GATE # 2: Segmentation Research and Data Mining

The U.S. Travel market, like every other destination travel market is made up of 'trip type segments'. These trip types define the main purpose of the trip and in the process define the segmentation model most appropriate for the market.

Within the trip-type segmentation model, there are what we refer to as 'marketable and non-marketable' trips. As an example, VFR trips, for which the main purpose is 'visiting friends and relatives' is what is commonly understood as non-marketable trips, meaning that there is really little a destination can do to influence VFR trips, except, perhaps, for day trips, restaurants, tours and attractions while relatives are already in, or on their way to, or from, the destination where their friends and relatives reside.

Marketable trip-types, are those segments which we are able to define and target. In most cases, depending upon the available research and data-sets, we can be rather precise. If reliable secondary data is not available, we would recommend syndicated or primary data acquisition. The key to selling a destinations' cultural based products and services, is to be able to construct offers related to the trip planning and booking characteristics of the defined target segment.

To take full advantage of segmentation, we must first define the trip-type segments which are of primary importance to a destination and then focus on these.

Naturally, there typically is more than one segment of primary importance to a destination. In such a case, the weighting or balancing of the resource allocations across a segmentation mix will make the difference in the long-term, sustainability of segmentation based marketing programs.

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