Specific features of the Slovenian tourists visiting tourist destination Orebic.

Letunic, Stijepo ; Dragicevic, Marija ; Brautovic, Helena 等

1. INTRODUCTION

The basics of segmentation include various market characteristics like the demographic, socio-economic and geographic, consumer behavior, attitudes and preferences for certain attractions and experiences (Dibb et al., 1991). Each of the above mentioned items intrinsically affects consumer behavior, and the ability of the tourist officials to find out as much as it is possible about the guests' preferences will enable their providing better and more quality services (Galicic& Ivanovic, 2008). The most used variables for the market segmentation are: demographic variables, socio-economic variables, geographic variables, personality, motives, lifestyle, and behavior in purchasing, buying under exceptional circumstances, and approval of the purchased goods benefits, attitude toward a product, consumer behavior and the status of a buyer (Kotler, 2001). The selection of the right variables will lead to a quality market segmentation process, which is of an enormous importance in modern marketing (Kotler & Keller, 2008). Perceiving different demographic, psychograph and behavioral characteristics among the consumers it is possible to group them, so that the consumers with similar needs, wanting similar services and products are allocated to the same group. Consumer clustering and market segmentation can help create the kind of strategic marketing plans of a tourist destination that will contribute to a tourist's satisfaction. The increase of the tourists' satisfaction with the tourist destination product that is compatible with their preferences and expectations will result in the increase of their loyalty to a tourist destination. Loyal customer is a customer who repurchases from the same service provider whenever possible, and who continues to recommend or maintains positive attitudes towards the service provider (Kandampully & Suhartano, 2000). A field research has been done, using the polling method, in order to establish some specific features of the Slovenian tourists staying in the tourist destination of Orebic. A certain number of tourist suppliers can decide to direct their marketing activities towards a sub segment of the Slovenian market that they think is interesting for them from their own point of view.

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This paper demanded for a polling research, which was done on the sample of 395 interviewees who were staying in the private accommodation, apartments, hotels and camps in the region of the tourist destination of Orebic. The interviewees were asked questions about their sex, age, wage rate, expenditure per day, the length of stay, means of information, the quality of information, sports facilities and entertainment, the price of accommodation and other services, the quality of accommodation and the quality of food in the tourist destination. The aim of the research was to find joint characteristics among the Slovenian tourists in order to adapt the tourist supply to this tourist segment in the best possible way. We find necessary to continue with detailed researches of each segment of the Slovenian market due to the lack of such researches and the fact that the Slovenian tourists represent a considerable tourist segment in this tourist destination.

3. THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH

In the research that was done in the region of the tourist destination Orebic in July, August and September 2008, 54% of women and 46% of men were interviewed. Analyzing the age of the interviewees, the Slovenian tourists can be divided into four age groups. The majority of the interviewees were 25 to 44 years of age, or 45% of all of the interviewees. Only 8, 7% of the interviewees were 25, or under. The third group included the interviewees from 45 to 64, or 32%, and the interviewees who were 65 or more were represented with 14%. The analysis of the professional qualification of the interviewees showed that the majority of them, 32%, had a university or faculty diploma, while 29% of them had secondary school qualifications. Only 3% of the interviewees accomplished their master or doctoral studies. The analysis of the annual income rate of the interviewees showed that the majority of them, or 30%, earn 6000 [euro] to 12000 [euro], while 26% of the interviewees' annual incomes are less than 6000 [euro]. 13, 4% have an annual income between 13000 [euro] and 20000 [euro]. The minority, or 8, 24% earn between 21000 [euro] and 30000 [euro] a year. Most interviewees, 43% of them, spend up to 50 [euro] a day. 28% of the interviewed spend between 50 [euro] and 100 [euro] a day, while only 11% spend between 100 [euro] and 200 [euro] a day. Most of the interviewees, 39% of them, were accompanied by their friends to Orebic, and 30% travelled individually, or through a travel agency. The majority of them stay between seven and fifteen days in Orebic. 23% of the tourists stay more than sixteen days. 33% of the Slovenian tourists came to Orebic having word of mouth information or because their own previous experience, while 30% used the Internet. A little less Slovenian tourists, 11% of them, personally contacts tourist suppliers, and 8% follows the media articles. The majority of the Slovenian tourists, 40%, consider that they are very well informed, while 26% of them think that they are only well informed. The results of the research that are about the quality of service showed that 33% of the Slovenian tourists are satisfied with the accommodation, out of which 21% of them are completely satisfied. 34, 3% expressed their minor dissatisfaction with the accommodation.

Food quality mostly satisfied 31% of the tourists, while 26% of the tourists were completely satisfied with the food quality. A less degree of satisfaction showed 26% of the interviewees who were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the food quality in this tourist destination. 9, 1% of the tourists thought that the food quality was completely dissatisfied. Analyzing the research results of the Slovenian tourists on the price of accommodation and other services it becomes noticeable that 16% of them is completely satisfied with the price and that 32% is mostly satisfied. A considerable number of the Slovenian tourist, 33% of them, is neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. A complete dissatisfaction with the price expressed 6,8% of the interviewees, and mostly dissatisfied Slovenian tourists, as far as the price is concerned, are 6,3%.

The analysis of the research on the attitudes of Slovenian tourists on sports facilities shows that 35, 9% of the interviewees were completely or mostly satisfied. The majority of the Slovenian tourists fall into a category of neither satisfied nor dissatisfied users of the sports facilities, or about 35%, while 17, 3% expressed their complete dissatisfaction with the sports facilities.

According to this research, the major number of the interviewees, 34% of them, is neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Only 29, 2% of the interviewees are satisfied with the entertainment, out of which 9, 5% is completely satisfied. 25, 9% expressed their dissatisfaction, out of which a major number, or about 24%, is mostly dissatisfied with the entertainment in the researched region.

4. CONCLUSION

Analyzing the age of the interviewees, we can concluded that the Slovenian tourists can be divided into four age groups. The majority of the interviewees were 25 to 44 years of age, or 45% of all of the interviewees. Only 8, 7% of the interviewees were 25, or under. The third group included the interviewees from 45 to 64, or 32%, and the interviewees who were 65 or more were represented with 14%. The analysis of the professional qualification of the interviewees showed that the majority of them, 32%, had a university or faculty diploma, while 29% of them had secondary school qualifications. Only 3% of the interviewees accomplished their master or doctoral studies. The data on the height of the annual income of the interviewees show that the largest group, or 30% of the interviewees, earn between 6000 [euro] and 12000 [euro]. Also, the majority of the Slovenian tourists spend up to 50 [euro] per day. Attitudes on the quality of accommodation show that about 54% of the Slovenian tourists is satisfied, while 26% of them is neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and the rest of 8, 3% is dissatisfied. The analysis on attitudes of the Slovenian tourists on food quality showed that they can be divided into three groups: 57% of the satisfied tourists, 26% of those who were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 12, 7% of them were dissatisfied tourists. When it is about the price of accommodation and other services, there are three groups of the satisfaction among the Slovenian tourists: 32% of them are mostly satisfied, 33% are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and only 13, 1% is dissatisfied.

5. REFERENCES

Dibb, S.; Simkin, W.; Pride, W.M. & Ferrell, O. C. (1991). Marketing (Marketing), Mate, ISBN-953-6070-13-8, Zagreb

Galicic, V. & Ivanovic, S. (2008). Menadzment zadovoljstva gosta (Customer satisfaction management), Sveuciliste u Rijeci,ISBN-978-953-6198-58-0, Rijeka (University of Rijeka, Rijeka)

Kandampully, J. & Suhartano D. (2000).Customer loyalty in the hotel industry: The role of customer satisfaction and image, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, No. 12/6., pp. 346-351 Kotler, P. (2001). Upravljanje marketingom, (Marketing

Management), Mate, ISBN-953-6070-65-0, Zagreb Kotler, P. & Keller, K. (2008). Upravljanje marketingom (Marketing Management), Mate, ISBN-0-13-145757-8, Zagreb

Tab. 1. The attitudes of the Slovenian tourists
in the tourist destination of Orebic about the
food quality

Degree of satisfaction Number of %
on food quality interviewees

Completely dissatisfied 19 4,8

Mostly dissatisfied 17 4,3

Neither satisfied nor 101 26
dissatisfied

Mostly satisfied 121 31

Completely satisfied 101 26

Unknown 36 7,9

Total 395 100

Tab. 2. The attitudes of the Slovenian tourists
in the tourist destination of Orebic about the
price of accommodation and other services

Degree of satisfaction Number of %
on the price of interviewees
accommodation and other
services

Completely dissatisfied 27 6,8
Mostly dissatisfied 25 6,3
Neither satisfied 130 33
nor dissatisfied
Mostly satisfied 123 32
Completely satisfied 65 16
Unknown 25 5,9
Total 395 100

Tab. 3. The attitudes of the Slovenian tourists
in the tourist destination of Orebic on sports
facilities

Degree of satisfaction Number of %
on sports facilities interviewees

Completely dissatisfied 34 7,8

Mostly dissatisfied 38 9,5

Neither satisfied nor 135 35
dissatisfied

Mostly satisfied 93 22,7

Completely satisfied 53 13,2

Unknown

Total 363 100

Tab. 4. The attitudes of the Slovenian tourists in
the tourist destination Orebic on entertainment

Degree of satisfaction Number of %
on entertainment interviewees

Completely dissatisfied 28 6,9

Mostly dissatisfied 91 24

Neither satisfied nor 134 34
dissatisfied

Mostly satisfied 74 19,7

Completely satisfied 38 9,5

Unknown

Total 384 100