Positioning Analysis of Atlantic Canadian Provinces as Travel Destinations by Americans

Authors: Dongkoo Yun, Melissa James-MacEachern

Abstract:

This study analyzes Americans’ views of four Atlantic Canadian provinces as travel destinations regarding specific destination attributes for a pleasure trip, awareness (heard) of the destinations, past visit to the destinations during the prior two years, and intention to visit in the next two years. Results indicate that American travellers perceived the four Atlantic Canadian provinces as separate and distinct when rating best-fit destination attributes to each destination. The results suggest that travel destinations, specifically the four selected destinations, must be prepared to differentiate their destination’s image and the range of experiences and services to appeal and attract more American travellers.

Keywords: Atlantic Canadian provinces (travel destinations), American perceptions, competitiveness, positioning analysis.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1123901

References:

[1] S. Baloglu, “The relationship between destination images and socio-demographic and trip characteristics of international travelers,” Journal of Vacation Marketing, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 221-233, 1997.
[2] A. G. Woodside, “Positioning a province using travel research,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 2-6, 1982.
[3] J. Crompton, P. Fakeye, and C. Lue, “Positioning: The example of the lower Rio Grande Valley in the winter long stay destination market,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 20-26, 1992.
[4] W. C. Gartner, “Tourism image: Attribute measurement of state tourism products using multidimensional scaling techniques,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 16-20, 1989.
[5] A. Milman, and A. Pizam, “The role of awareness and familiarity with a destination: The Central Florida case,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 21-27, 1995.
[6] ATCP, 2014 US Consumer Research Report. Charlottetown: PE, Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership, 2015.
[7] A. Decrop, “Tourists’ decision-making and behavior processes,” in Consumer Behaviour in Travel and Tourism, A. Pizam, and Y. Mansfeld, Eds. New York, NY: The Haworth Hospitality Press, 1999. pp. 103-133.
[8] E. J. Mayo, and L. P. Jarvis, The Psychology of Leisure Travel, Boston, MA: CBI Publishing, 1981.
[9] A. Decrop, Vacation Decision Making. Oxfordshire, England: CABI Publishing, 2006.
[10] A. Mathieson, and G. Wall, Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts. Harlow, England: Longman, 1982.
[11] V. T. C. Middleton, Marketing and Travel and Tourism. Oxford, England: Heinemann, 1988.
[12] L. Moutinho, “Consumer behavior in tourism,” European Journal of Marketing, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 5-44, 1987.
[13] Y. Reisinger, and F. Mavondo, “Travel anxiety and intentions to travel internationally: Implications of travel risk perception,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 212-225, 2005.
[14] Y. Reisinger, and L. W. Turner, Cross-Cultural Behaviour in Tourism: Concepts and Analysis. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002.
[15] G. A. Schmoll, Tourism Promotion. London, England: Tourism International Press, 1997.
[16] S. Sussmann, and A. Ünel, “Destination image and its modification after travel: An empirical study on Turkey,” in Consumer Behaviour in Travel and Tourism, A. Pizam and Y. Mansfeld, Eds. New York, NY: The Haworth Hospitality Press, 1999, pp. 207-226.
[17] S. Um, and J. L. Crompton, “Attitude determinants in tourism destination choice,” Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 432-448, 1990.
[18] A. G. Woodside, and S. Lysonski, “A general model of traveler destination choice,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 8-14, 1989.
[19] A. Driscoll, R. Lawson, and B. Niven, “Measuring tourists’ destination perceptions,” Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 499-511, 1994.
[20] M. Joppe, and D. Yun, “Indian perceptions of five long-haul pleasure trip destinations: Imagery ratings of destination motivators and interests in visiting,” Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 17-35, 2013.
[21] J. N. Goodrich, “Benefit bundle analysis: An empirical study of international travelers,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 6-9, 1997.
[22] H. B. Kim, “Perceived attractiveness of Korean destinations,” Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 340-361, 1998.
[23] D. Yun, and M. Joppe, “Chinese perceptions of seven long-haul destinations: Focusing on activities, knowledge, and interest,” Journal of China Tourism Research, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 459-489, 2011.
[24] SAS Institute Inc., SAS/STAT® 9.1 User’s Guide, Cary, NC: SAS Publishing, 2004.
[25] S. Baloglu, and D. Brinberg, “Affective images of tourism destinations,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 11–15, 1997.
[26] P.E. Green, F. J. Carmone, Jr, and S. M. Smith, Multidimensional Scaling: Concepts and Applications. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1989.
[27] S. S. Kim, Y. Guo, and J. Agrusa, “Preference and positioning analyses of overseas destinations by Mainland Chinese outbound pleasure tourists,” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 212-220, November, 2005.
[28] D. L. Hoffman, and G. R. Franke, “Correspondence analysis: Graphical representation of categorical data in marketing research,” Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 213-227, August, 1986.
[29] M. J. Greenacre, Correspondence Analysis in Practice. London, England: Academic Press Limited, 1993.
[30] J. B. Kruskal, and M. Wish, Multidimensional Scaling. 12th ed. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1986.
[31] J. B. Kruskal, “Multidimensional scaling by optimizing goodness of fit to a nonmetric hypothesis,” Psychometrika, vol. 29, pp. 1-27, 1964.