IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i9p4802-d542922.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding Motivations and Segmentation in Ecotourism Destinations. Application to Natural Parks in Spanish Mediterranean Area

Author

Listed:
  • Conrado Carrascosa-López

    (Departamento Organización Empresas, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • Mauricio Carvache-Franco

    (Facultad de Turismo y Hotelería, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón 092301, Ecuador)

  • José Mondéjar-Jiménez

    (Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Castilla La Mancha, 16002 Cuenca, Spain)

  • Wilmer Carvache-Franco

    (Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Guayaquil 09-01-5863, Ecuador)

Abstract

Ecotourism is one of the tourism variants with more annual growth. Motivation has become a fundamental criterion for travel behavior. Segmentation is used to identify the market niches of different tourism products and services. This study collects these three elements and is designed to examine demand segmentation and motivations in ecotourism. The analysis was carried out in the Albufera and Serranía de Cuenca Natural Parks, both located in the Mediterranean area in Spain. The analysis sample consists in 349 surveys obtained in situ. For the data analysis, a factor analysis and nonhierarchical K-media segmentation were performed. The results show eight motivational dimensions: “Interpersonal relationships”, “Self-development”, “Escape”, “Building personal relationships”, “Nature”, “Ego-defensive function”, “Rewards”, and “Fun”. According to tourists’ motivations, three ecotourist segments are obtained: “Nature”, “Multiple motives”, and “Reward and Escape”. This research can assist companies and institutions to improve tourism service offers and perform efficient marketing planning.

Suggested Citation

  • Conrado Carrascosa-López & Mauricio Carvache-Franco & José Mondéjar-Jiménez & Wilmer Carvache-Franco, 2021. "Understanding Motivations and Segmentation in Ecotourism Destinations. Application to Natural Parks in Spanish Mediterranean Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4802-:d:542922
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4802/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4802/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nickerson, Norma Polovitz & Jorgenson, Jake & Boley, B. Bynum, 2016. "Are sustainable tourists a higher spending market?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 170-177.
    2. Sevda Sahilli Birdir, 2015. "Segmentation of Tourist Using Demographic and Travel Characteristics: The Case of Istanbul," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 5(4), pages 221-229.
    3. Hultman, Magnus & Kazeminia, Azadeh & Ghasemi, Vahid, 2015. "Intention to visit and willingness to pay premium for ecotourism: The impact of attitude, materialism, and motivation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(9), pages 1854-1861.
    4. Yoonjeong Jeong & Seweryn Zielinski & Ji-soon Chang & Seong-il Kim, 2018. "Comparing Motivation-Based and Motivation-Attitude-Based Segmentation of Tourists Visiting Sensitive Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, October.
    5. J.J. Lambin & R. Chumpitaz & I. Shuiling, 2007. "Market-driven Management: strategic and operational marketing," Post-Print hal-00252132, HAL.
    6. Bart Neuts & João Romão & Peter Nijkamp & Asami Shikida, 2016. "Market segmentation and their potential economic impacts in an ecotourism destination," Tourism Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 793-808, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marcelino Sánchez-Rivero & Juan de la Cruz Sánchez-Domínguez & Mª Cristina Rodríguez-Rangel, 2022. "Estimating the Probability of Visiting a Protected Natural Space and Its Conditioning Factors: The Case of the Monfragüe Biosphere Reserve (Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Wilmer Carvache-Franco & Ana Gabriela Víquez-Paniagua & Orly Carvache-Franco & Allan Pérez-Orozco, 2021. "The Role of Motivations in the Segmentation of Ecotourism Destinations: A Study from Costa Rica," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Kyungsik Kim & Yongdi Wang & Jianmin Shi & Wangda Guo & Zixiang Zhou & Zhaoyong Liu, 2023. "Structural Relationship between Ecotourism Motivation, Satisfaction, Place Attachment, and Environmentally Responsible Behavior Intention in Nature-Based Camping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, May.
    4. Maria TĂTĂRUSANU, 2021. "Methods Of Interpretation In The Nature-Based Tourism - A Qualitative Survey," EURINT, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 8, pages 165-177, July.
    5. José María López-Sanz & Azucena Penelas-Leguía & Pablo Gutiérrez-Rodríguez & Pedro Cuesta-Valiño, 2021. "Sustainable Development and Rural Tourism in Depopulated Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Conrado Carrascosa-López & Wilmer Carvache-Franco, 2022. "Market Segmentation by Motivations in Ecotourism: Application in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Wilmer Carvache-Franco & Ana Gabriela Víquez-Paniagua & Orly Carvache-Franco & Allan Pérez-Orozco, 2021. "The Role of Motivations in the Segmentation of Ecotourism Destinations: A Study from Costa Rica," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Marival Segarra-Oña & Conrado Carrascosa-López, 2019. "Segmentation by Motivation in Ecotourism: Application to Protected Areas in Guayas, Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Begüm Aydın & Maria D. Alvarez, 2020. "Understanding the Tourists’ Perspective of Sustainability in Cultural Tourist Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, October.
    5. Siti Intan Nurdiana Wong Abdullah & Zaiton Samdin & Jo Ann Ho & Siew Imm Ng, 2020. "Sustainability of marine parks: Is knowledge–attitude–behaviour still relevant?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 7357-7384, December.
    6. Thomas Bausch & Tilman Schröder & Verena Tauber & Bernard Lane, 2021. "Sustainable Tourism: The Elephant in the Room," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Philip R. Walsh & Rachel Dodds & Julianna Priskin & Jonathon Day & Oxana Belozerova, 2021. "The Corporate Responsibility Paradox: A Multi-National Investigation of Business Traveller Attitudes and Their Sustainable Travel Behaviour," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, April.
    8. Kazeminia, Azadeh & Hultman, Magnus & Mostaghel, Rana, 2016. "Why pay more for sustainable services? The case of ecotourism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 4992-4997.
    9. Sukuryadi & Nuddin Harahab & Mimit Primyastanto & Bambang Semedi, 2021. "Collaborative-based mangrove ecosystem management model for the development of marine ecotourism in Lembar Bay, Lombok, Indonesia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 6838-6868, May.
    10. Afzaal Ali & Guo Xiaoling & Adnan Ali & Mehkar Sherwani & Farhan Muhammad Muneeb, 2019. "Customer motivations for sustainable consumption: Investigating the drivers of purchase behavior for a green‐luxury car," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 833-846, July.
    11. Jamie M. Chen & Junzhou Zhang & Peter Nijkamp, 2016. "A regional analysis of willingness-to-pay in Asian cruise markets," Tourism Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 809-824, August.
    12. Viglia, Giampaolo & Abrate, Graziano, 2017. "When distinction does not pay off - Investigating the determinants of European agritourism prices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 45-52.
    13. Amélie Guèvremont & Bianca Grohmann, 2018. "Does brand authenticity alleviate the effect of brand scandals?," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(4), pages 322-336, July.
    14. Natalia Vladimirovna Gryzunova & Victoria Ivanovna Pyatanova & Viktoriya Valeryevna Manuylenko & Konstantin Vasilievich Ordov, 2019. "Models of credit limit-setting for companies as means of encouraging competitiveness," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 7(1), pages 615-625, September.
    15. Stanislava Pachrová & Eva Janoušková & Jitka Ryšková, 2018. "Disparities in Tourism Demand of UNESCO Destinations," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 20(S12), pages 1040-1040, November.
    16. Muhammad Waqar Rana & Faisal Mustafa & Muhammad Umer Quddoos & Rab Nawaz Lodhi, 2021. "How Brand Jealousy is an Antidote for Premium to Pay More in the Presence of Materialism and Brand Attachment?," iRASD Journal of Management, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 3(1), pages 35-45, june.
    17. Ching Yin Ip & Chaoyun Liang, 2023. "Would customers of social enterprises become social entrepreneurs?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(3), pages 1454-1464, April.
    18. Xiaocheng Vicky Zhang & Suk Ha Grace Chan, 2021. "Do Knowledge and Experience Value Affect Green Tourism Activity Participation and Buying Decision? A Case Study of Natural Dyeing Experience in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
    19. Veenarat Ut-tha & Pai-Po Lee & Rebecca Chung, 2021. "Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Coffee: A Case of Thai Consumers," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, October.
    20. Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández & Yaiza López-Sánchez, 2016. "Are Tourists Really Willing to Pay More for Sustainable Destinations?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4802-:d:542922. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.