Special Interest Tourism

The International Travel College of New Zealand 1

Special Interest Tourism

Unit #13 – Learning Outcome 1

The nature and development of special interest tourism


Specialised tourism involves group or individual tours by people who wish to develop certain interests and visit sites and places connected with a specific

subject.

Generally speaking, the people concerned exercise the same profession

or have a common hobby.

World Tourism Organisation (WTO) 1985


Definitions of Special Interest Tourism

• A counter-point to mass tourism• A set of practices that differentiates tourists• Greater opportunities• A more meaningful set of experiences for

tourists• Meeting specific needs, motivations and

interests• Also referred to as niche tourism• Includes leisure and recreational experiences

driven by the specific interests of individuals or groups


Classification of Special Interest Tourism:

• Active – sports, cycling, hiking, skiing, sailing

• Social – youth tours, clubbing, singles trips • Educational – cooking, language schools

• Discovery – Antarctic exploring, Galapagos expeditions

• Hobbies – wine tasting, garden tours, flower shows

• Challenge/excitement – climbing Everest, trekking

• Relaxation – cruising, canal boats, camping • Health & therapy – Spa holiday to Thailand, medical tours


Factors that Facilitated Growth of Special Interest Tourism

• Evolution of transport• Development of winter sports• Increase in paid holidays• Technical developments in all transport• Advent of long-haul travel via jet aircraft• Increased awareness of environmental & cultural impact of mass tourism• Social changes leading to cash rich/time poor consumers seeking better quality/more

stimulating holidays• Availability of low-price flights opening up backpacker market• Introduction of budget airlines• Developments in specialist equipment and systems• Market diversification and emergence of niche providers• Competition among providers and destinations• Construction of new attractions in destinations• Increased access to remote locations• Regeneration of urban areas increasing their appeal• Improved communication and marketing of natural features• Improved infrastructure to cater for tourism


Internet & TV Influences in SIT Growth

• Advent and expansion of TV travel shows, reality shows, game shows featuring exotic locations and activities

• Use of the internet for promoting niche products and places + huge expansion in online booking systems

• Increasing use of social media (facebook, twitter, Instagram etc) to market, network, promote and communicate with consumers, influencers, networks


Social Media & Tourism Industry• 40% of online travellers visit social networking sites to influence destination selection• 87% said reviews impacted hotel choice • 84% said reviews impacted method of travel • 78% said reviews impacted choice of dining • 70% of consumers trust online recommendations while only 14% trust advertisements• 50% of blog readers read travel blogs • 57% of travel-related website visitors read traveller-written reviews

– 97% of readers thought those reviews were accurate • Facebook has the greatest influence over 25-34 year-old's holiday choices, and the greatest influence

over men• More than 500 million active users • About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States (More than 70 translations are available

on the site) • People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook • More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.)

shared each month • TripAdvisor had the greatest impact on female booking habits• 34 million unique monthly visitors • 35 million reviews • 98% of topics posted in the forum are replied to within 24 hours • Twitter• Twitter's search engine receives around 600 million search queries per day • 175 million registered users • 95 million tweets written per day

• Source: http://www.stikkymedia.com


Tourism Research & Travel Motivators


Tourism Research

• 1950’s/60’s tourism was recognised as contributor to economy

• Need for research to gain better understanding of industry

• Research info informed planning and policy to help deliver products that matched demand

• Start of gathering statistical data


Research Includes:

• What products & services should be offered to consumers?

• What types of consumers to target with specific products & services?

• What price to charge for products & services?

• How to promote products & services?


Tourism Research Categories

• Consumer behaviour and demand Consumer Research)

• Supply of the tourism product (Product Research)

• The relationship between product and consumer


Consumer Research

1. Info which creates a profile of tourists

2. Info relating to tourist expenditure

3. Info on motivations for travel

4. Info on tourist behaviour and consumption patterns

5. Info on consumer satisfaction levels


Tourist Types/Classifications

• By product: mass market or special interest

• By nature of the activity: active or passive

• Location preference: coastal, rural, city, mountains, lakes

• Duration of trip & distance travelled: day trip, weekend break, annual holiday

• By purpose: business or pleasure

• By age/socio-economic group: backpackers, DINKS, SINKS, Both DINKS & SINKS, empty nesters, boomers, youth

• By tourism type: heritage, rest, experience, special purpose


Travel Motivators

What motivates people to travel? What motivates people to travel to a particular

place or to take a particular type of trip?


“People go away because they no longer feel happy where they are – where they work,

where they live.

They feel the monotony of the daily routine, the cold rationality of factories, offices,

apartment blocks and transport, shrinking human contact, the repression of feelings, the loss of nature and naturalness…holidays thus become therapeutic fantasies projected on to

distant lands.”


Motivation Theories

• Maslow Hierarchy of Needs• Cuebro Ramumbos' 4 categories:

* Physical Motivators* Cultural Motivators* Interpersonal motivators* Status and prestige motivators

• Professor Gray – Wanderlust and Sunlust• Tourism as ‘discovery’


Product Differentiation• Differentiation is part of the ‘marketing mix’ and can be defined as:

** “Making the output of a business distinctly different from the output of competitors”**“The process by which a product is distinguished from others, so that it appeals more to the target audience”

• This process ensures that the product is distinct from other products • Product differentiation gives the product or service an ‘edge’ over

rival products • Highlights unique aspects of the products and generates value for

the product in the eyes of the buyer• If the buyer perceives a difference they will remember the product

and buy it


The Marketing Mix in Tourism1. Product: an item that satisfies what a consumer needs or wants. 2. Place: any way that the customer can obtain a product.

Price: the amount a customer pays for the product. 3. Promotion: any vehicle you employ for getting people to know more about

your product4. People: the employees of the organization with whom customers come

into contact. 5. Packaging: the integration into one package of the components of the

tourism product6. Programming: strategies designed to increase customer spending (add-

ons)7. Partnership: when two or more businesses co-operate together on some

aspect of their business operations

8. Partnership: when two or more businesses co-operate together on some aspect of their business operations


Marketing Challenges• Tour operators face competition not just from other tour operators in their

area, but from other areas and destinations. • Potential clients can choose to not only use a different tour company, but a

different type of holiday to a totally different place.• With similarities increasing between destinations because of globalization,

countries have in many cases become interchangeable in the tourist’s mind. • Whether they are seeking good beaches, tranquil scenery or ancient cities,

it has become relatively unimportant to many people as to where these happen to be found.

• This makes it particularly important for destinations such as New Zealand (far flung and considered expensive to travel to) to offer something unique in the tourism market.

• Todays consumers often make choices based on “whether the product represents an exciting new concept-a desirable experience”.

• With this in mind all tourism providers need to work hard at differentiating themselves in a very crowded market.



SWOT Analysis• A structured planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture.

• Can be carried out for a product, place, industry or person.

• It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieving that objective.

• When considering the start up of a tourism business or when running an existing tourism business, a SWOT analysis is a commonly used tool to help identify current or potential product differences.


Strengths Weaknesses

characteristics of the business or project that give it an advantage over others

characteristics that place the business or project at a

disadvantage relative to others

Opportunities Threats

elements that the business or project could exploit to

its advantage

elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project

SWOT Analysis as a Marketing Tool



Differentiating Concepts in Tourism:

PRICE:Differentiation based on price leadership is mostly unsuccessful in the tourism sector as whilst it might generate more individual sales it results in less revenue whilst expenditure remains the same, reduces profit and can be a quick path to bankruptcy!

Differentiation based on high prices is more successful, as for many people high prices equals better quality and exclusiveness of product. Expensive products bring prestige as fewer people can afford them, hence special interest tourisms’ success into very exclusive tours such as Mountain Gorilla Tours in Rwanda or expeditions to climb Everest.



BEING FIRST:The first business to launch and operate a new or innovative product brings with it kudos and uniqueness in the marketplace.

Consumers may believe that ‘first to market’ business operators have more knowledge or experience than those who copy or follow on later.



TRADITION + AUTHENTICITYTradition and authenticity are often sought after characteristics in special interest tourism.

For example, Maori tourism providers can offer a unique insight into their cultures through sharing their traditions and customs with visitors. Non Maori tourism providers appear less authentic when attempting this same type of tourism as they lack the intrinsic ‘mana’ and respect conferred on tangata whenua.



SPECIAL EVENTSThe delivery of a special event provides a unique opportunity for tourism operators who can use the event in differentiating their product or destination.

Eg The New York Marathon can only take place in New York and tour operators sell packages for participants and supporters knowing that their destination will have a unique offering in the market for that time period. Similarly London used the Olympics 2013 as their leverage for a huge tourism campaign not just during the Olympics itself, but before and after for visitors to check out the facilities and take in the scenes captured during the event itself.

Examples of Special Events Tourism in New Zealand include the Rugby World Cup of 2011, the Winter Festival in Queenstown, the Jazz Festival in Waiheke or the Food & Wine Festival in Devonport. The boost in tourism numbers of, for example, RWC generated more than half a billion dollars in expenditure in the Auckland region alone.



ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESSIn order to genuinely differentiate on environmental grounds, tourism

businesses must establish:

• that consumers are prepared to pay more for a sounder environmental product

• establish credible environmental product attributes and• find an environmental innovation that cannot easily be imitated by

competitors.

As companies rush to be more environmentally friendly, many eco-attributes are now becoming the norm in the eyes of the consumer. Eg hotels promoting their use of grey water or recycling strategies may not find any increase in business as these strategies are now commonly in use.



UNIQUE NATURAL RESOURCESMarketers commonly use the environment as their unique and genuine point of difference as natural resources (such as lakes, mountains, scenery) cannot readily be copied or replicated. eg: if you’re operating culinary tours in Wanaka the beautiful scenery and surroundings will be key points of difference to other culinary tours that may take place in a big city or suburban environment.

One of the best and long standing destination marketing success stories within New Zealand is New Zealand itself!

Tourism New Zealand’s use of the ‘Clean, Green’ message along with the iconic 100% Pure logo has been sustained for 24 years, although it gets harder and harder to justify the message with constant pressure on tourism operators and the public to help reinforce and ‘prove’ that the message is true.


Tourism Trends in Special Interest Tourism

Development


What is Driving the SIT Market?The Modern TravellerToday’s traveller is turning their back on what they see as contrived, almost make-believe, vacation destinations. The modern traveller wants to discover authentic places, regardless of whether it was a tourist hotspot.

Build Your Own Package & Book It OnlineTravellers are increasingly taking the power of booking their trips into their own hands. For 54% of global tourists, this results in making a booking online. Planning a holiday online means that a traveller will often discover options and accommodation that they would not otherwise have done, and they will usually save money doing it this way.


The BIG Growth Niches

1. Cruising

2. Adventure Travel

3. Medical Tourism


The Top Ten countries for Medical Tourism in 2012:

1. Thailand 2. Malaysia3. South Africa4. Egypt5. Hungary6. Costa Rica7. Israel8. India9. Turkey10.Lithuania


Also trending upwards…

Culinary Tourism


Battlefield Tourism


Shopping Tourism


Grey Tourism


‘Doom’ Tourism


Cultural & Heritage Tourism


Bird-Watching Tourism


Farm & Country Tourism


Educational Tourism


Cycling Tours


Sports Tours


Movie Inspired Tourism

Hobbit movie making:• 99 sets built• 6750 domestic flights taken• 19 commercial properties leased long term• 93,000 hotel bed nights sold• 1800 rental cars hired• 1650 work vehicles used • $380,000 spent on coffee• $9,180,000 spent on set construction materials • Approximately 16,000 days worked by New Zealand actors• $1,450,000 spent with local food suppliersSource: Warner Bros. Pictures

The legacy of the Lord of the RingsIn 2004• 6% of visitors to New Zealand (around 120,000 -150,000 people) cite The Lord of the Rings as being one of the main reasons for visiting New Zealand.• 1% of visitors said that the Lord of the Rings was their main or only reason for visiting.• This 1% related to approximately NZ$32.8m in spend• 63,200 visitors participated in a Lord of the Rings activity while here.• 9,988 international tourists did a group tour for LOTRs fans• 20,251 international tourists did an organised tour that included a LOTR site• 29,233 international tourists visited a LOTR site independently• Since 2004, an average 47,000 international visitors each year have visited a film location.
