Aaron Tkaczynski

Governance: a review and synthesis of the literature

Purpose – Despite the proliferation of the governance concept in the broader academic literature, there is little agreement on definitions, scope and what actually constitutes governance. This is arguably due to the fact that empirical research on the topic, with some exceptions, is generally limited to case studies without use of any common conceptual framework. This is certainly the case in other fields of study and is becoming increasingly obvious in tourism research also. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to explore and synthesize the governance literature with the objective of identifying the key elements and dimensions of governance.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the two “parent” bodies of literature originating in the political sciences and corporate management fields of study, the paper provides a review and synthesis of the governance concept with the objective of identifying the primary elements and factors that have been employed in studies of governance to date.Findings – A revi...

Understanding the Motivation and Travel Behavior of Cycle Tourists Using Involvement Profiles

ABSTRACT Bicycle tourism is a growing niche tourism market which has potential economic, social, and environmental outcomes for individual participants and host communities. However, there has been a lack of research into heterogeneity of this market and their respective motivations and behavior. This article applies the concept of enduring involvement, in conjunction with tourist motivational theory, to segment and better understand cycle tourist behavior and intentions. A total of 564 completed questionnaires was collected from an online survey of bicycle club members in Australia. Respondents were segmented into five initial clusters by their level of enduring involvement. A number of significant differences were found on their travel motivations, travel behavior, and behavioral intentions, as well as their sociodemographics and cycling behavior. The results lend support to the application of enduring involvement in a tourism context to better understand the behavior of niche markets which include popular leisure pursuits. Recommendations as a result of the findings are made for product development and marketing communication, while future research opportunities are also outlined.

Destination Segmentation: A Recommended Two-Step Approach

Tourism segmentation studies have traditionally developed segmentation variables from secondary data or a review of the literature. Based on stakeholder theory, this study recommends a two-step approach to destination segmentation, incorporating the views of multiple stakeholders. This article details the recommended segmentation approach using one Australian destination. Step 1 involves understanding how multiple stakeholders viewed their market to identify relevant segmentation variables. Step 2 involves segmenting the destination based on the variables identified in step 1. When compared with segments currently used by the destination marketing organization, the segments derived from the two-step approach to segmentation capture more of the tourists visiting the area. Segmentation guides budgetary decision making, and the proposed two-step approach to segmentation may assist tourism destinations to maximize limited resources by targeting more of the types of tourists who are frequenting the destination.

Segmenting Potential Nature-Based Tourists Based on Temporal Factors: The Case of Norway

The opportunity to experience nature-based activities at a destination with climate variations is a major driver of visitation for tourists. Despite significant research into seasonality and nature-based activity preferences, academic researchers are not profiling activity-oriented tourists into segments based on temporal factors such as seasons. To address this research gap, an expert panel was first asked to classify activities collected in a large secondary Norwegian tourist questionnaire into seasons. Next, 8,962 potential nature-based tourists were segmented based on summer, winter, and year-round activity preferences. When seasonality was taken into account, four clusters were identified. A combined model where seasonality was not addressed yielded fewer segments, and differing variables indicating that segmentation researchers may benefit from considering a fifth segmentation factor, namely temporal, in future. Theoretical and practical implications from this research are outlined and opportunities for future research are provided.

Understanding what really motivates attendance: a music festival segmentation study

ABSTRACT Religious music festivals represent a growing tourism market providing significant benefits to both visitors and stakeholders. However, little research has been conducted to identify the characteristics of visitors to these religious themed events and whether the dual factor theory is appropriate for segmentation. To address these research gaps, 1,702 questionnaires were collected at an Australian Christian music festival and were analyzed using TwoStep cluster analysis. Four clusters were revealed that differed based on several visitor characteristics. Religion was identified as a hygiene factor in addition to gender. This study has provided several theoretical and practical contributions while future research opportunities are also outlined.

Using two-step cluster analysis to identify homogeneous physical activity groups

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to: first, illustrate how market segmentation using two-step cluster analysis can be used to identify segments in the context of physical activity; second, identified segments are used to offer practical implications for social marketers working in the area of physical activity. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 1,459 respondents residing within 20 kilometres of the Melbourne Central Business District participated in an online survey. The questions in the survey included items relating to respondents’ health perceptions, health knowledge, attitudes, intentions to start a new physical activity, demographics, place of residence and self-reported physical activity. Two-step cluster analysis using the log-likelihood measure was used to reveal natural groupings in the data set. Findings – This research has identified four distinctive segments in the context of physical activity, namely: Young Disinteresteds, Successful Enthusiasts, Vulnerables and Happy Retirees. R...

Word-of-Mouth Segments Online, Offline, Visual or Verbal?

Most tourists love to share their holiday experiences with family, friends, and, increasingly, strangers, using the Internet. Such word-of-mouth represents a highly influential information source for potential tourists and is therefore of great interest to tourism marketing managers. This study aims to understand patterns among tourists when sharing holiday experiences, both in terms of the communication channel they use and the kind of content they share. The findings contribute to a theoretical understanding of word-of-mouth behavior by empirically showing that word-of-mouth is not a homogeneous activity. Rather, results show that distinct segments of word-of-mouth behavior exist. Segments differ with regard to content shared (visual/verbal) and channel used (offline/online). Two out of the five segments use only offline channels to share their experiences, and the extent of visual content shared varies across segments. The article illustrates how these findings could be translated into proactive marketing action aimed at instigating word-of-mouth behavior.

A vacationer-driven approach to understand destination image: a Leximancer study.

Destination image studies have largely centred upon conceptualizing destination image through a variety of methods that are predominantly researcher driven. Whilst this has furthered our understanding of how vacationers perceive a destination(s) on key reference criteria, the researcher-driven process may artificially increase the salience of some attributes. The purpose of this study was to showcase how a vacationer-driven approach employing Leximancer may be used to understand destination image by enabling vacationers to drive the attributes and sentiments of importance. Based on a sample of 517 vacationers to the Fraser Coast, respondents were able to identify nine themes. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications are presented and recommendations and future research opportunities are outlined.

Segmentation Using Two-Step Cluster Analysis

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the rationale for employing TwoStep cluster analysis as a market segmentation method within social marketing. Here, the key stages to be performed and the validation techniques required for effective application of this clustering technique are outlined. To further support the application of this cluster analysis technique as a profiling tool, a review of 25 recent market segmentation studies that have utilised this method is provided. Finally, a case study is provided to demonstrate how TwoStep cluster analysis is employed to segment respondents for an active school travel social marketing campaign that was being developed in Queensland at time of writing. Based on a sample of 537 respondents, three segments were identified and validated, each of which differed significantly based on psychographic, behaviour, geographic and demographic variables. Limitations of the TwoStep Cluster Analysis method are also provided, and opportunities for future research employing TwoStep cluster analysis within a social marketing context conclude this chapter.

A stakeholder approach to attendee segmentation: a case study of an Australian Christian music festival.

Festivals provide many benefits to regions and communities such as tourism expenditure, community pride, and the celebration of culture. Whereas the literature has emphasized the need to incorporate stakeholders into the management of festivals, researchers have not considered how these stakeholders are segmenting their attendees. This article applies a stakeholder approach to attendee segmentation through the utilization of a case study approach with semistructured interviews to profile visitors to Easterfest, an Australian Christian music festival. The results suggest that stakeholders, although not actively segmenting visitors, share many similarities in their description of the characteristics and behavioral patterns of attendees to the festival. Limitations based on the findings are made while future opportunities are also outlined.