Driven by the diversification of travellers’ needs and wants (Hassan, 2000; Hsu et al., 2002; McKercher, 2016) and by technological and digital developments (Gretzel et al., 2015), niche tourism is rapidly expanding as a possible response to tourism massification or ‘mass-ness’ (Novelli and Robinson, 2005). Tourists increasingly tend to see themselves as ‘individuals’ and search for very specific tourism products to express their identity (Rihova et al., 2015). At the same time, the offerings of tourism firms - not only of the small-sized ones - tend to focus on specialty businesses to satisfy tourists searching for specific experiences (Benur and Bramwell, 2015; Lew, 2008; Pine and Gilmore, 1999; Wilhelm Stanis and Barbieri, 2013). In addition, new technologies provide effective tools to identify and serve new tourism market niches (Wu et al., 2016). As a result, the number of niche tourism forms is expanding, ranging from astro-tourism (Soleimani et al., 2018) to energy tourism (Frantál and Urbánková, 2017). However, while the growth of niche tourism has been acknowledged in many studies (e.g., Lew, 2008; Powell and Iankova, 2016; Wilhelm Stanis and Barbieri, 2013), this phenomenon been mostly researched from the perspective of niche tourism destinations (Benur and Bramwell, 2015; Morgan and Pritchard, 2006). However, the perspective of tourism businesses targeting market niches has been almost completely overlooked. The purpose of this paper (which is the first step of an ongoing research project) is to contribute to fill this gap by exploring the contents and features of niche marketing from the view of tourism businesses (hospitality businesses, travel agencies and tour operators).
Niche marketing: an exploration from the perspective of tourism businesses
Cassia F.
2018-01-01
Abstract
Driven by the diversification of travellers’ needs and wants (Hassan, 2000; Hsu et al., 2002; McKercher, 2016) and by technological and digital developments (Gretzel et al., 2015), niche tourism is rapidly expanding as a possible response to tourism massification or ‘mass-ness’ (Novelli and Robinson, 2005). Tourists increasingly tend to see themselves as ‘individuals’ and search for very specific tourism products to express their identity (Rihova et al., 2015). At the same time, the offerings of tourism firms - not only of the small-sized ones - tend to focus on specialty businesses to satisfy tourists searching for specific experiences (Benur and Bramwell, 2015; Lew, 2008; Pine and Gilmore, 1999; Wilhelm Stanis and Barbieri, 2013). In addition, new technologies provide effective tools to identify and serve new tourism market niches (Wu et al., 2016). As a result, the number of niche tourism forms is expanding, ranging from astro-tourism (Soleimani et al., 2018) to energy tourism (Frantál and Urbánková, 2017). However, while the growth of niche tourism has been acknowledged in many studies (e.g., Lew, 2008; Powell and Iankova, 2016; Wilhelm Stanis and Barbieri, 2013), this phenomenon been mostly researched from the perspective of niche tourism destinations (Benur and Bramwell, 2015; Morgan and Pritchard, 2006). However, the perspective of tourism businesses targeting market niches has been almost completely overlooked. The purpose of this paper (which is the first step of an ongoing research project) is to contribute to fill this gap by exploring the contents and features of niche marketing from the view of tourism businesses (hospitality businesses, travel agencies and tour operators).
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