The nature of demand in different segments of the tourism market

1. The nature of demand in different segments of the tourism market Chapter 10

2. Objectives • To illustrate the diverse nature of the Tourism markets and the Tourism products & services which are varied • Within this Chapter, • The nature of demand in different market segments of the tourism market will be discussed • To study the difference in demand characteristics of each market segment

3. Different Market segments in tourism • Family market • Hedonistic tourists • The backpacker market • Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) • Excursionists or Day-Trippers • Educational tourist • Religious tourist • The ‘snowbird’ market • Ethnic minority tourists • Social tourism • The short-break market

4. The family market • The nature of the family varies dramatically from one country to another • In USA and Northern Europe, the family usually means the ‘nuclear family’ – - with two parents and not more than three children However, • In many Asian countries ,The Middle East, Southern Europe, the family usually means the ‘ extended family ‘- - with a higher number of children and might have an inclusion of other relatives in the holiday party and/or their involvement in the purchase decisions • It should be noted that in the developed economy countries, there is also the growing phenomenon of ‘ the single-parent family’ - - the family unit which consists of one parent and the children. This is due to higher rate of divorce, in some cases, another partner is passed away • Our focus will be on ‘nuclear family’

5. Nuclear family • Represents the core market for many tour operators and types of products, including camping and caravanning trips, self – catering holidays and theme parks • Because there is an existence of children  many families choose holidays that meet the needs of their children

6. Age of children … • These needs will be varied depending on the age of the children : • Babies (Less than 2 year-old child) Holidays are chosen primarily based on baby’s safety and comfort. E.g. parents could avoid countries with poor hygiene standards and choosing airlines and hotels offering special services for babies, e.g. free baby food

7. 2)Infants (2-5 y.o.) : short journey to the destination can be the priority as a child may get bored on log journey. Safety is still a concern, in this case parents will choose the place to ensure that young children who are practicing their walking will not get into danger on balconies or near swimming pools 3) Earlyschool-age children (from around 5-12 y.o.) Children at this age often want to play with children of a similar age and may be content with the simple pleasures of play areas and swimming pools 4) Teenagers (from 13-18 y.o.) At this age, they want to be more independent and enjoy more adult activities

8. When the young person wants to take a holiday separately from their parents, it could take the form of : • An educational trip organized by their school • An organized children camp • An activity based trip or a farm-based vacation • A single sex holiday with a group of friends (Note : More details will be mentioned after Mid-term)

9. Number of children in a family has an impact on demand • Families with several children may need to look for an economically priced holiday  camping , caravanning holidays, self-catering holiday • The Tourism industry works hard to attract this lucrative market by providing discounts for children and free children places • However, not enough emphasis on single parent families

10. Hedonistic tourist • A tourist whom travel because of the desire to seek for pleasure • Usually associated with younger people and brand names such as Club 18-30 in UK • It is the development of the original four‘s concept of sun, sea, sand, and sex and also the 5th, ‘sangria’ which is the consumption of alcohol • The main motivator is the desire for physical pleasure and social life, fashion • In recent years , there is a growing number of people joining distinctive night life and partying in ‘Ibiza’

11. In terms of daily life style , very different from family market • They tend to wake up late and then spend their time around swimming pool • They will usually then go out partying and not get to bed until the following morning • Often travel in a single sex group of friends • Prefer the freedom and economy offered by simple, self-catering accommodation

12. Criticisms on Hedonistic tourists • Heavy drinking can lead to fights and problematic with host community – the so-called ‘ lager lout ‘ phenomena • The risk of spreading HIV or AIDS

13. The backpacker market • Another form of tourism which appears to appeal mainly to a younger market is backpacking • Tourists use a rucksack or backpack rather than suitcase to carry all their need for their trip • Some more characteristics are : • It is an independent travel rather than packaged travel • A desire to keep expenditure to minimum • A tendency to try to get off the beaten tourist track • An extended stay more than the usual duration of one to two weeks of a normal holiday

14. Most of the backpackers are usually students, who can have long vacations • This can involves people taking a year out from their education • Before they begin their college or after completing a college • Backpacking was usually popular amongst young people from developed economies, e.g. US, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and Japan • Backpacker is an early example of truly global tourist • As their behavior tend to be the same, regardless of their nationality • E.g. same source of travel media, such as guidebooks namely ‘ lonely Planet’ and ‘ Rough guide’  staying in same types of accommodation and visit the same attractions

15. In Europe, ,a well-known phenomenon calling backpackers who travel across Europe by rail is ‘ Inter-railer’ • These tourists utilized discounted rail-fare packages offered to young people • This market is likely to grow more in the future, because of : • The rise in students number across the world

16. However, unlikely to become popular within other groups of the society, due to most working people are unlikely to get more paid holiday • In the future, it could begin to appeal more of early retired people who have the time and want to be more adventurous while travelling

17. Excursionists and day-trippers • Traveling for one day or less for leisure purpose • Generally, they are domestic tourist • Is the core market for most visitor attractions, many seaside resorts, and some rural areas • Day trippers usually do not plan for their trips but rely more on spontaneous decision (e.g. deciding in the morning where to go) • Largely a car-based market, also coach excursions • Day trippers are major consumers of food an drink services and leisure shopping facilities, but not a major market for accommodation

18. In some cases, this market can be international, e.g. a shopping trip from Switzerland to Milan (4 hours by train), Thai or Malaysian people go shopping in SG or HK

19. The ‘snowbird’ market • Climate or weather change is the main motivator • Started from Northern Europeans travelled to Southern Europe in the summer to get the suntan • People travels to warmer place to escape the cold weather at home • Some characteristics of this market: • Long duration trip , from 4 weeks up to four months • Normally are older, retired people who have the time to take such a long vacation • Motivations of these older people are : • Escape the cold weather • Reduce their expenditure on heating at home • To improve their health • Make new friends and have more socialize lifestyle than they might in their own community

20. Ethnic minority Tourists • Ethnic minority groups are some small group of different nationalities that live and based their family in one particular country • In many developed economies, just only few people from this group are regular purchasers of the majority of Tourism Industry • E.g. Asian in Western, Black American in US • Ethnic minority communities grow in various countries and become more integrated and gain greater economic power

21. The short-break market • Usually, it is a travelling from 2 – 5 days • Can be both International and domestic • A growing phenomenon in the newly developing economies in Asia • It is considered to be an additional holiday ( not a main annual holiday • Examples of the short-break market • Romantic weekends for couple • Shopping trips, e.g. Russian tourists flying to Paris to buy luxury products, Singaporean people visiting Indonesia to buy some hand made furniture • Visiting friends and relatives trip • Health spa breaks for relieving stress and improve tourist’s health

22. Unlike day trippers market, short-break tourists tend to: - Planned and booked well in advance  to rise the sense of anticipation OR - Last minute planning and booking as a reaction to stress from the working life, or celebration of some good news • In a developed world, this market is likely to grow as work pressures arising from the competitive environment