Profiling Visitors to Romanian Ecotourism Destinations

Abstract

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.

Strategic Analysis of Sustainable Tourism in Baja California against COVID-19

“…It should be noted that in accordance with Bonilla [25] (pp. 55-56), percentage attendance at cultural events in recent years has been sustained; however, there is attention to a stagnation in the participation of the population over the age of 18 in cultural events (see Figure 4).…”

“…With regard to border tourism, it is important to note that the state receives more than 16 million international visitors and 11 million domestic visitors annually, taking advantage of a derived tourist potential with comparative advantages associated with its privileged geographical location with respect to the United States, which is characterized by being the third largest emitter of tourists [25] (p. 145).…”

“…Between this city and neighboring Mexicali, each month there are about 40,000 medical consultations, according to the numbers of the Baja California Health Services Cluster [32] (p. 1). On this subject, Bonilla [25] (p. 144) states that by the end of 2019, there was a growth of 12.8%, and its contribution to the tourism sector is estimated at 10.7%, with a projection at the end of 2023 of 5,200,000 dollars, and in turn, a growth of 13.3% at the national level. On the other side of the spectrum, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it generated an influx of 1.5 million visitors in 2020, equivalent to an economic flow of 8996 million of Mexican pesos and the preservation of approximately 6,851,000 jobs that depend on this economic activity [33].…”

“…The growth and international echo that has been achieved is evident; more than 80% of craft beer is produced in Mexico, in addition to having the most important urban gastronomy movement in the country with 103 food trucks and 24 gastronomic courtyards [34]. In this regard, Bonilla [25] (p. 143) states that gastronomic tourism generates tourist consumption, amounting to 22,503 million of mexican pesos at the close of 2018 and an influx of 8,800,000 visitors. (c) Stars: Businesses with relative participation in high-growth markets will need a lot of cash to sustain growth, but they occupy a strong market share that generates high returns.…”

Tourists’ Preferences for Stargazing Land Resources

“…It can be expected that those tourists with special interests in visiting a destination have different profiles to the average tourists found in the mass market destinations [79,80]. Studies have found that for some special interest tourism, such as golf tourism or ecotourism, tourists are younger and have greater expenditure at the destination, thereby requiring that they be satisfied with specific services directed to the practice of their interest or activity [79][80][81][82][83].…”