Whose perceptions are
reality?
Georgia Zouni
PhD Cand. In Tourism Marketing
University of Piraeus
Greece

Whose perceptions are
reality?
Revealing the Gap between
real demographic profile of visitors
and tourism providers’ perceptions
of this profile

your expectations for today?

Presentation Overview
Tourism Segmentation Research
Demographic Segmentation pros or cons
Empirical Study
Analysis of findings
Discussion

or The Movie
While they
were sleeping

what is
segmentation
in Tourism?

dividing a total market,
such as all tourists,
into manageable sub-
groups (Middleton, 2001)

Tourism segmentation bases
Geographic Bonn, Joseph, & Dai, 2005; Moscardo, Pearce, & Morrison, 2001
Demographic
Burnett & Baker, 2001; Juaneda & Sastre, 1999; Galley & Clifton, 2004
Psychographic Baloglu & Uysal, 1996; Cha, et al., 1995
Behavioural
Bonn, Furr, & Susskind, 1999; Kastenholz, Davis, & Paul, 1999
•Either singularly or in combination
•Emphasis on psychographic and behavioural segmentation
•Mostly quantitative data via questionnaire surveys

Tourism segmentation bases
Geographical

Tourism segmentation bases
Demographic

Tourism segmentation bases
Behavioural

Tourism segmentation bases
Psychographical

Demographic segmentation
Pros & Cons
the most common approach to market segmentation for tourism marketing
(Tkaczynski, et al., 2008).
Pros easy to access (Lawson, 1995)
inexpensive (Bonoma & Shapiro, 1984)
easy to form (Griffith & Pol, 1994)
easy to measure (Bowen, 1998)
Cons inadequate (even poor) determinant of tourist behaviour (Johns & Gyimothy, 2002)

Demographic segmentation
Conclusion
But, they are still more objective and measurable
than the unobservable variables.
The first step toward a more integrated
segmentation method

Schematically the GAP
Gap = visitors’
demographic profile –
providers’ estimate of
tourists’ profile
Ho: there is no difference between tourists’ actual
profile and providers’ estimate of tourists’ profile

Research Field

Ancient Olympia, Greece
An ancient Greek religious site dating
back 10 centuries B.C.
The birth-place of the Olympic Games.
The location of giant gold Statue of Zeus,
one of seven wonders of the world
Place where Olympic flame is still lit
An UNESCO Heritage Site
It hosts one of the masterpieces of ancient
Greek art, Hermes of Praxiteles.

Research methodology
TOURISTS SURVEY PROVIDERS SURVEY
Study determined using determined using Tourism
population EUROSTAT and WTO Satellite Account of WTO.
Samples National and international Lists of the local chamber of
tourists, 15+ years old. commerce. Owners or
managers.
Sample size 268 95
Period 2 months 2 months
Variables Nationality, age, gender, education, income

Research methodology
TOURISTS SURVEY PROVIDERS SURVEY
Data collection Personal interview using a Personal interview using
questionnaire in 6 structured questionnaire
languages
Sampling Two stages Random Inventory method
sampling
Response rate 71% 76, 5% response rate

Results
Were they
sleeping?

Results
NATIONALITY
%
35 32.6
30
25
20 18.418.9 17.9
15.8
14.7
15 13.2 13.2
10.2
10
7.1 7.4
5.3
5 3.2 3.2
0
UK French German Greek Italian Spanish Nederlands
Visitors’ actual demographic profile Providers’ estimate of visitors’ profile

Results …what that means ?
These are destination’s tourists Providers market for these tourists
but…

Results
AGE
%
35 32.5
30.5 30.5
30
24.4
25 22.8
20 17.9
16
15
9.8
10
4.5 4.9
5
0
19-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 15-18
Visitors’ actual demographic profile Providers’ estimate of visitors’ profile

Results …what that means ?
These are destination’s tourists Providers market for these tourists
but…

Results
EDUCATION
%
50
44.9
45
40
35
30.3
30 27.2
25.3
25 22.2
20.6
20 16.9
15
10 7.9
4.7
5
0
0
University graduate Postgraduate College graduate University Student Basic
Visitors’ actual demographic profile Providers’ estimate of visitors’ profile

Results …what that means ?
These are destination’s tourists Providers market for these tourists
but…

Results
INCOME (monthly)
%
45 41.9
40 37.8
35
30
26.7 26.5
25
21.1
20 17.2
14.4 14.4
15
10
5
0
3000€ + 1500 - 3000 Less than 800€ 800 - 1499
Visitors’ actual demographic profile Providers’ estimate of visitors’ profile

Results …what that means ?
These are destination’s tourists Providers market for these tourists
but…

Results Outline
These are destination’s tourists Providers market for these tourists
but… French
British
Women Men
Young (19-39) Older
hold a university degree uneducated,
their monthly income exceeds
Poorer that they really are.
3.000 euros.

The REAL Tourist of Olympia

The PERCEIVED Tourist of Olympia

Discussion
The findings are important for researchers and practitioners, because of:
•the significance of demographic characteristics for consumers’
buying behaviour
•the extensive use of demographic characteristics in market
segmentation and the identification of distinctive market
segments.

strategic fit
False perceptions might lead to
ineffective decision making for
marketing segmentation, positioning
and marketing mix formulation.

Discussion on Gaps’ Reasons
Stereotypes about destination tourists’
characteristics
Olympia is a mature heritage destination
Senior management contact with tourists
Interaction between managers and tourists is required.

Where do we go
from here ?

Research Contribution
Importance of primary and timely research among
tourists.
Useful tool for management in order to propose an
‘integrated solution’ to customers.
In line with the notion of ‘co-creation marketing’

Wear your customer’s glasses and see the World!

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