of equipment in ski infrastructure, the level of development of accommodation facilities, temporal specificity of ski traffic and functional relationships between the ski stations and the villages and towns located in their neighborhood. The leading places among them are occupied by the locations from the first three groups, i.e. Zakopane, Krynica, Szczyrk and Wisła, which are large multifunctional tourism resorts where ski tourism is essential for their development, as well as Białka Tatrzańska and Bukowina Tatrzańska, which are resorts specialized in ski tourism, whose role is dominant in the structure of their tourism function. In Zakopane, Krynica, Białka Tatrzańska and Bukowina Tatrzańska long-term stays are prevalent, while in the latter two there are shortages of beds in winter seasons, whereas the functional specificity of Szczyrk and Wisła emphasizes a significant share of one-day stays. The main motives of choice of the studied ski stations by respondents were: short travel time from home to the ski station (17.9%), opinion and recommendation of friends (12.1%) and quality of ski runs (11.9%). The factor of social nature, reflected in the habit of arrivals and affection and feeling sympathy for the resort or the locality, also had a significant influence on choice (Table 41 in annex 1, Fig. 30). The most frequently mentioned positive and negative features of ski resorts in the Polish Carpathians are associated with: the preparation of ski runs (8.7% and 12.6%), quality of ski lifts and cableways (9.8% and 11.4%), as well as prices of ski passes and other services for skiers and snowboarders (5.4% and 14.9%). Furthermore, respondents often mentioned such advantages as: a diversity of ski runs in term of degree of difficulty (6.8%), developed catering services (5.7%) and good snow conditions on ski runs (5.4%) (Table 45), and such disadvantages as: long waiting time in queues for the lifts (10.5%) and crowds on the ski runs (8.5%) (Table 45). The structural transformation of ski resorts that has lasted since the early 1990’s includes mainly: modernization and establishment of new high quality devices for skiers’ up slope transportation, developing skiing infrastructure in localities with no previous skiing traditions, creating new ski resorts on the basis of partnership initiatives by local communities, widespread use of equipment for snowmaking, extending the offer of ski resorts by SPA services, extending their offer for tourism in summer season and development of organizations for ski tourism. The development of the infrastructure for downhill skiing and the functioning of ski resorts in the Polish Carpathians face a number of barriers. They have a common character in most ski resorts in Poland. Their intensity in various tourist destinations depends on the specificity of local conditions and the role of tourism in the functional structure of these localities. The main barriers are as follows (Table 48): legal restrictions of investments related to environmental policy, lack of legal regulations regarding relations between landowners and owners of ski infrastructure, limited water resources that could be used for snowmaking and low internal accessibility of ski resorts. The importance of ski tourism in the structure of the Polish Carpathians tourist function will rise continuously. The economic strength of its effect on other sections of the tourism sector, especially on the accommodation services, the catering services and the accompanying services, will also increase. Functional efficiency, management and active marketing activities are the factors on which the ability of Polish ski resorts in the Carpathians to cope with the competition of ski resorts in Slovakia will depend. In this context, reduction of the negative impact of legal and organizational barriers the operators of ski infrastructure are faced with particularly important.

The development of ski tourism in the light of idea of sustainable development - state of research / Rozwój turystyki narciarskiej w świetle idei zrównoważonego rozwoju - stan badań

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2015

Kinga Jadwiga Krzesiwo

The development and functioning of ski resorts brings many economic an social benefits for the mountain regions. However, this results in many cases, with the significant cost in environment. Reducing disadvantageous changes due to the development for the mass skiing movement in the late 80 th and 90 th twentieth century resulted in the need to revise the current model of ski tourism development. The aim of this study is to present-on the basis of the current state of research-contemporary problems of ski tourism development in the world in the context of achieving economic and social benefits, while preserving the value of natural environment of mountain areas, according to the principles of sustainable development. Despite of the negative environmental impacts, resulting from the development and functioning of ski resorts and unfavorable predictions of climate and demographic changes, ski tourism should continue to develop in the traditional ski regions. For many communities , this activity is the most important sector of the local economy, supporting other forms of development, as well as inhibit the phenomenon of emigration in search of work. Activities which seek to " balance " the development of ski tourism have environmental, economic and social dimensions. Environmental aspects relate to eliminate negative environmental impact of ski infrastructure and ski tourism movement includes: modernization of ski lifts, cableways and snowmaking system, appropriate waste management, improvement of air quality, continues monitoring of natural environment quality, the planned development of ski resorts, participation in voluntary environmental programs and initiatives aimed to raising the ecological awareness of employees, visitors and local communities. Economic aspects refer to maintain the profitability of ski resorts according to climate change and enhance their financial performance though the development of new tourism products. In order to achieve a competitive advantage, in many ski resorts are conducted market research and marketing actions in order to create a good image of the company, locality and region, and to search for niches of the market. However, very important issue is to implement social activities by the ski resorts consisting primarily on employing local communities, meeting the expectations of tourists referred to their satisfaction with the stay, educating tourists of the safety on ski slopes and adapting some of ski resorts to disabled ski tourists. The concept of sustainable development of ski resorts can be applied in the developed mountain tourist regions, where the economy is dominated by mass ski tourism or in areas, where this form of tourism is still developing. The preservation of development of specialized and addicted to this form of tourism regions requires to conduct active marketing actions, continues monitoring and preventive procedure in the event of a deterioration in economic conditions or reduction in the quality of tourist values. Sustainable tourism development assumes conscious adaptation and adjustment to its objectives both by tourists, leisure organizers, local authorities and representatives of host communities, but this goal in practice may be difficult to achieve.

EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA, LAZER & SAÚDE. Desafios Interdisciplinares na Promoção da Atividade Física. Volume II. (E book XIII SIEFLAS - volume 2)

Book

Full-text available

Jul 2019

O presente livro integra textos de comunicações apresentadas no XIII Seminário Internacional de Educação Física, Saúde e Lazer (SIEFLAS), que teve lugar no Instituto Politécnico da Guarda (IPG), de 10 a 12 de julho de 2017. O SIEFLAS, nascido na Universidade do Minho, foi ganhando notoriedade, graças à importância da temática adotada. Em 2017, a Unidade Técnico Científica de Desporto e Expressões do IPG quis associar-se à iniciativa, organizando o seminário que culminará com a edição deste livro. O tema central do evento, “Desafios Interdisciplinares na Promoção da Atividade Física”, pretendeu valorizar as diferentes linhas de análise que, neste campo, surgiram nos últimos anos. A Direção Geral da Saúde, ao considerar o Plano Nacional da Atividade Física como um dos onze programas prioritários da sua ação, veio reforçar a pertinência da concretização de políticas intersetoriais que reduzam o sedentarismo e potenciem o aumento da Atividade Física. Desde a sua primeira edição o SIEFLAS tem dedicado especial atenção à importância crescente das práticas lúdicas na infância, em especial as que se caraterizam por uma solicitação motora variada e adequada às necessidades de desenvolvimento da criança. Dados os obstáculos que a sociedade e as instituições colocam, na atualidade, aos jogos e divertimentos realizados pelas crianças de um modo espontâneo ou não supervisionado pelo adulto, não é demais insistir nas necessidades de movimento e jogo na rua, nos espaços naturais e nos logradouros das escolas. Catorze artigos resultantes de comunicações apresentadas no Seminário deram origem a uma edição especial da Revista Egitânia Sciencia, em 2018. Outros, ainda em maior número, foram selecionados e reunidos no presente e-book, estruturados em dois volumes, em torno das temáticas consideradas no programa do seminário, a saber: Volume I Atividade Física, Aptidão Física e Saúde Os desafios na Educação e na Promoção da Saúde Volume II Educação Física, Desporto e Formação Jogo e Desenvolvimento Motor Ciências Sociais Aplicadas ao Desporto Desporto, Lazer e Turismo de Ar Livre Espera-se que a presente edição constitua uma oportunidade para a divulgação e o aprofundamento de linhas de investigação nas áreas da atividade física, saúde e lazer.

Alternative outdoor activities in alpine winter tourism.

Chapter

Oct 2019

This book on winter tourism consists of three parts. Part I is addressed to current challenges in winter tourism including regional planning, socio-cultural conditions, climate change and economic challenges. Part II gives an overview of behavioural research in winter tourism. The authors present case studies and methodological concepts for both understanding the preferences and behavioural intentions of current guests as well as the needs and requirements of potential guests in the future. Of high relevance in this context are also the trade-offs between the different attributes of ski resorts and destinations. Part III discusses opportunities for future winter tourism development considering and implementing sustainable development goals. The presented solutions include national concepts as well as solutions for single aspects such as social conflicts, safety or landscape beauty. The book has 36 chapters and a subject index.

Complexity and Simplification in Understanding Travel Preferences Among Tourists

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2019

Travel preferences are complex phenomena, and thus cumbersome to deal with in full width in diagnostic and strategic planning processes. The aim of the present investigation was to explore to what extent individual preferences can be simplified into structures, and if tourists can be grouped into preference clusters that are viable and practically applicable for tourism planning. Building on prior studies that have validated survey instruments designed to measure different tourist role orientations, we used a factor analytical approach to develop a simplified structure of individual preferences, and a standard clustering technique for grouping tourists into preference clusters. Further analyses indicated that preference clusters based on reduced factor preference-data are to some extent related to context-specific valuations, perceptions, and revisit intentions; however, the magnitude of differences between groups was rather small. Overall findings provide reason to suggest that the identified preference clusters are insufficient when it comes to explaining variability in which aspects tourists emphasize as part of their vacation. Possible managerial implications and methodological limitations of the present investigation are noted.

Investigation of the Relationship Between Dispositional Flow State, Sensation Seeking and Ski Resort Preference of Skiing and Snowboarding Participants

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2019

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between was to examine dispositional flow state, sensation seeking and ski resort preference of skiing and snowboarding participants. The sample of this study constituted 510 (126 female x̄ = 23.94 ± 5.79 years; 384 male x̄ = 27.33 ± 7.87 years) skiers and snowboarders from varied ski resort between the years 2018–2019. A demographic questionnaire, The Contextual Sensation Seeking Questionnaire for Skiing and Snowboarding (CSSQ-S) Ski Resort Preference Scale (SRPS) and Dispositional Flow Scale-2—Short Form (DFS2-SF) were used to collect data. Before the statistical analysis, coefficient of kurtosis, coefficient of skewness and test of normality (Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test) of the data were examined and the deviation from the normal distribution was determined meaningless (p > .05). Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the relationship between variables. The mediator effect of sensation seeking in the relationship between ski resort preference and flow of participants were examined with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The correlation value between the variables was determined between 0.196–0.549. (P < 0.01). There is causal relationship between; SRPS and DFS2-SF (β = .187, p < .01), SRPS and CSSQ-S (β = .932, p < .01), CSSQ-S and DFS2-SF (β = .581, p < .01) respectively. It was found that when SRPS variable was included in the model as a mediating variable, causal relationship between SRPS and DFS2-SF was eliminated (β = 7.067, p > .05) and causal relationship between CSSQ-S and DFS2-SF was significantly increased (β = .722, p < .01). When the fit indexes of the models were examined, all values in all four models indicated acceptable/perfect fit. The results show that ski resort preference has a significant causal relationship on flow state and sensation seeking in skier and snowboarders. However, when sensation seeking is included in the model as a mediating factor, effect of the ski resort preference on the flow state disappears, while the effect level of sensation seeking increases.

Asian tourism in Europe: consumption, distinction, mobility, and diversity

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2019

While research on Asian tourism has increased in recent years, studies on Asian travellers’ consumption patterns in Europe are still rather rare. Taking a sociological perspective, this research examines Asian tourists’ consumption in Vienna in relation to their sense of distinction and mobility. Combining results of a quantitative survey of 560 tourists from China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand with semi-structured interviews of tour guides and representatives of a destination marketing agency, the authors tested a hypothetical model of factors driving Asian tourists’ status consumption. While Japanese and South Korean tourists tended toward lifestyle consumption, Chinese and Thai visitors were more likely to engage in material consumption to gain social status. The authors explain the variation of status consumption across Asian tourist groups in terms of the mobility and socio-cultural characteristics of the middle class from the four countries.

The role of family firm image perception in host- guest value co-creation of hospitality firms

Article

Full-text available

May 2019

Customers value the services and products of family firms. Especially the rural hospitality industry is dominated by family firms and shaped by high-contact services, where hosts and guests co-create value. Hypothesizing that behavioural and relational qualities of family firms are a central source for value co-creation and that a perceived family firm image (FFI) affects guests in co-creating value, this study investigates the effect of three relevant principles (trust, relationship commitment, social interaction ties) on value co-creation under the influence of FFI perception. The model is tested on a sample of 331 guests of Austrian rural hospitality firms. Findings show that relationship commitment and social interaction ties influence value co-creation, and a perceived FFI in particular strengthens the effect of social interaction ties on value co-creation. Implications suggest installing facilitators of value co-creation, enhancing the FFI via social capital and further investigating the customer perception of family firms in the rural hospitality industry and beyond.

Chinese Tourists Visiting Volatile Destinations: Integrating Cultural Values into Motivation-based Segmentation

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2019

This study applied an improved segmentation approach by integrating Chinese cultural values into a motivation-based method to segment Chinese tourists visiting Israel as a highly volatile destination. Four market segments-mass tourists, adventure-driven mass tourists , enthusiastic tourists, and sightseeing and horizon-enhancing tourists-were distinguished by demographic characteristics. The results show that the three Chinese cultural value dimensions-traditional personal values, life enrichment and quality, and modern personal values-provide insights to better understand these market segments. Mass tourists and adventure-driven mass tourists each had relatively high traditional personal values and life enrichment and quality values but a moderate level of modern personal values. Enthusiastic tourists ranked high on all three value dimensions, whereas sightseeing and horizon-enhancing tourists ranked traditional personal values and life enrichment and quality much higher than modern personal values. This study advances an understanding of Chinese tourists as an emerging market in highly volatile destinations. Industry implications are also discussed. 访问高风险旅游目的地的中国游客：一项嵌入文化价值的旅游动机市场细分研究摘要此研究采用了一种改进的旅游市场细分方法，将中国文化价值观融入于基于游客动机的市场分割方法中，对访问高度不稳定的旅游目的地以色列的中国游客进行了市场细分。本研究鉴定出四个细分市场：大众游客，追求冒险的大众游客，激情游客，以及观光和视野开阔型游客。研究结果表明，三个中国文化价值维度-传统个人价值观丰富生活及人生质量价值观，以及现代个人价值观，进一步丰富对这些细分市场的理解。大众游客和追求冒险的大众游客各自拥有相对较高的传统个人价值观和丰富生活及人生质量价值，但具有适度的现代个人价值观。激情游客在所有三个价值维度上都有较高得分，而观光和视野开阔型游客对传统的个人价值观和丰富生活及人生质量价值观的追求远高于现代个人价值观。本研究的结果加强了对中国游客赴局势高度动荡的旅游目的地的行为理解。文章也讨论了研究结果的行业意义。 ARTICLE HISTORY

Australian migrants’ social cultural adaptation and consumption behaviour towards food and alcohol

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2018
Int J Consum Stud

Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world due to successive waves of migration from Europe and recently Asia. Nonetheless, new migrants coming to Australia are not always able to adapt to Australian culture due to language and cultural barriers. Hence, the purpose of this study is to segment migrants based on their cultural adaptation and subsequently to examine similarities and differences between those segments in regards to their health‐related behaviour (i.e., alcohol and food consumption). A cross‐sectional study of migrants in Australia (N = 408) suggests that migrants from Asia have the greatest difficulty in adapting to the local culture due to language barriers. This study will assist public policy makers and social marketers in creating effective campaigns and interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and obesity among migrants.

Tourism demand in Spain: Trip duration and budget structure – a comparison of low cost and legacy airlines users

Thesis

May 2014

Berta Ferrer-Rosell

This thesis analyses the two main variables of tourism demand that both economists and tourist policy makers use: length of stay and trip budget. These two variables have been extensively studied for some time now with either micro, macro, cross sectional or longitudinal data. This dissertation carries out a micro cross-sectional analysis of length of stay and tourist expenditure composition among air travellers and aims to observe differences between types of air travellers. In other words, to compare how low cost airline (LCA) and legacy airline users behave in terms of trip duration and distribution of their trip budget, as well as to segment LCA users according to trip budget composition. We do so by using data analysis techniques which we would argue are more adequate than those previously used. This thesis makes contributions to both the variables, some of which are included for the first time as explanatory in the models, and the statistical methods used. According to WTO rankings, Spain is the fourth most visited tourist destination in the world, and the majority of visitors arrive by air; with LCAs having recently increased their popularity. Thus, in this thesis we analyse the inbound tourism demand of those arriving in Spain by air. To do that, we use data from a 2010 official statistics survey of air travellers to Spain called EGATUR (survey of tourist expenditure) provided by the Instituto de Estudios Turísticos (IET – Spanish Institute for Tourism Studies). While the explanatory variables used in the statistical models include the usual socio-demographic and trip characteristics, this dissertation has two new features. The first is the inclusion of activities undertaken at destination. These activities are strongly related to tourist expenditure at destination, and thus have relevant policy implications for destination management. The second innovative feature we include, in order to compare LCA and legacy airline users, is the variable of how a trip is booked (package trip or self-booking) along with the type of company used (LCA and legacy airline) as moderating effects. To accommodate the observed multimodality in the variable, length of stay is studied using an ordered logit model rather than the widely used survival models. On the other hand, trip budget composition, (share of transportation expenses, and of basic and discretionary expenses at destination) is analysed with Compositional Data Analysis (hereafter CODA) methodology and then fitted to a MANOVA to study its determinants, which is in itself new to tourism budget allocation research. Finally, regarding segmentation of LCA users according to budget composition, we propose a new method by hand-picking the more suitable techniques of the CODA methodology and latent class models. This new approach seems to be methodologically sound, and not only can it be tailored to the research questions of its user and be easily used in applied research; it is also completely new to budget research in any field. The small differences between users of both types of airline are a very relevant and recurrent finding in this thesis. Notwithstanding, package tourists differ considerably from independent travellers for both airline types. Assuming that destination management offices (DMOs) are interested in lengthening the stay of tourists and in increasing their expenditure at destination, they should be just as interested in attracting LCA flights as they are in attracting legacy airline flights. The results of this thesis show that, Spanish DMOs should focus their marketing efforts on those tourists who travel with LCAs and undertake activities (in particular nautical sports, golf, hiking, visiting a spa, cultural visits, nightlife or visiting friends and relatives). In addition, DMOs should concentrate on those inbound tourists from European countries other than the UK and Ireland, let us say Scandinavians, Germans (especially those using LCAs), Italians and visitors from the Benelux countries (above all those flying with legacy airlines). DMOs should also direct their attention to tourists coming for urban-cultural tourism purposes and especially if travelling with LCAs. By virtue of LCA market segmentation according to trip budget composition, DMOs can benefit from six segments identified as spending differently at destination (more on basic expenditure such as accommodation and food or more on discretionary expenditure such as activities and shopping). This dissertation makes several key, and above all original, contributions. The first is comparing air travellers by introducing airline type and booking method as moderators in the statistical models. The second contribution is including tourist activities in the models. The third involves the first segmentation by travel budget share, while the fourth refers to the first segmentation of LCA user budgets. Finally, the fifth contribution is the innovative methodology. We challenge some of the methods previously used to analyse length of stay and trip budget, as well as propose a new method to segment tourists based on their expenditure composition. Key words: low cost tourism, low cost airlines, ordered logit model, length of stay, Compositional Data Analysis Methodology (CODA), market segmentation, tourist expenditure, latent class models.

Special Interest Tourism, 3rd Edition

Book

May 2018

Bongkosh Ngamsom Rittichainuwat

The objective of this book is to provide readers with a research-based textbook on special interest tourism. The book covers the definitions, the principles, and the management of special interest groups, and provides theoretical and managerial contributions to enhance the understanding of soft and emerging issues in special interest tourism. This book focuses on the different types of soft special interest tourism, such as film tourism, food tourism, medical tourism, and shopping tourism; as well as on the emerging issues within dark tourism, ghost tourism, and suicide tourism. This book integrates the empirical research conducted by the author to explain travel motivation within the context of emerging markets in special interest tourism. The author has spent 15 years collecting primary and secondary data regarding these forms of special interest tourism, and has used surveys with multivariate data analysis, and in-depth interviews, participant observations, and content analysis to study the data. Therefore, readers who are interested in special interest tourism should benefit from the empirical data contained in this book.

Me, My Girls, and the Ideal Hotel: Segmenting Motivations of the Girlfriend Getaway Market Using Fuzzy C-Medoids for Fuzzy Data

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2018
J Trav Res

Segmenting the motivation of travelers using the push and pull framework remains ubiquitous in tourism. This study segments the girlfriend getaway (GGA) market on motivation (push) and accommodation (pull) attributes and identifies relationships between these factors. Using a relatively novel clustering algorithm, the Fuzzy C-Medoids clustering for fuzzy data (FCM-FD), on a sample of 749 women travelers, three segments (Socializers, Enjoyers, and Rejoicers) are uncovered. The results of a multinomial fractional model show relationships between the clusters of motivation and accommodation attributes as well as sociodemographic characteristics. The research highlights the importance of using a gendered perspective in applying well established motivation models such as the push and pull framework. The findings have implications for both destination and accommodation management.

Measuring the components of visitor experience on a mountain attraction: the case of the Nordkette, Tyrol, Austria

Article

Oct 2017
Tourism Rev

Purpose Previous mountain tourism research addressed economic, environmental, social and political impacts. Because limited studies evaluated visitors’ perception of their experience, this study aims to examine the tangible and intangible visitor experience in a Tyrolean alpine tourist attraction. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted Klaus and Maklan’s (2012) customer experience model, suggesting that customers base their experience perception on the quality of product experience, outcome focus, moments of truth and peace-of-mind. Their model was used to validate the impact on overall customer experience quality at the mountain attraction through conducting a structured survey with 207 face-to-face interviews on-site. Findings The results of the confirmatory factor analysis did not confirm the four-dimensional structure, probably due to the differences between mountain tourism experience and the mortgage lending experience in the original study. Instead, principal component analysis suggested a different dimensional structure of components that were arbitrarily named as functional, social, comparative and normative aspects of the visitors’ experience. Research limitations/implications The results are based on a sample in a given period of time, using convenience sampling. While the sample size satisfied the data analysis requirements, confirmatory factor analysis would benefit from a larger sample size. Practical implications Consumer experience dimensions while visiting a mountain attraction may not be concrete or objective, and consequently may yield different types of attributes that influence behavior. Social implications The social exchange theory could explain relationships between visitors and service providers and their consequences. Attraction managers should increase benefits for visitors and service providers to enhance their relationships, and thus experience. Originality/value The study explored the applicability of an existing experiential consumption model in a mountain attraction context. The findings introduce a revised model that may be applicable in other tourist attractions.

Motivation for Participating in Geocaching Activities in Portugal.

Chapter

Full-text available

Aug 2015

Sport Tourism: New Challenges in a Globalized World. Proceedings of the Sport Tourism Conference - STC’14

Book

Full-text available

Aug 2015

Ricardo Melo

Exploring visitor experience at a mountain attraction: The Nordkette mountain in Tirol, Austria

Article

Feb 2017

The study explores visitor experience while visiting a mountain attraction in the Alpine region of Tirol, Austria, through participant observations, informal conversations, and photography. A grounded theory approach was adopted to uncover the meaning of visitors’ overall experience and deduct a possible theory that may contribute to a better understanding of visitor experiences at mountain attractions. The data collected from 600 subjects at the attraction’s four stopovers concluded that the visiting experience was a process that involved a blend of events composed of material and human elements. Guest experiences were also practiced on a passive–active continuum, where some of the experiential consumption activities were focused beyond the mountain itself, primarily viewing the landscape and photography. The study affirms the importance of participant observation as a methodological tool to study visitors at a tourist attraction, discusses implications for management, and offers recommendations for enhancing the overall guest experience.

Setting Objectives and Developing Planning Concepts as Part of the Process of Design of Russian Urban Recreation Areas (The Social Aspect)

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2016

The co-authors discuss the prospects for the development of urban sports facilities that may occupy both subterranean and overground spaces. The co-authors have conducted a sociological poll in several Russian cities and towns to identify the demand for the services provided by urban winter leisure parks, their attendance rate, extent of their convenience as perceived by their customers, the types of rides available, and the needs for any sports accessories. The poll findings have identified the need to take account of particular features of design driven by the demand for leisure parks. The co-authors believe that innovative design projects may accommodate changing rooms, coffee rooms, sports gear rent rooms, restaurants and cafeterias in the subterranean space, due to the insufficiency of unoccupied urban areas.

Domestic nature-based tourism: a case study of norway

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2012

Domestic tourism represents an attractive market for most countries, in particular for high-cost countries such as Norway. based on this market's notable size and financial potential, tourism marketers are aiming to attract residents to experience their country's tourism offerings. by identifying the characteristics of domestic tourists such as their preference for nature-based activities, tourism mar-keters can segment these tourists and target them accordingly. The present study puts forward preferences as a theoretical construct in order to outline preferred nature-based activities in addition to demographic, geographic, and behavioral characteristics as the basis to study variety within domestic nature-based tourism. A total of 1,201 Norwegian residents who exhibit an interest in nature-based vacations in Norway participated in an online questionnaire and were segmented using two-step cluster analysis. The results revealed four valid domestic nature-based activity clusters that differ based on several profiling characteristics. based on the research findings, several theoretical contributions and recommendations for tourism marketers are provided. Future research opportunities and the limitations of the research are also outlined.

Virtual Reality Tour Segmentation via User Experiences

Chapter

Dec 2023

Ruiping Ren

Work-Family-Leisure Balance and the Psychological Health of Hotel Employees

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2023

Research into the interaction between work-family-leisure life and the downstream effects of these interactions on the psychological health of hotel employees is limited. Adapting the four-dimensional typology of work-family balance theory, this study characterised hotels' employees based on their work-family-leisure situation and examined how the distinct segments of this typology influence their psychological health and leisure engagements. A total of forty-eight (48) hotels were sampled in the capital town of Ghana-Accra in which 448 questionnaires were completed by hotel employees. A two-step cluster analysis involving the log-likelihood distance measure with the Schwarz Bayesian Criterion (BIC) and neural gas solution with bootstrap stimulation in Stata 14 was used to identify segments of hotel employees based on work-family-leisure interaction. OLS regression was estimated to establish differences in the leisure participation and, psychological health of the different segments while testing for the direct effect and moderating effect of leisure engagement on psychological health. The study found that balanced, semi-active, and incompatible types of employees were present in the dataset. We further observed that the various work-family-leisure groupings significantly affected psychological health and leisure engagements differently. The managerial and academic implications of the findings are discussed.

Sustainability in Tourism Marketing (Sustainable Tourism Marketing)

Chapter

Nov 2023

Nil Sonuc

Perfiles turísticos en una muestra de sujetos españoles: un modelo de segmentación empírica en función de los patrones de viaje y las características del viajero

Article

Sep 2023

El objetivo del presente artículo es la identificación de perfiles relativos a la práctica turística a partir de los datos obtenidos en una muestra de 2.000 turistas españoles que contrataron sus viajes a través de una importante agencia de viajes de ámbito nacional. El cuestionario aplicado permitió la recogida de información relativa a las características sociodemográficas del viajero y sus patrones de viaje (viaje medioambiental, espiritual, de negocios, de placer o vacaciones, de alto contacto con la población visitada, turismo cultural, rural, de sol y playa, de masas y turismo activo), que ha sido analizada mediante análisis de correspondencia, dando lugar a ocho perfiles turísticos: profesional, no-rural, vacacional, vacacional sol y playa (sujetos en activo), vacacional-rural, rural sol y playa, vacacional-sol y playa (sujetos inactivos) y activo-rural.

The Moderating Effect of the Ski Resort Environment on the Skier's Travel Radius under the Restriction of Skill Consumption

Article

Jun 2022

Starting from the skill characteristics of ski tourism, this paper discusses the impact of consumer skill on travel decisions, and the moderating effect of the ski resort's comprehensive leisure environment (including the ski resort sports environment and the regional cultural tourism environment), in order to both understand their impacts on the travel distance characteristics of skiers and attempt to provide necessary research support for the development of China's ski industry and the construction of destinations. Based on the data from multi-period visitor surveys, this paper constructs the consumption skill-travel radius decision-making influence model under the moderating effect of the ski resort comprehensive leisure environment. The results show three main characteristics. (1) The travel radius obviously differs among skiers with different skill levels. The skill level of skiers has a significant positive effect on the larger travel radius, and a significant negative effect on the smaller travel radius. That is, skiers with a higher skill level are more inclined to undertake long-distance skiing travel, while skiers with a lower skill level are more inclined to undertake short-distance skiing travel. (2) The comprehensive leisure environment has a significant moderating effect on the skiers' travel radius, with a significant positive impact on enlarging the travel radius, while the influences on high-skill and low-skill skiers are significantly higher than on middle-skill skiers. (3) In the comprehensive leisure environment, there are differences in the moderating effect of the ski resort sports environment and the regional cultural tourism environment on the skiers travel radius, and the positive moderating effect of the ski resort sports environment on the high-skill skiers' travel radius is more obvious. While the regional cultural tourism environment has a more obvious positive moderating effect on the travel radius of non-skiers and junior skiers, it is more conducive to promoting domestic travel. In general, the skier skill level in China was generally lower, and the ski resort comprehensive leisure environment optimization is conducive to overcoming the limitation of the travel radius caused by the disadvantageous skill level of consumers. However, to promote the development of China's ski industry in the long run, it is necessary to focus on improving the consumer's ski skill level, but prevent the risk of losing high-skill consumers overseas. In the course of improving the level of domestic ski sports facilities, we should also focus on the domestic leisure cultural tourism environment to better enhance the attractiveness of domestic ski destinations.

Tourism Marketing

Chapter

Jan 2014

Tourism is an important service sector in many countries across the world as this particular sector generates significant amounts of revenue that adds up to the country’s national economy. Given the significance of this sector, it is important to consider how this sector can be promoted to the end users and what type of marketing strategies should be formulated in order to achieve maximum market share. Therefore, this chapter highlights the ever-changing needs and wants of customers in terms of their destination choices. Moreover, this chapter provides information related to the important factors that will influence customers’ choices of destinations and elicit the relevance of the various marketing strategies that are evident as part of accessing and promoting online modes. These differential marketing strategies are important to consider as they cater to the needs of varied customer segments. Challenges associated with tourism marketing are discussed, and furthermore, relevant tourism-based examples are included that reflect the changes in the tourism marketing space.

Sustainability in Tourism Marketing (Sustainable Tourism Marketing)

Chapter

May 2020

Nil Sonuc

A Family of Unsupervised Sampling Algorithms

Chapter

Jan 2020

Three algorithms for unsupervised sampling are introduced. They are easy to tune, scalable, and yield a small size sample. They are based on the same concepts: they combine density and distance, they use the farthest-first traversal that allows for runtime optimization, they yield a coreset, and they are driven by a single user parameter. DIDES gives priority to distance while density is also managed. In DENDIS, density is of first concern while space coverage is ensured. The two of them are tuned by a meaningful parameter called granularity. The lower its value the higher the sample size. The third algorithm in the family, ProTraS, aims to explicitly design a coreset. The sampling cost is the unique parameter and stopping criterion. In this chapter their common properties and differences are studied.

Seasonal Concentration Decomposition of Cruise Tourism Demand in Southern Europe

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2019
J Trav Res

This article analyzes cruise tourism seasonality in Southern Europe, assessing the seasonal concentration levels by means of the Gini index. The additive decomposition of this index is used to evaluate the contribution of each port to the global seasonal concentration in the regions where they are located. It also allows the estimation of marginal relative effects to identify the most propitious ports for reducing seasonality within the Mediterranean regions. The analysis is complemented by estimating the seasonal patterns of each port. Given the significant heterogeneity revealed in the regions analyzed, a bootstrapped bagged clustering is applied to classify the ports into homogeneous groups according to their seasonal patterns. The techniques used form a methodological framework that serves as a control and monitoring tool for measuring seasonal concentration levels in cruise tourism, allowing for policies against seasonality to be tailored for this segment.

Step 5: Extracting Segments: Understanding It, Doing It, and Making It Useful

Chapter

Full-text available

Jul 2018

This chapter focuses on the task of grouping consumers and, in so doing, revealing naturally existing or creating artificial market segments. The chapter covers algorithms falling into three categories: distance-based methods, model-based methods, and algorithms integrating variable selection with the task of extracting market segments. In addition, data structure analysis is introduced. Data structure analysis provides insight into whether the resulting market segments are naturally occurring in the market; created but stable; or created and unstable across repeated calculations. A series of questions are included in a checklist to assist with the implementation of this step.

Step 6: Profiling Segments: Understanding It, Doing It, and Making It Useful

Chapter

Full-text available

Jul 2018

Segment extraction leads to one or more segmentation solutions. They may have been pre-selected on the basis of statistical criteria. But statistical criteria are no substitute for user assessment. The profiling stage is the opportunity for all members of the segmentation team to inspect what characterises each of the resulting market segments, and to select which segment(s) to retain for the next step. Profiling is based on segmentation variables. This chapter discusses traditional and graphical statistics approaches offering insights into the essence of each segment. A checklist of tasks performed at this step is offered at the end of the chapter.

Comparing two types of nature sport (event) tourists in Germany based on travel motivation and behavior- the case of ski tourers vs. trail runners

Research Proposal

Apr 2018

Introduction Nature sport (events) and the tourism around these, if applied correctly, can contribute to the strategies of a sustainable local development of mountain destinations (Stroebel, Moesch & Buser, 2018). While the behavior of sport tourists has been investigated in various studies, little is known about their motivation to participate in specific sport activities on a trip. To better understand decision making processes of tourism in general and sport tourism specifically, understanding the motivation of the tourists is one important step. Only if the decision making process is understood, can sport tourism contribute to a local development strategy (Weed 2014). Trail running as a growing trend sport (event) and ski touring as a traditional winter sport can both be considered niches to the nature sport tourism market with a need for further research. This study aims to analyze the motivation of participation and travel behavior of these two unique groups of sport tourists. Trail runners participating in the SachsenTrail 2017 will be compared to ski tourers questioned in the winter seasons 2017/2018. Based on the data, it will be investigated and discussed how these nature sports can contribute to the development of tourism destinations. Method Using a questionnaire based on the German Travel Analysis and Hodeck and Hovemann (2016), participants of the event were asked about their social-economic data, their motivation and their travel behaviour. Questions relating to the motivation where taking from the German Travel analysis FUR (2013). The number of items was reduced according to Hodeck and Hovemann (2016) in order to compare results with previous studies. As the questionnaire was used already in previous studies (ibid) there was no pre-test. Data from the trail runners (n=101) was collected by sport management graduates by paper and pencil method with the area sampling method (Berekoven, Eckert & Ellenrieder, 2001) on-site during the time of the event itself. Data from ski tourers (n=125) was collected with an online questionnaire using the platform SoSciSurvey over the time period 18.12.2017-17.03.2018. The questionnaire was distributed using the snowball-method (ibid.) and focused on active ski tourers as members of alpine and winter sport associations. (Expected) Results & Discussion While the two groups are similar regarding the average age, there are more female trail runners than among ski tourers. The groups will be compared regarding their travel motivations and behavior. We expect the motivational factors of the groups to be similar, identifying both groups as individual nature tourists for whom the competitive factor is less important than practicing the activity. We do, however, expect differences in travel behavior: In previous studies winter sport tourists travelled longer distances and spent more time and money than active sport tourists travelling in the summer season (Hodeck & Hovemann 2016). Analyzing the socio-economic characteristics of the two groups will help decide, whether trail running (events) and ski touring as sport tourism activities can be helpful in developing local strategies for destinations. The study provides further important insight to the motivational factors of sport (event) tourists which needs to be further investigated with other sample groups and destinations.

Viability of Nonresident Open Water Swimming Event Competitors as a Target Market: A Case Study

Article

Sep 2017

No research has been published on the characteristics and behavior patterns of athletes traveling to compete in open water swimming events, despite the growing popularity of such events. This article fills this gap by profiling nonresident competitors in the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, an iconic community- based event held annually on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Data were collected in an intercept survey of swimmers shortly after they finished the race. Nonresident competitors in the event were found to be a viable market segment according to established criteria for such viability. Their significant numbers and high incomes evidenced their potential profitability and their high levels of affiliation with swimming organizations suggested that personal selling to the organizations' leaders and advertising via the organizations' newsletters and websites might be effective channels through which to reach them. In addition, their high levels of education, athletic identity, experienced "flow," involvement with open water swimming, and importance ascribed to swimming "the famous Waikiki coastline" suggested that advertisements directed at them should be designed to resonate with welleducated, accomplished, and committed athletes, include reminders of the psychological and social benefits of race participation, and explicitly mention the event's unique and attractive geographic and historical setting.

Females and Tourism Activities: An Insight for All-female Tours in Hong Kong

Article

Jan 2017

Hanqun Song

Although all-female tours have become popular in Western and Asian countries, until now researchers have not paid much attention to this niche but important market. This study aims to explore female tourists’ desired activities towards an ‘all-female activity-based outbound tour’ in Hong Kong. A survey was administered to tourists who joined short- and long-haul outbound packages in Hong Kong. Female’s preferred tourism activities can be grouped into: Sightseeing; Sports; Relaxation, and Entertainment. This study found that all-female tourists are not homogenous, and the group can be segmented into three clusters: Omnivores, Univores, and Sporadic. The similarity between these three clusters was the high interests in relaxation activities. There were significant differences between the three clusters in terms of age and marital status. The findings indicate directions for tourism marketers in formulating marketing strategies towards the Hong Kong market.

Segmenting Visitors of Cultural Events by Motivation: A Sequential Non-Linear Clustering Analysis of Italian Christmas Market Visitors

Article

Jan 2011

Segmenting Texas snow Skiers

Article

Full-text available

Oct 1986
J Trav Res

This article describes the expenditures and characteristics of Texans who travel to places outside of Texas to participate in snow skiing. The Texas skier market is segmented into two groups, heavy and light spenders. These segments are dijJerentiated from one another and from other Texans in terms of socio-demographic characteristics.

Mosaic Displays for Multi-Way Contingency Tables

Article

Full-text available

Mar 1994

Michael Friendly

Mosaic displays represent the counts in a contingency table by tiles whose size is proportional to the cell count. This graphical display for categorical data generalizes readily to multi-way tables. This article discusses extensions of the mosaic display to highlight patterns of deviations from various models for categorical data. First, we introduce the use of color and shading to represent sign and magnitude of standardized residuals from a specified model. For unordered categorical variables, we show how the perception of patterns of association can be enhanced by reordering the categories. Second, we introduce sequential mosaics of marginal subtables, together with sequential models for these tables. For a class of sequential models of joint independence, the individual mosaics provide a graphic representation of a partition of the overall likelihood ratio G for complete independence in the full table into portions attributable to hypotheses about the marginal subtables.

Target Market Selection and Marketing Strategy: The Colorado Downhill Skiing Industry

Article

Full-text available

Apr 1996
J Trav Res

Richard R. Perdue

The purpose of this research is to present a method of target market selection developed for the downhill skiing industry of Colorado. A two-dimensional system for strategically classifying alternative markets on the basis of existing sales and incremental sales potential is proposed. Using a regression model of Colorado ski visitation, the 205 nonresident areas of dominant influence (ADIs) in the continental United States are classified.

A Review of Data-Driven Market Segmentation in Tourism

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2002

Sara Dolnicar

Clustering has become a very popular way of identifying market segments based on survey data. The number of published segmentation studies has strongly increased since the milestone publication on benefit segmentation by Haley in 1968. Nevertheless, numerous very fundamental weaknesses are permanently encountered when studying segmentation studies in detail, thus making the results reported more than questionable. This article illustrates how data-driven segmentation studies are typically conducted in the field of tourism research, provides a systematic overview of applications published in the last decades, outlines critical issues that often lead to overestimation of the validity of results and offers solutions or recommendations that help both the researcher to keep the critical issues in mind as well as the management to evaluate the validity and usefulness of the study.

Holiday styles and tourist types: emerging new concepts and methodology.

Chapter

Aug 2000

This book focuses on the issues and trends in outdoor, nature-based recreation, leisure and tourism and explores the implications for public policy, planning, management, and marketing. 37 chapters are organized into six parts: Society, factors/forces shaping demand for and use of resources; resources, what exists and how did we reach this point; participation, how we are using resources; evaluation and valuation, determining how valuable the resources are and what is happening to them; development, how resources are organized for use; and management and operations, tools to get the job done.

Behavioural market segmentation using the bagged clustering approach based on binary guest survey data: exploring and visualizing unobserved heterogeneity.

Chapter

Jun 2001

This volume focuses on consumer decision making for evaluating choice alternatives in tourism, leisure, and hospitality operations. It deals with research and methodological problems such as coping with nonlinear utility functions, capturing highly emotional product attributes, incorporating noncompensatory decision rules, and accounting for unobserved heterogeneity in a consumer population. The 21 research reports presented in this book are organized into 5 sections that address: tourist destinations, their struggle for competitive advantage and its measurement; tourist decision processes and the choice rules consumers exhibit in evaluating tourist products; the criteria for travel market segmentation; improvements in the methods that are instrumental in detecting or building tourist segments; and the tourist's consumption experience and the recent results in service quality and satisfaction monitoring. This book is an essential reference for researchers and practitioners in the areas of marketing, tourism, hospitality, and leisure. It contains a subject index.

Activities, interests and opinions

Article

Jan 1971

Constructing life style and psychographics

Article

Jan 1974

Monographs on statistics and applied probability

Article

Jan 1993

Pattern Recognition And Neural Networks

Book

Jan 2008

B. D. Ripley

Ripley brings together two crucial ideas in pattern recognition: statistical methods and machine learning via neural networks. He brings unifying principles to the fore, and reviews the state of the subject. Ripley also includes many examples to illustrate real problems in pattern recognition and how to overcome them.

Segmentation of the Nordic Winter Sun Seekers Market

Article

Oct 1997
J Trav Tourism Market

This research, based on 617 residents of Ottawa, was carried out to segment the Canadian winter sun travellers market. Six segments were identified on the basis of sought product benefits. They were named Entertainment, Active Sun and Fun, Culture Patron, Value for the Money, Sun and Comfort and Achievers. The segments were described using demographic and psychographic data and their destination choice and media usage behavior were examined to provide insights into the managerial actions that tourism marketers may undertake to attract them to specific sun destinations.

Ensemble methods for neural clustering and classification

Article

Jan 1998

Friedrich Leisch

An Introduction to The Bootstrap

Book

Sep 1994

Marktsegmentierung in den Sozial-und Wirtschaftswissenschaften: eine Metaanalyse der Zielsetzungen u

Article

R. Baumann

Benefit Segmentation: A Decision-Oriented Research Tool

Article

Jul 1968
J MARKETING

Russell I. Haley

According to this article, most techniques of market segmentation rely only on DESCRIPTIVE factors pertaining to purchasers and are not efficient predictors of future buyer behavior. The author proposes an approach whereby market segments are delineated first on the basis of factors with a CAUSAL relationship to future purchase behavior. The belief underlying this segmentation strategy is that the benefits which people are seeking in consuming a given product are the basic reasons for the existence of true market segments.

Cluster Analysis For Applications

Article

Jan 1973

Michael R. Anderberg

Cluster analysis is a collective term covering a wide variety of techniques for delineating natural groups or clusters in data sets. This book integrates the necessary elements of data analysis, cluster analysis, and computer implementation to cover the complete sequence of steps from raw data to the finished analysis. The author develops a conceptual and philosophical basis for using cluster analysis as a tool of discovery and applies it systematically throughout the book. He provides a comprehensive discussion of variables, scales, and measures of association that establishes a sound basis for constructing an operational definition of similarity tailored to the needs of any particular operational definition of similarity tailored to the needs of any particular problem, and devotes special attention to the problems of analyzing data sets containing mixtures of nominal, ordinal, and interval variables. (Author)

An Introduction to the Boot-Strap

Chapter

Jan 1993

An Introduction To The Bootstrap

Chapter

Jan 1993

Statistics is a subject of many uses and surprisingly few effective practitioners. The traditional road to statistical knowledge is blocked, for most, by a formidable wall of mathematics. The approach in An Introduction to the Bootstrap avoids that wall. It arms scientists and engineers, as well as statisticians, with the computational techniques they need to analyze and understand complicated data sets.

Comparing Partitions

Article

Feb 1985
J CLASSIF

The problem of comparing two different partitions of a finite set of objects reappears continually in the clustering literature. We begin by reviewing a well-known measure of partition correspondence often attributed to Rand (1971), discuss the issue of correcting this index for chance, and note that a recent normalization strategy developed by Morey and Agresti (1984) and adopted by others (e.g., Miligan and Cooper 1985) is based on an incorrect assumption. Then, the general problem of comparing partitions is approached indirectly by assessing the congruence of two proximity matrices using a simple cross-product measure. They are generated from corresponding partitions using various scoring rules. Special cases derivable include traditionally familiar statistics and/or ones tailored to weight certain object pairs differentially. Finally, we propose a measure based on the comparison of object triples having the advantage of a probabilistic interpretation in addition to being corrected for chance (i.e., assuming a constant value under a reasonable null hypothesis) and bounded between ±1.

Getting More Out of Binary Data: Segmenting Markets by Bagged Clustering

Article

Sep 2000

There are numerous ways of segmenting a market based on consumer survey data. We introduce bagged clustering as a new exploratory approach in the field of market segmentation research which offers a few major advantages over both hierarchical and partitioning algorithms, especially when dealing with large binary data sets: In the hierarchical step of the procedure the researcher is enabled to inspect if cluster structure exists in the data and gain insight about the number of clusters to extract. The bagged clustering approach is not limited in terms of sample size, nor dimensionality of the data. More stable clustering results are found than with standard partitioning methods (the comparative evaluation is demonstrated for the K-means and the LVQ algorithm). Finally, segment profiles for binary data can be depicted in a more informative way by visualizing bootstrap replications with box plot diagrams. The target audience for this paper thus consists of both academics and prac...

Holiday Styles and Tourist Types: Emerging New Concepts and Methodology

Jan 2000
245-55

Dolnicar
Sara

Dolnicar, Sara, and Josef Mazanec (2000). " Holiday Styles and Tourist Types: Emerging New Concepts and Methodology. " In Trends in Out-door Recreation, Leisure and Tourism, edited by W. C. Gartner and D. W. Lime. New York: CAB International, pp. 245-55.

Artifi-cial Binary Data Scenarios Working Paper 20, SFB " Adaptive Infor-mation Systems and Modeling in Economics and Management Science

Jan 1998

Dolnicar
Friedrich Sara
Leisch

Dolnicar, Sara, Friedrich Leisch, and Andreas Weingessel (1998). " Artifi-cial Binary Data Scenarios. " Working Paper 20, SFB " Adaptive Infor-mation Systems and Modeling in Economics and Management Science, " Vienna.

Tourist Behavior and the New European Lifestyle Typology: Exploring the Managerial Relevance for Tourism Marketing In Global Tourism: The Next Decade

Jan 1993
199-216

Mazanec
Josef

Mazanec, Josef, and Andreas Zins (1993). " Tourist Behavior and the New European Lifestyle Typology: Exploring the Managerial Relevance for Tourism Marketing. " In Global Tourism: The Next Decade, edited by W. Theobald. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp. 199-216.

Marktsegmentierung in den Sozial-und Wirtschafts-wissenschaften: Eine Metaanalyse der Zielsetzungen und Zugänge Master's thesis, Vienna University of Economics and Business Ad-ministration Review of Data-Driven Market Segmentation in Tourism

Jan 2000
1-22

R Baumann

Baumann, R. (2000). " Marktsegmentierung in den Sozial-und Wirtschafts-wissenschaften: Eine Metaanalyse der Zielsetzungen und Zugänge. " Master's thesis, Vienna University of Economics and Business Ad-ministration, Vienna, Austria. Dolnicar, Sara (2002). " Review of Data-Driven Market Segmentation in Tourism. " Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 12(1): 1-22.

Marketing Management

P Kotler

Kotler, P (1988). Marketing Management. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Leisch, Friedrich (1998). " Ensemble Methods for Neural Clustering and Classification. " Doctoral thesis, Institut für Statistik, Wahrscheinlich-keitstheorie und Versicherungsmathematik, Technische Universität Wien, Austria.  (1999). " Bagged Clustering. " Working Paper 51, SFB " Adaptive In-formation Systems and Modeling in Economics and Management Sci-ence. " Retrieved from http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/am.

Tourist Behavior and the New European Lifestyle Typology: Exploring the Managerial Relevance for Tourism Marketing

Josef Mazanec
Andreas Zins

Mazanec, J.A. and A. Zins (1993), 'Tourist Behavior and the New European Lifestyle Typology: Exploring the Managerial Relevance for Tourism Marketing', in: Theobald, W. (ed.), Global Tourism: The Next Decade, pp. 199-216, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Bagged Clustering. Working Paper # 51, SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modeling in Economics and Management Science

Jan 1999

F Leisch

Leisch, F. (1999). Bagged Clustering. Working Paper # 51, SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modeling in Economics and Management Science", http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/am.

Ensemble methods for neural clustering and classification. doctoral thesis

Jan 1988

P Kotler

Kotler, P (1988). Marketing Management. Englewood Cliffs : Prentice Hall Leisch, F. (1998). Ensemble methods for neural clustering and classification. doctoral thesis, Institut für Statistik, Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie und Versicherungsmathematik, Technische Universität Wien, Austria.

Artificial Binary Data Scenarios.” Working Paper 20, SFB “Adaptive Information Systems and Modeling in Economics and Management Science

Sara Dolnicar
Friedrich Leisch
Andreas Weingessel

Dolnicar, S., Leisch, F. & Weingessel, A.(1998) Artificial Binary Data Scenarios. Working Paper # 20, SFB 'Adaptive Information Systems and Modeling in Economics and Management Science', Vienna.

Mosaic displays for multi-way contingency tables

Jan 1993
190-200

B Efron
R J Tibshirani

Efron, B. & Tibshirani, R. J. (1993) An introduction to the bootstrap. Chapman & Hall, Monographs on Statistics and Applied Probability, New York, USA. Friendly, M. (1994), 'Mosaic displays for multi-way contingency tables.', Journal of the American Statistical Association, vol. 89, pp. 190-200.

Segmentation of the Nordic Winter Sun Seekers Market

S A Ahmed
M Barber
A Astous

Life Style and Psychographics

W D Wells

Winter Tourist Segments in Austria: Identifying Stable Vacation Styles Using Bagged Clustering Techniques

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