Texas metropolitan vacation travelers: socioeconomic characteristics, trip purpose and destinations

Abstract

The basic focus of this study was to assess the utility of a set of socioeconomic characteristics of households for identifying vacation travel market segments. Segmentation was accomplished on the basis of vacation destination selection and trip purpose. In addition, the study investigated whether direction of social movement of vacation trips is related to vacation destination selection independent of or in combination with socioeconomic characteristics of households. The sample for this study consisted of households that resided in the four major metropolitan counties of Texas. Data had been collected by personal interview during a state-wide outdoor recreation demand study conducted by the Texas Parks and Wild life Department. A stepwise multiple discriminant analysis was performed to determine whether nontravelers and groups of within and out-of-state vacation travelers could be differentiated on the basis of a set of eleven socioeconomic characteristics. The results indicated that the variables number of vacation days earned and taken, income, race/ethnicity, education, and age were successful in differentia tin g between all groups and, in combination, accounted for all variance between the groups which could be explained. To determine whether groups of households that traveled for different purposes within the state of Texas could be identified according to their socioeconomic characteristics again a stepwise multiple discriminant analysis was performed. The groups could successfully be identified. The variables number of vacation days taken, income, race/ethnicity, and size of place where the head of household was reared were found to be the most powerful discriminators and they accounted for all between group variance which could be explained.