Segmentation of Nature-Based Tourists in a Rural Area (2008–2009): A Single-Item Approach

Jinyang Deng,Jian Li

doi:10.3390/su11072052

Abstract

Although much research on nature-based tourism (NBT) has been conducted in natural areas, such as national parks and other protected areas, studies on NBT in rural areas have been limited. Moreover, few NBT studies, if any, have examined the impact of seasons and/or locations on visitors’ perceptions of NBT. This comes as little surprise, given that naturalness, the fundamental core of NBT, is likely to vary with seasons and locations. To this end, this study examines NBT in a rural area in the Appalachian Region, USA, with a focus on market segmentation, based on data collected from a four-season on-site survey of 2692 visitors. Different from many other tourism market studies where multiple-item measures are used, this study uses a single-item measure on natural observation/study to identify NBT segments. Analysis of variance, Chi-square analysis, and discriminant analysis are used to confirm NBT segments and determine the effectiveness of the use of the single-item approach for segmentation. The results show that the single-item approach is effective to differentiate visitors by their socio-demographics and trip characteristics, with findings being consistent with NBT studies in natural areas. It is worth noting that people’s responses to questions on natural observation/study vary with seasons and locations, suggesting that different perceptions of natural affinity may arise from the differences in seasons and locations with different levels of natural elements. Theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications are discussed.

Highlights

Nature-based tourism (NBT) can be defined as all forms of tourism that take place in natural areas [1,2]
While a detailed review of the concepts and definitions related to NBT and ecotourism is beyond the scope of this paper, a brief discussion of the two concepts is still necessary to provide a contextual link to what this study aims to accomplish
The results demonstrate that NBTs can be segmented into three levels: low, medium, and high, based on their responses to a single item measuring their motivation to observe/study nature

Summary

Introduction

Nature-based tourism (NBT) can be defined as all forms of tourism that take place in natural areas [1,2]. Line and Costen [7] consider NBT destinations to include a place such as a city-park dyad that is “comprised of a protected, undeveloped natural area, and a relatively more developed, geographically proximal gateway city” The identification of who are nature-based tourists (NBTs) may largely depend on the circumstances involved. To this end, this study attempts to accomplish the following: (1) identify who are NBTs in a rural area using a single-item approach; (2) test the effectiveness of the single-item approach for segmentation; (3) examine the extent to which season and location may affect perceptions of NBTs; and (4) compare the segmentation effectiveness between a single-item approach and a multi-item approach

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion