Introduction
To begin with, it is necessary to mention that the issues of international tourism and market segmentation in accordance with the traits of lifestyle generally play an ambivalent in the matters of contributing to cultural exchange and the development of the marketing principles. It is stated, that on the one the market segmentation, this includes a short-term consumer familiarity of other surroundings. This statement generally means that tourists have an opportunity to pay for some goods and leave, as they are travelling. On the other hand, tourism is claimed to increase the importance of valuing the cultural diversity, and tourism promotes the development of self-identification as the cosmopolitan. These are the two principles, the market segmentation is based on, taking into consideration the constantly moving origin of tourists’ nature.
Discussion
First of all it is necessary to regard the origins of the market segmentation according to the consumers’ lifestyle. The fact is that, the way of life is the matter of psychological preferences of the people. The psychographic segmentation is the factor which divides customers in accordance with their lifestyle, activities and interests. The variables of this segmentation are the following:
- Activities
- Interests
- Opinions
- Attitudes
- Values
The main aim of this segmentation is promote the transformation of the lifestyle market into customer driven, while the origins of such market is solely producer driven. As Craft (2004) stated in his research: “In highly competitive tourism markets, well informed, responsible consumers can put increasing pressure on the industry to behave more responsibly.” From this point of view it is necessary to emphasize that great deal of official proclamations have stated the individual freedom for everyone to have rest and leisure, nevertheless, it is often unobtainable for most people, while the prices for tickets, hotels and travels in general stay too high. Thus, the market is mainly oriented at the industrialized high income layer of community. The values, attitudes and behavior of these tourists are generally defined by their social environment and the matters of cultural identity (thus, tourists from Arab countries will not visit Israel, for instance). Michman (2005) emphasized the following fact in his research: “Tourism is heterogeneous in nature, made up of many different types of traveler, seeking a wide range of tourism products. Demand is influenced by irrational factors, e.g. fashion and trends. It depends on the availability of time and money, on images, perceptions and attitudes. Tourists have various needs, desires and motivations, both of a ‘push’ and ‘pull’ nature. While household incomes in major tourist sending countries are declining, industry sales projections continue to grow, indicating increasing competition.” In the light of this fact it is necessary to mention that numerous patterns of customers’ demands in the sphere of tourism reflect the untenable lifestyles of the customers from the developed societies.
The study by Gonzalez and Bello offers the consideration that the tourist segment of the lifestyle market may be divided into several sectors. The first segment is the home-lovers. These are the tourists who direct all their efforts to travel with their families “These people have inflexible nature, they are conservative in their views on life. Although they are not materialists, they are cautious in their attitudes towards the future, as they consider it uncertain and take precautions to protect themselves.” Thus, orienting to these segment is not beneficial.
The second segment is the segment of idealists. They prefer shop tours and long journeys. The main aim is to feel the beauty and comfort of their tourism. Thus, it is necessary to mention that these tourists require only high class goods and services.
Autonomous segment is the type of tourists who prefer arrange the whole trip by themselves. These are the people who will buy maps, GPS navigators, guides and other tourism staff for independent travelling. Gonzales and Bello (2002) emphasize that their main interests are frequent cinema visits and going out to enjoy nightlife. Their favourite types of music are pop, rock, disco and ballads. They are also noticeably not attracted to cultural activities such as exhibitions or touring monuments.
The group of hedonists is interested in every new thing service or feature on a market. Consequently, they mainly form the segment of eco tourists, as they prefer some virgin places and quiet corners of the planet.
The last segment is the conservative tourists. There is no need to mention that they require high quality and low price services and goods, however, it should be emphasized that they are rather pessimistic on the future of the society and they are too critical to the issues of law and order. Thus, these tourists are rear, nevertheless they may require too much attention to their personality.
Summarizing the information on all the segments of tourists it should be stated that a good theory for tourist motivation should incorporate the matters of traveler’s needs and requirements, and should not be restricted on some particular segment, Luckily, there universal requirements do exist. Taking into consideration the creation of the average tourist, it is necessary to mention that it would mainly incorporate the features of the third and the fourth segments. Still, from the customer perspective (which should be taken into account by marketing analysis), these tourists consider that quality is always more important than price, and this is reflected in their decisions about purchases. Gonzales and Bello emphasize that: “By way of pastimes, they enjoy cultural activities, such as regular visits to exhibitions, monuments or places of outstanding natural beauty. They have a wide range of preferences in reading material: books; magazines on home, fashion, gossip and health; and newspapers, usually local or regional.” All the segments enjoy and highly estimate their privacy and safety of their personal items. Thus, the services, which are provided should not presuppose the disclosure of confidential information, and the tourist operators should care about the safety of their customers and their property.
Conclusion
Finally, it is necessary to mention that the market segmentation according to the lifestyle of the customers has several variables, which are claimed to characterize the segments of the customers. As for the matters of tourism, the researches provide their own classification of tourists, as people differ not only according to their lifestyle, but also by their behavior, thus, these factors should be taken into consideration when companies choose the behavior models for their customers.
References
- Craft, S. H. (2004). The International Consumer Market Segmentation Managerial Decision-Making Process. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 69(3), 40
- González, A. Bello, L. (2002) “The construct “lifestyle” in market segmentation: The behaviour of tourist consumers”, European Journal of Marketing, 36 (1/2), pp. 51–85.
- Michman, R. D. (2005). Lifestyle Market Segmentation. New York: Praeger Publishers.
- Swenson, C. A. (1990). Selling to a Segmented Market: The Lifestyle Approach. New York: Quorum Books.