Segmenting Winter Sport Tourists by Motivation: The Case of Recreational Skiers

Abstract

This study examined motivation, involvement, and loyalty among recreational skiers to develop a typology of user segments. Recreational skiers (N = 268) from a major ski resort in north Greece participated in the study. Motivation was measured with an adjusted version of the Recreational Experience Preference (REP) scale (Manfredo, Driver, & Tarrant, 1996 Manfredo, M., Driver, B. and Tarrant, M. 1996. Measuring leisure motivation: A meta-analysis of the recreation experience preference scales. Journal of Leisure Research, 28: 188–213. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), involvement was measured with the three dimensional model (attraction, centrality, and self-expression, Kyle et al., 2004 Kyle, G., Graefe, A., Manning, R. and Bacon, J. 2004. Predictors of behavioral loyalty among hikers along the Appalachian Trail. Leisure Sciences, 26: 99–118. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and loyalty was measured with an intention scale. A principal component analysis of the motivation scale revealed seven dimensions: escape, social recognition, enjoying nature, excitement/risk, socialization, skill development and achievement. A cluster analysis was used to categorize these dimensions into four segments labelled: Novice, Multiple-interest, Naturalist, and Enthusiast. Analysis of variance revealed differences among the four groups in both the loyalty and the three involvement sub-scales. As a general trend the fourth segment (enthusiast) had statistically higher scores than all other groups. The marketing implications of the results are discussed.