Why do they choose a spa destination? The case of Japanese tourists

• Hiromi Kamata ^[1] ; Yuki Misui ^[2]
  1. [1] Shukutoku University

     Shukutoku University

     Chūō-ku, Japón

     
  2. [2] Takasaki City University of Economics

     Takasaki City University of Economics

     Japón

     
• Localización: Tourism economics: the business and finance of tourism and recreation, ISSN 1354-8166, Vol. 21, Nº. Extra 2, 2015 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Special Focus: Quantitative Approaches in Tourism Economics and Management), págs. 283-305
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The purpose of this study is to segment Japanese spa tourists according to push motivation using a factor-cluster market segmentation approach. The study examines why these tourists choose spa destinations from among the numerous available tourism options, and what kind of attractiveness they seek. The authors derive 7 factors from 44 motivation items by factor analysis and the tourists are segmented into five clusters. Their analysis reveals that these tourists chose spa destinations when they were in search of a 'soothing' experience, one of the seven factors considered specific to spas. The answer to the question on the kind of attractiveness sought varied by segment.