Developing and Using Psychographics in Tourism Research Chapter 18 Research Methodologies

Introduction Psychographics has an important place in travel and tourism research It can increase the effectiveness of a promotional campaign by: Targeting the appropriate audience Focusing the message on their needs Selecting the appropriate media

The Uses and Demands of Psychographic Research Destination development – clarifying the concept of new, planned resort; the markets to be served; the services and amenities to be provided; etc. Product Positioning – focusing the primary message on the needs and psychology of the target audience Destination Positioning – refocusing the positioning of an existing destination to attract new customers

The Uses and Demands of Psychographic Research Development of supporting services – determining which services are essential and which are optional for a travel related company Advertising and Promotion – focusing the message on the appropriate group of travelers Packaging – making certain that you have the right products and services, and it is packaged appropriately Master Planning – developing a mater plan that protects the beauty and attractiveness of a destination while still meeting the needs of the traveler

A Focused Review Typical Approach: Employing factor analysis to determine the primary factors Clarifying the cutting points between these factors by means if cluster analysis or discriminant function analysis Utilizing regression statistics to determine which consumer behaviors can be predicted by each psychographic personality characteristic and to what degree

How to do Psychographic Research Two basic approaches: Inductive method – derives from believing that two groups of people differ in their behavior, the researcher develops a large list of questions and administers them to each group Deductive Method – postulate a personality dimension and then write questions to test that postulate

The Source of Psychographic and Life-style dimensions A list developed by Henry Murray; and example of the dimensions: Need for achievement – the desire to get ahead Need for affiliation – the desire for friendship Need for Intraception – the desire to understand others Need for succorance – the desire to be cared for

The Common Dimensions of Psychographic/Personality Venturesomeness – the type of individual who is more seeking and exploring Pleasure –seeking – the type of person who desires luxury and comfort Impulsivity – the tendency to want to do something now Self-confidence – a willingness to different and unique things Planfulness – systematic planful characteristics, and plan their trip well in advance Masculinity action oriented who seeks the outdoors

The Common Dimensions of Psychographic/Personality Intellectualism – refers to that type of person who posesses high brow interests People orientation – a desire to get close to people through travel and to experience the many different cultures of the world

Conclusion Psychographics answers many important questions about the how, what, and why of travel, allowing the travel marketers and developers to become more focused and effective in their efforts Travel and leisure groups are attempting to become more adept at positioning their product and segmenting their markets to appeal to the right kinds of travelers