Behaviour-Based Market Segmentation of Travellers and Their Different Activities at Peer-to-Peer Online Travel Marketplace

Abstract

Regarding the growing importance of the peer-to-peer online travel marketplace and lack of understanding on it, this study aims to investigate how different types of travellers use peer-to-peer online travel marketplaces in dis- tinctive ways. Different traveller behaviours are measured using six factors from twenty items. 2467 survey respondents were combined with real transaction data. We identify six idiosyncratic groups of travellers. They are named Shopaholic, Budget Explore, Long-Term Traveller, Trend Setter, Resort Addict, and Social Tripper. Those groups are different in several aspects, such as demographic characteristics. More importantly, the results show their usage of the online tourism marketplace is significantly different. Our study contributes to the literature on traveller segmentation through an exploration of their different usage of online travel services. It also provides practical insights, especially for marketplace operators and travel product providers.