Segmentation and motivations in eco-tourism: The case of a coastal national park

Abstract

In recent years there has been a growing interest of tourists in the environment and the enjoyment of the natural environment, which causes ecotourism to grow in a greater proportion than conventional tourism. This study is designed to analyze the motivations and segmentation of the demand in ecotourism taking as reference the functional theory. The empirical analysis was conducted in the Machalilla National Park in Ecuador, which is a coastal protected area, where one of its main attractions is the sighting of humpback whales. The sample consists of 386 surveys, obtained in situ for convenience. For the analysis of the data, a factorial analysis and a non-hierarchical segmentation were performed. The results show that there are several motivational dimensions in ecotourism such as "Self-development", "Interpersonal relationships and Ego-defensive function", "Building personal relationships", "Escape", "Nature appreciation" and "Reward". In addition, the characteristics of the different segments are established according to their motivations, which is why three segments of ecotourists have been found, the "Nature", "Reward and Escape" and "Multiple motives". The present investigation will serve so that public institutions and private companies can improve the tourist offer, benefit the destination and develop a more efficient Marketing planning.

Profiling Visitors to Romanian Ecotourism Destinations

“…These segments were labelled as follows: nature travellers; culture travellers; leisure travellers, and eclectic travellers. The labels were established in line with other research and adapted to the present context [23,32,51].…”

“…The following activities are mentioned among the most popular: photography and landscape painting, studying the flora and fauna, cultural sightseeing, and special guided hikes [22]. Such activities and motivations could be considered as segmentation criteria in ecotourism [23].…”

“…Carvache-Franco, Segarra-Oñab, and Carrascosa-López [23] Machalilla National Park, Ecuador Dominant profile: female, 36 and 55 years old, having university degree. 64% of respondents were revisiting the Charmouth coastal area, and 45% had visited natural areas 10 or more times in the past.…”

Digital Innovation Strategy for Travel Agents to Combat Climate Warming

“…The impact of climate warming on travel agencies can be analyzed from the perspective of transmission path of the impact of climate warming on tourism passenger flow [8][9]. Tourism demand is a necessary condition for tourists to choose a certain tourist destination, which will have a great impact on tourist flow.…”

Motivations, Intentions to Return and to Recommend Protected Areas: A Study in Costa Rica

“…In ecotourism, several motivations drive tourists to a coastal national park (Carvache-Franco et al, 2019a). In this sense, Holden and Sparrowhawk (2002) point out that the main intrinsic motivations for ecotourists are to learn about nature, be physically active, and meet people with a similar interest.…”