Types of Tourists by Elena Stancu

Definition of Tourists

elenastancue1985 — 2024-02-20 06:17:58 UTC

Anyone who travels to places other than the one in which is his habitual residence, outside of their everyday environment, for a period of at least one night but not more than one year and whose usual purpose is different from the exercise of any remunerated activity in the place to which he goes.

Cohen's Types of Tourists

elenastancue1985 — 2024-02-20 06:19:30 UTC

Cohen (1972), a sociologist of tourism, classifies tourists into four types, based on the degree to which they seek

familiarity and novelty: the drifter, the explorer, the individual mass tourist, and the organized mass tourist.

Erik Cohen is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Erik focuses his research in Social Anthropology, Sociological Theory and Tourism Studies. Erik is most well known for his work on tourist typologies published in the 1970s (Pender and Sharpley, 2005).

The familiar vs The Novel

elenastancue1985 — 2024-02-20 06:23:02 UTC

The types of tourists identified by Cohen in his typology are based on a continuum- a spectrum that allows tourists to be placed at some point between the familiar and the novel. Essentially, Cohen teaches us that there are many different types of tourists, some who seek familiar experiences (such as familiar food chains, branded accommodation options that they know or languages that they can speak), others who seek entirely new experiences (new cultures, new locations, new languages etc) and those who fall somewhere in between (Cohen, 1979).

The Drifter

elenastancue1985 — 2024-02-20 06:24:46 UTC

The Drifter is the type of tourist that is least connected with the mass tourism industry. Drifters typically have an authentic and deep immersive experience, opting for staying with members of the local community rather than in hotels and spending their time in the local community. They seek adventure and plan their own itineraries (Cohen, 1979). This type of tourist always opts for novelty over familiarity- you won’t see a Drifter eating in McDonalds or shopping in Zara!

The Explorer

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This type of tourist is similar to a Drifter in that they seek novelty over the familiar, however Explorers do often have a little more interaction with the commodities associated with the tourism industry (Cohen, 1979). For example, an Explorer may travel independently and enjoy an immersive cultural experience, but they may rest their head on a hotel pillow at the end of the day. This type of tourist will generally eat and shop local, but don’t be surprised if they enjoy a Big Mac from time to time too.

The individual mass tourists

elenastancue1985 — 2024-02-20 06:28:54 UTC

In Cohen’s tourist typology the Individual Mass Tourist seeks the familiar. This type of tourist wants familiar food, they want to be able to communicate in a familiar language and they want to stay in types on Cohen’s tourist typology the Individual Mass Tourist seeks the familiar (Cohen, 1979).

This type of tourist wants familiar food, they want to be able to communicate in a familiar language and they want to stay in types of accommodation that they are familiar with.

However, the Individual Mass Tourist is not constrained by the likes of group tours and activities- yes, they may book their holiday through a travel or use a local tour guide, but they will typically opt for solo travel over group tours, accommodation that they are familiar with.

The organised mass tourists

elenastancue1985 — 2024-02-20 06:29:49 UTC

The last of the types of tourists outlined in Cohen’s tourist typology is the Organised Mass Tourist. The Organised Mass Tourist seeks the familiar in the same way that the The Individual Mass Tourist does, however, they tend to do this as part of an organised group (Choen, 1979). This type of tourist seeks the familiar over novelty every time and they are often found with tour guides and undertaking group tours. The Organised Mass Tourist will generally have an itinerary or a plan and they will stick to it (Robison and Novelli, 2004).

Conclusion

elenastancue1985 — 2024-02-20 06:32:16 UTC

By better understanding the different types of tourists tourism businesses and tourism industry stakeholders can better provide for the tourists- they can tailor their products and services better, they can understand the tourist demands and desires and they can help to improve the overall quality of the tourism provision that is offered to particular tourists (Chen, 1979).

There are many academic studies which utilise Cohen’s tourist typology as a means to understanding particular issues within the tourism industry (Seeler, 2021).

References

elenastancue1985 — 2024-02-20 07:04:03 UTC

Pender, L. and Sharpley, R. (2005) The Management of Tourism. London: SAGE.

Robinson, M. and Novelli, M. (2004) ‘Niche tourism: an introduction’, in Novelli, M. Niche Tourism: Contemporary Issues, trends and cases. London: Routtledge, pp. 1-15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780080492926 (Accessed: 04 February 2024).

Cohen, E., 1979. Rethinking the sociology of tourism. Annals of tourism research, 6(1), pp.18-35.

Seeler, S., 2021. The experienced tourist: Proposing a new tourist typology. In Routledge Handbook of the Tourist Experience (pp. 185-199). Routledge.