残疾旅游市场分析.docx

1、残疾旅游市场分析 www.palgrave-Families travelling with a disabled member: Analysing the potential of an emerging niche market segmentChang Huh* and A.J. SinghReceived (in revised form): 24th March, 2007*Department of Parks, Recreation and Hospitality Administration, Williamson Hall #202, Arkansas TechUniver

2、sity, Russellville, Arkansas 72801, USA.Tel: + 1 479 968 0371; Fax: + 1 479 968 0600; E-mail: chuhatu.eduChang Huh PhD, is an assistant professor in Department of Parks, Recreation and Hospi- tality Administration, Arkansas Tech University, USA, where he teaches courses in introduction to hospitalit

3、y industry, hospitality marketing and sales, and research methods. His research interests include tourism destination marketing, tourism regional development, and research methodology. His research papers have been published in referred academic journals and presented at several conferences and arou

4、nd the world.A.J. Singh PhD, is an associate professor in The School of Hospitality Business, Michigan State University, USA, where he teaches courses in International Lodging, Finance and Real Estate.His research interests include Inter- national lodging operations, nancial manage- ment and real es

5、tate development. During his tenure as a faculty member he has published over 40 hospitality industry articles in refereed academic journals. He is currently co-authoring a second edition of the seminal textbook titled: International Hotel Management with Chuck Y. Gee.ABSTRACTKEYWORDS: family, disab

6、ility, market segmentation, niche market, pleasure trip, travelThe 2000 Census of Population indicated that50 million Americans, or 19.3 per cent of the US population, were people with disabilities and covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is estimated that the number of families wit

7、h a member with a disability will grow signif- icantly. Although people with disabilities and their families have sufficient discretionary income and time to take pleasure trips, tourism and hospitality marketers and practitioners to date generally have not much considered this group to be a focal m

8、arket segment. The objective of the study was to determine whether families with a member with a disability should be considered a viable niche market by tourism and hospitality industry. Two secondary data sets from US Census reports and a six-state longitudinal travel market survey were used to ev

9、aluate the viability of this group as a market segment according to Kotlers criteria for market segmenta- tion. Substantiality, differentiability and action- ability were identified as the three most important criteria to determine that this segment is a viable niche tourism market. The findings ind

10、icate that this market can possibly be attracted through discount deals and reached through auto club publications and specially designed web pages. The marketing implications of this study are discussed.Tourism and Hospitality Research (2007) 7, 212229.doi:10.1057/palgrave.thr.6050044212Tourism and

11、 Hospitality Research Vol. 7, 3/4, 212229 2007 Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. 1467-3584 $30.00INTRODUCTIONThe tourism and hospitality industry in the US has reached a state of maturity characterised by a marketplace saturated with its products and services and engaged in fierce competition. This is driving

12、 some tourism and hospitality marketers and practitioners to identify and target new markets that are overlooked by their competitors, including niche markets. In view of Harris Interactives study (Travel Daily News, 2003) assertion that people with disa- bilities and their families would be able to

13、 spend at least $27bn per year if certain needs were met on their trips, one such niche market might be family travellers with a member with a disability.The latest census indicated that about 50 million Americans, or 19.3 per cent of the US population, were people with disabilities and covered unde

14、r the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The sheer numbers of people with disabilities and their families, as well as their special requirements when they travel, suggests a need for research on how tourism and hospi- tality marketers and practitioners can better attract and serve them. Very few

15、 inquiries on the subject of families travelling with a member with a disability have, however, been conducted. The existing literature is limited to studies which identify the vacationing needs of people with disabilities based on the grounds of social justice (Ray and Ryder, 2003), altruism (Darcy

16、,2002; Takeda and Card, 2002), and the imper- ative of conforming to the requirements of the ADA (Hodapp, 1993; Kohl and Greenlaw, 1992; Papadatos, 1993; Withiam, 1992, 1997; Woods and Kavanaugh, 1992).These ideals and dictates are, however, clearly more likely to be fulfilled if a financial incenti

17、ve exists for tourism marketers to do so, in other words, if it can be demonstrated that families with a member with a disability constitute a viable niche market that can effectively and efficiently reached and served. In the tourism field, a precedent for this argument is the fact that many of the

18、 crown jewels in the American National Park System owe their existence and pristine states to theHuh and Singh fact that entrepreneurs in the late 1800s and early 1900s saw an opportunity to make money by transporting tourists to see these natural wonders tourists who subsequently lobbied for their

19、preservation and professional manage- ment (Sellars, 1997).The purpose of this study was to determine whether families with a member with a disa- bility should be considered a viable niche tourism market. Niche marketing is the process of concentrating marketing resources and efforts on one particul

20、ar market segment. Therefore, the viability of identifying families with a member with a disability, as a niche tourism market, can be determined using the criteria suggested by Kotler (1997: 268269) for determining the viability of market segments, namely: Measurability (the degree to which the siz

21、e and purchasing power of the segments can be measured) Substantiality (the degree to which the seg- ments are large and/or profitable enough) Differentiability (the degree to which the segments can be conceptually distinguished and expected to respond differently to dif- ferent market-mix elements

22、and program- mes) Accessibility (the degree to which the seg- ments can be effectively reached and served) and Actionability (the degree to which effective programmes can be formulated for attracting and serving the segments).In addition, results from several studies indicate that people with and wi

23、thout disabilities may be expected to have different travel behaviour patterns, thereby lending support to at least some of the above criteria. For instance, various studies found that lack of accessibility can prevent people with disabilities from travelling, reduce the frequency of their trips, or

24、 diminish their satisfaction in them (Brodia and Germann,1999; Peniston, 1996; Turco et al., 1998). Simi- larly, other found significant differences in 2007 Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. 1467-3584 $30.00 Vol. 7, 3/4 212229 Tourism and Hospitality Research 213 Families travelling with a disabled memberleis

25、ure activities and participation between the people with and without disabilities in terms of income, employment status, and race/ ethnicity (Heyne and Schleien, 1997; Mactavish et al., 1997). Notwithstanding these findings, to date no systematic and comprehensive analysis of the viability of famili

26、es travelling with a member with a disability as a niche tourism market has been conducted.Denition of termsFor the purposes of this study, it is important to provide clear and specific definitions of the constructs of family, disability, and travel. To accommodate the diversity of family composi- t

27、ions and to prevent confusion due to various definitions of family, this study used the defini- tion proposed by Mactavish et al. (1997), which refers to the family as a social group with whom one resides, in other words, the house- hold. The definition of disability is a person who has with a physi

28、cal or mental impairment that prevents one or more major life activities such as walking, talking, caring for oneself, or working defined by ADA (1990). In the present study, travel is defined as a pleasure trip including any overnight or day trips to a place at least 50 miles from home for the purp

29、ose of enjoyment. Specifically pleasure travel includes vacations, weekend getaways, shopping trips, trips to a second home, and trips to visit friends or relatives.LITERATURE REVIEW People/travellers with disabilitiesstudiesThe leisure needs and preferences of people with disabilities have been ext

30、ensively investi- gated, mostly from the perspective of social justice and altruism rather than for marketing purposes. Most studies have appeared in the rehabilitation, parks and recreation, medical science, and gerontology literature. Some studies have identified barriers to participating in recre

31、ation activities due to accessibility, archi- tecture, public attitudes, and transportation(Cavinato and Cuckovich, 1992; Sugerman,1996; Vash, 2001). In addition, various studies have explored how to encourage the develop- ment of people with disabilities focusing on (1) social skills and competence through play and recreation (Lloyd et al., 2001; Lord, 1997), (2) social inclusion and integration (Bedini,1996; Mahon et al., 2000; Marley, 2000; Russel and McLean, 1997), (3) leisure and recreation for life satisfaction and quality of life (Browder and Cooper, 1994; Modell an