Segmentation of Ethnic Tourists and Their Interaction Outcomes With Hosts in the Central Highlands, Vietnam

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0114

Keywords:

Ethnic Tourists, Host-Tourist Interaction Outcomes, Personas, Segmentation, Vietnam's Central Highlands

Abstract

Emphasizing interactions with ethnic minority hosts, this paper segments domestic tourists visiting Vietnam’s Central Highlands based on their travel motivation. Three PERSONAS summarize profiles of Explorers, Seekers, and Enjoyers based on their sociodemographic and trip characteristics, especially differences in host-tourist interactions and perceptions of ethnic tourism outcomes. Such data informs decisions about what type of tourists villagers want to serve to achieve community aspirations. Explorers and Seekers were identified as the most suitable target groups to attain better interaction outcomes and make positive contributions to the local community. Tourism marketers and policymakers can use PERSONAS to develop campaigns to attract the targeted segments.

Author Biographies

Kieu T. T. Nguyen, James Cook University / Dalat University

Kieu T. T. Nguyen (Calla) earned her PhD from the James Cook University, Australia. She is currently a Lecturer at the Faculty of Tourism, Dalat University, Vietnam. She is interested in host-tourist interaction, ethnic tourism, community-based tourism, and sustainable tourism development. 

Laurie Murphy, James Cook University

Laurie Murphy is an adjunct Associate Professor of Tourism at the James Cook University, Australia. She is interested in improving tourism’s contribution to regional communities with an emphasis on tourism marketing, including backpackers, destination image and choice, destination branding and tourist shopping villages. Laurie served on the Tourism Development and Marketing Strategic Advisory Committee for Townsville Enterprise Ltd. 

Tingzhen Chen, James Cook University

Tingzhen Chen is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism and holds a PhD in Tourism at the James Cook University, Australia. Her main research interests include tourism seasonality in Asia Pacific (particularly implications of institutional seasonality), tourist experience (focusing on Chinese outbound tourists), and cross-discipline research (e.g., marketing/economics implications of tourists’ organic food consumption). 

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Published

2024-10-28

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Current Research on Southeast Asia