Fuzzy segmentation of postmodern tourists

Abstract

In postmodern tourism, the experiences of each tourist could not be summarized only through a unique perspective but multiple and disjointed perspectives are necessary. The aim of this paper is to create a nexus between postmodern tourist and fuzzy clustering, and to propose a suitable clustering procedure to segment postmodern tourists. From a methodological perspective, the main contribution of this paper is related to the use of the fuzzy theory from the beginning to the end of the clustering process. Furthermore, the suggested procedure is capable of analysing the uncertainty and vagueness that characterise the experiences and perceptions of postmodern consumers. From a managerial perspective, fuzzy clustering methods offer to practitioners a more realistic multidimensional description of the market not forcing consumers to belong to one cluster. Moreover, the results are easy and comprehensible to read since they are similar to those obtained with more traditional clustering techniques.