The presentation wishes to examine the push and pulls factors that motivate Greek tourists and cross refer them to the new tourist’s consumer profile. It tries to identify the current trends in tourism models and raise concerns on the development of a green tourist market arguing that the road to a profitable, sustainable tourism in Greece passes through proactive educational strategies as well as the use of targeted marketing channels and promotional tools.

1. CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN
TOURISM
CASE STUDY: GREECE
Tziora Nektaria

2. PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
 Tourism is the most important economic
Industry in Greece
 The Impact of economic Crisis on Tourism
 Consumer Behaviour and Tourism Marketing
2

3. TOURISM MODELS
 Mass Tourism vs. Sustainable Tourism
 Homogenization vs. Differentiation
 Packaged Holidays vs. Individual Experiences
 From 4S to 4E
 Environment, Education, Events, Entertainment
3

4. Plog’s Model of Traveler Types
The PsychocentricTourist
a.k.a. “the Repeater”
 Non adventurous
 Complete relaxation
 Pre-organized itinerary
 Prefer familiarity
and The mid-centrics
The AllocentricTourist
a.k.a. “the Wanderer”
 Seek variety and
experience
 Travel at own pace
 Interested in authenticity
and local cultures
4

5. The Push and Pull Travel
Motives: Demand and Supply
Psychogenic Needs
 Escapism
 Social Interaction
 Being with the Family
 Entertainment
 Pure Relaxation
 Adventure
 Novelty
 etc.
Destination Attributes
 Beautiful Scenery
 Historic & Cultural
Resources
 Accommodation &
Transportation
 Recreational Activities
 Festivals & Events
 etc.
5

6. Tourism Statistics
 More & Shorter Trips
 2 out 3 stay at Friends & Relatives Homes
 Cut back on other Expenses than lose out on their
Holiday
 Peer Travelers influence Destination & Transportation
Choice
 Heightened Interest in Niche Markets (VFR, Creative
Tourism, Wellness & Spa)
6

7. Special Interest Tourism
 Alternative Tourism, including Rural, Cycle, Wine & Food,
Aboriginal
 Varied Tourism Product for varied Market Segments
 Priority of the Greek Tourism Development Strategy, esp.
Maritime and Coastal Tourism
 Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Tourism
Development
7

8. HIGHLIGHTING GREEK TOURIST BEHAVIOUR
AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
8
Is Tourism & Traveling still a priority for
the Greek people?
What really drives Tourist Behaviour?
Are sustainable Tourism Models on the
Rise?

9. Methodology
 Online Questionnaire with Limesurvey
 Distributed through Facebook, LinkedIn, E-mail
 7 thematic Sub-Categories
 Question types: Likert scale, ranking, dichotomous, multiple
choice
 Convenience Sample: 125 people
9

10. Demographic Data
 Gender:74 Female, 51 Male
 Age group:20(18-25), 48(26-35), 35(36-45), 19(46-55), 3(56-65)
 Marital status: 64 Single, 50 Married, 11 Divorced, 35 with minor
children
 Education:13 Vocational Training, 41 University Degree, 49MSc,
13PhD
 Profession: 13 Students, 26 Employees, 54 Public servants, 19 Self
employed, 12 Unemployed, 1 Pensioner
 Monthly income: 30(0-500), 36(501-1000), 45(1001-1500), 11(1501-
2000), 3(2001+)
10

11. 1. HOLIDAY TYPES
Most important type of Holiday
11
100
40
10
24
14
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Summer holidays Weekend or 3days
breaks
Winter holidays Christmas/Easter
holidays
Business /
Educational trips

12. 12
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
How important are these factors by
0.00%
Not at all
important Slightly
holiday planning?
important Moderately
important Fairly
important Very
important
Destination
Accomodation
Duration
Means of transport
Degree of personalized customer
service

13. Preference for Quality & Independence
Preferred Means of Transport.
8%
50%
37%
5%
Organized
coach/bus tours
Road trips
Travel by plane
Cruises
45.60%
Preferred Type of Accommodation
5.60%
8.80%
1.60%
20.80%
16.00%
1.60%
Stay with friends/relatives
Sublend a room
Self-catering appartment
Camping
Medium to low scale hotel/
hostel
Thematic park
A chained brand/well
known hotel
13

14. Interest in packaged Holidays
93%
7%
Being able to customize
your holiday package to
suit your needs and
wishes
Not having to think of
anything resting assure
that your travel agency
will plan every detail of
your holidays
14

15. 2. TRAVEL MOTIVATION
15
65.60%
Most significant travel motivator
25.60%
5.60%
11.20%
2.40%
2.40%
19.20%
80.00%
12.80%
Other
Adventure, eg canoe, kayak
Escape from the daily routine
Back to nature
Visiting friends and relatives
Religion
Sport events
Health and rejuvenation
Sun and Sea

16. Tourism Models Trends
Past – Present - Future
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Adventure tourism
Culture and Sightseeing
Friends and Relatives
Sun Sea and Sand
Sun Sea and
Sand
Friends and
Relatives
Culture and
Sightseeing
Adventure
tourism
next year 77 38 51 20
this year 92 48 35 6
5 years ago 103 39 41 17
16

17. 3.DESTINATION SELECTION
17
28.80%
64.80%
1.60%
3.20%
58.40%
7.20%
Other
Offering personalized customer service
Value for money
Environmental concerns/sensitization
Cost/price
Quality level of offered services

18. 4. SPECIAL INTEREST TOURISM
Are you familiar with the
term Special Interest
Tourism (SIT)?
13%
87%
Yes (Y)
No (N)
Have you ever tried some
form of SIT ?
31%
69%
Yes (Y)
No (N)
18

19. Why haven't you tried so far any
Alternative Tourism Package?
27%
9%
18%
46%
High
cost/extremely
expensive
Not available
where I live
My travel mates
aren't interested
in such forms of
tourism
Other
19
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Satisfaction Degree of S.I.T.
Yes (Y) No (N)
Would you
recommend it
to friends?
Would you try
something
similar again?

20. 5. THE ROLE OF BUDGET
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
I take a vacation
regardless of the
amount of my budget
I choose my holiday
destination based
primarily on my
budget
I choose the duration
of my holidays based
primarily on my
budget
NO
YES
20

21. Main Reason for not taking a Holiday
Personal/
Family
reasons
Financial
reasons
Lack of time No
motivation
Other
17.60%
64.80%
9.60%
4.80% 3.20%
21

22. 6. THE ROLE OF TIME
22
Holidays Frequency in one Year for People
7%
3%
33%
7%
50%
with 0-500€ monthly Income
3-4 times
5 or more
Twice
Never
Once

23. 7. TOURISTS’ PROFILES
30
25
15
10
5
0
20
Personality Type that is familiar with
Loner
Gregarious
Cautious
Adventurous
3
26
3
26
S.I.T.
23

24. Daily Lifestyle & Tourist Choices
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
26%
3%
Food & Wine
as a Hobby as a Tourist Motive
24

25. Eco-awareness & Nature-Lovers
25
Importance of destination's
unspoiled nature
Importance of destination's
environmental sensitization
40.80%
3.20%

26. Escapism is feminine
26
Seeking Adventure
18.75%
81.25%
Men Women
Wanting to Escape
40.80%
59.20%
Men Women

27. Consumer Awareness
Are you aware of
your influence as a
consumer of tourist
products and
services?
Do you insist that
your needs are
always met?
Do you claim your
rights for quality
customer service?
53.60%
69.60% 73.60%
46.40%
30.40%
26.40%
YES
NO
27

28. CONCLUSIONS
 People need Holidays
 Tourism driving Forces
 Socio-economic and
 Cultural Influences
 Personality Attributes
 Towards a sustainable Tourism
 Need for Education,
 Awareness & Sensitization,
 Targeted Promotion (Trendsetting)
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