Demographic Segmentation
The evaluation of the target market segment on the basis of segmentation of people present in tourism industry in Australia are discussed below:
The variable in the case of demographic segmentation are age, gender, occupation, nationality, income level, race, family size etc. So, on the basis of these factor, the segmentation for the industry are people who starts from middle income level people in the society and ends at high income level people. These are the two categories which the company should target on the basis demographic segmentation. Further, on the basis of age, the companies should target people who mostly belong to the age group of 35-40 and more than 70. These people are more involved into living their lives luxuriously. Lastly, there is no differentiation in gender and companies should target people that mostly live in nuclear families (McCaughey, Mao, and Dowling 2018). |
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The geographic segmentation is based on the aspect that divides the market on the basis geographies. The potential customers present in the market are divided into the geographies present in the country Australia. Looking at the figures, it can be clearly said that the company present in this industry should target the people living in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. These three regions have maximum demand of cruise in Australia. |
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The decision in case of behavioural segmentation is based on the option that relates to the behaviour of people to make choices in the environment. This segmentation targets the people on the basis of their decision making pattern and frequency of usage of products and services in market (Soulard, and Petrick 2016). So, according to this type of segmentation, the companies should target the people who loves travelling and are always up for luxurious travelling like cruise etc. Young people and retired people should be mainly targeted under this case. |
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The psychographic segmentation divides the market on the basis of lifestyle of people. It talks about the buying behaviour of people in the society that relates to their lifestyle and social standing as well. So, under this case, the companies should target upper middle class and high class people that prefer luxurious travelling rather than trekking or hiking. These people are the people that usually make upto minimum one trip in a year (Del Chiappa, and Abbate 2016). |
Source: (CLIA 2016)
So, on the basis of above mentioned segmentation of the cruise line industry of Australia, it can be clearly assumed that the company should target people that that belongs to the age group of 35- 40 and more than 70. These people belong to upper middle class and high class people in the society who usually travels for leisure. These people definitely make one cruise trip in a year.
Source: (By Author)
The external factors that shift the decision making process of Cruise passengers are discussed below:
Pricing Strategy: This is one of the most important external influences that highly affects the decision making process of the consumers in the target market. Let’s face the fact that travelling in cruise is not everybody’s cup of tea because it is expensive. So, the middle income level people keep this fact in mind while looking searching for the best option that the cruise is available to them at a comparatively economic price. Thus, the pricing strategy and additional perks on board attracts the customers to travel with the company (Mason 2015).
Brand Reputation: This is another major aspect that affects or fluctuates the decision making process of the customer in the target market. This industry works on the brand loyalty that the companies have made in market, like if a customer had once travelled with Carnival Spirit Company then they would again go for the same organization if they had great experience last time. Thus, it is very important for the companies to manage to create a brand reputation so as to attract more and more customers at cruise.
Entertainment Attributes: Entertainment is very important for people as it is a reason due to which people are travelling at cruise. It is important for the organizations to effectively market the activities that they perform on cruise so as to attract people. High level of facilities along with good entertainment and events automatically attracts the customers to travel with the company. The cruise should provide sports, recreational activities and some activities for the children too (Whyte 2017).
Geographic Segmentation
Promotions and safety: Promotion plays a lead role in changing the mind of the customer while looking for cruise. The better the promotional activity, the more the people will get attracted towards it. As this industry is a part of the premium industry so people always look for high class services and promotional activities in the market that defines the status of the cruise. Apart from this, the people while taking decision in the market also consider safety aspect. Every person will go with the organization on which they rely because there is major safety risk while travelling in cruise.
Environment and culture: It is very important for the organization to maintain friendly environment at cruise then only people will come. Customers are going to live for few days at cruise so they make sure that the staff is friendly and culture is pleasant for them otherwise they might attain dissatisfaction from the services. Cooperative staff automatically increases the level of satisfaction of the customers (Bahja 2017).
Cuisine and Dining: Lastly, cuisine and dining also plays an important role in shifting the interest of the customers in the market. People living in Australia cannot happily eat Thai or Mexican food regular for ten days. They need to have some dishes of the taste that they like. Further, if a customer is paying high amount then they will prefer fine dining and positive ambience at cruise as well. This highly fluctuates the decision making process of the target segment present in Australia.
References
Bahja, F., 2017. Evaluating the Relative Importance of Influencing Factors on Cruise Vacations: A Conjoint Analysis [online]. Retrieved from < https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.co.in/&httpsredir=1&article=7874&context=etd> [accessed on 18 Oct. 18].
CLIA., (2016) Cruise Industry Source Market Report [online]. Retrieved from < https://www.cruising.org/docs/default-source/research/australia-market-report-2016.pdf?sfvrsn=0> [accessed on 18 Oct. 18].
Del Chiappa, G. and Abbate, T., 2016. Island cruise tourism development: a resident’s perspective in the context of Italy. Current Issues in Tourism, 19(13), pp.1372-1385.
Gibson, P., Lim, W.M. and Holmes, M., 2016. Keeping the Customers Happy: The Importance of Morale on Cruise Ships. Tourism in Marine Environments, 11(2-3), pp.136-145.
Mason, P., 2015. Tourism impacts, planning and management. UK: Routledge.
McCaughey, R., Mao, I. and Dowling, R., 2018. Residents’ perceptions towards cruise tourism development: the case of Esperance, Western Australia. Tourism Recreation Research, 43(3), pp.403-408.
Soulard, J. and Petrick, J.F., 2016. Messages in the Bottle: Customers’ Reactions to Expertise, Blame, and Compensation After a Severe Cruising Crisis. Tourism in Marine Environments, 11(2-3), pp.192-200.
Whyte, L.J., 2017. Understanding the relationship between push and pull motivational factors in cruise tourism: A canonical correlation analysis. International Journal of Tourism Research, 19(5), pp.557-568.