Heidi H. Sungs, Cathy H. C. Hsu

Modeling Travel Arrangements for International Travelers to Hong Kong: Full Package, Partial Package, or Non Package Tours

Heidi H. Sung, Division of Hotel, Restaurant, Sport, Travel and Tourism, College of Professional Studies
Cathy H. C. Hsu, Professor and Graduate Programs Director, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Abstract
Using trip arrangement as a key instrument, this study proposes classification models for segmenting the international inbound travel market. The study employed airport exit interviews to survey international travelers (N=1,814) from seven major source markets to Hong Kong. The survey instrument examined traveler characteristics, trip-related factors, and travel psychographics. The study results revealed almost all traveler socio-demographics, trip characteristics, and psychographics significantly varied with geographic origin. Logistic regression analysis proposed structural models to classify the inbound travel market to Hong Kong into distinct traveler subgroups with different factors. Implications of the classification models are discussed to help providers and marketers better understand international travelers and formulate strategies to effectively pinpoint and cater to target full package, partial package, and non package tour segments.