The appeal and motivation of special interest tourism for customers

1. The International Travel College of New Zealand 1
Special Interest Tourism
Unit #13 – Learning Outcome 3
Thr appeal and motivation of
special interest tourism for
customers

2. The International Travel College of New Zealand 2
Product Features
A ‘feature’ is any part of your
product or service that can be
physically seen or touched.
It is what the product or service ‘is’.

3. The International Travel College of New Zealand 3
Product Benefits
A ‘benefit’ ‘what a product or
service DOES for you,
or mean to you as the customer.

4. The International Travel College of New Zealand 4
Examples of feature and benefit statements
• The hotel has a gym onsite which means that you don’t need to
leave the hotel for your workout sessions.
• The city tour visits the Cathedral which will save you the cost and
time of a separate visit later on
• Every tour bus is air conditioned which means it will be very
comfortable during the trip
• The art gallery opens at 8am which means you will be there early
and avoid the queues
• Your flight includes lunch which means you don’t have to buy an
expensive lunch at the airport
• The motorcycles are all BMW late models providing you with the
highest levels of comfort and safety
• The bedrooms have en free wi-fi saving about $50 in average
internet use charges.

5. The International Travel College of New Zealand 5
‘Appealing’ Features of
Special Interest Tourism
• Popular destinations: across the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa and
Australasia
• Type of destination: remote, urban, rural
• Type of natural features: lakes, beaches, mountains, jungles,
deserts, seas
• Destination amenities: casinos, nightclubs, shops, restaurants,
level of infrastructure
• Weather features: hot, dry, cold, wet, snowy, windy
• Activities: skiing, climbing, hiking, sailing, caving,
• Social features: part of a group, romantic couples, singles, age
defined, sharing of common interests
• Range of comfort: bush huts and tents through to luxury resorts
• Level of challenge: observing, restful, active, physically
demanding, super athlete level

6. The International Travel College of New Zealand 6
Example of research report into SIT features
and benefits
SIT Sector: Culinary tours
Company Name: Classic Journeys
Web Address: http://www.classicjourneys.com
Tour Name: Taste of Tuscany
Feature: Planned walks
Benefit: so you'll miss none of the historic or scenic high points.
Feature: visits to private and hotel kitchens
Benefit so you can get tips on how to create the classics of the Tuscan menu.
Feature: Visit cheese makers and bakers
Benefit: so you can learn first hand how Italians cook at home

7. The International Travel College of New Zealand 7
The Motivations of Tourists
“People go away because they no longer feel happy
where they are – where they work, where they live.
They feel the monotony of the daily routine, the cold
rationality of factories, offices, apartment blocks and
transport, shrinking human contact, the repression of
feelings, the loss of nature and naturalness…holidays
thus become therapeutic fantasies projected on to distant
lands.”

8. The International Travel College of New Zealand 8
Tourist Motivations
• A special interest tourism experience is always
motivated primarily by that particular interest.
• All leisure motivation can be classified as either
avoidance (escaping) or search (seeking). Iso-Ahola (1989)
• Modern society is a major factor in tourist motivation.
whether to simply escape from the pressures and stress
of modern life or to seek the authentic, satisfying and
meaningful experiences elsewhere, people increasingly
believe that the only way to survive in modern society is
to regularly remove themselves from it, albeit on a
temporary basis.
• Tourism therefore is both caused and sustained by
modern society.

9. The International Travel College of New Zealand 9
Why do people travel?!
• looking for ‘something different’
• looking for ‘more’
• in search of an authentic experience
• skill improvement
• escape and relaxation
• discovery – of places, knowledge, of self
• status and image
• danger and thrills
• challenge
• health
• therapeutic benefits
• sustainability
• challenge
• novelty: going to a new place, to do a new thing
• being first – the first in their ‘circle’ to go somewhere, do something
• product ‘pulls’ such as low pricing (value for money), seasonality (less crowded,
cheaper)
• drawn in by the promotional campaigns and advertising
• ‘modernism’ – modern society causing stress and pressures on people to escape and
refresh

10. The International Travel College of New Zealand 9
Why do people travel?!
• looking for ‘something different’
• looking for ‘more’
• in search of an authentic experience
• skill improvement
• escape and relaxation
• discovery – of places, knowledge, of self
• status and image
• danger and thrills
• challenge
• health
• therapeutic benefits
• sustainability
• challenge
• novelty: going to a new place, to do a new thing
• being first – the first in their ‘circle’ to go somewhere, do something
• product ‘pulls’ such as low pricing (value for money), seasonality (less crowded,
cheaper)
• drawn in by the promotional campaigns and advertising
• ‘modernism’ – modern society causing stress and pressures on people to escape and
refresh