A Study on Market Segmentation According to Wellness Tourism Motivation and Differences in Behavior between the Groups—Focusing on Satisfaction, Behavioral Intention, and Flow

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to derive the visit motivations of wellness tourists and to derive strategies for the wellness tourism market through market segmentation based on visit motivations. First, this study derived seven motivators through a literature review with a discussion of experts: relaxation/healing/escape from everyday life, health improvement, novelty, luxury and prestige, self-examination/education, nature-friendly motivation, and social relations improvement. Then, in order to derive differentiated characteristics by motivation according to market segmentation, a difference analysis was conducted with the satisfaction, behavioral intention, and flow of wellness tourism participants. Data collection was carried out with the users of Chungcheongbuk-do wellness tourism products, and was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (South Korea) from 2 September to 4 December 2021. Through the analysis in this study, it was first found that the wellness tourism motivations of wellness tourists were divided into a total of six factors (relaxation/healing/health improvement, novelty, luxury and prestige, self-examination/education, nature-friendly motivations, and social relation improvement). Then, as for market segmentation according to the visit motivations of wellness tourists, it was found that the markets were divided into “novelty-seeking type, comprehensive motivation-seeking type, neutral wellness-seeking type, and exploratory wellness-seeking type.” Finally, it was determined that there were significant differences in satisfaction, behavioral intention, and flow among those types of wellness tourist groups, and the average levels of satisfaction, behavioral intention, and flow were commonly lower in the neutral wellness-seeking type than in the comprehensive motivation-seeking type and the exploratory wellness-seeking type. This study derived the necessity to conceive differentiated strategies for the wellness tourism motivation group with the development of a wellness tourism motivation scale and a market segmentation study, and provided practical implications according to the characteristics of individual groups.

Health and Wellness Tourists’ Motivation and Behavior Intention: The Role of Perceived Value

“…The finding supported the significant positive impacts of travelers' pull motivation on their behavioral intentions in health and wellness tourism, although these direct effects were relatively weaker than the influences of push motivation. This is similar to conclusions of the related literature [29,34,77]. Health and wellness tourism industries should focus more on the quality of products or services to meet the intrinsic needs of travelers, such as escaping their daily routine [78,79].…”

“…The high levels of travelers' behavioral intention represent their preference for health and wellness tourism attractions as destinations, higher satisfaction with the tourism products or services, and willingness to recommend the tour to friends and family [5,24,25]. Tourists' behavioral intentions are influenced by many factors, including demographic information such as age [26], education level [1,27], health status [28], and psychological factors including motivation [29], risk perception [30], and satisfaction [31]. Existing studies have noted the negative impact of the threat posed by the COVID-19 virus on the tourism market [2,30,32].…”

“…In terms of China, the easing of the containment of the epidemic is a great boon to the domestic tourism industries, especially health and wellness tourism [8,30]. The actual number of the travelers still depends on the behavioral intentions of the individuals, and the motivation to travel is recognized as a determinant of behavioral intentions in health and wellness tourism [29,33].…”

Push and pull factors influencing the choice of a health resort by Polish treatment-seekers

“…In health tourism, tourists are motivated by prophylaxis or treatment goals to improve their health and/or well-being [44]. Research is also conducted into motivation behind participation and choice of services offered by health tourism [45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. It suggests that an understanding of the motive a tourist is driven by is of importance for tourism development.…”