- Title
- An examination of internet usage patterns by mature travellers
- Creator
- Correia, Sérgio Barradas
- Subject
- Tourism -- Marketing
- Subject
- Internet marketing
- Subject
- Internet users
- Subject
- Older people -- Travel
- Subject
- Older consumers -- Travel
- Date Issued
- 2007
- Date
- 2007
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MCom
- Identifier
- vital:1194
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008182
- Identifier
- Tourism -- Marketing
- Identifier
- Internet marketing
- Identifier
- Internet users
- Identifier
- Older people -- Travel
- Identifier
- Older consumers -- Travel
- Description
- The tourism industry has been identified as the industry with the most potential to create jobs and contribute largely to economic growth. In order to live up to this potential, tourism businesses need to create tourism products for potential tourists which need to be promoted successfully through a number of mediums. The use of the Internet as a medium for promoting and selling tourism products is increasing, however, in order for tourism businesses to successfully promote the tourism product through the Internet, they have to understand the needs and wants of their current and potential target markets. One segment of the tourism market that has come under increasing attention is the mature traveller market. This market is defined as travellers who are 50 years of age and older. Generally, the mature traveller market is viewed as a small homogenous group of old consumers with little or no spending power. However, evidence suggests that this market is comprised of an increasing number of diverse people, who use the Internet and like to spend on tourism products. Therefore, this research will examine differences between Internet users and Internet non-users in the mature traveller market. Specific attention will be paid to investigate differences in demographic, socioeconomic, Internet use and travel-related characteristics. The identification of these characteristics will enable a profile to be d~veloped for each group, which can be used by tourism businesses to effectively promote tourism products over the Internet to the mature market In order to collect data from potential respondents, a questionnaire which was used in a similar study conducted in the US was used. Data was collected using a convenience sample of Internet users and Internet non-users from the Eastern Cape and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. Cronbach alpha and factor analysis were used to assess the reliability and validity of the research instrument and measurement scales. In order to test whether differences did exist between the two groups the Chi-square and t-test statistics were used. Finally in order to examine which factors where influential in differentiating between Internet users and Internet non-users discriminant analysis was employed. The findings in the present study suggest that there are significant differences in demographics, socioeconomic, Internet use and travel-related characteristics between Internet users and Internet non-users in the mature market. By understanding the differences between Internet users and Internet non-users, tourism businesses can identify marketing strategies that appeal to mature travellers who use the Internet and to those do not, by utilising information gathered from Internet users and Internet non-users demographic, socio-economic and travel-related characteristics.
- Format
- 169 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Rhodes University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Commerce, Management
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Correia, Sérgio Barradas
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