Psychographic Segmentation
Psychographic segmentation also known as Behavioral segmentation. This type of segmentation of the market is divided into groups according to the visitor's lifestyle. It believes that the potential impact on the behavior of visitors, including tourists activities, attitudes and expectations. In this division, Eco-Tourists can follow including travel features Eco-Tourists motives in visiting a particular park.
Product Segmentation
Product segmentation is a strategy to distinguish a market segment of the product from competitors' products, as well as its own products in other market segments. The eco-tourism products can be divided, according to the different types of eco-tourism activities or travel.
Who is an Eco-Tourist?
Age: Ranging in age from 35-54, although the different age activities and other factors, such as cost.
Gender: 50% female, 50% were men, but found significant differences in activity.
Education: 82 percent are university graduates. Find out who has a high interest in eco-tourism transfer. All levels of education, lower education level, show that eco-tourism is extended to the mainstream market.
Household Composition: No significant differences were found between the majority of the tourists and experienced eco-tourism.
Party: The majority 60% experienced eco-tourism of the respondents said they prefer to travel a couple; only 15% preferred travel with their families and 13% of the best alone to travel.
Journey time: the largest group of experienced eco-tourism (50%) preferred trips for 8-14 days.
The largest group (26%) of expenditure: more than general tourists willing to spend more experienced eco-tourism; willing to spend $ 1,001 - $ 1,500 per trip.
Important element of the trip: an experienced eco-tourism top three responses: (1) the wilderness setting, (2) wildlife watching, (3) mountaineering / hiking.
Experienced eco-tourism motivation for their next trip is as follows:
(1) Enjoy the scenery / natural and (2) a new experience / Region.
Eco-Tourism Marketing Mix
Product
Clearly identified eco-tourism products / services (eco-tourism opportunities you provide for your visitors) is the first in the demarcation of the necessity of your marketing plan. Eco-tourists will visit your business to achieve specific experience; they cannot be achieved in other ways. For example, the natural area provides an opportunity to understand the environment (for example, nature trails), relieve stress (for example, the area to escape the crowds and city life), and bond with their families and friends (for example, families and groups camping area). This part of your plan introduced eco-tourism opportunities, as well as the planning, development and implementation. Your product or opportunity should include several specific characteristics of your plan, and are described below.
Promotion
Promote the use of creating demand services or products, to attract attention, generate interest or desire, and action, to sales, service / the product (Goeldner and Ritchie 2009). This section of the plan, are you sure your preferred promotional methods.
Price
Price is a very important demand for eco-tourism, and meets your profit. There are several options available when it comes to pricing scheme. These options include the sale of lower or higher than the current market price. The current market price, the largest amount consumers are willing to pay for your product / service, and may be higher or lower than the nominal value (the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2010 http://www.sba.gov). Factors that affect pricing, such as product quality (that is an acceptable level of quality, stable supply of products / services), competition (other owners of private enterprises as well as government-owned natural attractions in the local offer similar pricing strategy must be used with the product / service), product / service, the distribution of consumers, the cost (for example, capital and maintenance costs), seasonal (product / service consumption, the annual ebb and flow), and the profit margin (net profit of the sum of total operating expenses ). Pricing strategy must also consider new opportunities, such as skimming price (charge high prices to maximize profits in the short term) and penetration pricing (product / service at a low price to win the majority of the market strategy) (Bustam and Stein 2010 Goeldner and Ritchie2009, U.S. Small Business, 2010).
Place
Concern about eco-tourism and the opportunity to visit the location of the access to information to your target audience. Reasons of strategic planning methods, as well as the demand to provide information on how to access your eco-tourism business will remain eco-tourism services.
Distribution channels. Distribution channels (for example, travel agents, online sales) is used to match with potential ecotourists eco-tourism opportunities. For example, you will analyze the possible channel sales, costs and profits, to determine the results you can expect, and to determine the number of the channel, and the opportunity to promote their own.
Geographical area. Geographical area is the eco-tourism operation, the extent of your marketing strategy beyond the location of this region. How far away from this area will be expanded distribution channels and advertising strategy? For example, agro-tourism operators can choose a simple word of mouth advertising in the community or with local school groups to limit his or her channel. In contrast, the canopy tour operators can choose his or her services packaged into a cave dive operators provide various Florida local tour and travel agents packaged eco-tourism opportunities statewide, to assist the sales, promote their ecological tourism products through a statewide activities.
Instead of this 4 business marketing mix, in tourism industry there’s few more Ps like People, Programming, and Partnership.
People
Ecotourism is a “people-oriented” consumer expect from them to participate in a unique experience. Here, you will be considered a market group, you will use the product / service (for example, personal / family, especially skill levels), and any other services needed (for example, convenient transportation, food and beverage services, accommodation), influential participation (such as different characteristics, age, interests, experience), these consumers (that is close to your business) position, as well as how best to communicate with them (for example, the Internet, newspapers, radio, television, publicity volumes). Recognize that not all consumers are the same, and will give you the advantage of your marketing funnel efforts to achieve a specific target market, a unique experience.
Programming
As a business owner, your goal is to increase consumer spending, to do this, the best way, your product diversification. The programming focuses on you to realize your uniqueness and inspire eco-tourism to participate in the activities of the eco-tourism products. Programming options include special events, theme activities, or educational programs. Horseback riding, such as eco-tourism operators can provide tour guides ride in the evening Star as a special event, sightseeing agricultural enterprises haunted sleigh in Halloween-themed activities, and nature tourism operators may invite local wildlife experts in share their unique knowledge of the educational programs.
Partnership
The eco-tourism operators hope to expand or open a new business does not have the resources, to do so is a viable choice partnership may find. Partners in the eco-tourism experience recognize the interdependence between stakeholders and allow cooperation.
Public-Private. The typical partnership of the eco-tourism industry in the State of Florida by the public and private sector partners. Public land management agencies (such as the National Park Service, National Park Administration, County Park) is focused on the protection of their land management and protection, and therefore, they cannot accommodate too many eco-tourism might want. These institutions are often opportunities for partnership with the private sector, in order to better adapt to the demand of the eco-tourism.
Private-Private Partnership. Other options exist to provide opportunities for eco-tourism, and relies on the eco-tourism business and the size / structure. For example, a private partnership with the private sector, including the integration of resources, eco-tourism operators to provide a package deal. For example, local farms provide a unique tourist ranch and undeveloped land, the farmers and the local restaurant or food service partners provide a barbecue end of the tour.
Other Partnership. Marketing partnerships exist additional options. For example, many of the eco-tourism operators rely on the local Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVBS), to assist in the marketing of eco-tourism business (as discussed below). Local CVB is an Internet station, many consumers of eco-tourism, may lead to co-operation with the local CVB for marketing fruitful economic returns.
Part of the marketing plan to provide insight into the need to consider in details the marketing strategy for the development of eco-tourism. Marketing mix plan, achieved independence, but also external resources available to help develop your plan.
Opportunity and Threats
Travel opportunities and threats of the protected areas, and proposes a hybrid. To seek more opportunities for eco-tourism and reduce the threat. If the implementation of opportunity, then it becomes a benefit. If not avoided threats, then becomes a cost. There are no automatic benefits and eco-tourism success depends on good planning and management. Carelessly planned or ineffective implementation of eco-tourism projects can easily become a traditional tourism projects, all related to the negative impact.
Opportunities and threats, and the benefits and costs, individual circumstances will vary from individual to individual, group, group and group. A set of possible advantage is that the cost to another. Determined to pursue opportunities and threats, and to alleviate the best, subjective decision involving all stakeholders. The order of importance of each stakeholder is part of the compromise involved in the tourism planning process.
The entire spectrum of eco-tourism opportunities and threats does not apply to every protected area. For example, in a protected area, to attract domestic tourists mainly in order to earn foreign exchange opportunities are limited, but a good chance there may be local awareness raising. Environmental degradation will vary, depending on the fragile natural resources and the activities permitted. Create a specific set of opportunities and threats in the case of each protected area.
Examples for Eco-Tourism
Eco-tourism opportunities exist in many different locations in the world, and its activities can be used as a wide range of changes. For example, Madagascar is a well-known eco-tourism activity, because it is the biodiversity hotspots, but also for the protection of the environment has a high priority and is committed to reducing poverty. International conservation organizations, 80% of animals and 90% of the factory is only endemic to the island. The lemurs of Madagascar are one of the many species of people visit the island to see. As is committed to protecting the island's government, eco-tourism, allow a small number, because tourism education and funding will make it easier in the future. In addition, tourism revenues also help to reduce poverty in the country.
The eco-tourism is another popular Multi-National Park in Indonesia Como. The park consists of 233 square miles (603 square kilometers) of land, distributed in several islands and 469 square miles (1,214 square kilometers) of water. The region has been identified, as a National Park in 1980, is popular because of its unique and endangered biodiversity of the eco-tourism. The different activities of the Komodo National Park are whale watching hiking and accommodation to have a low impact on the natural environment.
Finally, eco-tourism is also very popular, and Central and South America. Destinations including Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guatemala and Panama. In Guatemala, for example, eco-tourism can access the ecological Escuela Spanish. The main purpose of ecological Escuela Mayan Chichen Itza, historical and cultural traditions, protection and social life there, Today in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve, and protect the land, the people of the region to provide income and education of visitors.
These goals are just some of the eco-tourism is popular, but the opportunity exists in the hundreds place.
Criticism of Eco-Tourism
Despite the popularity of ecotourism in the abovementioned examples, there are several criticisms of ecotourism as well. First, there is no definition of person so it is difficult to know what trips is truly eco-tourism. In addition, natural, low-impact, biological, green tourism and eco-tourism swaps, which usually do not comply with the principles, laid down organization, such as the Nature Conservancy International Eco-tourism Association.
Critics of ecotourism also cite that increased tourism to sensitive areas or ecosystems without proper planning and management can actually harm the ecosystem and its species because the infrastructure needed to sustain tourism such as roads can contribute to environmental degradation.
Ecotourism is also said by critics to have a negative impact on local communities because the arrival of foreign visitors and wealth can shift political and economic conditions and sometimes make the area dependent on tourism as opposed to the domestic economic practices.
Regardless of these criticisms though, ecotourism and tourism in general are increasing in popularity all over the globe and tourism plays a large role in many worldwide economies.
The main criticism of the eco-tourism is one of its lack of a formal, all-encompassing definition of what travel is a category of eco-tourism. Until there is a single definition Use this page to browse the various definitions of several organizations and eco-tourism development of their own small part.
Direct Environmental Impacts
Eco-tourism operations occasionally fail to live up to the ideal of protection. It is sometimes overlooked; eco-tourism is a high consumer of the center's activities, protection of the environment as a means to promote economic growth.
Although the purpose of eco-tourism is a small group, even a moderate population growth, but temporary, and the local environment to bring additional pressure, you must take the development of additional facilities and services. With the development and use of non-renewable energy has limited local resources, building sewage treatment plants, sanitation facilities and hotels.
The conversion of natural land to such tourist infrastructure is implicated in deforestation and habitat deterioration of butterflies in Mexico and squirrel monkeys in Costa Rica. In other cases, unable to meet the infrastructure needs of the eco-tourism because of the environment of the local communities suffer. Due to the lack of adequate sanitation facilities in many East African parks, the camp river sewage treatment results, contamination of wildlife, livestock and people who draw drinking water.
In addition to the tourism infrastructure, environmental degradation, population pressure, ecological tourism also leave garbage and pollution, and the Western way of life. While eco-tourism regarded education mature and environmental concerns, they have little understanding of their visit and ecological consequences, and how their day-to-day activities append physical impact on the environment.
As one scientist pointed out, they rarely admit they eat meals, toilet flushing, the water they drink, etc., are the broader regional economic and ecological systems, they are helping to reconfigure part of their activities. "Also eco-tourism recognizing the need to reach their destination, usually the more remote parts of the huge consumption of non-renewable energy than traditional tourist destination. For example, places which are ten thousand kilometers away from the exotic trip of about 700 liters of fuel consumed per person.
Eco-tourism activities, its own impact on the environment of the problem, because they may disturb fauna and flora. The Eco-tourists believe them, because they just take pictures, footprints left, keeping the original eco-tourist attractions, but even harmless sounding activities, such as natural rose destroying the ecology. In Nepal's Annapurna circuit, eco-tourism has worn the marked path; create alternate routes, impact on soil erosion and plant damage. Eco-tourism activities including wildlife viewing, it can scare away animals, destruction of their feeding and nesting sites, or the presence of foreign teachers. In Kenya, wildlife observers interrupt-driven cheetah their reserves, the increased risk of inbreeding and further endangering the species.
Environmental Hazards
The industrialization, urbanization, and unsustainable agriculture practices of human society are considered to be having a serious effect on the environment. Ecotourism is now also considered to be playing a role in this depletion. Although the long-term ecological may sound relatively benign, its most serious impact is Virgin consumption (Kamuaro, 2007).
The invasions of these usually include deforestation, destruction of ecological life systems and various forms of pollution, all of which contribute to environmental degradation. The increase in the number of motor vehicles crossing the park drivers travel search of rare species. Several roads has disrupted the grass cover have a serious impact on plant and animal species. These areas also have a higher level of interference and invasive species, because of all the traffic is moving into new undiscovered areas (Kamuaro, 2007), the old road. Their value by species in eco-tourism. "Certain species has attached great importance to the value of goods from the little-known or local people.
Commercialization of plants may erase their social value and lead to overproduction within protected areas, local residents and their image, and can also be changed into commodities "(West, 2006). Kamuaro brought an obvious contradiction, any commercial enterprises to enter the original unspoilt land, or "eco" prefix is self-contradictory. To generate revenue you have to have a high number of traffic, tourists, which inevitably mean a higher pressure on the environment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, eco-tourism is tourism a combination of education, entertainment and adventure elements, and the purpose is to observe and experience nature. In order to flourish, ecotourism requires that natural and cultural resources be protected.
In order to overcome the problem of heterogeneity own needs, aspirations, attitudes and behavior of eco-tourism, we need to establish proper market segmentation. A type of Eco-tourism is also considered one of the characteristics of their destination of choice. Therefore, the need for targeted market segments, marketing strategy, in order to provide high value-added products and services, as well as a higher level of satisfaction of the eco-tourism. Strategy to provide assistance to people in the industry, especially eco-tourism managers and tourism operators, from the point of view of their needs, desires, attitudes and behavior, to understand the potential of eco-tourism.
The first impression of the eco-tourism business, it may look like a simple business, small required infrastructure, management capabilities, such as marketing capability is necessary for the effective operation of such enterprises. Marketing of eco-tourism business development, implementation and ongoing success is very important, because it brings opportunities for eco-tourism operators.
A series of threats and opportunities, tourism must be evaluated before deciding to proceed with the traditional tourism or eco-tourism development projects. Threats can include: environmental degradation, cultural distortion, distorting the economy, increases the control of the outside world and industry instability.
Reference:
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This document is FOR278, one of a series of the School of Forest Resources and Conservation Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. [December 2010.] Available on [Assessed on 22 November 2012]
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“Market Segmentation in Ecotourism: Penang National Park, Malaysia”. Available on [Assessed on 22 November 2012]
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Andy Drumm & Alan Moore “An introduction to Eco-Tourism Planning” [2005] Available at [Assessed on 22 November 2012]
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Amanda Briney “Definition of Eco-Tourism”. Available on [Assessed on 22 November 2012]
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Eco-Tourism. (2012) Available on [Assessed on 22 November 2012]
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