Special Interest Tourism: Impact and Customer Needs

Special Interest
Tourism

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
Part 1..........................................................................................................................................................4
Special interest tourism products and services.........................................................................................4
How customer motivations, needs and expectations influence special interest tourism...........................4
Relationship between customer motivations, influences and special interest tourism products and
services....................................................................................................................................................6
How diverse customer motivations and expectations are met by special interest and niche tourism
markets, products and experiences..........................................................................................................6
Part 2..........................................................................................................................................................6
Relevant data and statistics on the scale and scope of a chosen special interest market...........................6
Impact of special interest tourism on India and how tourism providers respond to customer needs and
expectations.............................................................................................................................................9
Impact of special interest tourism on a chosen destination, applying relevant data and statistics..........10
Examination of new and emerging special interest markets, products and providers with relevant
example.................................................................................................................................................11
Impact of market forces and trends on the development of special interest tourism markets.................11
Development and impact of special interest tourism on a chosen destination, justified recommendations
for future developments.........................................................................................................................12
Part 3........................................................................................................................................................12
Covered in PPT.....................................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Tourism refers to all the activities of the people who travel to places that are outside their
regular environment for various purposes like business, leisure etc. It significantly contributes to
the overall economic development of a country (Altman and Finlayson, 2018). Special interest
tourism is among the fastest growing segments within the tourism industry and refers to those
forms of tourism that focus on activities that attract h Apart from this, it also creates a number of
jobs and builds a sense of cultural exchange between the tourists as well as the local people of
the destination. This report is based on Holiday Architects, a small special interest tour operator.
The company has decided to expand its product portfolio in order to deal with the increasing
demand. The report defines as well as differentiates the characteristics of special interest tourism
from mainstream mass tourism. Examples of special interest tourism products, services as well
as providers in different market are also included in the report. It also includes an analysis of the
impact of special interest tourism on a chosen destination and how tourism providers respond to
customer needs and expectations.

Part 1
Special interest tourism products and services
Special interest tourism can be referred to a form of tourism that primarily focuses on
activities that attract a small number of visitors that are highly dedicated. This may be related
to unusual hobbies or activities that are only practices by some people. It involves travelling
with the motive of practicing a special interest or enjoying (Brahmanto and Hamzah, 2017). In
simple words, it can be said that special interest tourists engage themselves in activities that
are of personal interest to them. This form of tourism has become an integral part of the
current tourism industry. There are different kinds of special interest tourism like educational
tourism, sports tourism, adventure tourism. arts and entertainment tourism etc. SIT or Special
interest tourism replaces the traditional mass market travel packages that are available in the
market and allows the tourists to choose holidays that they find to be appealing to their
individual interests.
Special interest tourism offers the tourists a lot of opportunities to explore their areas of
personal interest. Tourists today, have become more interested as well as motivated about
travelling to and exploring new places, instead to travelling to places with mass tourism.
Different types of special interest tourisms offer different services like Educational SIT offer
grand tours of the different historic places, cooking as well as languages schools that offer
various courses related to a destination’s local cuisine as well as language (Bulatović and et.
al., 2017). Similarly, services offered in a relaxation special interest tourism include camping,
canal boats and cruising.
How customer motivations, needs and expectations influence special interest tourism
Customers play a major role in special interest tourism as they travel for different reasons like
for business purposes or leisure etc. Different people who travel, have different needs and
expectations that can influence special interest tourism significantly. People who travel for
educational purposes, have totally different needs from those travelling for relaxation. It is
important for a destination to be aware of the cultural needs of the people who travel there.
When a person visits a destination for education related purposes, they expect it to have places