Tourist differentiation: Developing a typology for the winter sports market

The purpose of this paper was to develop a typology for winter sports tourists deriving from the behavioural characteristics of British skiers and snowboarders. The paper also aimed to ascertain whether differences in the characteristics and behaviour of skiers and snowboarders were identifiable, and consequently whether the market could be meaningfully segmented based upon the sport participated in. Segmentation was data driven with results collected through an online questionnaire targeting members of British ski clubs and online forums. Data collection took place during the 2011-2012 winter season, where 926 responses were collected, 831 of which were appropriate for use. Six segments were identified using factor-cluster analysis: après scene, relaxation seekers, anything goes, enthusiasts, and jet set enthusiasts. It was also determined that three core motivations - social motivations, sport motivations and relaxation motivations - characterise the British winter sports market. Sport type was ascertained to be influential as a criterion in segmenting winter sports tourist, where discrepancies were identified between the skiers and snowboarders in terms of motivation and behaviours affecting destination choice and buying behaviour. Theoretical and practical implications for ski industry were discussed, most notably in relation to the packaging of winter sports holidays and destination marketing