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Cluster analysis, tourism

Encyclopedia of Tourism

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Cluster analysis is a family of multivariate techniques used for identifying homogenous groups of objects or individuals based on their similarities or dissimilarities in a set of measured variables. The origins of this method can be found in the biological sciences, but the technique is currently used in a broad spectrum of research areas, including social sciences.

One of the most common applications of cluster analysis in tourism research is market segmentation (Fredline 2012). The technique attempts to identify homogenous subsets of tourists in order to better understand their preferences and needs and to modify and adapt marketing efforts to specific segments, thus allowing a more efficient allocation of resources. The variables could be demographic, trip-related, motivations, expectations, and the like.

A specific application to tourism is often seen in the study of its impacts on host communities (Aguiló Pérez and Rosselló Nadal 2005). Based on survey data, the researcher may...

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References

  • Aguiló Pérez, E., and J. Rosselló Nadal 2005 Host Community Perceptions: A Cluster Analysis. Annals of Tourism Research 32:925-941.

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  • Everitt, B., S. Landau, M. Leese, and D. Stahl 2011 Cluster Analysis. London: Wiley.

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  • Fredline, E. 2012 Cluster Analysis. In Handbook of Research Methods in Tourism: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, L. Dwyer, A. Gill and N. Seetaram, eds., pp.212-226. New York: Elgar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Economía Aplicada (Estadística y Econometría), Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Málaga, Calle El Ejido, 6, 29071, Malaga, Spain

    Antonio Fernández-Morales

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  1. Antonio Fernández-Morales
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Correspondence to Antonio Fernández-Morales .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Hospitality Leadership, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, Wisconsin, USA

    Jafar Jafari

  2. School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    Honggen Xiao

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Fernández-Morales, A. (2014). Cluster analysis, tourism. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_319-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_319-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-01669-6

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Cluster Analysis in Tourism
    Published:
    03 March 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_319-4

  2. Cluster analysis in tourism
    Published:
    05 February 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_319-3

  3. Cluster Analysis in Tourism
    Published:
    03 December 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_319-2

  4. Original

    Cluster analysis, tourism
    Published:
    25 September 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_319-1

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