Search

While stress has recently been documented as an adverse impact of tourism, it has not been examined alongside traditional tourism impacts to determine their similarities and differences. To clarify the interrelations of these phenomena, we explored whether tourism-related stressors were similar to well-known tourism impacts, and whether perceived tourism impacts increased the likelihood of experiencing tourism-related stress. Residents of O’ahu, Hawai’i, were asked how much tourism impacted them on 36 variables, whether tourism caused them stress, and if so, how. Study findings reveal that tourism-related stressors often correspond with what have been traditionally considered tourism impacts. Moreover, only five of the tourism impact variables predicted the experience of tourism-related stress, and of these only one was a frequently cited stressor. Connecting impacts to stressors expands the possibility that certain tourism impacts could have consequences that go beyond mere opinions and attitudes, as stress has many health and wellness consequences.

Various general tourist markets have been successfully segmented based on the volume of tourists’ expenditures in destination areas. However, the approach has been rarely employed in more narrowly defined ‘special interest’ tourist markets. This study tested the viability of expenditure-based segmentation in the case of a special interest market comprised of visitors to a rail-trail in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. Nonresident visitors were classified as light, medium, and heavy spenders based on their total expenditures in the region. Although heavy spenders comprised only 33% of the Trail’s market, their spending accounted for 65% of the expenditures of the market as a whole. Compared to their counterparts, heavy spenders were more likely to have been mountain biking aficionados, to have had higher incomes, and to have had longer lengths of stay and greater involvement with recreation in the study region. Findings suggest how heavy spenders can be successfully reached, attracted, and served.

Although fall color touring has long been pursued by the traveling public and promoted by destinations, it has been the subject of extraordinarily little research. This article helps fill this knowledge gap and assists destination marketers seeking to more effectively attract this market niche. Analyses of data from a telephone survey of households in the Great Lakes region indicate that marketers who wish to attract fall color tourists should promote a wide range of ancillary activities in addition to foliage viewing and target primarily older individuals in nearby markets.