Diversity in the Tourism Market of the Central Region of Portugal: Identification of the segments with the highest economic value in terms of practiced Tourism Activities
Diversity in the Tourism Market of the Central Region of Portugal: Identification of the segments with the highest economic value in terms of practiced Tourism Activities
Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; n. 10 (2008); 9-24
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Resumo: The aim of this study is to identify different segments of visitors based on the tourism activities carried out by visitors and to further analyze differences existing between these groups in terms of socio-demographic profile, travel behaviour and consumption behaviour. For this purpose, a hierarchical cluster analysis was undertaken based on a sample of 2.876 questionnaires obtained in a survey undertaken in 2003 to the visitors of Central Region of Portugal. Then, the Chi-squared test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to investigate the differences amongst the segments obtained.Five distinct clusters emerged from this analysis (recreation and sport visitors, nature visitors, health visitors, business visitors and cultural visitors). The results revealed that these segments showed to be significantly different in terms of socio-demographic profile, travel behaviour and consumption behaviour. This study, providing useful information to identify the segments that are more interesting in terms of economic impact, may be helpful to the destination authority’s decisions.
