Domestic demand for tourism in rural areas: Insights from summer stays in three French regions

Bel, François and Lacroix, Anne and Lyser, Sandrine and Rambonilaza, Tina and Turpin, Nadine (2014): Domestic demand for tourism in rural areas: Insights from summer stays in three French regions. Published in: Tourism Management No. 46 : pp. 562-570.

Abstract

Tourism has the potential to make a major contribution to the development of rural areas. However, empirical evidence suggests that its economic impact is limited, because rural visitors are thought to engage in few recreational activities and are seen as low spenders. This study gives new insights into the domestic demand in areas of France described as “rural”, with data extracted from the national database provided by the French “tourism demand survey”. The results of the “activity-based segmentation” of visitors' stays in three rural regions show that during the summer season, visits to friends or relatives, which involve little expenditure and no specific activities, continue to take place. However, more expensive stays are the most common. They involve activities aimed at experiencing the outdoors or enjoying local sights, based on natural and cultural amenities that are mainly located in regional natural parks. The main forms of accommodation are campsites and rural cottages. Gastronomic tourism has also emerged as an activity that attracts higher spending visitors. These findings are discussed in relation to the results of segmentation studies in other European countries. Their academic and management implications also are presented.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: domestic tourism; France; rural destinations; activity-based segmentation; amenities
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L83 - Sports ; Gambling ; Restaurants ; Recreation ; Tourism; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q26 - Recreational Aspects of Natural Resources; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R12 - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity

References

Andriotis, K. (2011). A comparative study of visitors to urban, coastal and rural areas. Evidence from the island of Crete. European Journal of Tourism Research, 4(2), 93-108.

Armand, L. (2006). Tourisme rural. Perception du territoire rural et cadrages globaux (48 pp.). Direction du Tourisme (DSPES/BESCE).

Breiman, L., Friedman, J., Olshen, R. A., & Stone, C. J. (1984). Classification and regression trees. Wadsworth International Group.

Canoves, G., Villarino, M., Priestley, G. K., & Blanco, A. (2004). Rural tourism in Spain: an analysis of recent evolution. Geoforum, 35, 755-769.

Crouch, G. I., Devinney, T. M., Louviere, J. J., & Towhidul, I. (2009). Modelling consumer choice behaviour in space tourism. Tourism Management, 30(3), 441-454.

Davidson, R. (1995). Rural tourism in France. Insights, 145-153.

Demen-Meyer, Ch (2005). Le tourisme : essai de définition. Management & Avenir, 3, 7-25.

Dissart, J. C., Aubert, F., & Truchet, S. (2009). An estimation of tourism dependence in French rural areas. In A. Matias, P. Nijkamp, & M. Sarmento (Eds.), Advances in tourism economics (pp. 273-294).

Dissart, J. C., & Marcouiller, D. (2012). Rural tourism production and the experience scape. Tourism Analysis, 17(6), 691-704.

Dolnicar, S. (2004). Beyond commonsense segmentation e a systematics of segmentation approaches in tourism. Journal of Travel Research, 42(3), 244-250.

Dolnicar, S. (2008). Market segmentation in tourism. In A. G.Woodside, & D. Martin (Eds.), Tourism management: Analysis, behaviour and strategy (pp. 129-150). Cambridge: CAB International.

Dolnicar, S., Grabler, K., Grün, B., & Kulnig, A. (2011). Key drivers of airline loyalty. Tourism Management, 32, 1020-1026.

Dolnicar, S., & Leisch, F. (2003). Winter tourist segments in Austria-identifying stable vacation styles for target marketing action. Journal of Travel Research, 41(3), 193-281.

Downward, P. M., & Lumsdon, L. (2000). The demand for day visits: an analysis of visitor spending. Tourism Economics, 6(3), 251-261.

Dwyer, L., & Kim, C. (2003). Destination competitiveness: determinants and indicators. Current Issues in Tourism, 6, 369-414.

Fleischer, A., & Felsenstein, D. (2000). Support for small-scale rural tourism: does it make a difference? Annals of Tourism Research, 27(4), 1007-1024.

Fleischer, A., & Tchetchik, A. (2005). Does rural tourism benefit from agriculture? Tourism Management, 26, 02-22.

Fredman, P. (2008). Determinants of visitor expenditures in mountain tourism. Tourism Economics, 14(2), 297-311.

Frochot, I. (2005). A benefit segmentation of tourists in rural areas: a Scottish perspective. Tourism Management, 26, 335-346.

Garín Mu~noz, T. (2007). German demand for tourism in Spain. Tourism Management, 28(1), 12-22.

Garín-Mu~noz, T., Luís, F., & Montero, M. (2007). Tourism in the Balearic Islands: a dynamic model for international demand using panel data. Tourism Management, 28(5), 1224-1235.

Getz, D., & Page, S. J. (1997). Conclusions and implications for rural business development. In S. J. Page, & D. Getz (Eds.), The business of rural tourism: International perspectives (pp. 191e205). London: International Thomson Business Press.

Hubert, L., & Phipps, A. (1985). Comparing partitions. Journal of Classification, 2(1), 193-218.

Kastenholz, E., Davis, D., & Paul, G. (1999). Segmenting tourism in rural areas: the case of North and Central Portugal. Journal of Travel Research, 37(4), 353-363.

Lane, B. (2009). Rural tourism: an overview. In T. Jamal, & M. Robinson (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of tourism studies. London: Sage Publications.

Lane, B. (1994). What is rural tourism? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2(1-2), 7-21.

Limaa, J., Eus ebioa, C., & Kastenholza, E. (2012). Expenditure-based segmentation of a mountain destination tourist market. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 29(7), 695e713.

Mazanec, J. A. (2000). Market segmentation. In J. Jafari (Ed.), Encyclopedia of tourism. London: Routledge.

McKercher, B., Ho, P., Cros, H., & So-Ming, C. (2002). Activity-based segmentation of the cultural tourism market. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 12(1), 23-46.

Mehmetoglu, M. (2007). Typologising nature-based tourists by activity - theoretical and practical implications. Tourism Management, 28(3), 651-660.

Molera, L., & Pilar Albaladejo, I. (2007). Profiling segments of tourists in rural areas of South-Eastern Spain. Tourism Management, 28(3), 757-767.

OECD. (1999). Cultivating rural amenities. An economic development perspective (116 pp.). Paris: OECD.

Papatheodorou, A. (2001). Why people travel to different places? Annals of Tourism Research, 28(1), 164-179.

Park, D. B., & Yoon, Y. (2009). Segmentation by motivation in rural tourism: a Korean case study. Tourism Management, 30(1), 99-108.

Pearce, P. L. (1990). Farm tourism in New Zealand: a social situation analysis. Annals of Tourism Research, 17(3), 337-352.

Pesonen, J. A. (2012). Segmentation of rural tourists: combining push and pull motivations. Tourism and Hospitality Management, 18(1), 69-82.

Pesonen, J. A. (2013). Developing market segmentation in tourism: Insights from a Finnish rural tourism study (142 pp.) (Dissertations in social sciences and business studies, 69). Publications of the University of Eastern Finland.

Rid, W., Ezeuduji, I. O., & Pr€obstl-Haider, U. (2014). Segmentation by motivation for rural tourism activities in the Gambia. Tourism Management, 40, 102-116.

Roberts, L., & Hall, D. (2001). Rural tourism and recreation: Principles to practice. Wallingford: CABI Publishing.

Rosentraub, M. S., & Joo, M. (2009). Tourism and economic development: which investments produce gains for regions? Tourism Management, 30(5), 759-770.

Ryan, C., Hughes, K., & Chirgwin, S. (2000). The gaze, spectacle and ecotourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 27(1), 148-163.

Scottish Tourist Board. (1997). Fact sheets. Edinburgh: Scottish Tourist Board.

Sharpley, R. (2002). Rural tourism and the challenge of tourism diversification: the case of Cyprus. Tourism Management, 23, 233-244.

Sharpley, R. (1996). Tourism and leisure in the countryside (2nd ed.). Huntington: ELM Publications.

Sung, H., Morrison, A., & O'Leary, J. (2001). Segmenting the adventure travel market by activities: from the North American industry providers' perspective. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 9(4).

Terluin, I. (2003). Differences in economic development in rural regions of advanced countries: an overview and critical analysis of theories. Journal of Rural Studies, 19, 327-344.

Thrane, C., & Farstad, E. (2011). Domestic tourism expenditures: the non-linear effects of length of stay and travel party size. Tourism Management, 32(1), 46-52.

Wedel, M., & Kamakura, W. (1998). Market segmentation: Conceptual and methodological foundations. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Yagüe Perales, R. M. (2002). Rural tourism in Spain. Annals of Tourism Research, 29(4), 1101-1110.