Market segmentation in tourism: An operational assessment framework

Abstract

Distribution channels are the paths by which tourism organizations can execute the communication and sales of their products and services. To varying degrees, all tourism product suppliers depend on these channels for the distribution of their products. Tourism destination organizations and individual businesses often find themselves making decisions concerning the development and distribution of their products, without having a full understanding of how the channel operators perceive and react to these strategic actions. If the proper distribution channels are developed, they can go a long way towards determining the patterns of destination use, penetrating target markets, and creating economic impact, as it is important to have an awareness of, and access to, effective distribution intermediaries. The specific objectives of this study were to compare the importance that international and domestic tourists attribute to various forms of information, both at tourism destinations and in the pre-trip context, and to carry out an analysis of their information sourcing behaviour, based on internal and external information sources, including the use of the Internet. Research in the province of Arcadia, in the form of a longitudinal study, offers an appreciation of not only what channels of distribution might best match the needs of a particular tourism destination, but also what product development and marketing actions would help the channel operators to draw visitors to it.