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A. Terzi´ c and D. Demirovi´ c Bajrami
9 Conclusions
A rapid growth in nature-based tourism has coincided with a shift in protected
area management strategies towards integrated sustainable development. In this line,
tourism was often considered to be one of the means used to increase the economic
value of a protected area and to offer sustainable opportunities for the economic development of local communities. As confirmed by numerous studies and our findings,
personal values influenced tourists’ tendencies to participate in pro-environmental
tourism consumption (Blamey and Braithwaite 1997), while environmental beliefs
affected people’s attitudes to a greater extent when based on integrated and internalised motivations for environmental issues (De Groot and Steg 2010). Since the
1990
s, we are witnessing extreme levels of personal attachment towards ecological issues. Care for nature and the environment became incorporated into the basic
human value system, to which most people related strongly. The desire to learn and
experience nature was influenced by changing attitudes to the environment, development of environmental education, and the emergence of environmental mass media
(Wight 2001).
The research indicated the existence of different factors to determine the value
system of tourist groups: conservatism, self-transcendence, and self-enhancement.
Considering that groups were coherent social units, the study identified three clusters,
which intimately shared the same or similar value sets and characteristics. Taking into
consideration that the groups were coherent to a certain extent and shared the defined
set of basic values, the study aimed to define the socio-demographic characteristics
of potential ecotourist segments and outlined the main human values with which
they identify. A comprehensive analysis of statistical data confirmed theoretical
and empirical findings of previous studies, defining specific psychological types of
tourists, underlining the basic connections, similarities, and differences in practising
nature-based activities. Explaining differences between ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ ecotourist
types resulted in the extraction of various motivational aspects with different levels of
importance. Besides, the potential of defining specific markets was outlined, based on
basic human values sets as a specific marketing tool for ecotourism and nature-based
tourism products. By identifying tourist types one may provide valuable insights to
explain their motivations, create segments as homogeneous groups and profile them,
which may assist in developing marketing and managerial strategies.
The basic human value sets determined the general motivation of tourists and
affected their attitudes and behaviour at a destination. Therefore, human values may
be considered an important factor that influences tourist choices and behaviours,
indicating the existence of different tourist segments (tourist niches). Some tourist
groups shared specific value sets, which were determined by using factor analysis and
clustering techniques. This study advocated that not only such groups have different
psychological characteristics, but also different socio-demographic characteristics,
economic status and geographical distribution (due to the existence of environmentally friendly nations), and based on these factors, different marketing strategies can
be developed and directed.
A. Terzi´ c and D. Demirovi´ c Bajrami
9 Conclusions
A rapid growth in nature-based tourism has coincided with a shift in protected
area management strategies towards integrated sustainable development. In this line,
tourism was often considered to be one of the means used to increase the economic
value of a protected area and to offer sustainable opportunities for the economic development of local communities. As confirmed by numerous studies and our findings,
personal values influenced tourists’ tendencies to participate in pro-environmental
tourism consumption (Blamey and Braithwaite 1997), while environmental beliefs
affected people’s attitudes to a greater extent when based on integrated and internalised motivations for environmental issues (De Groot and Steg 2010). Since the
1990
s, we are witnessing extreme levels of personal attachment towards ecological issues. Care for nature and the environment became incorporated into the basic
human value system, to which most people related strongly. The desire to learn and
experience nature was influenced by changing attitudes to the environment, development of environmental education, and the emergence of environmental mass media
(Wight 2001).
The research indicated the existence of different factors to determine the value
system of tourist groups: conservatism, self-transcendence, and self-enhancement.
Considering that groups were coherent social units, the study identified three clusters,
which intimately shared the same or similar value sets and characteristics. Taking into
consideration that the groups were coherent to a certain extent and shared the defined
set of basic values, the study aimed to define the socio-demographic characteristics
of potential ecotourist segments and outlined the main human values with which
they identify. A comprehensive analysis of statistical data confirmed theoretical
and empirical findings of previous studies, defining specific psychological types of
tourists, underlining the basic connections, similarities, and differences in practising
nature-based activities. Explaining differences between ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ ecotourist
types resulted in the extraction of various motivational aspects with different levels of
importance. Besides, the potential of defining specific markets was outlined, based on
basic human values sets as a specific marketing tool for ecotourism and nature-based
tourism products. By identifying tourist types one may provide valuable insights to
explain their motivations, create segments as homogeneous groups and profile them,
which may assist in developing marketing and managerial strategies.
The basic human value sets determined the general motivation of tourists and
affected their attitudes and behaviour at a destination. Therefore, human values may
be considered an important factor that influences tourist choices and behaviours,
indicating the existence of different tourist segments (tourist niches). Some tourist
groups shared specific value sets, which were determined by using factor analysis and
clustering techniques. This study advocated that not only such groups have different
psychological characteristics, but also different socio-demographic characteristics,
economic status and geographical distribution (due to the existence of environmentally friendly nations), and based on these factors, different marketing strategies can
be developed and directed.