This article contributes to knowledge of tourist motivation and typologies in the context of golf tourism. A research framework is presented to aid the classification of golf tourists into distinct typologies based on their travel motivation. The methodology comprised both qualitative research based on semistructured interviews and quantitative research based on 392 self-completed questionnaires. A principal component factor analysis was used to identify five golf travel motivations. A cluster analysis was then conducted to classify golfers into three different clusters, namely, Golf-intensive Golfers, Multimotivated Golfers, and Companion Golfers. The golf clusters were then profiled, and the results revealed that golf tourists were not homogeneous in their travel motivations. Their profiles are theoretically and statistically feasible, and the hypotheses tested indicated that each cluster had both similarities and differences. The practical implications for golf tourism marketers are suggested, and future research recommendations related to the application of tourist typologies for segmentation are provided.
AndreuL.KozakM.AvciN.CifterN. (2005). Market segmentation by motivations to travel: British tourists visiting Turkey. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 19, 1-14.
2.
BarrosC. P.ButlerR.CorreiaA. (2010). The length of stay of golf tourism: A survival analysis. Tourism Management, 31, 13-21.
3.
BeardJ. G.RaghebM. G. (1983). Measuring leisure motivation. Journal of Leisure Research, 15, 219-228.
4.
BiegerT.LaesserC. (2002). Market segmentation by motivation: The case of Switzerland. Journal of Travel Research, 41, 68-76.
5.
BrownG.GetzD. (2005). Linking wine preferences to the choice of wine tourism destinations. Journal of Travel Research, 43, 266-276.
6.
ChaS.McClearyK. W.UysalM. (1995). Travel motivations of Japanese overseas travelers: A factor-cluster segmentation approach. Journal of Travel Research, 34, 33-39.
7.
ChartersS.Ali-KnightJ. (2002). Who is the wine tourist?Tourism Management, 23, 311-319.
8.
ChiY. N. (2006, June). Segmenting fishing markets using motivations. E-Review of Tourism Research (eTR), 4(3), 64-73.
9.
CromptonJ. (1979). Motivations for pleasure vacation. Annals of Tourism Research, 6, 408-424.
10.
DannG. M. S. (1977). Anomie, ego-enhancement and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 4, 184-194.
11.
DannG. M. S. (1981). Tourist motivation: An appraisal. Annals of Tourism Research, 8, 187-219.
12.
DerrettR. (2001). Special interest tourism: Starting with the individual. In DouglasN.DouglasN.DerrettR. (Eds.), Special interest tourism (pp. 1-22). Queensland, Australia: Wiley.
13.
DolnicarS.FlukerM. (2003). Behavioural market segments among surf tourists: Investigating past destination choice. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 8, 186-196.
14.
FlukerM. R.TurnerL. W. (2000). Needs, motivations, and expectations of a commercial whitewater rafting experience. Journal of Travel Research, 38, 380-389.
FrochotI.MorrisonA. M. (2000). Benefit segmentation: A review of its applications to travel and tourism research. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 9, 21-45.
17.
GallowayG. (2002). Psychographic segmentation of park visitor markets: Evidence for the utility of sensation seeking. Tourism Management, 23, 581-596.
18.
GeisslerG. L. (2005). An examination of the golf vacation package-purchase decision: A case study in the US Gulf Coast region. Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, 13(1), 65-82.
19.
GibsonH. J. (2004). Moving beyond the “what is and who” of sport tourism to understanding “why.”Journal of Sport & Tourism, 9, 247-265.
20.
GibsonH. J.Pennington-GrayL. (2005). Insights from role theory: Understanding golf tourism. European Sport Management Quarterly, 5, 443-468.
HairJ. F.BlackW. C.BabinB. J.AndersonR. E.TathamP. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
23.
HallC. M. (1992). Hallmark tourist events: Impacts, management and planning. London, England: Belhaven Press.
24.
HallC. M.WeilerB. (1992). What’s special about special interest tourism? In WeilerB.HallC. M. (Eds.), Special interest tourism (pp. 1-14). London, England: Belhaven Press.
25.
Harrison-HillT.ChalipL. (2005). Marketing sport tourism: Creating synergy between sport and destination. Sport in Society, 8, 302-320.
26.
HavitzM. E.HowardD. R. (1995). How enduring is enduring involvement? A seasonal examination of three recreational activities. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 4, 255-276.
27.
HinchT.HighamJ. (2004). Sport tourism development. Clevedon, England: Channel View.
28.
HoldenA. (1999). Understanding skiers’ motivation using Pearce’s “travel career” construct. Annals of Tourism Research, 26, 435-438.
HutchinsonJ.LaiF.WangY. (2009). Understanding the relationships of quality, value, equity, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions among golf travelers. Tourism Management, 30, 298-308.
31.
Iso-AholaS. E. (1982). Toward a social psychological theory of tourism motivation: A rejoinder. Annals of Tourism Research, 9, 256-262.
KerstetterD. L.ConferJ. J.GraefeA. R. (2001). An exploration of the specialization concept within the context of heritage tourism. Journal of Travel Research, 39, 267-274.
34.
KimS.ChunH.PetrickJ. F. (2005). Positioning analysis of overseas golf tour destinations by Korean golf tourists. Tourism Management, 26, 905-917.
35.
KimS.ClemenzC.WeaverP. (2002). Segmenting golfers by their attitudes toward food and beverage service available during play. Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, 9(3/4), 67-82.
36.
KimS.KimJ. H.RitchieB. W. (2008). Segmenting overseas golf tourists by the concept of specialization. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 25, 199-217.
KozakM. (2002). Comparative analysis of tourist motivations by nationality and destinations. Tourism Management, 23, 221-232.
39.
KrippendorfJ. (1987). The holiday makers: Understanding the impact of leisure and travel. Oxford, England: Heinemann Professional.
40.
LeeC.LeeY.BernhardB. J.YoonY. (2006). Segmenting casino gamblers by motivation: A cluster analysis of Korean gamblers. Tourism Management, 27, 856-866.
ManfredoM. J.DriverB. L.TarrantM. A. (1996). Measuring leisure motivation: A meta-analysis of the recreation experience preference scales. Journal of Leisure Research, 28, 188-213.
43.
MayoE. J.JarvisL. P. (1981). The psychology of leisure travel. Boston, MA: CBI.
44.
McClearyK. W.WeaverP. A.MengF. (2005). Dance as a tourism activity: Demographics, demand characteristics, motivation, and segmentation. Tourism Analysis, 10, 277-290.
45.
McGeheeN. G.YoonY.CardenasD. (2003). Involvement and travel for recreational runners in North Carolina. Journal of Sport Management, 17, 305-324.
46.
McKercherB. (2002). Towards a classification of cultural tourists. International Journal of Tourism Research, 4, 29-38.
47.
MilesM. B.HubermanA. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). London, England: SAGE.
48.
MoscardoG.MorrisonA. M.PearceP. L.LangC.O’LearyJ. T. (1996). Understanding vacation destination choice through travel motivation and activities. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 2, 109-122.
49.
MoutinhoL. (1987). Consumer behaviour in tourism. European Journal of Marketing, 21(10), 5-44.
NogawaH.YamaguchiY.HagiY. (1996). An empirical research study on Japanese sport tourism in Sport-for-All Events: Case studies of a single-night event and a multiple-night event. Journal of Travel Research, 35, 46-54.
52.
OhH. C.UysalM.WeaverP. (1995). Product bundles and market segments based on travel motivations: A canonical correlation approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 14, 123-137.
53.
PearceP. L. (1993). Fundamentals of tourist motivation. In PearceD. G.ButlerR. W. (Eds.), Tourism research: Critiques and challenges (pp. 113-134). London, England: Routledge.
54.
PearceP. L.CaltabianoM. L. (1983). Inferring travel motivation from travelers’ experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 22, 16-20.
55.
PetrickJ. F. (2002). An examination of golf vacationers’ novelty. Annals of Tourism Research, 29, 384-400.
56.
PetrickJ. F. (2005). Segmenting cruise passengers with price sensitivity. Tourism Management, 26, 753-762.
57.
PetrickJ. F.BackmanS. J. (2002). An examination of the determinants of golf travelers’ satisfaction. Journal of Travel Research, 40, 252-258.
58.
PetrickJ. F.BackmanS. J.BixlerR. D.NormanW. C. (2001). Analysis of golfer motivations and constraints by experience use history. Journal of Leisure Research, 33, 56-70.
59.
PlogS. C. (1987). Understanding psychographics in tourism research. In RitchieJ. R.GoeldnerC. R. (Eds.), Travel, tourism, and hospitality research: A handbook for managers and researchers (pp. 203-221). New York, NY: Wiley.
60.
PomfretG. (2006). Mountaineering adventure tourists: A conceptual framework for research. Tourism Management, 27, 113-123.
61.
PyoS.MihalikB. J.UysalM. (1989). Attraction attributes and motivations: A canonical correlation analysis. Annals of Tourism Research, 16, 277-282.
62.
RichardM. D.FairclothJ. B. (1994). A factor/regression model of public golf course choice intentions. Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, 2(4), 37-52.
63.
RitchieB. W. (1998). Bicycle tourism in the South Island of New Zealand: Planning and management issues. Tourism Management, 19, 567-582.
64.
RitchieB. W.TkaczynskiA.FaulksP. (2010). Understanding the motivation and travel behavior of cycle tourists’ using involvement profiles. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 27, 409-425.
65.
RobinsonT.GammonS. (2004). A question of primary and secondary motives: Revisiting and applying the sport tourism framework. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 9, 221-233.
66.
RobinsonJ. P.ShaverP. R.WrightsmanL. S. (1991). Criteria for scale selection and evaluation. In RobinsonJ. P.ShaverP. R.WrightsmanL. S. (Eds.), Measure of personality and social psychological attitudes (pp. 1-16). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
67.
RossG. F. (1998). The psychology of tourism (2nd ed.). Victoria, Australia: Hospitality Press.
TribeJ. (2001). Research paradigms and the tourism curriculum. Journal of Travel Research, 39, 442-448.
76.
UmS.CromptonJ. L. (1990). Attitude determinants in tourism destination choice. Annals of Tourism Research, 17, 432-448.
77.
UysalM.HaganL. A. R. (1993). Motivations of pleasure travel and tourism. In KhanM. A.OlsenM. D.VarT. (Eds.), VNR’s encyclopedia of hospitality and tourism (pp. 790-810). New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
78.
UysalM.JurowskiC. (1994). Testing the push and pull factors. Annals of Tourism Research, 21, 844-846.
79.
WeaverD.LawtonL. (2005). Using cluster analysis to segment a sample of Australian ecotourists. In RitchieB. W.PalmerC. (Eds.), Tourism research methods: Integrating theory with practice (pp. 211-220). Wallingford, England: CABI.
80.
WeedM. (2005). Sports tourism theory and method—Concepts, issues and epistemologies. European Sport Management Quarterly, 5, 229-242.
81.
WeedM.BullC. J. (2004). Sports tourism: Participants, policy and providers. Oxford, England: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
82.
YuanJ.CaiL. A.MorrisonA. M.LintonS. (2005). Segmenting wine festival attendees: A factor-cluster approach. Tourism Review International, 8, 297-309.
