IngentaConnect Activity Segmentation of the International Heritage Tourism Marke...

Authors: Yan, Grace¹; So, Siu-Ian²; Morrison, Alastair¹; Sun, Yu-Hua³

Source: Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Volume 12, Number 4, December 2007 , pp. 333-347(15)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

The heritage tourism market has developed from being regarded as a small niche segment to a mainstream market of considerable size. In Taiwan, diversified heritage resources hold considerable appeal to the international tourism market. Little research has been completed on international heritage tourists to Taiwan, so this study utilized Taiwan as a case study and examined international tourists to the destination. It first employed cluster analysis based on activity participation to segment the market and test for the existence of "heritage tourists". Three groups of international tourists to Taiwan were identified and they were labelled as "heritage", "shopping" and "non-specialists". The heritage group had a high participation rate in visiting heritage relics (90.6%). The study also profiled tourists according to the reasons they travelled to Taiwan and socio-demographic variables. The heritage tourists and other activity participation groups were compared to reveal the major motivational and socio-demographic differences involved. The findings showed that "international heritage tourists to Taiwan" were a group of visitors with relatively younger ages, middle levels of income and higher educational levels. The study defined heritage tourists who indicated visiting heritage sites as part of their reason for visiting Taiwan as "motivated heritage visitors". Other heritage tourists who participated in heritage activities, but did not list heritage tourism as a reason for visiting Taiwan, were defined as "heritage site visitors". Finally, the study profiled the two groups of heritage tourists and compared them, with significant differences being found in ages and nationalities.

Keywords: activity segmentation; heritage tourism; tourism marketing; Taiwan

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/10941660701761001

Affiliations: 1: Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, USA 2: Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao 3: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

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Activity Segmentation of the International Heritage Tourism Market to Taiwan