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Trends in Tourist Behaviour. Distinguished Professor Philip Pearce Australia "First Tourism Professor" James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia Email: Philip.Pearce@jcu.edu.au. Why does tourist behaviour matter?. Central to marketing
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Trends in Tourist Behaviour Distinguished Professor Philip Pearce Australia "First Tourism Professor" James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia Email: Philip.Pearce@jcu.edu.au
Why does tourist behaviour matter? • Central to marketing • Important for managers of sites, facilities and attractions • Good tourist experience design is the basis for sustainability and profitability • Tourism policy needs to help shape good tourist behaviour • Knowing what to when to do it and how to do it of concern to tourists
Knowing about trends The sources of information: • Both big picture analyses (UNWTO, tourism statistics) to local studies ( of sites, facilities and academic papers around the world). What is a trend? • observable new pattern of tourists’ consumer behaviour • In a more statistical sense, trends are often referred to as probabilistic outcomes with a 90% likelihood of being detected again.
1: The new scale of Asian tourism • Intra Asian travel and then Asians travelling out of Asia • 541 million Asian outbound tourists by 2030, a figure which more than doubles the 204 million in 2010 (UNWTO) • Meaning: many first time visitors, pressure on many hotspots • First and second waves of Chinese tourists in particular
2. The trend towards novelty • Novelty and loyalty are locked in a kind of battle in the consumer’s mind • New options for accommodation (boutique resorts, couch surfing, retreats, homestays, camping safaris, self-contained recreation vehicles, cruise ship diversification), emerging activities (long distance walking, paragliding, paddle boarding, temple tourism, trekking) and new forms of social interaction in tourism settings (affinity groups, vicarious tourism through online travel companions, volunteer tourism, willing workers on farms). • Additionally new variants of tourism, such as halal tourism, with a different emphasis on food, observance of the strictures of the Koran and a distinctive calendar of events linked to the spiritual needs and religious practices of Muslim communities • Novelty serves both jaded and new markets
3. The trend towards involvement • Slow tourism, mundane consumption, behaviour and mobilities reported in the social geography Everyday places, activities and behaviours are seen as enjoyable, easily understood and offer the chance for tourists to develop an understanding of a particular setting which may not exist if they continue to move from place to place at speed • Serious leisure, the purposeful pursuit of specific interests • Beyond gazing and looking- desire to be immersed, to enrich the experience • Volunteer tourism and the expressed aim of bringing help to others
4. The trend towards spectacle • Fusion of the entertainment and the tourism industry – travel to the big events from sport to music combines the worlds • Technical capacity of stage and lighting engineers who can structure a performance by a ballet company, create a sports space, a rock group or a touring orchestra in diverse venues. These performances offer millions of people the chance to travel to a staged event of truly international standard and skill • Chance to marvel at a spectacular performance is a trend which builds enduring memories, social value and personal well-being
5. The trend towards health • More older citizens on the planet than at any time in human history • Both physically active and demanding healthy behaviours, and influential participating in the more luxurious and passive health treatments • Medical tourism –from the cosmetic to the life-saving • Emphasis on well being and aging successfully
Explaining trends • First level of explanation is psychological and represents the individual motives, sometimes referred to as the push forces, which impel contemporary tourists to seek out destinations with the characteristics and activities to suit their needs • Second level – the larger social changes and forces defining the changing modern world. These societal level forces include social media, economic and socio-political processes, infrastructure and safety
SUMMARY For future watchers and evaluators of change the trends identified • new Asian markets • novelty • involvement • spectacle • health offer a guide for the shape of travel and tourism in the next decade