Applying Sustainability Indicators in the Analysis and Segmentation of Tourist Demand – Implications for Marine Visitor Experiences on the Tremiti Islands, Italy

Natural protected areas (NPAs) are often successful tourist destinations which attract heterogeneous demand segments. The nature-based tourism market, much like other tourist sectors, is made up by numerous groups and subgroups of visitors with great heterogeneity in terms of behaviours and preferences (Arnegger et al., 2010; Blamey & Braithwaite, 1997). Visitors’ interests are not limited to aspects related to the use of natural resources but there are other motivations also. As a consequence, nature-based tourism products must include a wide variety of services, experiences, activities, infrastructures, and facilities in order to meet the leisure and holiday expectations, preferences and needs of different market segments (Mehmetoglu, 2006). In today post-modern society, dominated by the experience economy (Pine & Gilmore, 1998), the customer is looking for unique and memorable experiences. As a consequence, segmentation becomes important to help understand customers’ characteristics better, respond to market changing expectations, and design effective services and communication actions. In the management of parks it is a step of the marketing strategy vital to provide outstanding visitor experiences (Mason, 2005; Pigram and Jenkin, 2006). This chapter presents the findings of qualitative questionnaires research carried out in the Tremiti Islands Marine Reserve, which is part of Gargano National Park. The literature proposes numerous segmentation models for nature-based tourism (Kruger et al., 2013, 2017). In our research we have identified different segments of tourists visiting Tremiti by means of the model proposed by Arnegger et al. (2010), using the matrix suggested in the related model. This model allowed us to understand and categorise more deeply visitors’ characteristics, their expectations and levels of satisfaction, and the strengths and weaknesses of local offer. This is crucial information for the managers of the marine reserve; in fact, only a thorough knowledge of the different types of visitor allow to adapt the offer to the needs, expectations and preferences of the visitors to best satisfy them, to increase their levels of satisfaction and to offer them high quality services and memorable experiences.