The viability of midwestern package travelers as a profitable target segment

Abstract

Despite recent decline in the of travel due to changing market characteristics, package age travel is still an important element of tourism industry. It contributes to the US economy by generating considerable amount of dollars, thus jobs and income. Due to its advantages of low-cost, ease and convenience, package travel is still attractive to certain types of tourists. Despite the significance of package travel, there is a lack of research on package travel in general, especially on domestic package travelers. This study investigates the market characteristics of the US midwestern travelers who took package tours during their most recent trips by analyzing a large-scale market survey database. Results indicate that midwestern package travelers meet the criteria to be an effective and useful market segment and thus are a potentially profitable segment for the US travel industry. Managerial implications for the industry and future research suggestions are provided. Copyright © 2004 anatolia Printed in Turkey. All rights reserved.