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Interpersonal influence is known to contribute to an individual's psychological formation (e.g., personal value, norm, attitude, perception). Reference group influence in the services sector, however, has received limited attention, with most works conducted in the setting of tangible products, not of services. In particular, reference group influences are exerted on a traveler when communication among group members provides the opportunity to share direct experiences of others about a particular destination or service and/or induces the selection of a destination or other travel services. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to segment travelers based on their perceptions of various reference groups'influences about visiting Hong Kong as a destination and to profile each segment according to travelers' benefits sought, attitudes, behaviors, and sociodemographic characteristics. A Two Step ® cluster analysis generated three distinctive segments with different benefits sought, perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Marketing implications for each segment were provided.

Understanding family/spousal vacation decision making is important to tourism marketers. Twenty-five years ago, Jenkins divided the process into multiple subdecisions, such as where to visit or how much to spend, and studied how a sample of U.S. families allocated their decision-making responsibility for these decisions between the spouses. The current research, based on Jenkins’s work, uses recent data extracted from two sample populations, one from the United States and the other composed of Singaporean couples, to revisit the question. Whereas Jenkins found a large percentage of decision making to have been “husband-dominant,” the current studies each found a significant trend toward joint decision making. The article discusses the apparent trend and suggests, a generation after Jenkins’ work, how these new findings may be of value to tourism marketers promoting the family vacation product.

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This study segments inbound travelers to Hong Kong with aCH i-squareA utomaticI dentificationD etector (CHAID) technique. Seven predictors are used to derive market segments based on their likelihood of revisiting Hong Kong. The CHAID analysis produces six segments based on respondents' travel purpose, age, income, and repeat visit status. Each segment is described according to trip characteristics, including length of stay, travel party size, total expenditure, frequency of visits, mode of travel, and post-trip perceptions. Suggestions are made based on findings from the study, and marketing implications for resultant segments are discussed.