Segmentation by motivation in rural tourism: A Korean case study

Abstract

Tourism as a rural growth tool has to adapt to current market mechanisms, which are becoming extremely competitive and which are dominated by communication and promotion strategies and techniques. We need to know the causative factors and influences by which tourists in rural areas are motivated to become included in various market segments. The primary purpose of this study is to segment and profile the motivations of tourists, so as to enable a better understanding of rural tourism in Korea. A self-administered survey in four languages was collected from 252 tourists in the study area. A factor-clustering method identified four distinct segments: family togetherness seeker, passive tourist, want-it-all seeker, and learning and excitement seeker. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.