How does activity specialization affect nature-based tourism package choice?

Experiencing nature represents a dominant driver for many tourists, and the nature-based tourism market has become increasingly diversified. Activity specialization is a concept that can facilitate understanding of diversified tourist preferences by differentiating tourist behaviour, skills and knowledge and commitment related to one activity on a continuum from casual to specialized. Using a hybrid choice model, this study examines how activity specialization as a continuum relates to tourists stated choices of tour package preferences. Respondents were recruited at prominent tourist destinations for birdwatching, mountain biking, and iconic site hiking in Norway. The results show relationships between specialization and package choice, as well as differences across activities. In the birder and mountain biking cases, the likelihood of opting for a package with skill-level customized guiding increases with specialization. More specialized hikers are more likely to prefer packages without guiding and with mod

Journal

Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism