The Future of Market Segmentation and Relationship Marketing in the Tourism and Hospitality Sectors

Abstract

There has been much written about the different methods of market segmentation in relation to the tourism and hospitality industry. Tourism and hospitality organisations have increasingly tried to devise ways of categorising consumers into discrete groups, understanding their behaviour in a variety of ways, and reflecting these findings in appropriate marketing strategies. This paper uses illustrative examples that have been researched to show that the new approach to market segmentation should be based on psychographic and behavioural characteristics, and considers the relevance of relationship marketing in the context of the post-modernist era and growing ethical debate. The paper concludes with a review of the future for branded tourism and hospitality organisations and suggests that an understanding of consumer behaviour should become the central focus for future commercial success