Segmentation for urban destination: gender, place of residence, and trip purpose: a case of Nizhni Novgorod, Russia

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether a priori segmentation of visitors to a large urban destination along the dimensions of gender, place of residence (domestic, former states, and international), and trip purpose (business, leisure, and VFR) is indeed commonsense for the city's DMO. Specifically, the study investigated whether gender, place of residence, and trip purpose are associated with tourists’ destination risk perceptions, evaluations of destination performance, and post-visitation behavior; that is, intention to revisit and willingness to recommend.

The analysis used data obtained in a 2013 survey of visitors to Nizhni Novgorod, a large urban center in Russia.

The results indicate that place of residence and trip purpose discriminate tourists with respect to selected variables and can serve as segmentation bases for marketing communications about the city to potential target markets.

In view of the mega-sport events to be conducted in Nizhni Novgorod in 2018, alleviating risk perceptions of international tourists and improving their experiences while at the destination are important goals for the city government, tourism planners, and destination marketing organizations.

Segmentation bases of place of residence and trip purpose have rarely been examined in relation to a large multifunctional city, while gender has produced varying results. Thus, the study can add to the segmentation literature in the urban context.