1. Travel Research Collecting Information on Tourist Wants and Needs

2. Primary Research Types 1.Quantitative Research - surveys of preference or performance and statistics about visitor numbers 2.Qualitative Research - tourist stories and depth interviews of travel narratives

3. Data Collected on Tourist Behavior  Statistical profiles of tourist demographics and psychographics  Statistical data of holiday destinations, time of year, amount spent, number of trips  How tourists make purchasing decisions  Who makes the purchase decision  When the decision is made  Tourist satisfaction

4. Tourist Behavior Data  Consumer perceptions about products, destinations and organizations  Identifying trends in tourist behavior  Segmentation criteria  Product positioning with competition  Attitude of non-users  Cultural and national difference in behavior  Link getween behavior and purchase of other products

5. Problems collecting and interpreting research data  Difficulty in identifying and measuring domestic tourism  Tourists provide inaccurate information  What and when to ask tourists  Difficult to find representativesample

6. Future Research Needs  More sophisticated collection techniques (observation, diaries, focus groups, conversations)  Satisfaction related research to identify ‘critical incidents’  Interviews before during and after product consumption

7. Discussion Question  How would you conduct research to learn about tourists who travel to national parks as their main destination?  Why?