Market segmentation is used to identify similar characteristics in visitors to Australia and the Northern Territory, which represent the most attractive market. These characteristics include demographic and psychographic variables, such as attitudes, values and interest.
Tourism NT uses two separate market segmentations:
- Domestic Market Segmentation - Spirited Travellers (refer to the Media Guide)
- International Market Segmentation - Experience Seekers
The different titles simply reflect the ownership of the respective market segmentation research ie: Tourism NT and Tourism Australia respectively.
Collectively this group is referred to as EXPERIENTIAL TRAVELLERS. The experiential traveller seeks a holiday with meaning and purpose. The experiential traveller wants an authentic holiday that is not just 'sight-seeing', but one that by involvement indulges their special interests and fulfils the particular reason for which they have travelled.
The experiential traveller wants a holiday based around the Territory's natural and cultural strengths. This may be in the form of interactive learning which exposes them to a different culture, or one that provides them with a physical or psychological challenge. The experiential traveller seeks a holiday that will provide them with a sense of personal enrichment. Experiential travellers also tend to be environmentally and socially conscious and seek out ecologically sustainable experiences.
The experience itself matters more to the experiential traveller than the actual destination. They are willing to travel great distances and pay substantial amounts towards an experience. Consequently, these travellers often yield higher profits for tourism operators. Whilst the profit yielded from these visitors is generally slightly higher than average, experience travellers do expect superior quality and value-for-money.
Many experiential travellers rely upon ‘lead users’ to alert them to ‘raw and natural’ places and wish to explore them before they are ‘discovered’. Word of mouth promotion often provides the motivation for subsequent visitation.
Market segmentation is used by Tourism NT to:
- Inform the style and tone of marketing communications;
- Locating and placing communications in appropriate media channels;
- Inform destination development needs; and
- Guide product development.
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