Tourists’ and retailers’ perceptions of souvenirs

Abstract

The nature of humans is to return from travelling with a souvenir of the experience. The purchase of a souvenir by a tourist serves as a tangible way of capturing or suspending in time an otherwise intangible experience. Many small businesses in the south-west region of the USA depend on souvenir sales for income. The purpose of this study was to assess south-western retailers’ knowledge of tourists’ souvenir purchase behaviour while visiting the area. Souvenir products, product attributes and store attributes were analysed for differences in importance between tourists and retailers. Factor analysis and t-tests were administered. Findings indicated differences exist between tourists and retailers with regard to souvenir products, product attributes and store attributes. By better understanding the relationship between tourists and their retail needs, tourism-based retail busi nesses may increase revenues and the economic activity of a host area.