Environmental Sustainability in the Mediterranean Destinations: A Latent Class Segmentation Analysis

Abstract

This article addresses a cross-destination research to study a key issue for the growth and competitiveness of the tourism sector, which is the perceived environmental sustainability of a destination. Particularly, a segmentation analysis is developed to examine potential unobserved heterogeneity across tourists regarding their perception of environmental sustainability of the destination. 918 tourists of five Mediterranean Sea Basin cities are studied using a latent class segmentation technique. Results show the existence of three differentiated latent clusters of tourists with low, medium and high perception of environmental sustainability respectively, confirming the validity of this variable for segmenting tourists. Segments are also characterized by demographics and trip-related variables. The findings provide useful information to managers to develop better sustainability programs, tailoring their market offerings and promotion programs towards each segment more efficiently.

Tourists Preference Identification in Solo Tourism Destinations A Study of Statistical Factor Analysis

“…Now RIPPARDA is still in academic manuscript, and later on will be developed into city rule. In constructing RIPPARDA, there are several important aspects highlighted: accessibility (infrastructure, connectivity of Soloraya region, openclose city gate, amenities, spatial-urban planning), and attractions [15].…”

Perceived City Sustainability and Tourist Behavioural Intentions

“…Segmentation studies of perceived sustainability to date have characterised tourists by socio-demographic or travel-related information. Only one study has attempted to divide the sample of tourists according to holiday types, not finding any significant correlation between the variables [8,10]. The novelty of this study lies in exploring the relationship between travel behaviour and perceived sustainability in order to understand the feasibility of using this characterisation in future segmentation studies.…”

“…For example, several studies investigated it as a unidimensional construct, identifying sustainability solely as environmental, social, or economic. Sánchez-Fernández et al [8] conducted a market segmentation study on tourists' perceptions of environmental sustainability in five Mediterranean cities. Results showed the existence of three different tourist clusters with low, medium, and high perceptions of the environmental sustainability of the destination, confirming the possible use of the findings for marketing and managerial initiatives.…”

“…The literature review showed various attempts to use perceived sustainability as a variable for tourist segmentation, characterising tourists by sociodemographic and triprelated information. Sánchez-Fernández et al [8] studied the unobserved heterogeneity among tourists visiting five Mediterranean Sea Basin cities regarding their perceptions of environmental sustainability. Findings showed three clusters with different perceptions (low, medium, and high) as well as three different demographic characterisations mainly in terms of education and nights spent at the destination.…”

A machine learning approach to segmentation of tourists based on perceived destination sustainability and trustworthiness

“…As Sánchez-Fernández et al (2019) point out, the concept of destination sustainability as perceived by tourists has rarely been studied and has much less been used as a basis for segmentation. The studies that have focused on tourists' perceived destination sustainability have examined only the environmental dimension of sustainability (e.g., Sánchez-Fernández, Iniesta-Bonillo, & Cervera-Taulet, 2016). However, tourists' perceptions of sustainability are fundamental to the success of sustainability strategies because tourists' perceptions are crucial for analyzing the effectiveness of these strategies at destinations (Sánchez-Fernández et al, 2019).…”