Profiling Visitors to Romanian Ecotourism Destinations

Visitors’ increasing interest in nature-based and cultural tourism, especially in the context of ecotourism destinations, has generated a heated debate in tourism literature. Some authors consider that ecotourism should be approached through a niche strategy rather than through mass marketing. There...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2021-03, Vol.13 (5), p.2958
Main Authors: Constantin, Cristinel Petrișor, Papuc-Damașcan, Vasile, Blumer, Andrei, Albu, Ruxandra-Gabriela, Suciu, Titus, Candrea, Adina Nicoleta, Ispas, Ana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chi-square test
Community
Cultural heritage
Cultural tourism
Culture
Ecotourism
Landscape art
Market segments
Marketing
Nature
Segments
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Tourism
Travel
Travellers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Visitors’ increasing interest in nature-based and cultural tourism, especially in the context of ecotourism destinations, has generated a heated debate in tourism literature. Some authors consider that ecotourism should be approached through a niche strategy rather than through mass marketing. Therefore, identifying the main characteristics of visitors to ecotourism destinations is very important in setting management and marketing strategies adapted to their specific needs. The present paper aims to identify the profile of visitors to Romanian ecotourism destinations, considering the ecotourism potential of this country and the scarcity of empirical studies on these types of destinations. To reach this aim, a survey was conducted in four Romanian ecotourism destinations. By computing the data collected from a sample of 1157 visitors, four visitor segments have been identified based on a single characteristic (visit purpose). Crosstabulation and Chi-square analysis were used in order to identify the profiles of these segments. The results reveal that most of respondents are nature travellers, followed by culture travellers. The findings may be used by ecotourism destination managers in order to target specific market segments and establish proper management and marketing strategies.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su13052958