Student Number: 110562836

MKT 3095 Cultural and Heritage Marketing

Name: Tiezheng Yuan

Student Number: 110562836

Degree Title: NN52 Marketing and Management

Word Count: 1949

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Student Number: 110562836

Cultural and heritage tourism is defined as visits by persons from outside the host community

motivated wholly or in part by interest in the historical, artistic, scientific or lifestyle/heritage

offerings of a community, region, group or institution (Silberberg, 1995). According to World

Tourism Organisation (2012), the number of international tourist arrivals has surpassed 1

billion and it will continue to grow. This motivates marketers to use various segmentation

strategies to gain a deeper understanding of cultural tourist (Alzua et al., 1998). Kotler (1999)

argues that every market consist of groups or segments of customers with different needs and

wants. Sollner and Rese (2001) supports Kotler’s argument mentioning that customer who

react in a homogeneous way, be it in their motivations, behaviour, reactions to marketing

activities, or the benefits they seek from consuming products and services can be grouped

together. Over the years, marketers have used two market segmentation techniques to

segment cultural tourist. One technique is segment by socio-demographic characteristics

while another is segment by benefits. The belief underlying benefits segmentation strategy is

that the benefits which people are seeking in consuming a given product are the basic reasons

for the existence of true market segments (Haley, 1968). This essay aims to discuss the

market segments within the cultural and heritage tourist market from two perspectives.

Firstly, it will discuss the cultural tourist segments from socio-demographic perspective.

Next, it will discuss the cultural tourist segments from benefits perspective.

Alzua et al. (1998) categorise cultural tourist into 5 segments based on socio-demographic

characteristics. They are namely heritage young backpacker, heritage middle age family,

older urban heritage, visiting friends/ relatives, and family resort. Heritage young

backpackers were travellers strongly focused on cultural tourism and they ranked the

opportunity to increase their knowledge as very important (Alzua et al., 1998). The

demographic profile of this segment is characterised by being young (under 35 years old) and

most are single, widowed or divorced living alone. They are highly educated as most have a

first or second degree from a university and proficiency in French as second language.

However, later studies by Shifflet and Associates (1999) contradict the findings of Alzua et

al. (1998). Shifflet and Associates (1999) grouped cultural tourist into 3 segments. They are

namely core, moderate and low heritage travellers. Shifflets and Associates (1999)

discovered that core heritage travellers were generally older people average 51 years old and

above. They were mostly married and retired personnel. Therefore, there were differences in

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demographic profiles between the two literatures although both authors grouped this segment

as the most enthusiastic cultural travellers.

Furthermore, a study conducted by Kim et al. (2007) also contradicts with the work of Alzua

et al. (1998). Kim et al. (2007) grouped cultural tourists into 4 segments. They are namely

festival and musical attractions, commercial recreation parks, local festivals and fairs, and

knowledge/aesthetic seeking attractions. The study by Kim et al. (2007) suggests that young

people (under 30 years old) are more likely to participate in festival and musical attractions

and they seek enjoyment over knowledge. An example of festival and musical attractions

would be the Edinburgh festival where many young audiences attended (Logan and Gardner,

2013). Besides that, Kim et al. (2007) found that people with higher education and

socioeconomic status are more likely to attend knowledge seeking attractions. Kim et al.

(2007) also emphasise that females were more likely to participate in this type of attraction

than males. However, age is not a significant factor in this segment. An example of

knowledge seeking attraction would be the Museum of London where it has the largest

archaeological archive in the world (Tamborrino, 2012). Therefore, the literature between

Kim et al. (2007) and Alzua et al. (1998) contradicts as the segment demographics and

characteristics were different.

On the other hand, there were some similarities among the work of Alzua et al. (1998),

Shifflet and Associates (1999) and Kim et al. (2007). The heritage middle age family

segment categorised by Alzua et al. (1998) has some similarities with the moderate heritage

travellers of Shifflet and Associates (1999). Both authors mentioned their respective segment

as slightly older (46 to 65 years old), have average educational level and income, and most

are married with a family. Besides that, there were also similarities between the core heritage

travellers of Shifflet and Associates (1999) and knowledge seeking attractions of Kim et al.

(2007). Shifflet and Associates (1999) categorised core travellers as married, highly educated,

has the highest average annual income and most are employed in white-collar occupations

such as professional or managerial positions. Similarly, Kim et al. (2007) categorised

knowledge seeking attraction as married, has high education, and has high level of

socioeconomic status and income.

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However, a number of authors (Prentice et al., 1998; Frochot and Morrison, 2000) argue that

because cultural tourism is experiential and that experience is sought by groups of cultural

tourist across socio-demographic strata, benefit segmentation may be more applicable than

strict socio-demographic segmentation. Therefore, this part of the essay will discuss cultural

tourist segments from benefit segmentation perspective.

Cohen (1979) categorised cultural tourist into 5 segments based on benefits segmentation

strategy. They are namely recreational mode, diversionary mode, experiential mode,

experimental mode and existential mode. Recreational mode is explained as tourist who seeks

to enjoy his trip, because it restores his physical and mental powers and endows him with a

general sense of well-being. However, cultural elements do not play an important role in

decision making. A later study by Mckercher and Cros (2003) supports the work of Cohen

(1979). Mckercher and Cros (2003) also grouped cultural tourist into 5 segments. They are

namely, purposeful cultural tourist, sightseeing cultural tourist, casual cultural tourist,

incidental cultural tourist and serendipitous cultural tourist. Some similarities could be found

between recreational mode categorised by Cohen (1979) and casual cultural tourist of

Mckercher and Cros (2003). Casual cultural tourist engages the destination in a shallow

manner and cultural tourism reasons play a limited role in the decision to visit a destination

(Mckercher and Cros, 2003). For example, many tourists visit Pearl Islands (Panama) simply

for relaxation reasons (Arellano, 2002). Therefore, some similarities in segment

characteristics could be identified between the two literatures.

Besides that, similarities could also be found between experiential mode and sightseeing

cultural tourist. Experiential mode, as explained by Cohen (1979) are people who travel for a

renewed quest for meaning and in search of experience however does not engage deeply.

Similarly, Mckercher and Cros (2003) categorised sightseeing cultural tourist as

entertainment-orientated but learning about the other's culture or heritage is a major reason

for visiting a destination. For example, many international tourist visit Chang Mai (Thailand)

to experience its culture but most are also interested in participating in the Songkran festival

in April that marks the end of dry season (Hiris, 2011). Silberberg (1995) also supports the

work of Cohen (1979). Silberberg (1995) categorised cultural tourist into four segments.

They are namely greatly motivated, motivated in part, adjunct to another motivation and

accidental cultural tourist. Similarities could also be found among motivated in part,

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experiential mode and sightseeing cultural tourist. Motivates in part involve persons who

travel to the city both because of the cultural opportunities and, say, to visit friends or

relatives (Silberberg, 1995). Thus, some similarities could be identified among the three

literatures.

In addition, similarities could also be identified among existential mode, greatly motivated

and purposeful cultural tourist. Existential mode refers to traveller who is fully committed in

learning and experiencing the culture of the destination and engages deeply (Cohen, 1979).

Similarly, Silberberg (1995) categorised greatly motivated as people who travel to a city

specifically because of its theatre opportunities, museums and cultural festivals. Mckercher

and Cros (2003) also explains purposeful cultural tourist as those who has a deep cultural

experience and considers learning about the other's culture or heritage as a major reason for

visiting a destination. An example of purposeful cultural tourist are those who visit Cape

Breton Island in Canada just to learn and experience the unique culture it has as

approximately 75% of the population can trace ancestral roots to Scotland (Brown, 2009).

Therefore, there were some consistencies among the three literatures.

Furthermore, similarities could also be identified between accidental cultural tourist

categorised by Silberberg (1995) and incidental cultural tourist of Mckercher and Cros

(2003). Accidental cultural tourist includes people travelling to the city who do not intend to

go to a cultural attraction or event but find, for example, that the friends or relatives they have

visited take them along or that the cultural opportunity is close to their hotel (Silberberg,

1995). Similarly, Mckercher and Cros (2003) explain incidental cultural tourist as those who

do not consider cultural tourism reasons as important in the destination decision-making

process. However, while at the destination, the person will participate in cultural tourism

activities, having a shallow experience. For example, tourist who visits Brighton in May

might participate in the Brighton Festival as it stretches over three weeks (Williams and

Bowdin, 2007). However, such action is unplanned.

On the other hand, there were some differences among the work of Cohen (1979), Silberberg

(1995) and Mckercher and Cros (2003). The diversionary mode identified by Cohen (1979)

was not mentioned in the literatures of Silberberg (1995) and Mckercher and Cros (2003).

Diversionary mood is explained as a mere escape from boredom and meaningless of routine

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(Cohen, 1979). Similarly, the serendipitous cultural tourist segment identified by Mckercher

and Cros (2003) was also not mentioned in the literatures of Cohen (1979) and Silberberg

(1995). Serendipitous cultural tourist are those who do consider culture tourism as important

in the decision to visit a destination, but while there this tourist visits cultural attractions and

ends up having a deep experience (Mckercher and Cros, 2003). Although there were some

differences among the three literatures but generally the segments identified by the authors

were consistent.

However, Stebbins (1996) disagrees with the work of Cohen (1979) and Silberberg (1995).

Stebbins (1996) argues that there should be only two segments within the cultural tourist

market. They are the general cultural tourist and specialized cultural tourist. The general

cultural tourist are those who makes a hobby of visiting different geographic sites such as

countries, cities, and regions, taking in there some of the cultural forms (Stebbins, 1996).

Specialised cultural tourists are those who focus on one or a small number of geographic sites

or cultural entities. This tourist repeatedly visits a particular city, region, or country in search

of a broad cultural understanding of the place, or goes to different cities, regions, or countries

in search of exemplars of, for instance, a kind of art, history, festival, or museum (Stebbins,

1996). Therefore, Stebbins (1996) contradicts with the work of Cohen (1979) and Silberberg

(1995).

In conclusion, cultural tourists are very different with general tourists in terms of socio-

demographics, motivation and activities (Martin et al., 2004). On most measurements,

cultural heritage visitors were different from other visitors, implying that heritage planners

and marketers should take these differences into consideration when planning and promoting

cultural heritage tourism (Yun et al., 2008). Marketers have used two segmentation

techniques to segment cultural tourist. One technique is segment by socio-demographics

where marketers profile cultural tourist based on age, marital status, education level, income

and socio-economic status. However, there were limited consistencies with the literatures

reviewed as the demographic profile and characteristics identified by one author differs with

the next. Another technique used was benefit segmentation where marketer segment cultural

tourist based on benefit motivations. Generally, the segments identified by authors using

benefits technique were consistent. Nonetheless, no matter which technique is used, segments

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are only meaningful if they help an organisation better match its products with its target

markets (Mitchell and Wilson, 1998).

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List of References

Alzua, A., O’Leary, J. and Morrison, A.M. (1998) 'Cultural and Heritage Tourism: Identifying niches for international travelers', The Journal of Tourism Studies, 9(2), pp. 1-13.

Arellano, L.E. (2002) 'Diving into Panama', Central America, 9(1), pp. 1-31.

Brown, K.G. (2009) 'Island tourism marketing: music and culture', International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3(1), pp. 25-32.

Cohen, E. (1979) 'A phenomenology of tourist experiences', British Sociological Association, 13(1), pp. 170-201.

Frochot, I. and Morrison, A. (2000) 'Benefit Segmentation: a review of its application to travel and tourism research', Journal of travel and Tourism Marketing, 9(4), pp. 21-46.

Haley, R. (1968) 'Benefit segmentation: A decision-orientated research tool', Journal of Marketing, 32 (July), pp. 30-35.

Hiris, M. (2011) 'Thailand festivals', Travel Hopspitality, 16(1), pp. 1-12.

Kim, H., Cheng, C.-K. and O’Leary, J.T. (2007) 'Understanding participation patterns and trends in tourism cultural attractions', Tourism Management, 28, pp. 1366-1371.

Kotler P. (1999) Kotler on marketing: How to create, win and dominate markets. Simon and Schuster: London

Logan, B. and Gardner, L. (2013) The best (and worst) of the Edinburgh festival 2013. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/aug/28/best-and-worst-edinburgh-fringe (Accessed: 15/12/2013).

Martin, B.S, Bridges, W.C and Valliere, W. (2004) ‘Are cultural heritage visitors really different from other visitors?’, Tourism Analysis, 9(1), pp. 129–134.

McKercher, B. and du Cros, H. (2003) 'Testing a cultural tourism typology', International Journal of Tourism Research 5, pp. 45–58.

Mitchell VW, Wilson DF. (1998) 'Balancing theory and practice: a reappraisal of business-to-business segmentation', Industrial Marketing Management, 27, pp. 429-445.

Organisation, W.T. (2012) Annual report 2012. Madrid: Organisation, W.T.

Prentice, R., Witt, S. and Hamer, C. (1998) 'Tourism as experience: the case of heritage parks', Annuals of Tourism Research, 25(1), pp. 1-24.

Shifflet, D.K and Associates. (1999) 'Pennsylvania Heritage Tourism Study', McLean, Virginia: Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Silberberg, T. (1995) 'Cultural tourism and business opportunities for museums and heritage sites', Tourism Management, 16(5), pp. 361-365.

Sollner A, Rese M. (2001) 'Market segmentation and the structure of competition: applicability of strategic group concept for an improved market segmentation on industrial markets', Journal of Business Research,51, pp. 25-36.

Stebbins, R.A. (1996) 'Cultural tourism as serious leisure', Annals of Tourism Research, 23(4), pp. 948-950.

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Tamborrino, R. (2012) 'Searching for a state-of-the-art public space: city museums among archives and networks', Planning Perspective, 27(3), pp. 463-473.

Williams, M. and Bowdin, G.A.J. (2007) 'Festival evaluation: An exploration of seven UK arts festivals', Managing Leisure, 12, pp. 187-203.

Yun, D., Hennessey, S., Macdonald, R. and Maceachern, M. (2008) 'Typology of cultural tourist: An island study', 3rd International Small Island Cultures Conference. Charlottetown. Institute of Island Studies.

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