Heterogeneous attitudes and behaviors in relation to participation in the ecotourism: Do customer segments play a role?

Abstract

The potential of ecotourism is expanding year on year. Given the broad nature of the tourism market, it is necessary to identify smaller groups of individuals that have common traits. This study aims to explore if there are any segments of ecotourist based on attitude and behavior towards ecotourism, profiles the segments according to their sociodemographic characteristics, and analyzes the extent to which they differ by country of origin. The study used a sample of 809 ecotourists from Spain and Chile, while latent class cluster analysis was employed as the segmentation method. The ecotourists were divided into three segments (Basic ecotourists—ecotourists of thought—, Average ecotourists, and Conscientious and active ecotourists) and the bias-adjusted three-step methodology was used to examine the differences in the country of origin. In sum, the largest portion of tourists falls into the category of the average ecotourist segment, which lies between the two aforementioned segments and exhibits moderate attitudes and intentions to engage in ecotourism and pay a premium for it. This segment is more prevalent in Spain compared to Chile. This research adds to the body of knowledge on the marketing of ecotourism behavior by modeling the heterogeneity in the ecotourists’ attitudes and behaviors. This study suggests that ecotourism organizations, whether they are accommodation providers, tourism operators, or companies that organize activities in nature, should be aware of the unique qualities of their customers, as well as their preferences, in order to create successful marketing strategies.

Keywords

• Ecotourism
• Attitudes
• Behaviors
• Latent class cluster analysis
• Segmentation