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Thailand escapists

In a study examining decision-making patterns among international tourists, 260 participants provided information on six psychographic orientations: psychological, educational, social, relaxational, physiological and aesthetic. Cluster analysis was used to group participants into psychographic segments. The results suggested that there were three meaningful segments based upon their lifestyles. The first segment (53%) consisted of individuals who were high on nearly all lifestyle scales. This group was called the ‘demanders’. The second group (20%) was high on the educational scale and was named the ‘educationalists’. The last group (26%) was high on relaxation and low on social scales and was named the ‘escapists’. Specific marketing strategies were formulated to attract tourists in each segment. In order to recover from the aftermath of the economic downturn in 2008–2009, Thailand made a special effort to reach the ‘escapists’, as the country, with its many relaxation opportunities and natural beauty, would appeal the most to these tourists.