Changing attitudes to ‘mass tourism’ products—The UK outbound market perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the attitudes, preferences and behaviour of the outbound ‘mass’ holiday market. There are many assumptions made concerning the expectations of the UK package holiday consumer by researchers, the trade, overseas suppliers etc. These often reflect characteristics identified by Plot¹ and Cohe ² in their tourist typologies. However, recent research indicates that as the market matures and gains more experience there are subtle but significant changes in the general consumer consensus of what comprises a good product offering. Knowledge of changes in consumer behaviour is becoming increasingly vital to suppliers and principals in the tourism industry. In particular, the mainstream tour operators need to understand the market in order to differentiate their product development, marketing activities and image from those of their many competitors.