The nature of demand in different segments of the tourism market Chapter 10 Week 3

The family market Nuclear family Represents the core market for many tour operators and types of products, including camping and caravaning trips, self – catering holidays and theme parks There is an existence of children  many families choose holidays that meet the needs of their children These needs will vary depending on the age of the children Babies : 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 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

Number of children in a family has an impact on demand 3) Early school-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 When the young person wants to take a holiday seperately 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 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 , caravaning holidays, self-catering holiday The Tourism industry works hard to attract this lucrative market by providing discounts for children and free children plces However, not enough emphasis on single parent families

Hedonistic tourist The pleasure-seeker Usually associated with younger people and brand names such as Club 18-30 in UK It is the development of the original four Ss 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’ 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

Critisms 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

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 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

An early example of truly global tourist Backpacking was ususaly popular amongst young people from developed economies, e.g. US, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and Japan 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 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 : Rise in students number across the world However, unlikely to become popular within other groups in 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

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

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

The ‘snowbird’ market Climate or weather change is the main motivator Started from Northern Europens 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

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

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, Sg 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

Unlike day trippers market, short-break tourists tend to:. - Unlike day trippers market, short-break tourists tend to: - Not only planned and booked well in advance to rise the sense of anticipation - But also 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