An analysis of summer sun tourists - outbound package holidays ...

Summer Sun Tourism 107
Given the huge importance of the sector, it is surprising that the literature contains so little research at the
level of the individual package tourist. Tour operators undertake or commission varying amounts of market
research but the findings are commercially sensitive and are not published. Thomson and Pearce (1980)
compared the profiles and tour selections of coach, camping and fly-drive package tourists in New Zealand.
Quiroga (1990) investigated aspects of package tourist profile and motivation with specific reference to Latin
American participants on coach tours of Europe but the main focus of the work was on group dynamics.
One-third of overseas holidays taken by residents of the Republic of Ireland are on a fully inclusive
package arrangement (Bord Fáilte, 1995). With the patterns of air charter tourism from Ireland having been
determined already (Gillmor, 1973; 1996), the next stage in research was to investigate at the level of the
individual package tourist. The present study was undertaken with the objective of exploring certain questions
directly with these tourists. What types of individual go on package holidays and why is this type of
holiday preferred? How is the destination of the holiday chosen and to what extent does the travel trade
influence this decision? Do variables such as socio-economic status and past travel experience have a
bearing on the holiday decision? Apart from their intrinsic academic interest, responses to these types of
question should be of value to the travel trade which seeks to provide saleable holiday products and to
promote them in ways to attract customers. Greater understanding of clients by the industry is ultimately in
the consumers’ interest also. The findings of the survey are of relevance not only in the Irish context but also
internationally because studies have demonstrated a certain uniformity in tourist practice from country to
country and over time (Krippendorf, 1987).
The Survey
A study of tourists going on package holidays to sun destinations advertised as commencing in Dublin
in summer 1993 is described in this paper. A package holiday was taken to include, at a minimum, return flights
between Dublin and the holiday destination by chartered or scheduled aircraft and accommodation. The
questionnaire survey on which the study is based sought information concerning: respondent characteristics;
the holiday being undertaken; the booking of the holiday; the holiday choice process. From this information,
a reasonably complete picture of the tourists was obtained from which it was possible to test various
hypotheses concerning the types of question posed previously.
The sampling procedure was designed to generate a sample representative of summer sun package
holiday tourists departing from Dublin Airport. Information concerning flight departures which had been
obtained from brochures and other literature circulated by the tour operators was cross-checked against a
timetable of charter flights obtained from Aer Rianta, the Irish Airports Authority. In addition, the times of
scheduled flights upon which it was known summer sun package holiday-makers might be travelling were
noted. From this information, a list of all “target flights” was compiled and they were surveyed with reference
to the numbers of holiday-makers going to the different destinations. Passengers were interviewed at random
by the first author in the boarding areas of targetted flights on 26 days between 19 June and 12 September,
following a pilot survey in early June. If a passenger when approached stated that s/he was not embarking on
a package holiday, the interview was closed. Where a group, comprising family or friends, was encountered,
the individual with the greatest knowledge about the forthcoming holiday was questioned.
The number of succesful interviews with sun package tourists was 300. The non-response rate was 3.2%.
This extremely low rate may reflect to some extent the fact that many of the respondents had little to do whilst
waiting for their flights to board.
Survey Results
Respondent Characteristics
Exactly half of the tourists interviewed were aged 18-29, with a further 27.3% being 30-44 years. The
average size of group travelling was 3.06, with a standard deviation of 1.92. Interviewees varied from those
travelling alone to one with sixteen friends. Females constituted 63.7% of the survey sample. The distribution
of reported annual earnings is shown in Table 1. The income recorded was gross family income or, in the