Spesialebelangstellingtoerisme in Suid-Afrika : segmentering van die fees- en geleentheidsmark

Special interest tourism in South Africa : segmenting the festivals and events market The continued growth and expansion of the tourism industry have resulted in growth in this sector that is continuously creating new segments, such as special interest tourism. Festivals and events are among the fastest growing categories of special interest tourism offerings in the world. This trend is also evident in SA, where customers can choose from an average of four festivals a month, or one a week, with new festivals constantly being added to the events calendar. Festivals and events as a subcategory of tourism have become more important to countries and their economies in recent years. Although there has been a considerable increase in academic interest in and research on festivals and events in the past 15 years, this area of research is still in its infancy. This article attempts partly to make a contribution to one focus area, namely SA events literature. The first part of the article introduces special interest tourism as the provision of customised leisure and recreational experiences driven by the specific expressed interests of individuals and groups and identifies various subcategories, noting confusion between the terms "festivals" and "events." The main difference between the two terms relates to the period over which these are held. Festivals are held annually, whereas events are one-off happenings. Festivals are furthermore distinguished in that the occurrence has a clearer focus on community and celebration. Festivals may be classified as events, although they often differ in scale, type and form. In this article, the two terms are used synonymously. A broad classification is furthermore suggested such as mega events, hallmark events and community-based (local) events. These three classifications denote the most common categories of events, although the definitions are not precise and distinctions often become blurred. SA examples are given in each case. This article reports on the growth in the SA festival environment and reiterates the need for segmenting SA festivals and events. Market segmentation is the process of subdividing markets into distinct subsets of customers who behave in the same way or have similar needs. Segmentation is a fairly subjective process, which may differ in the case of each festival and event. There is no single way to segment a market, and a marketer has to try different segmentation variables, alone and / or in combination, such as geographic, demographic, psychographic and socio-economic status, and should also consider product- or festival-related behavioural characteristics, such as purchase behaviour, purchase occasion, the benefits or attributes sought, consumption behaviour and the user's status and attitude to a product or service. Segmentation theory is applied by segmenting the SA festival and events customers. Existing efforts to segment the SA festival and events market are used as the basis for developing a new segmentation system. The types of festivals have been divided into the following seven broad segments, namely arts festivals, dance, jazz and music festivals; sacred, language and religious festivals; heritage and culture festivals; harvest and food festivals; shows, fairs and festivals; and sports events. All SA festivals and events are segmented, using this system to provide a detailed segmentation list as contained in the original research that can be used by organisers in this field. At times it may be difficult to distinguish between the segment variables, as it is not always clear whether a festival is segmented for example as an arts festival or a dance, jazz and music festival, but the segmentation exercise could help to position or reposition the existing festivals and events better. Die voortgesette groei en uitbreiding van die toerismebedryf het gelei tot nuwe segmente, soos spesialebelangstellingtoerisme. Feeste en geleenthede ressorteer onder spesialebelangstellingtoerisme wat die vinnigste groei. Hierdie tendens kom ook in SA voor, waar kliente uit gemiddeld vier feeste per maand (een per week) kan kies en nuwe feeste gedurig by die geleentheidskalender gevoeg word. Hoewel daar die afgelope 15 jaar 'n aansienlike toename in akademiese belangstelling in en navorsing oor feeste en geleenthede was, staan hierdie navorsingsterrein nog in sy kinderskoene. Hierdie artikel poog om 'n bydrae te lewer tot die SA-geleentheidsliteratuur deur die terme fees en geleentheid aan bod te stel en te definieer, en doen ook 'n breer klassifikasie aan die hand. Die artikel doen ook verslag oor die groei in die SA-feesomgewing, wat die behoefte aan segmentering van SA-feeste en geleenthede bevestig. Bestaande pogings om die SA-fees- en geleentheidsmark te segmenteer, word gebruik as grondslag vir die ontwikkeling van 'n nuwe segmenteringstelsel. Alle SA-feeste en geleenthede word dan volgens die stelsel gesegmenteer om 'n omvattendde segmenteringslys op te stel wat beskikbaar is in die oorspronklike navorsing vir die gebruik deur feesorganiseerders.