tourist market segmentation

• Market Segmentation in Tourism (What It Is & Why It Matters)

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March 22, 2023 | Reach an Audience

Originally published April 11, 2017 Updated March 26, 2023

As the tourism industry continues to advance, competition among businesses intensifies. To excel, you must understand your customers’ diverse needs and preferences.

This is where travel market segmentation comes in. This process divides a larger market into smaller groups of consumers with similar needs and characteristics.

Market segmentation is essential for travel and tourism businesses to effectively reach and engage with their target audience.

By identifying specific travel segments, such as solo travelers, adventure seekers, or luxury travelers, you can tailor your offerings and marketing messages to meet their unique needs.

In fact, a report by McKinsey & Company shows 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions .

This report indicates the increasing significance of market segmentation in the tourism industry. Companies that excel at demonstrating customer intimacy generate faster revenue growth rates than their peers.

In this blog post, I’ll explore the importance of market segmentation in tourism, why it’s important, and how you can use it to improve your marketing strategy.

What Is Market Segmentation in Tourism?

Market segmentation in tourism is the process of dividing the market into smaller groups of consumers with similar needs or characteristics . This helps tourism businesses tailor their offerings and marketing messages. Travel market segmentation also increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Why Is Market Segmentation Important in the Tourism Industry?

Travel market segmentation is a crucial strategy in the tourism industry. Travel segments divide customers into distinct groups based on their needs, interests, behaviors, and demographics.

Travel segments also help businesses tailor their marketing efforts and develop targeted products and services for each group. As a result, travel and tourism companies can maximize revenue and customer satisfaction.

Here are some key reasons why market segmentation is important in the tourism industry:

Helps businesses understand their customers : By segmenting the market, you can better understand your customers and create more personalized experiences and products.

Allows for targeted marketing : Customer segments help you create marketing messages and campaigns tailored to each unique group. This can increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and improve customer engagement.

Increases customer satisfaction : Offering products and services customized to your customers will likely satisfy their experience. This can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.

Boosts revenue : Creating targeted products and services that appeal to specific customer segments can increase revenue. You can attract and retain more customers, which improves profitability.

What Are the 4 Types of Traveler Segmentation?

There are several different ways to segment the travel market. The four main tourism market segments include:

• Demographic segmentation in tourism : Dividing customers based on age, gender, income, education, and other demographic factors.
• Geographic segmentation in tourism : Segmenting customers based on location, such as country, region, or city.
• Psychographic segmentation in tourism : Dividing customers based on their lifestyle, interests, values, and personality traits.
• Behavioral segmentation in tourism : Segmenting customers based on their behaviors and actions, such as travel frequency, spending habits, and travel motivations.

Using these travel segments, you can develop targeted marketing strategies, improve customer satisfaction, increase loyalty, and boost revenue.

For instance, a business that focuses on adventure travel may target customers with a high interest in outdoor activities and a willingness to take risks.

Some popular segment names for the travel and tourism industry are escapists, learners, planners, and dreamers.

What Are Examples of Market Segmentation in Tourism?

Here are five brief tourism market segmentation examples. They illustrate how businesses can tailor their offerings to specific customer needs.

• Hotel targeting business travelers by offering conference rooms and fast Wi-Fi.
• Tour company targeting adventure seekers by offering hiking and extreme sports packages.
• Cruise line targeting families by offering kid-friendly activities and childcare services.
• Luxury resort targeting customers with a high income and a preference for exclusive amenities and experiences.
• A destination marketing organization targeting retirees by promoting cultural events and attractions.

Businesses that leverage tailored travel segments gain a competitive edge in the tourism industry.

Seize the (Micro) Moment in Travel Market Segmentation

Market segmentation in tourism requires you to think critically about your target audience and how they move through the customer journey.

Often, tourism and travel market segments are created by one, or a combination, of the following:

• Age / life stage (e.g., millennial, retiree)
• Socioeconomic status
• Type of travel (e.g., business, leisure, extended stay)

With online research easier and more portable than ever, we like to think about travel segments a little differently.

Travel brands and destination marketers should consider the moments your potential customers may jump online from their phone or computer—as the biggest marketing opportunity.

While the who still matters when you’re trying to reach an audience—the when is more vital than ever.

For example, think about how you planned your last vacation. If you were like most, you bounced back and forth between dreaming about and loosely planning your next getaway—zooming in on a destination and quickly bouncing around in search of inspiration only to zoom out and consider all the options yet again.

This quick spurt of research to answer an immediate need (usually turning to a search engine) has been coined “a micro-moment” by Google.

Such micro-moments represent a huge opportunity for destination marketing organizations and are the key to attracting and earning a savvy traveler’s consideration.

Often, we pull in focus groups to test our theories on user motivation and needs.   From on-paper prototypes and discussion groups to high-fidelity wireframes and user-experience videos—we pick from our bag of user-testing methods to ensure content and calls-to-action are placed in the best places possible.

How to Use Travel Segments in Your Marketing Strategy

What if your brand or location could be in front of your potential customers during the exact moments they are dreaming about getting away, planning their visit, and eventually booking their vacation? What content should you create at what moments?

Knowing how to leverage travel market segmentation and the power of micro-moments is the key to upping your travel industry marketing game.

It’s how you keep your messaging laser focused and your audience satisfied. As a result, your travel or tourism company will see increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue!

Market Segmentation in Tourism FAQ

Answers to common questions about tourism market segmentation.

Why Do We Segment the Tourism Market?

The travel market is far too large and diverse to reach effectively in one fell swoop. Tourism marketers use segmentation to understand customer needs better and allocate marketing dollars effectively.

Effective travel market segmentation is based on extensive quantitative research focusing on large numbers of people. Then grouping them based on shared characteristics such as:

• Demographics
• Behavioral patterns
• Cognition ratings

Once identified, these groups are referred to as particular segments. You can target them with specific product offerings, services, and tailored marketing messages.

What Are the Components of the Tourism Industry?

There are six main components of tourism, each with sub-components. The six components of travel and tourism include attractions, activities, accessibility, accommodation, amenities, and transportation.

Travel Segments vs Personas: What’s the Difference?

Personas are used to encourage a design for real people with real needs. They break down the user’s context, needs, motivations, and pain points on a personal basis.

Travel segments aim to pinpoint and measure the size of different groups at a high level.

Market segmentation isn’t persona research. Sure, they’re very similar tools that group current and potential customers into manageable buckets. However, you can’t create a detailed buyer persona without first diving into market research.

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The basics of tourism market segmentation.

• Who is your client?
• Where is your client located?
• What is your client interested in?
• How would you introduce your product to that client?
• Why would certain segments be interested or not interested in your products?
• The market is a set of separate segments, reflecting the variations in demand of different categories of consumers under the influence of various factors.
• Your marketing success will highly depend on your ability to reach the audience you’re marketing to with a targeted marketing message, so make sure to get clear understanding of their persona.
• It is necessary to differentiate products and marketing methods for each market segmentation, based on previous analysis of the demand and common characteristics.

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The Vital Role of Market Segmentation in the Tourism Industry

What is Market Segmentation in the Tourism Industry?

Why is market segmentation important in tourism, what are the 4 segments of the tourism industry, tourism market segmentation examples, frequently asked questions (faq).

The tourism industry is an ever-growing and competitive landscape , presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses operating within it. This is where market segmentation comes in handy.

In this blog post, we will discuss what market segmentation is, the importance of market segmentation in the tourism industry, and how online travel agencies can benefit from it.

Market segmentation in the tourism industry is the process of grouping a large market into subgroups of customers with similar needs and preferences.

Definition: Dividing a market who have different needs into groups that have similar needs.

The main goal of segmentation is to classify consumers based on shared interests. This results in content that gets seen, messaging that gets heard, and products and services that get sold. 

The Role of Market Segmentation for Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)

Segmentation allows online travel agencies to cater to different types of travelers with unique and diverse interests, lifestyles, preferences, aspirations, expectations, and habits. 

The challenge OTAs and those within the tourism sector face is that they are all selling the exact same product. For example, if a traveler wants to say at the Four Seasons Resort in Dubai, they can book directly or via Booking.com, Hotels.com, and Expedia. 

Companies that cannot differentiate themselves in the market become interchangeable with similar ones . Consequently, customers base their purchasing decisions solely on the cost of the product or service, leading to decreased profit margins.  

When you segment-specific markets, you stop competing over price and start competing over value. 

The Benefits of Effective Market Segmentation

There are several benefits of effective market segmentation for both the end user and online travel agencies. 

The Benefits of Effective Market Segmentation for End Users

• Products and services are consumer-centric 
• Segments feel seen and heard
• Consumer needs exceed expectations
• Improve travel experience 

The Benefits of Effective Market Segmentation for OTAs

• Targeting the right consumers
• Offer personalized travel products and services  
• Identify new and unmet needs
• Identify unexplored segments
• Differentiate from the competition 

1. Creating Targeted Marketing Strategies

Market segmentation enables OTAs to develop more effective marketing strategies that attract and retain customers. This is because segmentation allows them to target different customer clusters with tailored offers and messages that burn through the noise as opposed to cookie-cutter campaigns. 

Backpackers and business travelers have different interests, just as families and couples on holiday have different interests. Once you have identified your segment, you can target them based on what interest them. 

One simple strategy when it comes to email marketing is to segment your email list based on buyer personas. This way, you can customize your messaging to address their specific interests and needs instead of sending the same email to everyone.

2. Efficient Resource Allocation

The more effective marketing strategies become, the more efficient businesses become at allocating their resources. This is because they stop wasting resources on irrelevant products and services that do not appeal to their customer base because they know exactly who their customers are, what they want, and how to target them. 

A brand that knows who their customer is can create products and services that their customers want and tailor their messaging to attract the people most likely to purchase them.

This means businesses can allocate their resources more efficiently by focusing on what their customers actually want and need instead of what they ‘think’ they want and need.

3. Product Development and Innovation

Market segmentation helps businesses identify their customer’s needs and preferences, enabling them to develop and alter their products and services to meet their expectations. OTAs can create segment-specific offers and packages based on these insights. 

Once you have chosen your specific segment or segments, it’s important to tailor your product to the unique characteristics of that segment . For example, offering a breakfast package for family travelers or a couple’s package for honeymooners. 

Unique pricing options or personalized value add-ons can be developed for each segment. Price discrimination is a selling strategy OTAs can use to charge different rates to different customers for the same product or service.

For example, for hotel rooms, an OTA can:

• Sell at a higher rate based on what customers are willing to pay
• Sell at a lower rate based on what customers are willing to pay

The luxury travel segment has a higher tolerance for spending more money on their travel experiences and services. While the family travel segment is more likely to focus on finding the best deals or trying to get the most out of their money. 

This can be key in identifying what price will make them jump at the opportunity and what price will make them run for the hills.

4. Enhancing Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

The main goal of segmentation is to better serve the customer. As a result, businesses are better equipt to meet customer needs and expectations. Consequently, leading to an increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty.

By creating target marketing campaigns that resonate with prospects and customers, allocating resources efficiently, and developing products and services that meet the needs of each segment , businesses can deliver a higher level of customer satisfaction that results in repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.

For example, when you link the expectations and needs of your customers to the tour packages you create and sell , you’re customers are more likely to experience greater satisfaction. 

To evaluate the potential of a segment, you can review 5C’s: 

It’s important to identify whether the segment you would like to choose is a viable option. As while some segments may seem like a fit, they might not provide the type of scalability you desire for your business, or they might be too costly to acquire. Let’s take a look at several factors to take into account. 

• Customer: Is the chosen segment ‘attractive’ in terms of profitability? (aka how much are they willing to pay) 
• Condition: How big is the market size and growth rate? (market potential) 
• Cost: How much does it cost to reach the chosen segment? (customer acquisition cost) 
• Company: Is this segment compatible with the company’s objectives, capabilities, and resources? (company/segment fit) 
• Competitors: Who are the main competitors? ( Global OTA market share ) 

Now that we understand why market segmentation is so important, let’s take a look at the main segments of market segmentation. 

The tourism industry has four main segments, which involve identifying and targeting specific customers and categorizing them according to their geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics. 

1. Geographic Segmentation

Geographic segmentation is when a business segments its market into regions or countries. This can help them understand where their target audience comes from so they can tailor their marketing campaigns and messages accordingly.

Segmentation by geographic location makes a brand more relevant to its target audience , and its resources get allocated more efficiently.

For example, according to Google Travel Insights , France has The United Kingdom, The United States, and Italy as their top 3 sources of inbound demand. OTAs and local businesses in France can use this knowledge to help them better understand the people visiting their destination and buying their products and services. 

2. Demographic Segmentation

Demographic segmentation is when a business analyzes the characteristics of the population. For example, age, income, education, occupation, and several other factors.

These factors can help you fine-tune your marketing strategies to relate to that chosen segment. Just like consumer behavior changes, it does the same as we age. Similarly, those with similar income levels will also seek out similar travel experiences. 

For example, those traveling as young adults will expect a different experience than seniors. One group is more likely to want to say at a hostel and backpack, while the other group would prefer to have their own room with a little bit more luxury. 

This type of data can be used to determine the market size and potential of the demographic segment chosen. One key demographic that travel companies should focus on targeting is Gen Z. This generation consists of late teenagers to early adults who are known to be the largest and most ethically diverse generation in the U.S. and have grown up online.

3. Psychographic Segmentation

Psychographic segmentation is when a business focuses on customers’ lifestyles, values, opinions, and interests. This helps companies to identify different customer personalities and create more targeted marketing messages that resonate.

Psychographic segmentation allows brands to tap into the emotional triggers and pain points that make people buy. This type of data can be invaluable in understanding the customer journey your segmented audiences takes from beginning to end. 

This data informs how a company decides to market itself and communicate with its audience. For example, if an OTA wants to market to Gen Z, it will differ from how they market to millennials or boomers. 

4. Behavioral Segmentation

Behavioural Segmentation is when a business taps into its segments purchasing behavior and travel patterns. Brands can group behavior based on seasonality, frequency of purchases or trips, and the amount spent on travel-related products and services.

For example, many European countries can expect increased demand for travel to the region in the summer months. OTAs can use this knowledge to forecast demand surges, manage inventory supply and price their products accordingly. 

Additionally, this can guide the types of promotional activities marketed . For example, in the summer months, travel agencies can create summer travel deals for their target audience to take advantage of. 

The four segments are often used in tandem when planning out marketing campaigns. For example, an OTA creating an Ads campaign will likely target a specific segment that lives in a particular area with unique interests, values, and behaviors. 

The data they collect above can help them target those more likely to buy instead of a broader audience that may not be interested in their offer. This allows the OTA to save money, reach more people with the right message, and increase their ROI.

Tourism markets can be segmented into groups more likely to buy a certain type of holiday or experience. Many types of travel agencies are available, categorized based on several factors . Depending on the type of travel agency operated and the segment chosen. 

These agencies may offer or specialize in certain kinds of trips , such as adventure tourism, luxury tourism, eco-tourism, and family tourism. We’ll take a deeper dive into each type below. 

Case Study 1: Adventure Tourism

Adventure tourism is a growing segment of the tourism industry. This segment caters to travelers seeking adrenaline-pumping activities and thrilling experiences , such as skydiving, scuba diving, and mountain climbing.

Adventure tourism is usually associated with outdoor activities and adventure sports but also includes cultural activities such as trekking through remote villages. This often leads travelers to accommodations in tents or budget-friendly places.

The estimated size of the Adventure Tourism Market globally was around $USD 561.21 billion in 2022 and $USD 609.89 billion in 2023 . If current trends continue, experts predict it will reach a whopping $1,394.52 billion by 2030.

Through market segmentation, businesses can identify adventure-seeking customers they currently serve or want to serve and create travel products and packages around their interests.

Traveling allows people to leave their comfort zones and experience the thrill of the unknown . From discovering ancient ruins in the depths of the Amazon rainforest to swimming with sharks in South Africa, adventure tourism offers unforgettable experiences. 

Case Study 2: Luxury Tourism

Luxury tourism is a high-end segment that caters to travelers seeking luxurious accommodations, services, and experiences. 

Accommodation options in this segment are often high-end hotels, resorts, or private villas. They are known for their lavish amenities, stunning decor, and exceptional services.

In the luxury category, most of the customer base comprises couples from the Generation X demographic. The customers in this category have elevated standards compared to others. Given that they pay a higher price, they expect every aspect of their journey to be tailored to their unique tastes and preferences.

Case Study 3: Ecotourism

Ecotourism is a niche segment that caters to environmentally-conscious travelers seeking sustainable travel experiences. 

Tourism of this kind is centered around awareness and preservation. Ecotourism involves responsible travel that carefully conserves, manages, and protects the environment and the local population’s well-being. 

Travelers are looking for experiences that enhance the area they are visiting by participating in activities involving planting trees or supporting the local community.

Online travel agencies have been leveraging ecotourism in their marketing strategies to attract travelers looking for sustainable experiences. For example, hotels and resorts use eco-friendly materials, energy conservation methods, and green products to be more sustainable.

Case Study 4: Family Tourism

Family tourism is a segment that caters to families seeking vacation experiences that offer entertainment and relaxation.

Family-friendly destinations offer various activities and attractions for different age groups and interests.

Many hotels offer spacious family suites or interconnected rooms that can easily accommodate larger groups. These accommodations often provide amenities like swimming pools, kids’ clubs, babysitting services, and entertainment. 

The family tourism market has seen a significant surge due to the steady increase in disposable income. Nowadays, tourism is no longer considered a luxury but a must-have for families . 

The travel industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world. Segmentation is a powerful tool that helps online travel agencies understand their target market’s unique needs and preferences , allowing them to better serve their segment-specific markets.

This is particularly crucial for online travel agencies, which must differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering personalized services that cater to their target audience’s unique interests and expectations. 

Online travel agencies can effectively use market segmentation data to identify customer needs, create targeted marketing campaigns, focus product development priorities, and inform pricing decisions.  Market segmentation data can be implemented to create more target marketing strategies as OTAs now know who they are talking to. They can efficiently allocate their resources to the tasks and activities they now will gain a greater ROI.  Additionally, they can use this data to improve their current and future product offerings. 

Some common challenges in implementing market segmentation in the tourism industry include a lack of data and resources. Obtaining customer insights and data can be a lengthy process.  However, there are tools and resources that OTAs can use to gather the insights they need to make informed decisions, such as Google travel insights and customer interviews.  Another challenge is a lack of understanding of customer segments and needs. This is because consumer needs and preferences are constantly changing. OTAs need to stay on top of trends and changes to ensure their segment’s needs are still being met. 

Online travel agencies can adapt their market segmentation strategies in response to changing customer preferences and market trends by regularly monitoring changes in customer needs, updating the data used for analysis, and testing new tactics.  OTAs can review their market segmentation strategies every six months to a year to ensure they are still consistent with current trends and expectations. 

Yes, market segmentation can help online travel agencies manage crises. Many OTAs had no choice but to implement new strategies during the pandemic.  For example, as travel restrictions loosened and people could start traveling again, there was a lot of concern about getting stuck in a foreign country or being unable to get a refund if anything went wrong. Specifically, behavioral segmentation helps understand consumers’ pain points and how you can cater to them. In the case of the pandemic, many businesses implemented flexible booking policies, such as free cancellation or no change fees.

Online travel agencies should consider targeting emerging market segments in the tourism industry. Travelers are increasingly seeking out unique and immersive experiences when they travel post-pandemic. There has been a rise in the popularity of niche tourism, such as eco-tourism, wellness tourism, culinary tourism, and voluntourism. Additionally, millennials, Gen Z, solo travelers, family vacationers, digital nomads, and adventure seekers have recently gained more popularity.  These segments represent higher engagement and loyalty with travel brands, offering unique opportunities for differentiated experiences and services.

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Cristóbal Reali, VP of Global Sales at Mize, with over 20 years of experience, has led high-performance teams in major companies in the tourism industry, as well as in the public sector. He has successfully undertaken ventures, including a DMO and technology transformation consulting. In his role at Mize, he stands out not only for his analytical and strategic ability but also for effective leadership. He speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. He holds a degree in Economics from UBA, complementing his professional training at Harvard Business School Online.

Mize is the leading hotel booking optimization solution in the world. With over 170 partners using our fintech products, Mize creates new extra profit for the hotel booking industry using its fully automated proprietary technology and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue across its suite of products for its partners. Mize was founded in 2016 with its headquarters in Tel Aviv and offices worldwide.

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, market segmentation analysis in tourism: a perspective paper.

Tourism Review

ISSN : 1660-5373

Article publication date: 27 June 2019

Issue publication date: 20 February 2020

This paper discusses the dos and don'ts of market segmentation analysis. Market segmentation analysis is younger than the journal Tourism Review , but nevertheless has a rich history in tourism research and continues to be extensively used by both tourism researchers and industry.

Design/methodology/approach

After a brief overview of the origins of market segmentation analysis and its uptake in tourism, a number of key considerations are discussed, which are critical to ensuring that practically useful and reliable market segments emerge from the analysis.

Do accept that market segmentation is exploratory. Do spend a lot of time ensuring you collect high-quality data. Don’t use ordinal data. Don’t use correlated variables. Do ensure your sample size is large enough. Don’t use factor-cluster analysis. Do conduct data structure analysis. Don’t complicate things.

Originality/value

This is a perspective study; it offers a concise discussion of key issues in market segmentation analysis and directs the interested reader to resources where they can learn more about each of these issues.

• Cluster analysis
• Sample size
• Market segment
• Market segmentation analysis

Dolnicar, S. (2020), "Market segmentation analysis in tourism: a perspective paper", Tourism Review , Vol. 75 No. 1, pp. 45-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-02-2019-0041

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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Market Segmentation for e-Tourism

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Market segmentation is a well-established and commonly used concept in tourism. Businesses and destinations benefit from a segmentation strategy because it allows them to focus on a clearly defined subset of consumers which they are best suited to serve, thus developing a long-term competitive advantage. Traditionally, segmentation strategies were built on results from the analysis of on-off cross-sectional survey data sets. Such data sets have a number of disadvantages, including being quickly outdated and biased due to consumer self-reporting. The availability of different kinds of data and the close-to-continuous stream of such data offer new powerful opportunities for market segmentation to be further refined and improved. This chapter discusses the process of market segmentation analysis, highlights the weaknesses of the traditional approach, and points to the future of market segmentation which will leverage new data sources to create knowledge and derive better industry market insights.

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Dolnicar, S. (2022). Market Segmentation for e-Tourism. In: Xiang, Z., Fuchs, M., Gretzel, U., Höpken, W. (eds) Handbook of e-Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48652-5_53

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“The travelers are staying longer and spending more money. When you look at it in that sense, I’d say it’s very positive.” − Craig Ray, Director of Tourism Division of Mississippi Development Authority.

All tourists are not the same. Just as they may belong to different regions, they may be of different age groups and earn different incomes and have different tastes and preferences to live their lives in a certain manner; the tourists also have different choices when it comes to selecting the mode of travel, destination, and the activities at the destination.

Tourism market segmentation is the strategic tool for getting a clear picture of diversity among the tourists. The tourism researchers and the tourism industry use market segmentation information to study the opportunities for competitive advantage in the marketplace.

What is Market Segmentation?

Market segmentation is nothing but dividing the total consumer market into groups to be able to communicate with them and provide their specific needs.

Smith (1956) introduced the concept of market segmentation as a strategic tool. He stated that “Market segmentation (…) can be viewed as a heterogeneous market (one characterized by divergent demand) as a number of smaller homogeneous markets”.

Why Segment the Tourism Market?

Every tourist being different, the tourism industry possibly is not capable of satisfying every individual’s need. This is the foundation of segmenting the total market.

While all tourists are different, some of them are similar to each other. Marketing force of a tourism business group the tourists into various segments that categorize the similar as well as distinct members. Market segmentation can be applicable to any of the tourism supply components and provides benefits as given below −

It helps to understand specific demands of the consumers.

It helps to allocate marketing expenses efficiently.

It helps to create effective marketing strategies to target specific market segment.

Tourism Market Segmentation

The tourism market segmentation can be broadly divided into the following types −

Geographic market segmentation is done considering the factors such as tourists’ place of origin. This factor is important as the tourists belonging to different places are brought up with different cultures and show different traits of behavior. It is the most basic type of segmentation.

Demographic

This segmentation is done by considering the tourist’s gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, occupation, religion, income, education, and family members.

Psychographic

The marketing people do this segmentation by taking into account the psyche of the tourists. They gather information about the tourists’ interests, attitudes, their way of living life, opinions, and overall personality.

Classes of Tourists

Depending upon the motives and the way of touring, there are various classes of tourists −

Tourists Travelling with Families

The tourists who visit places with their first and extended families, or families of relatives. One person, generally the head of the tourist family is the decision maker. The families generally travel for holidays and leisure and tend to expend sparingly. They generally are keen on receiving the best services for what they have paid. They tend to carry more luggage.

Single Tourists

They travel alone and are independent. They are alone but not lonely; as tourism is what they pursue as a hobby. The gap year travelers, unmarried persons, widows/widowers, backpackers, and solitary tourists travel single. They decide for themselves and tend to expend more. They tend to carry less stuff on the journey. They tend to behave balanced if any challenging situation occurs and are rational towards tour schedules.

Groups of Tourists

Students from schools and universities as members of educational tours, fellows of various fraternities with common interests, groups of newly-weds, or senior citizens.

Tourists Visiting Friends and Relatives

These tourists travel to meet friends or relatives, or to attend a celebration or gatheringl. These tourists generally plan their tours in the breaks such as Diwali holidays, Christmas holidays, or any kind of long break when most of the people have break.

Business Tourists

They are the professional tourists on the business trips. They decide for themselves but do not spend much money. For example, a sales or a marketing person travels to another city to attend a business fair, and business manager travels to another country for business deals.

Incentive Tourists

They tour for consuming the reward they received in the form of a few days’ family holiday package at some hotel or resort. Such rewards are generally distributed if an employee performs outstanding to achieve the goals.

Health Tourists

These tourists travels to places with the agenda of health on their mind. They travel to avail some special medical treatment, operation, surgery, medication, or inexpensive aesthetic surgeries available in different country. Some tourists in this category also travel if they are receiving some illness from the climate at their residence such as Asthma.

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Food Markets: A Motivation-Based Segmentation of Tourists

Associated data.

Food markets are becoming popular as new spaces for recreation, and this research aims to discover the motivations driving the tourists that visit these markets. Factorial analysis, cluster analysis and Student’s t -test were applied on 456 surveys from two food markets in Córdoba (Spain). Three motivational factors were obtained: Gastronomic experience and novelty; hedonism and leisure; and the relationship of the experience with work. Segmenting and analyzing the profile of the tourist may help economic agents develop new strategies for the tourism management of a destination and more accurate marketing and branding strategies that target specific customers with a niche message. The study could help develop products that align with tourists’ motives to increase satisfaction and loyalty.

1. Introduction

When travelling, people do not only eat food to satisfy their physical and physiological needs [ 1 ]. In an era of accelerated globalization, they wish to enjoy diverse rather than mono-cultural environments; thus, good gastronomy has turned into a need for modern society [ 2 ]. The food of a destination has the potential to improve the visitor’s experience, as it allows them to: Connect with the place, its culture, and its heritage [ 3 ]; be part of the tourist experience [ 4 ]; and contribute to building a concept that is greater than the initial object of tourism itself [ 5 ], for example, with heritage tourism. That is to say, the consumption of local food may contribute to the promotion of a tourism destination’s brand [ 6 ], because this food is recognized as being part of the local culture [ 7 ]. Therefore, the knowledge of the sensory dimensions of a tourist’s experience is relevant for the improvement of tourism destinations [ 8 ].

On the other hand, the search for differentiation in order to improve the tourism offer leads cities to adopt products based on unique experiences. This results in the emergence of new places that try to cover the needs of the experiential visitor seeking cultural, culinary or creative alternatives [ 9 ]. In this case, traditional food markets are a reflection of the local culture and the traditions of the inhabitants of an area [ 10 ]. Additionally, they are spaces full of history, and are becoming an excellent and attractive resource for visitors [ 11 ]. The food market visitors are interested in discovering local products [ 12 ] as a way to introduce themselves to the destination’s culture.

In cities, there is a tendency to make these supply markets into tourism attractions in historic centers [ 13 ]. On numerous occasions, especially in tourist attractions and commercial cities, these markets are transforming from places of purchase of local food products into spaces for enjoying and learning about local gastronomy. Due to this, new types of markets, known as food markets, are appearing. According to Mora [ 14 ], they may be classified into four types: (1) Renovated traditional markets that have a balance between old and new food stands aimed at tourists and food visitors who want to try food in the same place; (2) re-invented markets, transformed into gastronomical leisure spaces while also preserving the essence and distribution of traditional markets; (3) open-air markets where gastronomic products and diverse objects are sold to locals and tourists; and (4) corrupted markets which preserve the original building structures but only offer international fashion shops and restaurants.

This study aims to discover the motivations and factors which determine satisfaction, and the characteristics of tourists to these emerging food markets in the city of Córdoba (Spain), a destination recognized as a World Heritage Site. It aims to verify if this type of area may have variables of interest within the experiential offer in a cultural tourism city. Definitively, it intends to contribute to the scant existing literature regarding food markets and fill in the gaps in the existing knowledge on the tourist motivations of local markets in destinations and identify through factor–cluster analysis. The results allowed the discovery of how these food experiences affect the visitor, so a segmentation proposal may provide insights to be taken into account for the development of future destination management policies, related to promotional activities and destination branding development.

In order to achieve this goal, field work consisting of a survey was given to a sample of visitors at these food markets. After this introduction, there is a review of the scientific literature focused on the constructs which are the subject of this study.

2. Literature Review

2.1. visitor motivation of food markets.

Motivation-based segmentation is very popular due to the extent of information that can be obtained. It helps to evaluate the needs of the market and how to satisfy customers and enhance the services offered. Motivations are also measured to identify and segment types of visitors for the purpose of product development and market promotion [ 15 ]. Crompton and McKay [ 16 ] argued for the importance of understanding motivations by giving three reasons: (1) Understanding motivations would pave the way for creating better products and services, (2) satisfaction with experiences is intrinsically related to initial motives and the identification of visitor motivation is key for modeling the event to satisfy visitors, and (3) motives must be identified and prioritized first before a destination marketer can understand tourist decision-making processes. Iso-Ahola [ 17 ] also stated that motivation is one of the most important determining factors for leisure events.

A significant number of studies focus on festival attendees’ motivation, level of satisfaction and intention to return [ 15 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. In general, findings from the literature indicate that dimensions of motivation are similar across all festivals; however, the specific components and factors may vary depending on the festivals, events and market [ 26 ]. Uysal and Li [ 27 ] reviewed existing empirical research of festival and event motivation. They classified the most frequently mentioned dimensions of festival motivations as: Socialization, family togetherness, novelty, escape, cultural exploration, entertainment, and excitement.

Gastronomy as a variable for tourist segmentation in a particular destination is common in food tourism literature, but there is a lack of studies about segmentation of food markets’ attendees [ 10 ]. Table 1 summarizes the main findings of the studies that focused on the motives of people who attend gastronomic festivals, events or markets. It can be observed that the only studies that investigated motivations to visit a gastronomic market are Crespi-Vallbona and Dimitrovski [ 10 ] and Dimitrovski and Crespi-Vallbona [ 28 ]. Their 2016 study segmented the tourists that visit the Boquería market in Barcelona based on four motivational factors: interacting with local producers and vendors, sensory appeal, local food experience and healthy eating concerns. The second study tested the direct effects of escape from routine, cultural experience, prestige, and food market involvement on satisfaction, and also the moderating role of food neophilia in this relationship. Escobar-López, Espinisa-Ortega, Vizcarra-Bordi, and Thomé-Ortiz [ 29 ] analyzed the characteristics of consumers of organic food, based on their motivations. The focus of the remaining studies is tourist motivation in a food, culinary or gastronomic festival or event.

Motivation dimensions of gastronomic markets, events and festivals.

Source: own development.

2.2. Socio-Demographic Variables

Examining the socio-demographic characteristics of the tourists in any destination may help the economic agents involved develop business strategies to increase the number of tourists and their satisfaction level.

The analysis of how the socio-demographic variables influence the motivations for attending a tourist destination, festival, etc. is very common in scientific literature [ 18 , 20 , 33 , 34 , 35 ] and in the field of food tourism, where there are studies without significant differences in the segmentation based on visitors’ motivations [ 10 , 21 ]. Others, meanwhile, have discovered an association between the cluster and specific socio-demographic variables [ 30 , 31 , 36 ].

2.3. Development of Hypotheses

Satisfaction is conceived as a determining factor in the success of markets [ 37 ]. It has a direct effect on business results and is accepted as an indicator of future profits of a business [ 38 ]. Luo and Homburg [ 39 ]; Yeung, Ging, and Ennew [ 40 ]; and Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann [ 41 ] concluded that customer satisfaction positively affects the profitability of a business.

Understanding which motives influence the satisfaction and expectations of the tourist is one of the most relevant areas of research in the tourism sector, given the impact that it has on the success of any destination. A high level of tourist satisfaction leads to positive future behavior, such as the intention to return to the destination, reduce the elasticity of the prices, reduce the transaction costs and, increase recommendations [ 42 , 43 ]. This shows the importance of the management of the destinations in directing the tourism offer and satisfying the visitors’ needs. In this sense, measuring loyalty, based on the intention of returning to a place and recommending it to others, is key for the consolidation of a destination [ 44 ].

Previous studies confirm the relationship between the motives for visiting a place with satisfaction and loyalty. Thus, Grappi and Montanari [ 45 ] conclude that when there is a greater hedonistic feeling, the level of satisfaction is higher. Akhoondnejad [ 46 ] establishes a significant relationship between the authenticity and quality of a cultural festival with the satisfaction and loyalty of the visitor. Tanford and Jung [ 47 ] positively relate the place’s environment, the sense of escape, socialization, authenticity, and the quality–price relationship with satisfaction and loyalty to the festivals. Lee et al. [ 22 ] indicate that visitor satisfaction is influenced by motives for attending a cultural event.

In relation to events, festivals, and food markets, Vesci and Botti [ 48 ] indicate that the quality of the food and drink and the service and hospitality strongly determine the intention to return. Mason and Paggiaro [ 49 ] conclude that “festivalscape” has a direct effect on the satisfaction of the participants in culinary events. Crespi-Vallbona and Dimitrovski [ 10 ] and Dimitrovski and Crespi-Vallbona [ 28 ] show significant differences in the satisfaction with and intention to return to the food market of La Boquería in Barcelona (Spain) in terms of the motivations of the visitors: Interaction with local producers and vendors, sensory appeal, local food experience, health concerns, escape from routine, cultural experience, prestige, food market involvement, and food neophilia.

Considering the results of the literature, the following hypotheses are proposed:

There are different groups of tourists depending on their gastronomic motivations.

The degree of satisfaction achieved in the gastronomic market is conditioned by the gastronomic motivations of the tourist.

The expectations over the gastronomic market are conditioned by the gastronomic motivations of the tourist.

Tourists present significant differences in the recommendation and the will to visit the gastronomic market again depending on their motivations.

Tourists show differences in the perception of gastronomy and the characteristics of the market depending on their motivation.

Discovering the cuisine is a factor that contributes to and conditions the experience in a gastronomic market.

3. Materials and Methods

The city of Córdoba (Spain) has two food markets which, following the philosophy and strategy of traditional supply markets, have created this new leisure resource for experiential visitors. The main idea of this type of market is to bring food directly to the plate from each stand, where the food offer is displayed. In this way they become small restaurants that serve plates in their own style. Thus, the customer can choose the products they want from a wide range of food.

These markets are Mercado Victoria and Los Patios de la Marquesa, which, according to Mora’s [ 14 ] previously described types, follow the approach of situating reinvented food markets in emblematic buildings. Mercado Victoria, located in the center of the city, is a wrought iron building dating from 1877 and has an approximate surface area of 2000 square meters. Nearly 30 stands offer local, fusion and international food here.

The second food market in the city is Patios de la Marquesa, which is located in the historic center of the Jewish Quarter (recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO), very close to the Mosque-Cathedral. This market occupies an old manor house from the 18th century and its 17 stands cover more than 1000 square meters. In this market, there is a mixture of gastronomy, and art. They organize events such as exhibitions for photography, painting, fashion, or show cooking. They even have live flamenco performances.

This study uses data from a survey carried out on tourists to these two food markets from November 2018 to February 2019, on days of high attendance, usually evenings from Thursday to Saturday. The aim was to discover the profile of the visitor, their motivations for visiting and their assessments of the experience. The survey was carried out within the markets, while the tourists were enjoying their food. No stratification was done for any socio-demographic variable as there is not a previous profile of this type of tourist. A convenience sample, where those surveyed are interviewed in a specific space and time [ 50 ], was used. An interviewer addressed tourists requesting their collaboration to answer the questionnaire; if they agreed to participate, they received the document to be completed. The chosen tourists were both Spaniards and foreigners. The survey ( Supplementary Materials ) was distributed in two languages (Spanish and English) and only to tourists, not to local visitors (a control question was designed to assure that the survey was only answered by tourists). Prior to the definitive survey, a pre-test was carried out on 20 individuals in order to determine the validity of the questionnaire. The rejection rate in the definitive survey was low and insignificant. A total of 500 answers were obtained, of which 456 were used. The rest were rejected due to improper completion.

The variables that they intended to measure are related to the analysis of motivation, satisfaction, loyalty, and socio-demographic characteristics. To elaborate the questionnaire, we relied on scientific literature dealing with the analysis of motivation, satisfaction, expectations and loyalty in the context of gastronomic festivals or gastronomic destinations [ 10 , 16 , 22 , 23 , 31 , 32 , 51 , 52 ]. The questionnaire has a structure that consists of four blocks. The first regards the interest, attitudes and motivations related to the visit and the consumption of foodstuffs in the food markets. A second block deals with the assessment of different aspects of the markets. A third block is about the expectations of the survey´s subjects, its general assessment and loyalty. All the questions included in these three blocks were assessed according to a 5-point Likert scale with 5 being the highest score in all of the cases. Finally, the fourth block analyses the socio-demographic characteristics of the survey´s subjects.

The reliability index according to Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was analyzed to show the internal consistency of items when appropriate. Results highlight an acceptable index to reinforce the validity of the research work carried out [ 53 ].

4. Results and Discussion

The chosen sample ( Table 2 ) comprises mainly youths (73.0%) who are under the age of 30, with women predominating. The education level is high as more than 85% hold a university degree. The tourists to the two food markets are overwhelmingly Spaniards. In terms of the type of attendance in these markets, more than 54% have visited this kind of establishment for the first or second time.

Socio-demographic profile.

These percentages do not show significant differences if they are analyzed separately in each of the two markets studied. Only the percentage of previous visits is higher in Patios de la Marquesa (51.2% for 2–3 times compared to 36.4% in Mercado Victoria).

The questionnaire included ten possible motivations for visiting the food markets, which the respondents pondered on. According to the average assessment obtained ( Table 3 ), the most important reasons focused on enjoying time with friends or family, followed by relaxing and disconnecting from the daily routine, and the fame and good reputation of the market. On the other hand, the aspects related to work (doing business, building contacts, and networking) have barely been assessed. No significant differences were found in the motivations of tourists in the two markets studied. Only the reason referred to as “doing business or work” has a significantly higher average in Mercado Victoria, this market is nearer to the city´s CBD (central business district), hence the common answer.

Motive for the visit to the food market.

The segmentation of tourists has been used in gastronomic tourism as an instrument to analyze different researches. In this case, aiming to reduce the number of motivational variables, we proceeded to do an exploratory factor analysis with extraction by principal components and varimax rotation, where three factors have been obtained ( Table 4 ) with eigenvalues higher than 0.5 [ 54 ] which explain a total of 58.403% of the variance. The Kaiser–Mayer–Olkin measure equals 0.794 and the Bartlett test of sphericity is significant.

Factor analysis.

The 10 items from the motivations were reduced to three factors. Factor 1, which has been named food experience and novelty, has the highest variance percentage, almost 25%, and brings five related items together. These are the search for new experiences in food and drink, tasting dishes or favorite foods, the desire to try new things, relaxation and disconnection from daily life, and the good reputation of the market.

Factor 2 is hedonism and leisure, which explains more than 18% of the total variance. It includes three items related to the enjoyment of time with relatives and friends, being a leisure activity and a good quality–price relationship.

Finally, Factor 3 is known as relationship of the experience with work, which explains a reduced percentage of the variance (15.081%) and only includes two items focused on the use of time in the market for less formal work meetings or to develop networking opportunities.

Given that the factor analysis is statistically appropriate, the three factors obtained have been used as variables to perform a k-means cluster analysis in order to obtain two differentiated groups in the sample of tourists to food markets.

The first cluster is formed by 201 individuals (44.08% of the sample) and the second one by 244 visitors (the remaining 53.51%); there are 11 lost values (no answer). We analyzed the way that the motivations of each one of the three obtained factors were differentiated between the two clusters ( Table 5 ). By doing so, it is observed that the second group assesses slightly better the motivations related with food experience, this difference is significant in all the surveyed motivations except for “new eating and drinking experiences” and “desire to do new things”. It also valued better the motivations related with hedonism and leisure. However, Cluster 1 always significantly assessed the aspects related to the Relationship of the experience with work above the second group. These results show that gastronomic motivations of tourists visiting the food markets are heterogeneous and, therefore, they can be segmented according to their culinary motivations (H1). Hence, we can say that besides the motivations related with food experience in this kind of places, visitors have other motivational factors associated like hedonic and/or factors related to work relations. This last motivational factor is, as we highlighted before, more present in food markets closer to the CBD such as Mercado Victoria.

Analysis of differences in motivation per cluster.

** p < 0.01.

After the segmentation was done, we analyzed the possible existing relationships between each of the segments obtained with the four factors that are relevant in the analysis of the visit: Satisfaction, expectations, recommendation to others, and intention to return.

Specifically, a Student’s t -test was used for independent samples to contrast how different the means are ( Table 6 ), which reflects the rejection of the null hypothesis in all the cases for a confidence level of 99%, except for the expectations (hypothesis H3 is rejected). This confirms that the differences in the averages of both groups in terms of satisfaction (H2), recommendation, and intention to visit a place again (H4), are significant. This shows enough robustness for the statistical analysis in terms of Type I errors, before possible violations of the normality for this type of distribution [ 55 ]. In each one of the four variables, it can be seen how the second cluster—the most numerous—most positively assesses all these aspects. In both groups, the intention to visit the market again has the highest average score. These four aspects also show significant differences depending on the market visited by tourists, always being statistically higher in Patios de la Marquesa than in Mercado Victoria.

Differences per cluster in satisfaction–expectations–recommendation-return.

Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.830; ** p < 0.01.

It can be confirmed that the visitor of a food market who has a greater motivation related to culinary and hedonic aspects will be a visitor who will have a greater satisfaction in general. This visitor will also have a greater chance of recommending this food market to family and/or friends when he or she returns from the trip, and, if the visitor returned to the destination, he will visit the food market again, highlighting its loyalty towards it [ 48 ].

The preferences of the visitors regarding a series of products offered in the food markets (seafood, fish, meat, cold meats, desserts, wines and traditional dishes from the city) was also analyzed. On this occasion, the analysis of the difference of means between the two clusters was not significant, except in the case of traditional dishes from the city, which are preferred to a greater extent by group 2 (average 4.26 compared to 4.00 in group 1). These traditional dishes are the favorites for both clusters. Another parallel is that both clusters indicate seafood as the product they like least.

Additionally, the importance the tourist considers the traditional food of the city to have for its image as a tourist destination has been assessed, along with a series of elements which characterize the market they have visited. Table 7 reflects the average scores of each group, as well as the Student’s t -test to contrast how similar the means are.

Differences by cluster regarding the perception of the gastronomy and the characteristics of the food market visited.

** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05.

Although for both group, the traditional gastronomy of the city holds great importance in their tourist image, it is Group 2 which assesses this aspect with a higher score. Moreover, all the analyzed characteristics regarding the food market are assessed higher by Cluster 2 with statistically different means (hypothesis H5 is accepted), with the exception of prices, and the innovation and new flavors of the dishes offered. In any case, both groups coincide by indicating that the prices of these establishments are the aspect which they perceive to be the worst.

On the other hand, both the group of 244 tourists as well as that of 201 indicated atmosphere as the most highly regarded element, followed in this order by traditional gastronomy, facilities, and service and hospitality. These average perceptions do not show significant differences between the tourists that visit both markets. Only the average of "facilities" and "atmosphere" is statistically higher in Patios de la Marquesa.

To conclude with the analysis of clusters, the possible socio-demographic differences among the two clusters as well as the relationship between the market visited and the cluster it belongs to have been verified. Using contingency tables, the nonexistence of an association between the cluster and the academic training of the tourist has been verified. However, the Chi-squared or Cramer’s V coefficients for the nominal x nominal case reflect the existence of a significant association for the remaining characteristics.

It is shown that the number of women is higher in Cluster 2 in comparison to Cluster 1 (165 to 114), with the opposite being the case for men (87 in Group 1 and 79 in Group 2). In addition, nationality reflects significant differences and, although the Spanish tourists dominate both groups when compared to the foreigners, the latter are found to be better represented in Cluster 1 (23 to 16) with there being more Spaniards in the second group (228 to 178). This result shows that foreign tourists evaluate most of the aspects lower than Spaniards, in referring to motivations such as satisfaction, expectations, recommendations or intention to return, except for the gastronomic experience, which is their main motivation. The result is logical in that this type of tourist will show a higher interest in discovering the traditional dishes and drinks of the city where they are staying as tourists. On the other hand, the Spanish tourists are likely to have already discovered these dishes. We can claim that discovering the gastronomy contributes and conditions to the experiences in food markets (hypothesis H6 is accepted).

Therefore, the experience of leisure and hedonism form a higher motivation factor for them.

In terms of age, in all the levels over 30 years of age, more cases are found in the first cluster. However, those under 30 years of age are found more often in the second (195 to 137).

The differences in the two groups regarding the food market they visited are also statistically significant. While the Mercado Victoria is represented more in Cluster 1 compared to Cluster 2 (90 tourists compared to 81), Los Patios de la Marquesa has more tourists in Group 2 than in 1.

Finally, the frequency of the visit also shows clearly differentiated results per cluster. In Group 1, those who visit the market for the first or second time (137 cases) predominate, while in Cluster 2 there is an evident majority of individuals who have visited the market more than twice (143 compared to 64 from the first group).

5. Conclusions

In tourist and business cities alike, new types of markets known as food markets are emerging. Their aim is to provide different options to the tourist who is seeking news culinary, creative, and cultural experiences. Given the scant literature in this field, this analysis may be of great use in understanding how the motivations of visitors may affect the perception of the satisfaction, expectation and loyalty towards the food market. Knowing the type of tourist, also aims to help the economic agents involved in this sector develop appropriate strategies which will result in greater benefits for tourist destinations.

This study analyzed the tourist segmentation of the two food markets in the city of Córdoba (Mercado La Victoria and Patios La Marquesa). The research concludes that tourist show three primary motivational factors: Gastronomic experience and novelty, hedonism and leisure, and the relationship of the experience with work. Taking into account these three factors, they also showed two clusters with significant differences in motivational factors, satisfaction and loyalty, with regards to the perceptions of different aspects of the food market and of the socio-demographic variables.

The first group of tourists, which is smaller, visits the market mainly for new eating and drinking experiences, the desire to do new things, and to spend time with relatives and friends. It has a greater number of foreigners and men over the age of 30. The levels of satisfaction, loyalty and assessment of the market aspects are lower in this group. The second, larger cluster rates the majority of the options related to experience, gastronomic novelty, and hedonism and leisure more than the first group. They mainly visit the market for reasons related to the fame and reputation of the market, relaxation and disconnection from daily life, and to spend time with relatives and friends. In it there are more Spaniards, women, and people under the age of 30. The assessments of satisfaction, loyalty, and market aspects is higher. The reasons related to the experience-work relationship are the lowest in both groups, although the first group values it significantly higher than the second group.

One of this research´s main contributions is identifying that satisfaction and loyalty are mainly conditioned by the culinary motivations. Furthermore, hedonism and leisure motivations also contribute to the gastronomic satisfaction and loyalty towards the food markets. Hence, we conclude that these markets cannot focus only on food, they have to offer recreational activities that ease the hedonism and leisure of the visitor.

This research not only has theoretical implication but also practical ones, the segmentation, done in this paper, may help manage these types of markets and develop marketing strategies and products that are more in line with the motives of their customers and their socio-demographic characteristics. Foreign tourists, as expected, show a greater interest in new experiences of eating and drinking, and Spaniards are more motivated by the experience of relaxation, disconnection and the opportunity to spend time with relatives and friends at the food markets. Given that this group is more satisfied and proves to be more loyal, it would perhaps be recommended to improve the aspect related to the motives of the experience-work relationship at a food market. It would also be interesting to reconsider the prices of the products on offer, with the price being one of the worst rated aspects for both groups.

As can be observed in this study the foreign tourists represent a low percentage, so it will be interesting to promote internationally this type of gastronomic tourism that is not good known yet and have a great potential.

The biggest limitation of this work is the survey’s methodology and the geographical area of the study performed, which makes the generalization of the results difficult. Future research could include other variables such as the amount of money spent, the number of establishments visited, other motives for the visit related to health, natural products, prestige. It could also make comparisons with other food markets in different cities and countries.

Supplementary Materials

The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2312/s1 .

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.M.C.-C. and G.A.M.-F.; methodology, A.M.C.-C. and S.M.S.-C.; formal analysis, S.M.S.-C.; writing—original draft preparation, A.M.C.-C., L.S.-R. and G.A.M.-F.; writing—review and editing, L.S.-R. and G.A.M.-F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.