A case study of nature-based tourists: Specialists versus generalists

Abstract

Along with the rapid growth of tourism, different forms of tourism have emerged. Among these is nature-based tourism, which in fact is considered to be increasing more quickly than tourism as a whole. There is a general consensus that tourism marketers and planners need to obtain systematic knowledge about nature-based tourists. The literature suggests, however, that there may be different types of nature tourists depending on their degree of specialization. The aim of this study is to examine whether nature tourists can be clustered into two broad segments as specialists and generalists, and, if so, whether and how these two segments differ from each other. The necessary data were collected from 162 visitors at two nature-based attractions (wilderness centres) located in northern Norway. Using a single psychographic dimension (i.e. motivation) it was possible to classify the respondents into specialists and general- ists. The former travelled mainly for nature reasons, whereas the latter had reasons other than only nature for travelling. These two groups were subsequently compared on the basis of their socio-demographic and trip characteristics, travel motives and activities. The results indicated that specialist and generalist nature-based tourists differed significantly, principally in terms of nationality, trip purpose, trip length and travel motives.