When Touristologists talk about specialized tourism, we are talking about the highest level of specialization… the best one!
In the first tier, you have generic/mass tourism. No segmentation whatsoever and with price as the main demand driver!
In the second tier, you have specialized offer: Adventures Tourism, Sports Tourism, Family tourism, Sky Tourism, Cultural Tourism… Leisure Tourism, Business Tourism… No clear identification of the segment is provided. Their users/evangelists still believe we live in FORD Model T times!!!! “You can have any color as long as it’s black.“ 1909
Finally, in the last tier, you have specialized Tourism focuses ON PEOPLE!!! ON TOURISTS NOT tourism typologies! We are TOURISTOLOGISTS! We focus on seducing tourists conveying the benefits that travelling brings to human beings!!! We find segments around the world. Segments with necessities that will be better satisfied during a trip (international contacts/experiences, a boost of creativity, bonding experiences for professional or family groups…). SEGMENTS! NOT Dr. Frankensteins experiments!!!!
1) Going to this tourism destination, Hotel… is like an ego shower (Chip Conley called it Identity refreshment)
2) Community power/Easy group creation: Plenty of things to talk about with people like me or complementary to me OR the ones that can help me…
Nothing wrong with tourism destination or services focused on price. Nothing wrong with tourism destination or services focused on tourism typologies BUT, if you really want to specialize… choose the top tier!
