WHO IS AN OLEOTOURIST? A MOTIVATION-BASED SEGMENTATION STUDY

Purpose – Oleotourism is becoming increasingly important as Special Interest Tourism (SIT), especially among researchers who seek to propose an individual tourist experience related to the Mediterranean and olive oil production. This paper examines the profile of visitors to olive farms and olive mills to determine their motives. Design – Purposive sampling was used as the method of data collection. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire during the mid-summer season and the post-summer season 2019 in Istria County (Croatia). Methodology – In total, 263 adequately completed questionnaires were used for data analysis. Approach – Twenty-five items of push and pull motivation are analysed with exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by cluster analysis on identified factor dimensions. Findings – After EFA the questionnaire consisted of twenty-two motivational items. Five factor dimensions are identified after EFA and labelled: (1) Socialising and experience, (2) Exterior farm features, (3) Relax with family, (4) Surroundings, and (5) Olive oil and recognition. Cluster analysis revealed 2 different clusters, labelled: Involved olive visitors as the dominant cluster and Inconsequential as the smaller set. Originality of the research – Market segmentation by motivation is key for understanding visitor behaviour in SIT such as oleotourism. This paper explores motivation through push and pull motives and provides a solid basis for further research as well as guidelines for tourism firms dealing with this flourishing business.