Analysis of International Tourist Role Typology in the Context of Generations: A Segmentation Proposal

Abstract

Although the generations, which are an important area of research in recent years, are studied from various disciplines such as human resources, education and consumer behaviors, they are quite new and not examined enough for tourism literature. However, it is possible to reach significant segments in tourism market based on the different and diversified characteristics of generations because each generation has its own values, priorities and objectives. This study has been carried out on how the international tourist roles of generations differentiate as a proposal for segmentation in tourism. According to the findings of data collected with survey method from 671 participants in total, the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z tourists who are considered within the scope of the study have different roles in terms of culture oriented dimension, destination oriented dimension, travel services dimension and social contact dimension, and make tourism decisions with various expectations. On the basis of these findings, the tourism market can be segmented according to these differences, depending on the generations as a segmentation criterion.