examples of niche markets in tourism

What is niche tourism and why is it so popular?

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Niche tourism is a term that I hear a lot these days. But what is niche tourism? Well, the truth is that it isn’t any one tourism type, rather it is a collective term used to group a number of types of tourism. It is an umbrella term .

Confused? Don’t be! It’s actually very simple, and in this article I will explain why….

What does the term ‘niche’ mean?

What is niche tourism, macro and micro niche tourism, niche tourism definitions, why has niche tourism become popular, advantages of niche tourism, disadvantages of niche tourism, examples of niche tourism, further reading.

Before we can understand what niche tourism is, we first need to understand what is meant by the word ‘niche’.

Niche (pronounced NEE-SH in the UK and NITCH in the US), refers to an area or position that is suitable for a small group of people.

As an adjective, niche can refer to a number of things, including:

In the context of tourism, niche is referring to products, services or interests that are shared by a small group of people.

Niche tourism is the umbrella term covering a range of types of tourism . Niche tourism products and services serve a specialised segment of the tourism industry.

Niche tourism is the antithesis of mass tourism . It is the opposite of large group tours, all-inclusive holiday resorts and overtourism .

Other terms that identify similar, small market segments include alternative tourism and special interest tourism .

Essentially, niche tourism identifies forms of micro (small) tourism.

As demonstrated in the diagram below, niche tourism itself can be categorised as a macro (i.e. big) type of tourism. Within this, a number of smaller tourism types can be identified. These are micro forms of tourism.

The list of micro tourism forms listed here is not exhaustive. For a more comprehensive list, take a look at my article on the different types of tourism .

The term niche tourism hasn’t been around that long. In fact, before the 1990s niche was most commonly used to describe marketing (Robinson & Novelli, 2005).

Definitions have evolved from the concept of niche marketing, so I think that it is useful to look first at how the term niche marketing is defined.

According to Toften and Hammervoll (2009), niche marketing can be understood as a focus on a limited market, which is generally considered to be appropriate for small or specialised businesses.

Stanton, Etzel, and Walker (1991) define niche marketing as ‘a method that meets customer needs by developing products and services especially suited to small markets’.

And Kotler (2003) describes niche marketing as a focus on clients who demonstrate a specific set of needs, available to pay a higher price to companies best suited to supply their demand for goods and services.

The most comprehensive text on the niche tourism phenomena was published in 2007 by Robinson and Novelli (2007). This book introduced us to the concept, outlining the notions of macro and micro tourism that I outlined earlier. In their book Robinson and Novelli outline a variety of different examples of niche tourism. Whilst, more than twenty years have passed since this publication, it still remains largely valid and useful, although there are now a wider range of tourism forms than there were at the time of writing.

More recently, in 2005, Novelli described niche tourists as independent travellers choose specialised activities to engage with social life and to become cosmopolitans.

Taking all of this into consideration, niche tourism can be defined as ‘an umbrella tourism form, which identifies macro and micro tourism segments appealing to a specific group of travellers’.

Niche tourism has grown in popularity a lot in recent years.

This growth is owed to the way that we have changed as consumers. People have become more sophisticated in their wants and needs. We know what we want and that’s what we want. The ‘one size fits all’ traditional package tourism model no longer suits.

Around the globe people have become more globalised and more educated. We want more than a nice pool and some evening cocktails from our holidays.

People want education and culture and adventure. And we can access these things through niche tourism provision….

I would love to share some figures with you to demonstrate this, but studies tend to focus on the macro or micro tourism forms, as opposed to niche tourism as a group. But hopefully you’ll take my word on that one!

Niche tourism is often viewed as being a more positive form of tourism than mass tourism. This is because it generally involves smaller numbers of tourists who (usually) leave less of a footprint. In fact, it is often associated by sustainable tourism and responsible tourism (rightly or wrongly).

Some of the advantages of niche tourism are:

• It is less damaging on the environment
• Tourists come in smaller numbers
• Tourists tend to be more courteous and respectful
• Niche tourists often pay more than mass tourists
• There is a genuine interest in the local area and people

Of course, these advantages are not a given. It is impossible to generalise such a broad group of tourism types!

There are also disadvantages of niche tourism. The main issue is the small size of businesses and an inherent over reliance on tourism.

Some of the main problems commonly noted are:

• A lack of alternative revenue streams
• Too many visitors are attracted
• Niche businesses take business away from elsewhere
• Some niches are not environmentally friendly, such as golf tourism.
• Small visitor numbers means that the economic benefits are limited
• Niche tourism activities can come in and out of ‘fashion’ and popularity

Ultimately, it is careful tourism planning and sustainable tourism management that will reduce any negative impacts of tourism. Therefore, it is actually a misconception that niche tourism is better than mass tourism. This statement is unfounded and is totally depends on the type of tourism that is in question.

There are many examples of niche tourism around the world.

Below I have listed some of the most common types of niche tourism. I’ve written in depth articles about many of these- click on the links to learn more!

• Adventure tourism
• Ancestry tourism
• Couchsurfing
• Cruise tourism
• Cultural tourism
• Dark tourism
• Disaster tourism
• Educational tourism
• Enclave tourism
• Food tourism
• Health tourism
• Homestay tourism
• Insta tourism
• Pro-poor tourism
• Rural tourism
• Sex tourism
• Slow tourism
• Smart tourism
• Space tourism
• Sustainable tourism
• Volunteer tourism
• Virtual tourism
• Bike-packing

If you are interested in learning more about this important industry, I recommend the two texts outlined below.

Niche Tourism: Contemporary Issues, Trends and Cases- provides an integrated picture of speciality/niche tourism as a whole looking at both the ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ niche area. It has a comprehensive theoretical framework, and discusses initiatives, policies and strategies adopted internationally. With an emphasis on linking theory to practice, it is underpinned by up-to-date international case studies from around the world.

The Long Tail of Tourism: Holiday Niches and their Impact on Mainstream – The ‘long tail’ of holiday offerings implies dramatic shifts in the sector’s concentration levels and its competitive dynamics. In order to examine the applicability and validity of this scenario, a number of key holiday niches are examined in terms of their demand development, supplier landscapes, operational challenges and future potential.

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31 Niche Tourism Groups

If you thought that Niche Tourism covers just a handful of interest groups, think again. In the 5th edition of his book ‘ Marketing Tourism in South Africa ‘ , Richard George identified 20 distinct Special Interest or ‘Niche’ tourism groups, and we’ve added 11 more to this growing list.

Table of Contents

Special interest tourism (SIT) to South Africa has increased rapidly in the last few years. Special interest tourists are motivated by the desire to go on holiday and take part in a current interest or develop a new interest in a new or familiar location.

Special interest tourism is a niche market, similar to adventure tourism, but it differs in that it involves little or no physical exertion. The special interest may be a one-off interest (for example, going on a safari, white-water-rafting or shark-cage-diving) or an ongoing interest (for example, spiritual tourism).

Some of the most popular special interest tourism products include the following:

1. Agri-tourism

Agri-tourism (aka agro-tourism or farm-based tourism) involves activities such as fruit-picking. Tourists may go on tours of working farms or on established tourist routes such as brandy or wine routes. They may visit factories that process farm produce (for example, jam) and may stay overnight in farmhouse B&Bs.

2. Ancestry tourism

Tourists travel to destinations with the aim of learning more about and possibly tracing their ancestors.

3. Architourism (or architectural tourism)

Tourists are attracted by the design and buildings of a destination.

4. Avitourism (or birding tourism)

Birdwatching is a popular hobby all over the world. Southern Africa is one of the richest birding regions, with a network of birding routes. BirdLife South Africa, a membership-based non-profit organisation, represents the birding tourism sector in South Africa.

5. Battlefields tourism

Tours to former battlefields have grown in popularity. Popular battlefields sites in South Africa include Isandlwana in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Front (Normandy, the Somme) in Europe.

6. Eco-tourism (or wildlife tourism)

Tourists view the flora or the game of an area. This includes whale-watching.

7. Gambling tourism

Tourists visit casino destinations and holiday in gambling cities that have many casinos.

8. Gastronomy tourism (or food tourism)

“Foodies” visit a destination in order to experience cuisine and food festivals. Gastronomy tourism is defined as travel that has food as the primary factor of influence in travel behaviour and in the decision-making process.

9. Lighthouse tourism

Tourists visit and sometimes stay in lighthouses that provide accommodation for tourists.

10. Military tourism

Tourists who visit war memorials, battlefields, forts and war museums.

11. Nostalgia tourism

Tourists return to a destination for sentimental reasons. For example, they go back to a destination where they had a memorable childhood holiday, or where they lived or studied in their younger years.

12. Photographic tourism

Tourists visit Africa’s natural and cultural attractions in order to take photographs.

13. Property tourism

Tourists travel to holiday destinations to purchase residential property. The property tourism operator who organises the tour may reimburse all or a portion of the cost of the holiday that was taken in order to view the property if the tourist purchases the property.

14. Rural tourism (or Cultural tourism)

This includes home-stays so that tourists can experience rural life and food.

15. Safari tourism

Tourists participate in art safaris and rail safaris.

16. Spa tourism

Tourists visit mineral or hot springs. This type of niche tourism is not bound to any season. It is a year-round activity.

17. Wedding tourism

This involves honeymooners and couples who travel to destinations to have their wedding ceremonies. Wedding tourists tend to travel in quite large numbers.

18. Wellness tourism (or Spiritual tourism)

Tourists come to a destination in order to unwind and enjoy reflexology and massages, for example.

19. Wildlife tourism

Tourists participate in activities such as safaris, viewing marine wildlife and photographing wildlife.

20. Wine tourism

Tourists visit wine-growing regions and wine routes, vineyards, wineries (cellar tours and tasting rooms), wine festivals and so on, for the purpose of consuming or purchasing wine.

South Africa has excellent wine regions and offers a variety of additional benefits to wine tourists, including natural and cultural visitor attractions. The country’s wine routes are ranked as the fourth most popular visitor attraction for international and domestic tourists.

The Winelands in the Western Cape, Napa Valley in California , the USA and Adelaide in Australia are examples of world-class wine tourism destinations.

More Specialist Tourism Groups:

Here are more niche tourism groups to add to the above list – Editor.

21. Accessible tourism

Accessible tourism is ‘Tourism For All’. It’s about making travel and hospitality more reachable and pleasurable for travellers with universal access requirements. It’s also about sensitising yourself to the language of disability.

22. Adventure tourism  (or Adventure travel)

Adventure travel is a type of tourism, involving exploration or travel with perceived (and possibly actual) risk, and potentially requiring specialized skills and physical exertion. Adventure tourism is rapidly growing in popularity, as tourists seek different kinds of vacations. 

23. Art Tourism

Art tourism is a term that is used when people travel in order to visit, explore and engage in activities related to art. It includes travelling to art festivals, art galleries, music concerts, and dance and book festivals, and to explore the homes of famous artists, musicians, writers, and poets.

24. Cruise tourism

Cruise tourism is a great way to expose a country’s beauty and culture and also a nice way to travel the world giving tons of jobs and employment to places that it visits, mostly “ports of call”. 

25. Cultural tourism

This kind of tourism normally occurs in urban areas with particular historical significance or cultural facilities, such as museums and theatres.

Cultural tourism also highlights the various traditions of indigenous communities through observing their rituals, customs as well as their values and lifestyle. Tourism, therefore, serves as the carrier of culture and cultural tourism has become the platform for cultural consumption. 

26. Environmental Tourism  (or Green tourism)

Environmental Tourism, – also referred to as Ecotourism, Sustainable Tourism and Responsible Tourism – are terms rooted in the concept of development that  “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

27. Film Tourism

Film tourism is a growing phenomenon worldwide, motivated by both the growth of the entertainment industry and the increase in international travel. Film-induced tourism explores the effects that film and TV-productions have on the travel decisions made when potential tourists plan their upcoming holiday or visit to a destination. 

28. Luxury Tourism

According to Statista, luxury tourism as a niche market is defined as revenues derived by a destination from acquisitions of consumer goods, services, and valuables for and during trips by individual tourists who have net assets of over one million U.S. dollars (read our article ‘ Growth Forecasts for Luxury Tourism Market’ via the links at the end of this article).

29. Voluntourism (Volunteer travel or volunteering)

Voluntourism is a form of tourism in which travellers participate in voluntary work, typically for a charity or cause.

A good example of volunteer programmes in the wildlife conservation space is Ashia Cheetah Sanctuary . Their reciting of Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote: “Tell me and I’ll forget; Show me and I may remember; Involve me and I’ll understand” encapsulates the ethos behind voluntourism.

30. Youth tourism (or Youth travel)

Youth tourism is defined as people aged between 15 to 30 who take independent trips of less than one year.

31. Red-tape tourism

OK, this one is more tongue-in-cheek! Could Home Affairs offices, licencing departments and similar facilities in small towns compete on service delivery to create a new domestic tourism niche? Read th is article: Red-tape tourism .

If you have any other niche tourism groups to add to the list just COMMENT below.

About the Author: Richard George  is an Associate Professor and Research Director at the School of Management, University of Cape Town. For more information Telephone: +27 (0)21 650 4245 or Email [email protected]

Read more on this topic:

• Avitourism in South Africa
• Cruise Tourism Potential in South Africa
• A Guide to Cultural Tourism
• Ecotourism: A Case Study
• Environmental Tourism – Part 1
• Environmental Tourism – Part 2
• Environmental Tourism – Part 3
• Film Tourism: Exploring the benefits
• Food Tourism: How to Get Your Slice of the Pie
• Growth Forecasts for Luxury Tourism Market
• Voluntourism: Keeping it Sustainable
• Volunteerland: The Worlds Largest Adult Traveller Population

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Niche Tourism: Exploring Unique and Specialized Travel Experiences

Niche tourism is a growing trend in the travel industry, catering to specialized segments of the market. It is the antithesis of mass tourism, focusing on the needs and interests of a smaller group of travellers rather than targeting mainstream attractions and amenities. As the global middle class expands and becomes better educated, especially in developing and densely populated regions, the demand for niche tourism experiences has increased.

This type of tourism can be characterized more by the activities and experiences sought by the tourists than by their numbers in a particular destination. Examples of niche tourism include eco-tourism, culinary tourism, adventure travel, and wellness retreats. These specialized experiences allow travellers to delve deeper into a region’s culture, natural environment, or unique attractions while benefiting local communities and economies more sustainably.

The rise of niche tourism has also spurred innovation and adaptations within the industry. As a result, destinations, tour operators , and travel service providers need to rethink their approach to cater to these discerning travellers’ specific needs and interests, ensuring that their offerings resonate with the niche market and enhance their customers’ overall travel experiences.

Table of Contents

What is niche tourism.

Niche tourism refers to specialized travel experiences catering to specific interests, activities, or demographic groups . Unlike mass tourism, which targets a broad audience with generalized interests such as sightseeing, beach vacations, or cultural exploration, niche tourism focuses on delivering highly personalized experiences that meet the particular needs or desires of a smaller segment of travellers.

Whether it’s adventure tourism for thrill-seekers, ecotourism for environmentally conscious individuals, or medical tourism for those seeking affordable healthcare options abroad, niche tourism aims to offer something unique that appeals to a specific type of traveller. It often provides more in-depth, specialized, and meaningful experiences, as it takes into account the specific preferences and expectations of its target audience.

Types of Niche Tourism

Indeed, niche tourism focuses on specialized and personalized travel experiences that cater to specific interests, hobbies, or needs. The following are the various types of niche tourism:

Adventure Tourism

Adventure tourism is focused on travellers seeking an adrenaline rush. This can include activities like skydiving, paragliding, scuba diving, or mountaineering. The key here is the thrill and the experience of something challenging. The destinations are often exotic or difficult to get to, and there might be a focus on natural landscapes.

Ecotourism aims to be as non-intrusive and beneficial as possible for the environment and local communities. This type of tourism might involve trips to natural reserves, rainforests, or other important ecological sites. It often includes educational components to inform travellers about the environment, local communities, and ways to protect natural resources.

Culinary Tourism

Culinary tourism revolves around food and drink experiences. This could range from high-end dining in major cities to foraging expeditions in the countryside. Food festivals, cooking classes, visits to farms, or exploring local markets could also be part of the package. Wine, beer, and spirits tasting tours are also popular.

Wellness Tourism

Wellness tourism focuses on mental and physical well-being. This could involve travel to spas, holistic health centres, or places known for natural beauty and tranquillity. Activities may include yoga retreats, detox programs, or spiritual teachings.

Dark Tourism

Dark tourism involves travel to places historically associated with tragedy, death, or disaster. Examples include concentration camps, battlefields, memorials, and sites of natural or industrial disasters. The aim is often educational and memorial rather than voyeuristic, although this can be a matter of debate and ethical consideration.

Medical Tourism

Medical tourism travels abroad to receive medical, dental, or surgical care. The reasons can vary but generally involve cost efficiency, quality of care, or availability of specialized treatments. Countries like Thailand, India, and Mexico often attract medical tourists due to the cost-effectiveness and quality of medical services.

Cultural or Heritage Tourism

This type of tourism is aimed at experiencing the culture and history of a destination. This can involve anything from visiting museums and historical sites to attending local festivals and ceremonies. Some tourists may even seek out locations that explore their ancestry.

Wildlife Tourism

Focused on wildlife and its natural habitats, this can range from safaris in Africa to bird-watching in South America. Ethical considerations are essential to ensure that wildlife and their habitats are respected and preserved.

Sport Tourism

Sports tourism encompasses a variety of activities, including participating in a sports camp, attending a major sporting event like the Olympics or World Cup, or simply touring a famous stadium. Golf tourism is a subset that deserves mention, as many travellers organize trips centred around playing at renowned golf courses.

Religious Tourism

Religious tourism involves visits to sacred sites for pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure purposes. Mecca, Vatican City, and the Ganges River are destinations that draw massive numbers of religious tourists each year.

LGBTQ Tourism

LGBTQ tourism caters to the needs and interests of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning community. This can range from gay-friendly hotels and beaches to events like Pride parades and LGBTQ film festivals.

Educational Tourism

Educational tourism focuses on learning experiences. This could involve studying a language abroad, participating in an archaeological dig, or taking a master’s class in photography while visiting iconic sites.

Film or TV Tourism

Some destinations attract visitors solely based on their appearance in movies or TV shows. For example, New Zealand has seen a tourism boom due to its portrayal as Middle-earth in the “Lord of the Rings” series, and fans of Korean dramas often visit filming locations in South Korea.

Wine Tourism

Wine tourism involves visiting vineyards and wineries to taste and purchase products directly from the source. It often includes guided tours explaining the wine-making process.

Activity-Based Tourism

Activity-based tourism is tailored around specific activities the tourist is interested in, such as scuba diving, fishing, or skiing.

Space Tourism

A very new and emerging type, space tourism aims to offer commercial trips outside of Earth. This is still mainly in the experimental stage but is becoming increasingly feasible.

Agri-Tourism

Agri-tourism involves participating in farm-based activities and gaining a closer look at the rural lifestyle. This can include activities like milking cows, picking fruits, and tractor rides.

Each niche tourism type has unique appeal, challenges, and ethical considerations. Understanding these can help travellers and providers create a more enriching and responsible experience.

Advantages of Niche Tourism

Niche tourism serves specialized segments within the tourism industry, catering to specific interests, demographics, or travel styles. There are several advantages that make niche tourism increasingly popular among travellers.

Firstly, niche tourism allows for a deeper, more authentic experience for travellers . Visitors can engage in activities and explore destinations that align with their passions or hobbies, such as culinary experiences, eco-tourism, or adventure sports. This personal connection can lead to a more satisfying and memorable travel experience.

Secondly, niche tourism benefits local communities by providing sustainable economic opportunities. Specialized markets often rely on small businesses and skilled artisans, which can spur job creation and economic growth.

Additionally, niche tourism helps to preserve local cultures and traditions as visitors seek to experience the authentic life and customs of the places they visit. This, in turn, encourages communities to maintain and promote their unique offerings.

Moreover, niche tourism can contribute to developing and promoting less explored destinations. By focusing on specific experiences and attractions, these destinations can differentiate their offerings from more mainstream tourist hotspots. This can lead to increased tourism revenue and economic development for lesser-known regions.

Niche tourism can also demonstrate a commitment to environmental and social responsibility. For example, eco-tourism and volunteer travel promote sustainable practices, such as resource conservation, wildlife protection, and community development initiatives. These tourism segments attract responsible, conscious travellers, reflect positively on the destinations they visit.

In summary, niche tourism offers significant advantages for travellers, local communities, and destinations. By catering to specialized markets, niche tourism enhances the overall travel experience, bolsters economies, encourages cultural preservation, fosters sustainable practices, and helps to promote lesser-known regions.

Disadvantages of Niche Tourism

Niche tourism, despite its advantages, does have certain drawbacks as well. One of the primary disadvantages of niche tourism is the  lack of economies of scale . This means that an operation with a lower production volume may face higher unit costs. Niche tourism activities tend to cater to smaller groups of tourists, leading to limited capacity for revenue generation.

Another challenge faced in niche tourism is the  lack of alternative revenue streams . Since these specialized tourism services cater to specific needs and interests, they may not easily adapt to market changes or diversify their offerings. This inflexibility can make niche tourism operations more vulnerable to economic fluctuations and industry trends.

Niche tourism can also lead to  over-reliance on a specific target market . Businesses focusing solely on niche markets may struggle to attract other types of tourists outside their specialization. This dependence on a limited market segment increases the risk of reduced revenues if the niche market experiences a downturn.

Additionally, because niche tourism focuses on specialized activities and experiences, there may be  limited access to resources, infrastructure, and expertise . This can make it challenging for niche tourism operators to maintain high levels of quality and safety, fulfil regulatory requirements, or stay up-to-date with advancements in technology and industry best practices.

Lastly, niche tourism can sometimes be at odds with  environmental sustainability . While many niche tourism products promote sustainable practices and experiences, some can have negative impacts on fragile ecosystems and local communities. For instance, certain adventure tourism activities may contribute to the degradation of natural environments by encouraging tourists to visit remote and pristine locations that may not be equipped to handle an influx of visitors.

In summary, disadvantages of niche tourism may include higher unit costs, lack of alternative revenue streams, over-reliance on a specific market, limited resources and expertise, and potential environmental impacts. While these challenges can make niche tourism less attractive for some businesses, it is essential to acknowledge these potential issues when pursuing specialized tourism operations.

Characteristics of Niche Tourism

Niche tourism is a fascinating facet of the travel industry, addressing individual tourists’ specific interests and needs rather than a generalized mass market. The defining characteristics of niche tourism include:

• Specialized Focus : Niche tourism concentrates on specific areas of interest or activities, whether wine tasting, bird watching, yoga retreats, or historical battlefield tours.
• Tailored Experiences : Unlike the one-size-fits-all approach of mass tourism, niche tourism is about providing tailored experiences that cater to its target audience’s specific desires and needs.
• Smaller Scale : Generally, niche tourism attracts fewer numbers compared to mass tourism. However, the emphasis is on depth and quality of experience rather than volume.
• Engaged Audience : Tourists drawn to niche activities are usually highly engaged and passionate about their chosen area of interest. They are often willing to invest time, effort, and money into gaining a deeper understanding or more enriching experience.
• Sustainable and Responsible Practices : Many niche tourism sectors prioritize sustainability and responsibility, particularly eco-tourism, agri-tourism, or community-based tourism. They often strive for a balance that benefits the local environment, economy, and society.
• Higher Per-capita Spending : Since niche tourism offers specialized experiences, travellers are often willing to pay a premium. This can lead to higher per-capita spending compared to traditional mass tourism.
• Deep Interaction : Niche tourism often promotes a deeper interaction between the traveller and the destination. For instance, cultural tourism might involve staying with local families, attending traditional ceremonies, or learning a local craft.
• Authenticity : One of the draws of niche tourism is the pursuit of authentic experiences. Travelers seek genuine interactions and experiences that are true to the locale, culture, or activity.
• Dynamic and Evolving : As societal interests change and evolve, so do the niches within tourism. For instance, wellness tourism has surged with the growing global focus on health and well-being.
• Less Seasonal Dependence : While mass tourism might concentrate on peak seasons (like summer vacations or winter holidays), niche tourism can often transcend seasonality. For example, bird-watching might attract tourists during migration seasons, while wellness retreats can be year-round attractions.

Niche tourism is characterized by its focus on specialization, depth of experience, and often a commitment to sustainability and authenticity. It offers unique opportunities for destinations to diversify their tourist offerings and for travellers to pursue their passions in depth.

Why is Niche Tourism Growing?

Niche tourism is experiencing significant growth due to a variety of interconnected factors. One key driver is the modern traveller’s increasing desire for personalized, tailored experiences that align with specific interests- adventure, culture, or wellness. Gone are the days when one-size-fits-all vacation packages appealed to the masses. Today, travellers seek unique, specialized experiences that cater to their tastes and preferences.

The rise of the internet and social media platforms has also played a crucial role in niche tourism’s growth. These platforms have democratized information, making it easier for travellers to discover and access specialized experiences. For niche tourism operators, digital platforms offer a cost-effective way to market unique offerings to a global audience, enlarging their customer base.

The quest for authenticity is another contributing factor. Today’s travellers are increasingly seeking “real,” meaningful experiences that allow for a deeper engagement with a destination’s culture, history, or natural environment. Niche tourism typically offers these kinds of in-depth, authentic experiences, whether participating in a traditional tea ceremony in Japan or trekking through a rainforest in Costa Rica.

Sustainability concerns have also given niche tourism a significant boost. With a growing global awareness of environmental issues, many travellers are seeking sustainable forms of tourism . Types of niche tourism like ecotourism, which focuses on environmental conservation and responsible travel, have seen a surge in popularity as a result.

Changes in demographics and lifestyle are also playing a role. As populations in many parts of the world age, and as people become more health-conscious, sectors like wellness and medical tourism are booming. Moreover, the economic benefits of niche tourism make it attractive for destinations. Specialized tourism often attracts a type of traveller willing to spend more on specialized experiences, helping to diversify a destination’s tourist income and making it less dependent on mass tourism.

Word-of-mouth recommendations and social media sharing of unique and specialized experiences effectively serve as free marketing for niche tourism. These shared experiences inspire and encourage more people to opt for specialized, off-the-beaten-path experiences.

The growth in niche tourism can be attributed to a combination of technological, social, and economic factors that have converged to make specialized travel more desirable and accessible.

The Impacts of Niche Tourism

Niche tourism can positively and negatively impact local communities, economies, and environments. Understanding these effects is crucial for sustainable development and responsible travel. Here’s a look at both sides of the coin:

Positive Impacts

• Economic Diversification : Unlike mass tourism, niche tourism allows destinations to diversify their sources of income. Tourists with specialized interests are often willing to spend more for specific experiences.
• Community Engagement : Like cultural and rural tourism , Niche tourism often involves deeper interaction with local communities, fostering mutual respect and cultural exchange.
• Conservation and Awareness : Ecotourism and wildlife tourism often funnel funds directly into conservation efforts, and they can also heighten awareness of environmental issues among travellers.
• Educational Value : Many niche tourism sectors have a strong educational component. Whether learning about a unique culture, ecosystem, or historical period, the educational aspect can enrich the traveller’s experience and broaden their horizons.
• Job Creation : Specialized types of tourism can lead to the creation of specialized jobs, potentially offering higher wages and skill development for local communities.
• Psychological Benefits : Wellness and medical tourism can provide direct psychological and health benefits to participants, offering therapies, treatments, or experiences that may not be available in their home country.

Negative Impacts

• Environmental Stress : Even ecotourism, if not managed properly, can put undue stress on local ecosystems. The influx of tourists can disturb wildlife, lead to pollution, and degrade natural habitats.
• Cultural Commodification : Specialized interest in local cultures can sometimes lead to the commodification of traditions and practices, where elements of culture are altered or staged for tourist consumption.
• Economic Dependence : Over-reliance on a particular form of niche tourism can make a destination vulnerable to economic fluctuations in that market.
• Accessibility Issues : Because niche tourism often caters to more affluent travellers willing to pay for specialized experiences, it could exclude less affluent local people from certain activities or areas.
• Resource Strain : Niche tourists often seek untouched or less-explored destinations, which might not have the infrastructure to support increased tourist activity. This can lead to resource strains on small communities.
• Exclusivity : Some types of niche tourism can inadvertently create an atmosphere of exclusivity, alienating local populations who may not be part of the target demographic (e.g., LGBTQ tourism, luxury tourism).

Understanding these impacts can help in the development of policies and strategies to maximize the benefits and minimize the downsides of niche tourism. This makes it crucial for stakeholders, from government bodies to tour operators , to engage in responsible planning and management.

Niche Tourism vs. Mass Tourism

Niche and mass tourism are two distinct approaches to travel and tourism, each with unique characteristics, benefits, and challenges. Here’s a breakdown comparing the two:

Niche Tourism:

Definition : Niche tourism focuses on specialized and targeted travel experiences that cater to specific interests, activities, or demographic groups.

Characteristics :

• Tailored Experiences : Offers specialized experiences for a select group of travellers with particular interests, such as ecotourism, medical tourism , or culinary tourism.
• Smaller Scale : Typically attracts fewer numbers than mass tourism, aiming for depth of experience over volume.
• Higher Per-capita Spending : Travelers are often willing to spend more for personalized experiences.
• Sustainable Practices : Many niche tourism sectors emphasize sustainable and responsible practices, especially ecotourism or community-based tourism.
• Economic Diversification : Allows regions to diversify their tourism revenue sources.
• Less Environmental Impact : With fewer visitors, there’s generally less strain on resources and infrastructure.
• Cultural Exchange : Promotes deeper interaction and understanding between tourists and local communities.

Challenges :

• Dependence : Over-reliance on a single niche market can be risky.
• Management : Requires specific strategies and policies to ensure authentic and sustainable experiences.

Mass Tourism:

Definition : Mass tourism caters to large numbers of tourists who typically visit popular destinations and attractions.

• Broad Appeal : Focuses on universally appealing destinations or attractions, like famous landmarks, beach resorts, or popular cities.
• High Volume : Attracts a large number of visitors, especially during peak seasons.
• Standardized Offerings : Packages and experiences are often standardized to cater to the majority.
• Economic Boost : This can provide significant cash injection into a region due to the sheer number of visitors.
• Job Creation : Creates numerous jobs in the service, transportation, and hospitality sectors.
• Environmental Strain : The large influx can strain local resources, lead to pollution, and degrade natural and cultural sites.
• Overcrowding : Popular destinations can become over-touristed, diminishing the experience for visitors and locals.
• Economic Dependence : If a destination relies too heavily on mass tourism , it can become vulnerable to economic fluctuations.

Key Differences:

• Scale and Focus : Niche tourism is about depth and specificity, while mass tourism is about volume and breadth.
• Impact on Destination : Niche tourism often has a smaller footprint and may invest more in sustainable practices, while mass tourism can bring economic benefits but also significant strains on a destination.
• Target Audience : Niche tourism targets specific segments or interest groups, while mass tourism aims for the broadest appeal.
• Economic Model : Niche tourism often results in higher per-capita spending but on a smaller scale, while mass tourism focuses on high volumes, often with lower per-capita spending.

In conclusion, while both forms of tourism have their merits and challenges, the choice between them often hinges on travellers’ individual preferences, as well as the goals and resources of the destination.

Niche tourism offers more personalized, focused experiences at the cost of potential exclusivity and specialized demands, while mass tourism generates significant revenue and accessibility but may lead to cultural and environmental degradation. Both forms have their merits and drawbacks, and destinations often aim for a balanced portfolio that includes both types.

Popular Niche Tourism Destinations

Niche tourism destinations are tailored to specific interests, from the serenity of wellness retreats to the thrill of adventure sports. Here are some popular niche tourism destinations that cater to various specialized interests:

• Costa Rica : Known for its rich biodiversity, Costa Rica is a hotspot for ecotourism, offering a variety of activities such as bird-watching, jungle treks, and conservation programs.
• Galápagos Islands, Ecuador : Famous for its unique wildlife and natural beauty, the Galápagos offer a quintessential ecotourism experience.
• Queenstown, New Zealand : Often dubbed the “Adventure Capital of the World,” it offers bungee jumping, skydiving, and whitewater rafting.
• Swiss Alps : Popular for skiing, snowboarding, and mountaineering.

Cultural Tourism

• Kyoto, Japan : With its ancient temples, traditional tea ceremonies, and geisha culture, Kyoto is a haven for cultural tourism .
• Rome, Italy : A paradise for lovers of history and architecture, offering ancient ruins like the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
• Bali, Indonesia : Known for its wellness retreats that offer yoga, meditation, and natural health remedies.
• Switzerland : Home to some of the world’s most luxurious wellness retreats, often set in stunning alpine locations.
• Bangkok, Thailand : Known for high-quality healthcare at affordable prices.
• India : Particularly popular for specialized surgeries and alternative treatments like Ayurveda.
• San Francisco, USA : Known for its vibrant LGBTQ community and events like the Pride Parade.
• Amsterdam, Netherlands : One of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the world, home to the first-ever gay marriage.

Rural Tourism

• Tuscany, Italy : Offers rustic experiences like vineyard tours and cooking classes.
• Himalayan Villages, India : Provides an escape from city life amidst snow-capped mountains and lush green valleys.

Activity-based Tourism

• Safari in Maasai Mara, Kenya : Offers wildlife spotting opportunities, including the Great Migration.
• Scuba Diving in the Maldives : Known for its stunning underwater life and coral reefs.
• Napa Valley, USA : Famous for its world-class wineries and vineyard tours.
• Bordeaux, France : Renowned globally for its wine culture.
• Spaceport America, New Mexico, USA : Virgin Galactic aims to offer sub-orbital trips to space tourists.
• Kazakhstan : The Baikonur Cosmodrome offers orbital space tourism, though at a very high price tag and less frequently.

Whether it’s the quest for adventure, relaxation, or deeper cultural experiences, these destinations offer something special for every niche traveller.

Break the Ice Media & Travel Alliance Partners have merged to offer you more as Travel Alliance Partnership.

Tapping into Niche Market Tourism

What is niche tourism.

Niche market tourism uses programs to attract visitors focusing on a very specific market segment built around a well-defined product.

We’ve said it before, tourists are looking for experiences . So it only makes sense that visitors are throwing out generic “everything but the kitchen sink” trips, and planning vacations that align directly with their interests . Tourists are now travelling to destinations (or a string of destinations) with opportunities that match their passions. Thus, niche market tourism is a great way to grow visitation to your destination.

But let’s make one thing clear – “niche” does not have to mean small. There are plenty of niche markets that have a large following and pull in plenty of tourists.

Examples of some popular niche tourism markets include:

• Agri-tourism : agriculturally-based activities that bring visitors to a farm.
• Eco-tourism : the unique ecology of an area – its flora and fauna – that bring in tourists.
• Wine tourism :   wine-growing regions, vineyards, wineries, wine festivals attract visitors who are interested in consuming or purchasing wine. (I see you, Finger Lakes region.)

How to Create a Niche Tourism Product

Identify products with a common thread..

Look for the one-of-a-kind assets in your region. Attractions can take advantage of a niche market that’s just become popular.

When the Lincoln movie came out in 2012, Cayuga County’s Seward House added special tours around the relationship between Secretary of State Seward and Lincoln. Where else can you see pressed flowers from Lincoln’s funeral casket?

Develop a trail. 

If you have the capacity to create and manage a trail, string together multiple stops with a specific theme in an easy-to-travel way. Trails are very popular because they do all the work for tourists. Visitors pick a place to start and just enjoy the journey.

The Haunted History Trail of New York State  is a statewide paranormal product that appeals to both serious ghost hunters and the paranormal curious. It has over 65 creepy, spooky and downright scary stops, including haunted inns, museums, amusement parks, and restaurants.

Find out how we created year-round demand with storytelling & strategy for the Haunted History Trail of NYS.

Create a website, landing page or brochure. 

Bundle information so consumers can easily find it. Group assets and experiences that appeal to niche markets and display them on your destination’s website or in a printed guide.

Corning and the Southern Finger Lakes do a great job with this. In the  things to do section on their website , various activities are categorized based on special interests and audiences. Examples include Art Aficionados, History Buffs, Outdoor Enthusiasts and Agri-Tourism. Their  Chocolate Trail  also thinks outside the box, taking visitors beyond standard places where you can eat chocolate. The trail includes funky stops like a spa with chocolate creme waxing and a cigar shop with chocolate pipe tobacco!

If you have enough content, create a website dedicated to one niche market (as the  Pot Guide does for marijuana users ).

Marketing a Niche Tourism Product

Target niche tourists.  .

This may be a no-brainer, but target the people who have a special interest in your product or asset. When you’re  creating an audience for Facebook ads , choose target interests that align with the niche market.

Old Sturbridge Village is the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast, with historical interpreters who recreate a rural New England town of the 1830s. Our Facebook ads target different groups interested in different aspects of the museum. History buffs are attracted to the American history aspect, while others love to be on guided cultural tours and hands-on explorers want to experience history through crafts and makers. The museum has all of these, and targets each group specifically with the pieces that are most interesting to them.

Produce content.  

Consumers are looking for relevant content that interests them.  Talk about the niche product(s) across all the destination marketing channels in your toolbox . Tell consumers about your assets by creating blog posts, round-ups or listicles that appeal to specific niche audiences.

Cayuga County Tourism in NYS recently kicked off an initiative to reposition their destination around its connection to Harriet Tubman and inspire visitors to come to a place where equal rights history took root in the U.S. Their blog has already started highlighting attractions related to Harriet Tubman , and equal rights history and present are woven into their social media channels as well.

Talk the talk.

This is the one time I will let jargon slide. Now don’t overdo it on the technical speak, but if you’re talking to people who are really passionate about something, use vocab they’ll relate to.

Colleen Onuffer

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The Essence of 5 Niche Tourism Keys to Travel Market Success

Last Updated on May 31, 2024 by The Digital Travel Expert

In the vast landscape of tourism, where every destination offers its unique charm, catering to niche markets has become a key strategy for businesses aiming to stand out and succeed. But what exactly does “niche” mean in the realm of travel? And what does it take for a niche market tourism business to thrive?

Let’s embark on a journey to explore these questions and unravel the essence of niche tour businesses.

Deciphering Niche Tourism: Unveiling the Secrets of Travel Market Success

Understanding the Essence of Niche in Tourism

Choosing to study a particular subject often stems from a deep-seated passion or interest. Similarly, delving into the travel niche requires a profound understanding of what makes a destination or experience special and appealing to a specific group of travelers.

At its core, a niche in tourism refers to a specialized segment within the broader travel industry. It’s about carving out a distinctive space that caters to the unique preferences, interests, and needs of a particular demographic or market segment.

Whether it’s eco-tourism, adventure travel, culinary tours, or wellness retreats, niche travel and tourism businesses thrive on offering tailored experiences that resonate deeply with travelers seeking something beyond the conventional.

Niche Tourism Opportunities: What Sets It Apart

In the tourism industry, the true meaning of a niche travel business lies in its ability to offer authenticity, exclusivity, and personalized experiences that mainstream tourism often lacks. It’s about immersing oneself in the culture, heritage, and essence of a destination in a way that feels meaningful and memorable.

For instance, examples of niche tourism products and services include a boutique wildlife safari company that specializes in small-group expeditions to a certain African destination. Their niche lies in providing personalized and small-sized encounters with wildlife, guided by expert naturalists while prioritizing conservation and sustainable practices.

This unique selling proposition sets them apart from larger, mass-market tour operators and appeals to travelers seeking immersive, off-the-beaten-path experiences.

5 Key Ingredients for Success in Niche Tourism Markets

While identifying niche tourism trends is crucial, success in niche travel and hospitality businesses requires more than just pinpointing a target market. It demands a combination of creativity, innovation, and strategic planning to effectively engage and delight discerning travelers.

Here are some essential ingredients for success:

1. Authenticity and Exclusivity : Tourism thrives on authenticity. Whether it’s offering access to hidden gems, forging genuine connections with local communities, or showcasing unique cultural traditions, authenticity is key to captivating travelers seeking genuine experiences.

2. Specialized Expertise : To excel in any type of niche tourism you choose to go for, businesses must possess specialized expertise and knowledge relevant to their niche. Whether it’s expertise in wildlife conservation, culinary arts, or adventure sports, having a team of passionate professionals adds value and credibility to the experience.

3. Personalization and Customization : Niche travelers crave personalized experiences tailored to their interests and preferences. From customized itineraries to personalized service, offering flexibility and attention to detail can elevate the overall experience and foster lasting connections with customers.

4. Sustainability and Responsible Tourism : In today’s environmentally conscious world, sustainability is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Whether it is a micro niche tourism activities must prioritize sustainable practices, minimize their environmental footprint, and contribute positively to local communities and conservation efforts.

5. Effective Marketing and Branding: Building a strong brand identity and effectively marketing to the target audience is essential for the success of niche travel businesses. From leveraging social media and digital platforms to partnering with influencers and niche publications, strategic marketing efforts can help amplify visibility and attract the right clientele.

FAQs on Niche Travel and Hospitality Businesses

What is an example of a niche market in the tourism industry?

Niche tourism examples for luxury travelers could include immersive experiences that go beyond traditional tourist offerings and “private island retreats.” Those exclusive destinations offer ultra-luxurious accommodations, personalized services, and secluded settings, catering to affluent travelers seeking ultimate privacy and indulgence. Activities such as private yacht excursions, gourmet dining experiences, and bespoke spa treatments further enhance the luxurious appeal of these niche destinations.

Why is niche travel and tourism on trend?

Niche travel and tourism businesses are on trend because they cater to the growing demand for specialized activities and experiences among travelers. It goes beyond fleeting trends by addressing specific traveler needs and interests, allowing businesses to establish themselves as go-to sources for memorable and authentic experiences. By focusing on unique offerings, niche travel brands can create lasting connections with customers seeking more than just mainstream attractions.

What is the difference between niche and mass tourism?

Niche travel companies focus on specialized interests or segments within the travel industry, offering tailored experiences to specific demographics like eco-tourism or adventure travel. Mass tourism, on the other hand, caters to a broader audience and typically involves large-scale, standardized offerings aimed at accommodating a wide range of travelers without emphasizing unique or specialized experiences. In essence, niche travel and tourism markets prioritize authenticity, exclusivity, and personalized experiences, while mass tourism tends to focus on volume and accessibility.

What are the branches of niche travel and tourism?

Niche travel and tourism encompass various specialized branches catering to specific interests and preferences. These include eco-tourism, focusing on sustainable practices and conservation efforts, adventure travel, offering adrenaline-pumping experiences like hiking, rafting, and safaris, and cultural tourism, immersing travelers in the heritage, traditions, and local way of life of a destination. Each branch offers unique experiences tailored to niche markets, attracting travelers seeking authenticity, exclusivity, and meaningful connections with their surroundings.

Why is it important to specialize in a travel blog niche

Specializing in a travel blog niche is important because it allows you to establish yourself as an expert in a specific area, making your content more valuable and trustworthy to your audience. It helps you stand out in a crowded market, attracting a loyal following of readers who are interested in the unique experiences and insights you provide. By focusing on a niche, you can also collaborate with brands and businesses relevant to your niche, opening up opportunities for partnerships and monetization.

Is travel a good niche for blogging?

Travel is a fantastic niche for blogging due to its universal appeal and endless opportunities for content creation. With a vast array of destinations, cultures, experiences, and tips to share, travel bloggers can attract a diverse audience and monetize through affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and partnerships. However, success requires dedication, creativity, and consistency in producing engaging, informative, and visually captivating content that resonates with readers and inspires them to explore the world.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, niche tourism types embody the art of specialization and customization in the travel industry. By understanding the unique needs and desires of a specific market segment and delivering authentic, immersive experiences, tourism businesses can not only survive but thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. So, whether you’re a wildlife enthusiast, a foodie, or an adventure seeker, there’s a niche in the world of travel waiting to be explored and experienced.

What is your niche? Have you had any challenges in finding your safe spot?

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Learn about niche markets — benefits, examples, and strategies

The marketing landscape is filled with messaging and noise, making it difficult for marketers to stand out from the crowd and ensure their specific stories are heard. One way to manage the competition is actually to reduce it by honing in on target segments and buyer personas, making sure messaging makes it to the right people at the right times.

Among the best ways to do this is to pursue a niche market. This can help differentiate a company and connect brands with the right consumers for their products and services. It can also help businesses establish a brand with their desired audience.

Niche markets are segments of the overall market with unique needs informed by geography, demographics, income, or interests. Targeting niche markets allows businesses to cut through the noise in saturated marketplaces to form strong bonds with consumers.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• What a niche market is

Benefits of niche markets

Examples of niche markets, strategies for reaching niche markets, how to find your niche market, how to build your niche market, what is a niche market.

A niche market is a specialized subset of a market or industry that has its own unique needs, interests, and behavior patterns. The prospects within a single niche market typically have the same desires as one another, making it easier for marketing messages to resonate. Niche markets also tend to be very specific, narrowing down the likelihood that products or services will be a fit for consumers.

For example, the software industry is a market that may appeal to anyone with a computer or technology needs. However, a niche market could be software for artists, and a further niche market could be software for video designers. The more specific a marketer is with how they define their niche market, the more targeted their messaging and their buyer personas will be.

Targeting a niche market helps marketers tailor their messaging in ways that are most likely to click with their readers. Marketers can get specific with value propositions and advantages without having to necessarily educate the consumer since they’ll already be familiar within the niche. This can make messaging and content marketing more streamlined and impactful when it comes to running campaigns.

The benefits don’t end there. Niche markets also allow marketers to:

• Meet a unique consumer need. By addressing existing demand, marketers are more likely to create connections that lead to sales, retention, and referrals.
• Build brand loyalty with a targeted buyer. Working with a smaller segment enables companies to focus on quality of goods and services, especially customer support, which can encourage consumers to remain loyal.
• Work against less competition. The more marketers drill down into a niche, the less likely there will be other companies that do exactly what they do and how they do it. This helps businesses stand out to buyers with less competitive marketing noise.
• Establish credibility in the field. Marketers can highlight thought leadership rather than consumer education to demonstrate their prowess in a niche and create trust.

Niche markets might be best described as industries within industries within industries. The goal is to drill down as far as possible with marketing content so that messages resonate with exact customer needs or desires. Let’s take a look at some examples and how applying a niche market can help companies succeed.

Five examples of niche markets

The fitness industry is worth more than $32 billion . That includes everything from gyms to fitness clubs and personal care. To find a niche market, consider the different subsets there are within fitness — gyms, home workout equipment, mobile apps, apparel, tech gear, and more.

One prime example of niche fitness marketing is Peloton. Not only does it target cycling (a subset) but it targets cycling at home (a subset of a subset). What’s more, Peloton is considered a luxury brand, so it’s targeting a further subset of buyers who are willing to pay for high-end goods. While this is clearly a niche, Peloton has also created a loyal following with a subscription model on top of it. The result is that Peloton had 2.76 million subscribers and grew 66% year over year.

We’re a nation of foodies, with the average American spending more than $2,000 each year eating at restaurants or ordering take out. Monthly grocery bills in the US average $230–400 . Companies are taking advantage of niches to stand out to consumers looking for specific types of products in their grocery shopping, such as those that appeal to certain dietary restrictions.

Gluten-free products are one example, with a market value over $4.3 billion . Brands like Happy Campers stand out even more within the gluten-free niche by appealing to consumers of organic goods.

It’s no surprise that consumers love their pets. The average owner spends more than $1,300 annually on their pet, including everything from toys to food to veterinary services. And with the pet industry worth over $45 billion , there’s plenty of noise that makes finding a niche incredibly impactful.

Popular niches in pet care include food, furniture, walking and boarding, and entertainment. Pet toys alone are projected to reach $3.7 billion by 2027. One company that’s created a niche within a niche for pet toys is Chuckit!, which specializes in dog toys specifically for playing fetch.

Travel can include anything from a day trip, to a road trip, to a trip around the world. The market for tourism and travel in the US is nearly $960 billion . At that size, niche marketing is a must. From airlines to planes, trains, and rental cars, there’s an industry within an industry to be found at every turn.

The brand Hipcamp took its niche marketing to the next level. Focusing on travel within the lodging industry, with a specific focus on camping in style, this brand has successfully narrowed down its target audience and niche.

The gaming industry continues to grow, with a projected revenue of $260 billion by 2025 . This market can be segmented any number of ways, starting with platforms. Computer gaming alone is estimated to bring in $37 billion , and within that category games can be divided based on genre, number of players, and demographics, just to name a few.

The Call of Duty franchise has successfully generated more than 400 million lifetime unit sales by focusing on first-person shooter players who are looking for a platformer experience.

What all of these examples and companies have in common is that they defined their niche and crafted a clear strategy to communicate with their target buyers. Here are some strategies that can be applied to any business to help further segment and target marketing efforts.

Get really good at one thing

Companies that excel in niche markets are not generalists. They work hard at being really good at one type of product or service and promote that regularly. Staying focused helps them further customize or even segment their own offerings based on their unique insights about the space they operate in.

Solve a specific problem

Products and services that meet consumer needs will resonate the most. Instead of trying to cater to the masses, create goods and messaging that address pain points in a customer journey. This can be anything from a struggle to an unmet need or a way to simplify an existing process or product.

Find and define your customers

Knowing who to target can help marketers effectively identify with prospects and provide compelling messaging that promotes conversions. Consider that a niche can be based on any set of criteria including demographics, pricing, values, and geography.

Write a business plan

With a clear definition in place, marketers and executives can create business plans designed to support the sale and progress of products and services. These are critical documents that detail corporate objectives and how to achieve goals through marketing, financial, and strategic planning. Without a clear target segment or niche, business plans can be too vague to yield practical results.

Market to your audience

A business plan can also outline how and where to market to a particular target audience. When done right, a niche market and its buyer personas will define where, how, and why consumers prefer a product or service. It will also define what channels to use to engage with that audience. Consider what the customer journey looks like and the channels a buyer is likely to use. Marketers want to be where their customers are, and using automated marketing software can help them be in more than one place at once.

Adapt as you receive feedback from consumers

Marketing is all about adapting, and customer feedback is among the most valuable data available to properly recalibrate campaigns and outreach efforts. As products and services are updated, marketing messaging should also evolve to inform new features or options. Campaigns should be targeted but agile to produce results for your niche.

Defining a niche market is easier than it might seem. Companies can explore the areas they want to perform business in and analyze the type of consumers who may engage with them. Here are a few tactics for identifying your niche market if you don’t have one already.

Explore the landscape

Market research is valuable to any company, regardless of size or industry. It helps to understand the problems that your products or services are aiming to solve and the demand for a solution in the market. Surveys can be a great tool for better understanding what messages and features connect the most with each buyer persona.

Research competitors

Identifying and analyzing the competition can offer a competitive advantage all its own. What, why, and how a company provides solutions to existing problems with their products can identify a niche automatically. Many companies are launched because a founder had a need that no other business could solve. If that’s the case, then there is a niche market with potential to dominate the marketplace.

Confirm profitability

Niche is important, but too much of a niche can backfire. Make sure that a product or service isn’t so niche that there’s no consumer base to support it. Marketers and businesses need to be honest with themselves about whether an offering has enough of a foundation and following to make it profitable and sustainable for the long run.

Companies that are new to the market can test a niche by sharing prototypes and campaign messaging to support them. Pop-up businesses are a great way to trial a concept, determine demand in the market, and gauge consumer response.

A niche market is one that segments an existing industry into a subset characterized by its own needs and interests. Consumers in a niche market typically respond to targeted messaging that is designed to address their specific preferences and make offers that solve precise problems. By further identifying the niche market that products or services focus on, marketers can more accurately target potential customers for a higher return on their marketing campaigns and investment.

With a niche market, marketers can take the next steps to outline their customer journey. And with Adobe Campaign , they can do so with tools that support everything from profile creation to multichannel customer engagement. Paired with Adobe Marketo Engage , marketers can apply their segmentations and buyer personas within their niche to communicate effectively and automatically with their targets.

To learn more, request an Adobe Campaign demo or take a product tour of Adobe Marketo Engage .

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/how-to-create-buyer-personas

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/behavioral-targeting

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/audience-targeting

The Emerging Trend of Niche Tourism: Impact Analysis

Journal of marketing research and case studies.

Corina Larisa BUNGHEZ

Bucharest university of economic studies, bucharest, romania, academic editor: alexandra cristina dinu, cite this article as: corina larisa bunghez (2021), “ the emerging trend of niche tourism: impact analysis", journal of marketing research and case studies, vol. 2021 (2021), article id 134710, doi : 10.5171/2021.134710, copyright © 2021. corina larisa bunghez. distributed under creative commons attribution 4.0 international cc-by 4.0.

This research paper addresses the current tourism global market shift towards a niche tourism approach and focuses on some of the most significant tourism forms in this growing sector, analyzing both the current development and future evolution of these tourism trends, also taking into account the current global pandemic situation. The enormous versatility and potential of the selected niches are assessed, and the impact that these activities will have on mainstream tourism is highlighted, both economically and socially, as this trend continues to expand and integrate itself in the tourism global marketplace. The niche sectors analyzed in this research paper will fundamentally transform the tourism industry in the near future and, inevitably, alter the consumer experience by bringing more services and experiences into the mainstream tourism sector.

Introduction

Mass tourism is an important part of our daily lives; niche tourism is also growing at a rapid pace. Started as an expensive and elitist concept, targeting sophisticated travelers, who were enthusiastically interested in pursuing a diverse range of activities, niche tourism is now readily accessible to most people, being one of the fastest growing sectors within the domain of tourism.

The term niche tourism has been borrowed mostly from the term niche marketing, which has adopted the concept from a newer discipline, ecology. Hutchinson is considered to be the first who used the term niche, referring to a region in a vast area that is characterized by environmental factors which disturb the welfare of species (Hutchinson, 1957). In this sense, niche tourism can be linked to the particular natural and anthropogenic resources of a region, to the characteristic lifestyle of the tourists that engage in this type of activity and to their social status and their financial resources, etc. The niche tourism market, which is characterized by its name, targets a small number of consumers when compared to mass tourism, but, at the same time, it is a constant tourism market. Niche tourism is more identified with what tourists are doing than their number in a particular destination, at a particular time.

Any discussion of niche tourism needs to be considered against the other extreme of mass tourism. The rise of mass tourism, fueled by the growth in the aviation sector in the 1950s and 1960s, also gave rise to the backpacker tourist who later became the highly specialized and sophisticated middle-class traveler of the developed world (Lew, 2008).

Over time, the transition from mass tourism to niche tourism has been a slow and cumbersome process that necessitated a large amount of material and human resources in order to develop the much needed new and specialized infrastructure. The development of this infrastructure in the past decades has allowed people to reach destinations all over the world in record time. Keeping with the accelerated technological advancement, tourism will continue to expand its digitalization process. There are more and more applications for niche services nowadays, that are extremely personalized. These special applications perfectly know their target consumers and offer them suggestions based on their budget, their family structure and their traveling and browsing habits. On the other hand, for destination managers and traveling planners, who want to use tourism as a mechanism for economic growth, focusing on niche tourism offers greater opportunities because this attracts consumers that are willing to spend more money.

In order to position niche tourism products, Novelli considers the notion of an increasingly experienced group of tourists demanding specialist holidays to meet their specific desires (Novelli, 2005). The presence of activities, tourist attractions, settlements, food services and other facilities make up the fundamental components of niche tourism regarding mixed destinations, being aware of consumer needs and wants. The focal point of the niche tourism market is the focus on the demands and the expectations of the customers. The relation between supply and demand is well taken into consideration because tourists are in a never-ending search for a more satisfying experience during their holidays (C.T., 2010). In a world in which monotony is becoming more pronounced due to globalization, niche tourism is defined by its diversity and by new ways in which it can differentiate itself from the competition. Niche tourism doesn’t have the negative implications that mass tourism has gotten along with its expansion, namely the negative impact on the environment and the degradation of socio-cultural relations.

If mass tourism is a standardized product aimed at a large segment of the market, niche tourism is situated at the opposite end of the tourism spectrum, being heterogeneous by nature and based on a larger demand for a more exclusive, unique and distinctive product.

The consumer is actively involved in the formation of a specific niche through its own consumerist practices. Because of this, in order to escape from the competition of mass tourism, the producer is no longer the sole identifier of adequate niche markets, because these niches are formed and developed by both producers and consumers, who act in a symbiotic mode in order to mutually benefit by it (Richards, 2011).

Over time, the different types of niche tourism have been presented in specialty literature in a random fashion. There are, however, some authors that have categorized them based on different criteria.

In order to better analyze the impact that certain types of niche tourism have over mass tourism, the classification made by Alex Papathanassis in his book, The Long Tail of Tourism, will be utilized (Paapathanassis, 2011). Tourism niches are built on persisting social trends such as:

• Sustainability (e.g. Eco-, Inclusive-, Agro-tourism)
• Experience-economy (e.g. Space-, Sport- & Extreme-, Military-, Film-, Dive-tourism)
• Self-development & individuality (e.g. Cultural-, Educational-tourism)
• Hedonism & voyeurism (e.g. Armchair-, Drug-, Sex-, Dark-tourism)
• Consumerism (e.g. Shopping-tourism)
• Conscious living (e.g. Health- & Medical, Religious-, Wellness-tourism)

Consumer experience in tourism is defined as a conglomerate of personal reactions and emotions associated with tourism activities (Sugathan & Ranjan, 2019). The creation of memorable experiences is necessary in order to attract new consumers and to keep the ones you already have loyal. All of the aforementioned tourism forms satisfy this requirement.

The impact of these forms of tourism is presented and analyzed in the following sections of the article, focusing on one form of tourism in each of the categories presented.

Ecotourism is considered to be a niche segment that targets a small category of tourists, when compared to mass tourism. Nevertheless, ecotourism is the sector with the biggest growth in all the niche tourism markets.

The consequence of broadly defining the borders of what constitutes to be ecotourism is the cause behind the difficulty of properly measuring and assessing the market share and the size of this segment. Even so, estimates tell us that ecotourism makes up for roughly 20% of the tourism global market.

The eco tourist is the individual who visits the less developed areas with an appreciative, participatory and selfless attitude. This type of tourist interacts in a noninvasive way with local flora and fauna and uses natural resources in a conscious, reserved manner, while contributing through voluntary work or funds that are directed to the preservation of the area and the economic welfare of the local community (Ziffer, 1989).

Ecotourism has two specific components: specialized operations and non-specialized operations. The non-specialized ones include all common elements characteristic to all forms of tourism: tourist guides, adequate clothing, tourism agencies, hotels and transportation. The specialized ones are those which refer to the specific activities of ecotourism: eco cabins and hotels in urban or more secluded areas (resorts), protected areas, eco thematic attractions, services in other inaccessible areas by interesting means and local tour operators (natives).

There are independent groups successfully promoted as ecotourism products: aboriginal/indigenous tourism (related to cultural tourism), ornithology, celestial ecotourism (aurora borealis, astronomical observations, astrophotography), hiking and nature observation, landscapes photographing, outdoor education and research, etc. (Weaver, 2008).        

Ecotourism attractions are primarily based on biodiversity and natural habitats that are, for the most part, unaffected by human activities. Thus, taking place in relatively isolated places, the current pandemic crisis will not impact this sector as severely as others. On the contrary, people will tend to visit more isolated places and ecotourism could benefit by this crisis. These zones require a specific conduct, in order to properly preserve and protect the tourism destinations so that they may keep their natural qualities and their sense of wilderness.

Ecotourism could indirectly compete with two tourist segments in terms of content and characteristics of the tourism product. These are cultural tourism and adventure tourism and they form, together with the ecotourism, what we call alternative tourism (Papathanassis, 2011).

It is estimated that the future development of ecotourism in terms of application will depend on several factors, such as: revenue growth; increasing the education level; increased leisure time; population growth; easier, cheaper, faster and safer access to ecotourism destinations; greater care for the natural environment and people’s feeling of alienation from it because of increasing urbanization and the development of technological elements.

Beyond all these elements, there is a necessity for properly trained people to educate the general tourists regarding the importance of nature conservation. Also, practicing ecotourism in these areas brings significant financial benefits that can be directed to further develop and maintain the natural parks and protected areas within the zone. Thus, ecotourism is a viable alternative for sustainable economic growth in these communities.

Space Tourism

Space tourism is an industry with extraordinary potential, but at present is limited by the conditions in which it can be done, because the prices are huge. Until the year 2019, the cost of a trip to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft was 30 million dollars/flight. At present, the collaboration between NASA and SpaceX will inevitably lead to a commercial development. Axiom Space has already started the selling of tickets aboard the SpaceX capsule, at the price of 55 million dollars/ticket. The trip will last 10 days and will be directed to a privately funded orbital space station. Further technological advancement will massively lower the prices for space travel, starting with the amount of $200,000 that Virgin Galactic assigned in the beginning. Space travel will become more accessible to a greater number of people, especially in relation to the results of a market analysis, which has found that potential consumers are very price sensitive (Goehlich, 2005). A study shows that at least 10 million people from around the world would be willing to spend a year’s salary for space travel (Smith, 2001).

It is expected that the number of space travelers will grow somewhere to a million per year when the price of a ticket will be under $ 10,000. According to research, rich and adventurous young people seem to form the most suitable target market due to their care-free rebellious character and the low comfort level that they are willing to accept in order to be among the first passengers in space (Crouch, et al., 2008). A study made by Futron Corporation in 2002 made the prediction that by 2021, the suborbital flight market will reach 15.000 passengers/annually, bringing in revenue of about 700 million dollars (Futron, 2002). We are in 2021 and this approximation is totally unattainable in the current global context. But it can be safely assumed that the number is not unachievable and we may see this happen in a few years. Another study made in 2006, in which 783 high income Australian respondents participated, showed that those who were mostly interested in space travel were thrill-seeking young men (Devinney, et al., 2006).

The economic potential of the development of space tourism is extraordinary. This type of tourism will bring massive economic and social benefits in the future, because it can be estimated that it will undoubtedly surpass aviation on Earth.

The progress of the space tourism sector would generate, alongside the indirect technological and scientific advancements, an important direct economic component that will lead to the exponential growth of this sector.  Because space tourism has the potential of becoming its own branch in the tourism industry, the effects of this economic development will be significant, both for the companies and industries involved in the process, and for the evolution of our society as a whole. In this type of endeavor, the investor’s primary concern is the return of the investment and the generation of profit. In order to do so, every process involved will be thoroughly made as efficient as possible. Space activities will therefore become a massive economic generator and the launch costs will dramatically plummet, which will lead to an acceleration in the further development of this industry.

Space tourism will become an activity that will include a very large number of people (both operators, and beneficiaries) and will generate important commercial profits in the next few decades. It is imperative that we recognize and realize the fact that, in the near future, space tourism may become as common as other forms of tourism. However, since the reality of space tourism is still quite far away, it may be safely assumed that the current Covid pandemic will not influence this branch of niche tourism. Because of the sensational experiences offered to the consumer, space tourism will become a major sector of the entire tourism industry, transforming this niche branch of tourism into one of the most important tourism activities of humanity.

Cultural Tourism

Cultural tourism is the most dynamic contemporary form of tourism, being interested in the lifestyle and traditions of particular communities or regions, built or natural heritage, artistic performances and products, cultural hubs and landscapes.

The first appearance of cultural tourism as a research topic has its origins at the beginnings of the 20 th century, but only in 2002 did the International Council on Monuments and Sites publish a formal definition regarding this form of tourism: cultural and cognitive-cultural tourism is the form of tourism that is focused on the cultural environment and that includes historical and cultural landmarks within a destination, and the values, arts, crafts, traditions, habits and lifestyle of the local populace.

Cultural tourism is defined by the World Tourism Organization (WTO 2012 Report) as “journeys whose primary or secondary purpose is the visiting of sites and the participation in events that represent a cultural and historical component which is part of a communities’ cultural heritage”. There are serious cultural and heritage/historical tourists who are motivated by the inherent characteristics of cultural sites and, at the other end of the spectrum, there are people who accidentally visit such venues but are not truly interested in the sites’ inherent cultural and heritage assets (Morrison, 2013).

Cultural tourism includes, besides visiting historical sites, the opportunity to learn more about past human achievements. As a part of domestic tourism, these visits are a great source of admiration, national pride and learning about ancestors.

The complexity of cultural tourism is further generated by customer motivation diversity, induced by differences in education levels, tourism experience, quality of life and quality of the tourism products being offered (Davidson, 1993). Also, cultural tourism has been identified as one of the most rapidly growing areas of global tourism demand (Richards, 2005).

Cultural tourism is an important instrument for economic growth, generated by attracting visitors from outside the local host destinations. These visitors are partially or generally motivated by an interest in historical, artistic and scientific components, or by information regarding the lifestyle, the realities and the traditions of a particular community, region, group or institution. This kind of voyage focuses on the study of the cultural landscape, and this includes visual and theatrical arts, values, traditions, events and lifestyle. Cultural tourism is especially interesting for suppliers because, as a rule of thumb, people that focus strongly on cultural attractions spend more money than regular tourists. Also, they show a tendency toward staying longer at the destinations, which, in turn, brings even more revenue (Richards, 2007).

Because cultural tourism isprimarily focused on the visiting of cultural venues or museums and experiencing artistic products and performances, the current global pandemic has affected, to some extent, this important tourism sector. But people will always be interested in the lifestyles and traditions of different cultures, and as soon as the Covid pandemic loses momentum, we will definitely see a resurgence in cultural tourism demand.

Armchair Tourism

The one thing that history has taught us is that people are most innovative in difficult times. This also applies to the travel industry, where professionals and brands are doing their best to keep the interest in traveling at a high level, despite the current global Covid pandemic situation. This has resulted in the surprisingly successful overnight growth of armchair tourism. This adaptation happened because tourism is going through one of its darkest periods in a long time, and tourism specialists find themselves in the impossibility to change this situation. Indeed, this isn’t the greatest of times for classic travels, but, in the meantime, we can opt for virtual travel. If, until more recently, the trend of virtual tourism was relatively ignored, because people preferred real experiences, more and more people are now glad that the technology that enables this type of tourism has advanced so much that it can now facilitate easy and comfortable access for many willing tourists.

Because lately, due to the current global pandemic, tourism has been mostly relegated to rescheduling holiday plans or postponing them, the phenomena of armchair tourism is currently growing at a rapid pace, enabling us to travel all over the world, virtually. 

If tourism is not seen as a physical change of the hereabouts but rather as a change of ones’ psychological state of recreation, education, adventure, or other purposes associated with tourism, armchair-tourism can also be included (Mazanec, et al., 2002).

Armchair-tourism has three main parts: books, television and the internet. Until the emergence of the internet, books were the armchair-tourism media because they were the best information source for life there. Nevertheless, new media has slowly overtaken the time spent on reading. Armchair-tourism such as travel magazines or cultural documentations are more focused on consumers aged 40 and older. Nevertheless, the younger generation should not be neglected since new developments will enhance the experience of watching TV, increasingly attracting younger viewers (Papathanassis, 2011).

Many tourist boards are nowadays using more and more virtual content in order to attract customers and to encourage future visits. These can come in the form of digital events, which provide enriching cultural content and livestreaming video talks using live content from experts, partners and notable individuals. Tourist boards will also use dedicated web pages on which they will promote virtual experiences. Museums, safaris, or other interesting venues can therefore be experienced while enjoying the comfort of your own home.

There are destinations and travel brands which can keep the magic and inspiration of traveling alive even if it is virtually, from the armchair. Many travel brands and destinations are working on the premise that if the travel consumer can’t come to us, we will go to the travel consumer. There are digital platforms where a plethora of extraordinary destinations can be accessed and visited by virtual means. Over 2500 museums all over the world are providing virtual tours for those who are interested. During these tours, tourists can enjoy rooms, shows and events, in which they can participate virtually.

Also, the exponential evolution of technology has another benefit. Even if virtual reality is, at present, only capable of recreating, to a limited degree, the destination that is being visited, we now have another tool at our disposal: augmented reality. This changes the way in which a visitor can explore a destination in real time. Augmented reality is the technology that gives the visitor information that can be superimposed over the real time landscapes or streets, using a digital device. This technology is being used in order to animate history and to bring back life into exhibits found in the most important museums and venues of the world. Having all these means at our disposal, we can therefore travel anywhere, anytime and we are no longer dependent on the caprices of weather or the uncertainty found in difficult times, such as the one we are experiencing nowadays.

Shopping Tourism

As studies have shown, shopping is one of the most sought out activities no matter where tourists go (Timothy, 2003). This activity gained traction with the development of theme parks, of malls and designer shops. Visiting a theme park or going shopping in another country and even inside the borders of your own country has become, for many tourists, a purpose in itself. Bill Bryson, an American travel and humor book author said that in the past, people used to build civilizations, but now they build shopping malls. Another American author, Erma Bombeck, affirms that the chances of entering into a store to buy a loaf of bread and exiting with just a loaf of bread are three billion to one. These aspects emphasize the worldwide consensus that, in our society, humans are unable to function without constantly going shopping.

When trying to define this special tourism sector, only one facet can be defined clearly, namely that this kind of tourism includes the purchase of goods, the most typical being clothes, shoes, leather goods and luxury foodstuff (Friedrich, 2006).

The main advantage a tour operator could enjoy is the fact that shopping tourism has a positive economic impact on the destinations and limited negative environmental and socio-cultural effects. Meaning local life, natural environment and cultural sites are not going to be disturbed nor destroyed since many traditional malls, factory outlets, and markets do already exist. To be more precise, economically, this implies: more secure jobs, as the malls will have a continuous number of visitors; tax income will increase due to the value-added tax (VAT) of more sales; shopping tourism does not seem as seasonal as other tourism products; in addition, foreign tourists will increase the balance of payments (Papathanassis, 2011). Also, the environmental impact is almost non-existent, this not being the usual norm with tourism activities. This happens because, neither accidentally nor by design, wildlife killing or vegetation being destroyed by tourists do not occur. There is also a socio-cultural impact: a shopping mall is visited by locals as well as national or international tourists, and as such, it is seen as a positive attraction since access is not limited to neither of the two groups (Swarbrooke, 2002).

The Covid situation has temporarily shifted this type of tourism to a more domestic focused approach. People are now more inclined to go shopping in local tourism destinations. But shopping has become a life-dictating activity for many people, and even in the current difficult pandemic context, everybody goes shopping and we have become dependent on it.

Wellness Tourism

In our fast-paced society, we tend to often forget about ourselves. Because of this, health issues can arise due to stress, exhaustion and living a sedentary life. All these problems can be fixed by escaping into wellness centers. For more and more people, wellness is no longer a trend or a necessity, but has become a lifestyle.

The wellness industry has grown substantially in the last years, at a global level. The numbers are continually growing and the market value of the wellness industry has reached 580 billion Euros. Lots of hotels, airports and corporations have understood the importance of wellness, and thus provide some kind of wellness services to both guests and staff.

The wellness world is a global economy made out of multiple components: beauty and care, fitness, nutrition and alternative medicine. A popular perception regarding the importance of healthy diets, fitness and other health practices has been developed into whole new business sectors. As the healthy lifestyle movement gains more and more traction, auxiliary markets, ranging from food and beverage to hospitality, start offering more products that reflect the values of the health-conscious consumers. This is another example of the multiplier effect of tourism. Additionally, the Covid situation is the perfect incentive for healthier lifestyle choices. Thus, people are becoming more aware of the importance of overall health management and are more readily willing to pay for these kinds of services.

Wellness tourism is defined in the specialty literature as traveling associated with the practice of maintaining or improving personal states of being.

From 2015 until 2017, the wellness tourism market has grown annually by a margin of 6,5 %. Until 2022, GWI anticipates that this market value will reach 919 billion dollars – representing 18% of global tourism – with over a billion wellness-oriented travels all over the globe (GWI, 2018).

Today, wellness tourism is much more than just the destination or the activities – it is an extension of the traveler’s lifestyle and values. The wellness tourism sector is a large spectrum one, and offers are divided between many categories: fitness, healthy nutrition, therapeutic treatments (massages, beauty procedures). But every one of them is centered around enhancing the tourist state of being and state of mind.

Further opportunities are given to current trends, such as the alternative forms of medical therapies from Asia. However, these trends have to be recognized early enough and then must be implemented through serious, high-quality products. Beside the competitive criteria, such as price, or the kind and quality of services provided, the importance of the attractiveness of the surrounding area as a choice criterion should not be underestimated (Papathanassis, 2011).

Specialists estimate that, if the consumers’ appetite for wellness services maintains its rate of growth, the wellness global tourism industry will reach one trillion dollars in the shortest of time.

Conclusions

There is enormous potential with all of the emerging niche tourism products presented in this paper. All of them arguably represent what one may designate as a megatrend, either at present or in the near future. Additionally, each of the selected products has incredible versatility because they don’t target a particular “special” group of consumers, but instead, they appeal to a larger proportion of the population. In other words, the niches examined are not mutually exclusive in terms of their target market. The phenomena of tourism globalization by developing infrastructure and thus new destinations, and the technological advances in human transportation, with the usage of the mega-ship or the implementation of large-scale commercial space travel, will transform these megatrends into tourism behemoths, and will result in the creation of new specialized holiday niches that will generate huge profits and further expansion. The examples presented show a promising outlook for each of the niches examined, as the current global pandemic cannot but temporarily slow the inevitable growth of these tourism sectors.

There are three main aspects of the tourism industry that can be synthesized from this paper. Firstly, the tourism sector is in a constant, ever-growing direction, with more and more people willing to spend money in tourism activities. Secondly, the mainstream holiday package isn’t as stable as it used to be, and it can be said that the current crisis in the world is a major influencing factor. Thirdly, there are some tourism niches that have great appeal and show incredible potential for the near future.

However, there are three more tour operating aspects that have to be taken into consideration when making assertions: the capacity risk, the consumers’ perceived risk and the unknown reaction of the large tourism groups.

Higher profits can be generated when entering and developing niche markets. Because of this, there are many mainstream companies that have already entered into a number of niche markets. The technological advancement can thus be utilized by specialists in order to benefit, in a sustainable way, from each particular niche selected. Moreover, tourists are more pleased because the holiday experiences are tailored to their needs and wants, making the product more individualized and consumer-oriented. For the tourism industry as a whole, the growing of niche markets can be seen as a “holiday” from the usual negative practices regularly associated with mainstream tourism, such as environmental irresponsibility and questionable ethics. This means that when niche tourism fully matures and inevitably integrates itself into mass tourism, becoming mainstream, it will carry its benefits into the new tourism industry.

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Navigating Niche Tourism: Insights from the 2024 Market Report

Tuesday, February 13, 2024 Favorite

The newly released “Specialized Tourism Insights – 2024” publication is now available on ResearchAndMarkets.com.

Delving into the specialized sector of niche tourism, this comprehensive study examines its influence on the travel and tourism sector. It scrutinizes the entities affected, highlights contributing and adverse trends, unveils unexpected opportunities, and observes the evolution prompted by niche tourism’s rise.

The exploration extends to an in-depth sector analysis, showcasing real-world examples of how various destinations and firms have adapted to niche tourism’s effects. Strategies for the travel industry are proposed, along with details on the companies discussed within. The spotlight of this study is squarely on Niche Tourism.

Principal Insights

Niche tourism has gained widespread acknowledgment in the industry, prompting numerous brands to seek distinctive identities. It closely aligns with the experience economy, with niche tourists on a quest for immersive, tailored experiences that resonate with their personal interests. This form of tourism offers a unique proposition for differentiation in today’s highly competitive travel market.

The supply chain in travel and tourism showcases instances where adopting a niche strategy enhances brand recognition and competitive stance. Industry pioneers have pinpointed specific markets, presenting alternatives to conventional vacation options that align with the preferences of niche travelers.

Niche tourism encompasses a range of ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ categories, representing a departure from the mass tourism model of straightforward travel bookings. Identified macro niches include environmental, cultural, urban, and innovative themes, each with a variety of micro-niches that today inspire travelers. Among these are adventure, dark, eco, gastronomic, agri, and rural tourism.

The report offers a comprehensive look at niche tourism’s impact on the travel sector, exploring contributing factors. It categorizes key trends into consumer, enterprise, and industry segments. Through various case studies, it examines how nations and companies are navigating and capitalizing on the growth of this theme.

Report Advantages

Gain insights into current and emerging niche tourism trends shaping the travel industry. Learn how entities like tour operators, online travel agencies (OTAs), and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are leveraging niche tourism for revenue growth. Understand the potential drawbacks of niche tourism, including its social, cultural, and environmental impacts. Discover strategic recommendations for entities involved in niche tourism. This thematic research ecosystem stands as a unified, worldwide platform for seamless thematic analysis across all sectors, offering an intuitive framework for monitoring themes across all companies. It boasts a successful track record in identifying critical themes early, allowing for strategic investments and a competitive edge.

Niche tourism presents a lucrative opportunity for the entire travel and tourism value chain, with notable examples highlighting its potential.

Covered Topics:

• Executive Overview
• Key Players
• Thematic Briefing
• Trend Analysis
• Consumer Trends
• Enterprise Trends
• Industry Trends
• Sector Analysis
• Niche Tourism Impact and Challenges
• Strategic Recommendations
• Case Studies and Future Outlook
• Market Signals, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Social Media Dynamics
• Value Chain Analysis
• Detailed Company Profiles
• Public and Private Companies
• Sector Scorecards and Company Coverage

Including companies such as Accor, Airbnb, Alux Caverna Lounge, and many others across the travel and tourism industry.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5qlh2v

Tags: Market Analysis , Niche Tourism Report , Tourism Trends , Travel Insights , Travel research

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The importance of entering a niche market.

• January 1, 2021
• One Comment

• Delivering outstanding value

Even though the tourism industry is on hold for now, it will be back on its feet someday. And when that happens, every tour operator should be ready for business. There are thousands of tour operators worldwide and the competition is high. So, ask yourself:

• How does my business stand out?
• What is unique about my tours that makes travellers favour me?

Every tour operator should be the best in what they do, without trying to target all their experiences to everyone. To run a successful business is no longer only about delivering standard value to all customers. It’s about delivering outstanding value to specific customers.

“Through your niche market, you will add value”

In this article

Entering a niche market, the importance of having a niche, benefits of entering a niche market, 4 steps to enter a niche market, start adding more value.

The concept of added value is very important for a successful tour operator . It’s not only standing out from competitors. It’s about providing that something extra to customers, employees , and the world. Added value provides you with means to charge higher prices for your experiences, which leads to a higher revenue.

Entering a niche market helps you add value to your business . Basically, a niche market is a segment of a larger market that is defined by its own unique, specific needs and identity that makes it different.

Niche markets can be defined based on the following aspects:

• Price (luxury of budget)
• Demographics (age or gender)
• Geographics (in a specific region)
• Psychographics (values and interests)

To show you why niche markets are important, let me give an example. In Kenya, there are over 3000 tour operators offering safaris . At least half of them also offer safaris in the Masai Mara. To stand out, safari operators need to think about unique features that address their customer’s needs. To have something that other safari operators don’t have.

A customer who is looking for a safari in Kenya, is searching for an experience. He or she shall therefore select the business the offer that fits their needs. Besides wanting to see wildlife , a customer might be passionate about food, into yoga or wanting to learn more about how to conserve wildlife.

Operators can make combinations to create added value that makes them stand out from the thousands of safari offerings. For example, combine safaris with:

• Culinary lunches and dinners
• Yoga classes for sunset
• Following the work of park rangers
• Silent electrical vehicles

Besides adding value to your customers, tour operators who focus on a special niche also have the following benefits as they:

• Stand out from the rest with their own identity
• Have less competition as there are less operators offering the same experience
• Are able to target their marketing very specifically and personal to their ideal target group
• Will claim their expert status and therefore attract more interested customers

Finding your niche is not difficult but definitely requires some thinking and making choices for the future of your business. The four following tips will guide you in finding your own niche.

1. Don’t be afraid to niche

Some tour operators are afraid to stand-out and to move to a specific niche market. Don’t be, as in the end you want to be the go-to tour operator for your experiences. You’ll attract your ideal customer plus other travellers, who might not fit your ideal audience profile but are still interested. The more specific your niche, the more your target groups feels connected to your business.

2. Think back to your business purpose

Your business purpose is why you started your business. Why does the business exist and what does it stand for? What is your mission? Then move towards experiences and think about which fits your purpose. Would you like to show customers the beauty of your destination? Or perhaps meet the local culture or just to relax? Focus on this purpose and make it your niche!

3. Define how you want to be seen

This aspect is connected to your business purpose. You have to think about what you want to be known for, the go-to tour operator for what? Is it for your unique community encounters or the fact that you offer adventure trips for women only? Define the core concept of your business and promote it as such to attract your ideal customer.

4. Focus on your ideal target group

In the end, your niche is tailored to your ideal customer or it attracts your ideal customer. What do your ideal customers want? What is special to them and what value are they looking for? How does this translate into your business purpose and experiences you offer?

Entering a niche market enables you to focus more on details and develop experiences that fit the needs of your ideal customer 100%. Become the go-to tour operator for your niche and position yourself as such. Stand out from the crowd and write appealing travel content , create impact within the travel experience , and specifically market your business to your ideal target group in a personal way.

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How to choose a travel niche: Exploring niche tourism in the travel Industry

• June 2, 2023

Niche markets in the travel industry are specialised segments that cater to specific interests, demographics, or travel styles. They help businesses in the industry target their offerings and better cater to their customers’ needs.

This article aims to explore the concept of these niche markets. It seeks to illustrate how they function, their increasing popularity, and their role in shaping the future of tourism. 

What is niche tourism?

Niche travel and niche tourism refer to specialised travel experiences catering to a specific interest, activity, or demographic group. Rather than offering broad, one-size-fits-all travel experiences, niche tourism providers deliver tailored services and packages to accommodate their target market’s unique preferences and needs. This can encompass numerous specialisations, from adventure or eco-tourism to wellness, cultural, and food tourism.

Importance of choosing a travel niche

Choosing a travel niche is important for both travel providers and travellers for several reasons:

• Customer satisfaction: Tailored services and packages increase the likelihood of customer satisfaction as they align more closely with individual interests and expectations
• Market differentiation: In a highly competitive industry, carving out a niche allows businesses to distinguish themselves from competitors, positioning them as experts in a particular area
• Increased loyalty: Niche travel experiences can foster increased customer loyalty, as customers who have had their specific needs and interests met are more likely to return
• Sustainable business growth: Focusing on a niche can help travel providers achieve sustainable business growth. They can better understand their market, streamline their offerings, and refine their marketing strategies, leading to more efficient operations and stronger customer relationships
• Enhanced experiences for travellers: Choosing a niche allows them to have more personalised and enriching experiences. They can immerse themselves more deeply in their interests and activities, resulting in more fulfilling journeys

Understanding niche travel

Niche travel is hugely significant for both travellers and travel industry providers for several reasons:

• Personalisation: Niche travel allows for customised experiences that cater to specific interests, creating a more personalised and enjoyable travel experience
• Expertise: Niche travel companies often have a high level of expertise in their particular area, enabling them to provide  in-depth experiences and knowledge
• Community: Travellers with shared interests can form a sense of community, enhancing their overall travel experience

Differentiating niche travel from mainstream tourism

Niche travel and mainstream tourism differ in several key aspects:

• Broad vs Specialised: Mainstream tourism caters to a wide audience and typically includes popular destinations, attractions and experiences. Niche travel, on the other hand, is specialised, targeting a specific demographic, interest, activity or offbeat destination
• Mass market vs Personalised: Mainstream tourism is often mass-market-oriented with broad appeal, whereas niche travel focuses on delivering personalised experiences
• Generic vs Unique: Mainstream tourism often offers generic, one-size-fits-all experiences. In contrast, niche travel focuses on unique experiences tailored to the specific interests or needs of the traveller

Exploring the concept of experiential and specialised travel

Experiential and specialised travel, often considered a subset of niche travel, prioritises unique, immersive experiences:

Experiential travel

This form of travel prioritises personal and unique experiences over sightseeing. The goal is to immerse oneself in the local culture, meet the locals, and engage in activities characteristic of the destination.

Specialised travel

Specialised travel focuses on a specific interest or activity, such as wine tasting, skiing, horse riding, cooking, yoga, dancing, wildlife photography, or yoga retreats. These tours are typically led by experts in the field and offer a deep dive into the particular interest.

In both experiential and specialised travel, the emphasis is on creating meaningful, personal experiences rather than just visiting a destination.

Benefits of choosing a travel niche

There are many benefits to be gained from choosing a travel niche to focus on. 

Personal fulfilment and passion-driven travel experiences

Choosing a travel niche allows for deeply personal, fulfilling experiences that cater to one’s passions and interests. A culinary enthusiast may opt for food tourism, for example, immersing themselves in the local cuisine of different regions, thereby enriching their gastronomic knowledge and skills. The connection between personal passion and travel provides a unique, deeply satisfying experience that extends beyond typical sightseeing.

Building expertise and becoming an authority in a specific area

When individuals or businesses focus on a travel niche, they can develop in-depth knowledge and understanding of that area, becoming experts in that field and enhancing their reputation and credibility. For instance, a travel agency specialising in eco-tourism can accumulate a wealth of knowledge about sustainable travel practices and destinations, setting them apart from generalist competitors.

Targeting a specific audience and creating unique travel offerings

Choosing a travel niche allows businesses to target a specific audience with unique travel offerings. This specificity can aid in designing marketing campaigns and packages that speak directly to a defined group’s interests, needs, and expectations, thereby improving the effectiveness of marketing efforts. For example, a company with a niche in adventure tourism can tailor its offerings to thrill-seekers and outdoor enthusiasts, providing experiences that general travel agencies might not offer.

Opportunities for collaboration and networking

Focusing on a travel niche opens opportunities for collaboration and networking. Businesses can collaborate with other organisations, cross-promote each other, and engage with influencers or thought leaders to enhance their visibility and credibility. For example, a travel agency focusing on wellness tourism might partner with yoga studios or wellness coaches to offer retreats or workshops, enhancing their services and strengthening their network.

Identifying niche markets in the travel industry

Adventure and outdoor travel.

Adventure and outdoor travel cater to individuals who crave physical activity, exploration, and nature-based experiences. It’s a broad category that can include anything from mountain climbing and hiking to off-the-beaten-path tours and camping in remote locations. Adventure travel can also involve paragliding, rock climbing, or white-water rafting, appealing to thrill-seekers and those hunting an adrenaline rush.

Culinary and food tourism

Culinary and food tourism is all about exploring a region’s culinary traditions and food culture. This type of travel involves food tours, cooking classes, wine tastings, and farm-to-table experiences. Culinary tourism allows travellers to dive deep into local food scenes, taste authentic dishes, and learn about the history and tradition behind regional cuisines.

Wellness and spa retreats

Wellness and spa retreats focus on relaxation, self-care, and holistic experiences. This market includes yoga retreats, meditation workshops, spa treatments, and other health-oriented activities that aim to rejuvenate the body, mind, and spirit. Wellness retreats often occur in serene environments such as beach resorts or mountain lodges, offering travellers an escape from their daily routine and stress.

Cruise travel

Cruises are a popular niche market that offers unique sea experiences and can vary greatly in destinations, sizes, and themes, from luxurious world cruises to river cruises, from family-friendly cruises to expedition cruises for adventure seekers. Cruises often offer comprehensive packages that include accommodation, food, entertainment, and excursions, providing an all-in-one travel solution for many tourists.

Ski tourism

Ski tourism targets winter sports enthusiasts. Travellers might head to mountainous regions for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities. Ski resorts often provide comprehensive services, including equipment rental, ski lessons, accommodation, and après-ski entertainment, making it a popular choice for winter holidaymakers.

Scuba diving holidays

Scuba diving breaks cater to those who are interested in underwater exploration. Travellers often visit exotic locations known for their coral reefs, marine wildlife, and clear waters. This niche market includes the diving experience itself and often offers diving instruction, equipment rental, and other related services.

Sustainable, environmental and eco-tourism

Sustainable and eco-tourism is a rapidly growing niche in the travel industry, focusing on responsible travel practices. This niche promotes travelling in a way that respects local culture and environment, minimises impact on nature, and contributes to conserving natural and cultural heritage. Eco-tourism often involves visiting pristine, fragile, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, contributing to their preservation. Sometimes it also incorporates volunteer holidays where people spend their time helping conserve the environment.

Sports and sporting events tourism

Sports and sporting events tourism is a niche market that attracts sports enthusiasts and fans. This can involve travelling to participate in sporting activities like golf, cycling, or swimming or attending major sporting events such as the Olympics, the World Cup, or the Super Bowl. This niche often provides related services such as ticket booking, transportation, and accommodation.

Medical and wellness tourism

Medical and wellness tourism combines medical treatments with leisure travel. This niche caters to individuals who travel to receive medical treatments such as surgeries, dental procedures, or wellness therapies that may not be easily accessible or affordable in their home country. After receiving medical treatment, these travellers often take the opportunity to recuperate and relax at their destination.

Factors to consider when choosing a travel niche

When deciding which travel niche to specialise in, there are several considerations. 

Personal interests, passions, and expertise

When choosing a travel niche, it’s essential to consider one’s interests, passions, and areas of expertise. If you deeply understand and love a particular area, this can enhance your services, make your work more enjoyable, and resonate strongly with your target audience.

Market research and demand analysis

Conducting thorough market research and demand analysis is essential. Travel agents must understand the trends in the travel industry, identify which niches are growing, and assess the demand for different travel experiences. It’s also essential to consider your potential customers’ demographics, preferences, and behaviours.

Competition analysis and identifying gaps in the market

It’s important to research what other providers in your potential niche offer and identify market gaps. If there is an underserved area that aligns with your interests and expertise, this could present a unique business opportunity.

Accessibility and feasibility of the niche

Accessibility and feasibility are other crucial factors to consider. Some niches may require more resources or specific expertise to execute successfully. For instance, arranging adventure travel experiences might require extensive knowledge of safety protocols and outdoor survival skills. Assessing the feasibility of your potential niche ensures you can provide high-quality, reliable services.

Potential profitability and sustainability

While a niche might be personally fulfilling and have a good demand, it must also be financially viable for it to be a good business choice. It’s also important to consider the sustainability of the niche. Some niches may be trendy but have little long-term potential, while others, such as eco-tourism, align with long-term trends towards more sustainable and responsible travel.

Steps to choosing your travel niche

So, how do you choose your particular travel niche? 

1. Research and explore different niche markets

Your journey to choose a travel niche should start with broad research to explore different niche markets in the travel industry. This step involves learning about various travel niches, understanding what they entail, and identifying the ones that resonate with you.

2. Evaluate your personal interests, skills, and experiences

Next, evaluate your interests, skills, and experiences. Reflect on the types of travel that excite you, and consider your strengths and experiences that might contribute to success in a particular niche. This step is about identifying where your interests align with potential niche markets.

3. Analyse market trends and demand for specific niches

After identifying potential niches, you’ll want to analyse market trends and demand. Examine current trends in the travel industry, understand consumer behaviours and preferences, and determine which specialisations have strong growth potential. Market research can provide valuable insights into the demand for specific travel experiences.

4. Consider the potential challenges and opportunities within each niche

Assess the competition within the niche, identify potential entry barriers, and explore possible partnerships or collaborations. Considering challenges and opportunities can help you gauge your chosen niche’s feasibility and potential profitability.

5. Seek advice from industry experts 

Contact people already operating within your potential niche, attend industry events, or join relevant online communities. Experienced industry professionals can provide valuable insights and practical advice, helping you to avoid potential pitfalls and make informed decisions.

6. Make an informed decision based on your information

Review your research, reflect on your interests and skills, and consider the advice you’ve received. Choose the travel niche that best aligns with your passion, skills, and market demand. Remember, your chosen niche should be a viable business opportunity and something you’re excited about pursuing.

Embrace the power of niche tourism

Choosing a travel niche holds immense potential for success in the ever-evolving tourism industry. Embracing a niche that aligns with your interests and passions, and has a robust market demand, can lead to gratifying experiences and a thriving business.

The power of niche tourism lies in its ability to provide personalised, in-depth, and unique experiences beyond conventional tourism. As a franchisee with The Travel Franchise , you have the opportunity to harness this potential and can offer travel options that cater to specific interests, from adventure and outdoor activities, culinary explorations, and wellness retreats, to eco-tourism and more.

As you embark on this exciting journey in niche tourism, remember to continually monitor market trends, adapt to your customers’ evolving needs, and stay true to your passion. In doing so, you’re ready to create meaningful travel experiences that resonate with your audience and stand the test of time in this dynamic industry.

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Niche Tourism is now recognized across the entire industry with many companies looking to differentiate their brand from others. Niche tourism has many synergies with the experience economy because niche tourists are constantly searching for engaging and unique experiences which match their interests.

In recent years, mainstream holiday providers have identified niche tourism as a potential growth area. Subsequently, niche tourism is no longer confined to small independent companies. Many large conglomerates such as Expedia, TUI and Booking Holdings have globalized the niche tourism industry through mergers and acquisitions and brand extensions, globalizing the sector.

However, the globalization of niche tourism has arguably reduced its authenticity. Many large travel intermediaries now market to mass tourists. Cruise operators are a prime example of this, where they can often carry thousands of tourists on an all-inclusive basis, serving food and drink which meets the demands of the typical mass tourist. All the while, many are advertising 'authentic' experiences such as walking tours, wine tasting, cookery classes and festivals - all of which are considered types of niche tourism.

COVID-19 has altered traveler demands which has created an opportunity for tourism businesses to innovate and develop their product. Many people have been confined to homeworking, lockdowns, and social distancing intermittently for the past two years, creating a desire to enjoy wider, 'greener' spaces while engaging with others.

As a result, there is a significant opportunity for niche tourism companies involved in rural and adventure tourism to grow their product. Research from the the publisher Ads database suggests that operators targeting these types of tourists will receive strong support from DMO's (Destination Marketing Organizations) as many are actively targeting this market.

Key Highlights

• Niche tourism within the travel industry can no longer be considered 'small'. With a growing global middle class and better-educated population, particularly in developing and densely populated countries in the APAC region, more tourists seek more wholesome, immersive, and fulfilling touristic experiences. The experience economy also plays a large part, with many travel products now commoditized due to the online travel boom and the emergence of price comparison sites. The future of travel is providing a more fulfilling experience. With many core travel and tourism companies such as hotels and airlines aiming to create more brand loyalty, changes to the 'traditional' travel product are likely.
• In recent years, the maturing tourism market has shifted tourists away from the annual 'sun and beach' getaway to develop an experience more aligned with holidaymakers' specific hobbies, interests, curiosities and needs. As the publisher shift to a world with increasingly more leisure time, there is a greater desire to maximize each experience. Leisure tourism is now a broad term for traveler motivations as niche tourism is a critical element to consider as consumer attitudes shift towards more special interest travel. Although this consumer behavior ripples across all age groups in tourism, it has become particularly relevant among younger adults such as Millennials and GenZ.
• The tastes of Gen Z and Millennials are helping to drive some forms of niche tourism to the next level. Over the past three years (2018 to 2021), the publisher has surveyed adults regarding their typical holiday across several generations. The publisher has discovered that a higher proportion of younger adults typically book niche holiday types such as adventure, sport, gastronomy, and LGBTQ within these surveys.
• Ecotourism saw the most significant increase of respondents within the the publisher consumer surveys, growing by 5% between 2018 and 2021 (14% to 19%). Sustainable travel has become a significant issue within the travel industry, and there is a growth in the 'responsible tourist'. Key public figures in popular culture such as David Attenborough have highlighted the impacts of human consumption on global warming. At the same time, activists such as Greta Thunberg have become a significant global influence, particularly on younger generations who are increasingly concerned about their future on the planet.
• This thematic report provides an overview of niche tourisms role within the travel sector today and how it will continue its involvement.
• The key trends within this theme are split between enterprise trends and tourist trends that are recognizable today.
• Several case studies are included to analyze the multiple ways travel companies such as tour operators, travel agencies, DMO's and cruise lines have tried to capitalize on niche tourism.
• Our unique thematic analysis then looks at recommendations for travel and tourism organizations and a deep dive into the leaders and laggards within the niche tourism spectrum, complete with industry examples and analysis.

Key Topics Covered:

• Executive Summary
• Thematic Briefing
• Consumer trends
• Enterprise trends
• Industry trends
• Industry Analysis
• Holidays are becoming more varied
• Case studies
• Impacts of niche tourism
• Tourists are searching for more immersive experiences
• Overtourism
• Social impacts on local communities
• Recommendations
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Value Chain
• Third-party suppliers
• Direct suppliers
• Ancillary suppliers
• Public companies
• Private companies

Companies Mentioned

• Alux Caverna Lounge
• Booking Holdings
• British Airways
• Carnival Corporation
• Celebrity Cruises
• Chernobyl Tour
• Comcast Corp
• Despagar.com Group
• Expedia Group
• Friendly Planet Travel
• GAdventures
• Genting Malaysia
• Gourmet on Tour
• Hays Travel
• Hemingway's Lounge
• Intrepid Travel
• Kimpton Hotels
• Merlin Entertainments
• Las Vegas Sands
• MGM Resorts International
• Miral Asset Group
• Norwegian Cruise Lines
• Makemytrip.com
• On the Beach
• Rainforest Cafe
• Responsible Travel
• Seaworld Parks and Entertainment
• SIM Holdings
• Soviet Tours
• The Northern Lights Bar
• Virgin Atlantic
• United Airlines
• Universal Studios
• Walt Disney
• Wynn Resorts
• Young Pioneer Tours

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/mgjit2

ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

Building a Profitable Niche Travel Agency: How to Thrive in Specialized Markets

In the highly competitive world of travel, discovering and catering to niche markets can be a powerful strategy for agents looking to differentiate themselves and build a thriving agency. By focusing on niche markets, travel agents can position themselves as experts, delivering targeted, personalized offerings and exceptional service that keeps clients coming back and spreading the word. Gateway Travel, a leading host agency, recognizes the value in niche markets and is devoted to providing its agents with the resources, support, and guidance necessary to succeed in these specialized segments of the industry.

This article presents an in-depth exploration of the significance of niche markets within the travel industry and explains how Gateway Travel supports its agents in developing and growing niche travel agencies. We will discuss various niche market opportunities, such as adventure tourism, wellness travel, food and wine experiences, and luxury travel, highlighting the potential for growth and profitability in these specialized areas. By partnering with Gateway Travel and leveraging its extensive knowledge, resources, and expertise, agents can confidently navigate the world of niche markets and establish thriving agencies that stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape.

By understanding the importance of niche markets and receiving the backing of a supportive host agency like Gateway Travel, agents can carve out unique positions within the travel industry, becoming go-to experts for specific types of travelers and destinations. Embrace the opportunity to build a successful agency by focusing on niche markets, fostering resilience, and accelerating growth in an ever-changing, competitive travel market.

Identifying Niche Market Opportunities

Discovering and zeroing in on the right niche market is crucial to building a profitable travel agency. Keep the following considerations in mind as you explore potential niche market opportunities:

1. Assess Your Passion and Expertise: Identify your personal interests, destination knowledge, and industry experience to determine which niche markets align with your passion and expertise.

2. Analyze Market Demand and Competition: Conduct market research to evaluate both local and global demand for specific travel experiences, as well as assess the existing competition in your desired niche.

3. Stay Informed of Emerging Trends: Stay up-to-date with industry trends, news, and traveler preferences to identify niche markets that are poised for growth and expansion.

Examples of Profitable Niche Markets

To provide inspiration and highlight the potential for growth, consider the following examples of profitable niche markets in the travel industry:

1. Adventure Tourism: Cater to adventure seekers by offering tailored itineraries that include activities such as hiking, wildlife safari, and scuba diving.

2. Wellness Travel: Focus on travelers seeking relaxation and rejuvenation by offering spa retreats, yoga, and meditation holidays.

3. Culinary Experiences and Food Tours: Create unique itineraries for food enthusiasts, offering cooking classes, wine tastings, and local culinary experiences.

4. Luxury Travel: Specialize in exclusive, high-end vacations, providing exceptional service and attention to detail for discerning travelers.

Leveraging Gateway Travel's Resources and Support

Gateway Travel offers comprehensive support to its agents, helping them thrive in niche markets and achieve long-term success:

1. Expert Guidance and Mentorship: Benefit from personalized mentorship, coaching, and advice from Gateway Travel's experienced travel industry leaders, providing insights and guidance on building a niche agency.

2. Access to Targeted Supplier Relationships: Leverage Gateway Travel's established supplier relationships and negotiated contracts in niche markets, ensuring you have access to a range of specialized products and services to meet client needs.

3. Ongoing Education and Training Opportunities: Stay informed on industry trends, best practices, and niche-specific knowledge through ongoing education and training provided by Gateway Travel, including webinars, workshops, and online resources.

4. Marketing and Branding Support: Utilize the marketing resources and tools provided by Gateway Travel to build your niche travel agency's unique brand and effectively communicate with your target audience.

Steps to Building a Successful Niche Travel Agency

With the right foundation and support from a host agency like Gateway Travel, follow these steps to build a thriving niche travel agency:

1. Define Your Niche: Determine your unique focus within the travel industry based on personal interests, expertise, and market analysis. Be as specific as possible in defining your niche to ensure a clear target audience and value proposition.

2. Develop and Curate Specialized Offerings: Design custom experiences, itineraries, and packages tailored to your selected niche, ensuring they align with client preferences and meet the unique needs and desires of your target audience.

3. Build Strategic Partnerships: Establish relationships with suppliers, local operators, and fellow experts within your niche, collaborating to develop competitive offerings and provide unparalleled client experiences.

4. Create a Strong Online Presence: Develop a user-friendly website, blog, and social media pages to showcase your niche agency's expertise and offerings, effectively communicating with your target audience and establishing your agency as a leader within the niche market.

5. Focus on Client Satisfaction and Referrals: Prioritize providing exceptional service and attention to detail for each client, ensuring their satisfaction and increasing the likelihood of repeat bookings and referrals.

Focusing on a niche market in the travel industry offers agents the opportunity to differentiate themselves, build expertise, and deliver truly personalized experiences that keep clients coming back for more. Trust Gateway Travel to provide the resources, support, and guidance needed for embracing niche markets and building a successful travel agency that stands out in a competitive landscape.

By understanding the significance of niche markets and leveraging the backing of a supportive host agency like Gateway Travel, agents can carve out unique positions within the industry, becoming go-to experts for specific types of travelers and experiences. In doing so, they can foster resilience and accelerate growth in an ever-changing, competitive travel market, ultimately achieving enduring success. Contact our host agency today to learn more!

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Tourism Niches report. Trends & Micro Niche Ideas.

In this report, you will learn:

• Tourism market trends
• How to pick a profitable sub-niche
• How to make money in the tourism niche
• Sub-niches and micro-niches ideas

Section 1 Tourism Market

Section 2 Tourism Niche Trends

Section 3 How To Pick a Profitable Sub-niche

Section 4 Competition

Section 5 How to Monetize

Section 6 Sub-niches and Micro-niche Ideas

Tourism Niche Market.

In this section, you will learn some market insights.

The tourism industry represents many industries, such as lodging, transport, attractions, travel companies, and more. Globally, travel and tourism’s direct contribution to GDP was approximately 2.9 trillion U.S. dollars in 2019, according to Statista.

When looking at countries that directly contributed the most to global GDP, the United States’ travel and tourism industry contributed the largest sum at 580.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Also, traveling both internationally and domestically has become increasingly common all over the world. As a result, both leisure travel spending and business travel spending have seen year-over-year growth over the past five years.

Lastly, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) promotes tourism to attract diverse tourists across the globe. These initiatives are leading to the growth of the global tourism market. Adventure tourism is a popular concept in the tourism market, driving the overall tourism market. Moreover, medical tourism is also a new trend observed in the global tourism market.

The impact of COVID-19 in the tourism niche.

The Covid-19 is a factor that has significantly impacted this industry. As countries implemented severe travel restrictions to control the disease’s spread, national and international tourism came to a drastic pause.

Sectors like airlines, hotels, and different tourist employees were directly impacted with important loss. While the long-term economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic cannot fully be assessed yet, the standstill of public life is already affecting not only tourism but also industries connected to tourism, for example, global restaurant visitation, theater performances, and events.

One of the few trends with still some options is domestic tourism. With travelers considering destinations closer to home in these stages of travel normalization and with still important travel restrictions in place for international travel due to COVID-19, countries with higher shares of domestic tourism are likely to recover earlier and faster.

Tourism Niche trends.

In this section, I will analyse the current trends in this niche.

Market trends can help you identify how the market is doing. Trends allow you to see the interest in a certain topic over time.

When analyzing the trends for a niche, it is vital to study the interest over time- If the interest fluctuates a lot with periods going down to zero, it normally would be a bad sign. However, if the trend stays up and is stable or growing, it could be a good sign. There are other factors to consider as well. More on this later.

To analyze trends in the tourism niches, I will use the  Google Trends  tool. When using this tool, there are a few distinctions to take into account:

• When you search for  terms , it will show matches for all the words in a query.
• When you search for  topics , it will refer to a group of terms that share the same concept. So the result is broader.

‘ Topics ‘ can be great to find out the interest of people in a niche. The idea would be to use ‘topics’ to find niches that worth pursuing. Then, you should use ‘ search terms ‘ as the first step towards content creation. This will help you understand if it is worth creating content on a given term based on current trends.

For this report, I will analyze the topic ‘Tourism.’ Then, I have set the location to worldwide and filter by the past five years.

There a few things we can observe from the graphic below:

• Overall, tourism is a trendy topic with a lot of interest over time.
• You can clearly see how interest dropped exactly by the Covid outbreak.
• Even though the current trend is not as high as it was, this trend is far from losing interest. In fact, as soon as Covid vaccines are more available worldwide, they will probably spike again.

This shows that creating an online business in the tourism niche could work. However, to avoid the tough competition in this niche and the impact of Covid for now, you should niche down and find sub-niche and micro-niche ideas.

So how do you find profitable sub-niche and micro-niche ideas?  With proper niche research .

But we’ll get into that in the following sections. Just bear with me. For now, you can read in this post all the  advantages of niche marketing .

Lastly, I’d like to add a note to avoid confusion between travel and tourism.

Usually,  travel  is related to an individual’s movement from one place to another.  Tourism , on the other hand, refers to the movement of an individual for recreational purposes

Although most of the the ideas in this post could be used for the travel niches, is not exactly the same.

How to Pick a profitable Sub-Niche in Tourism.

Learn how to find a niche step by step.

There are many methods you can use to find out exciting sub-niches. The simplest one might be a combination of  Wikipedia  with  Google Suggest  to find ideas. Then you can use Google Trend to validate your idea.

This is how to do it:

Step #1. Head to Wikipedia , and in the search bar, type your niche idea:

Step #2. Skim the page for sub-niche ideas. In some occasions, like this one, you can already find already plenty in the table of contents:

Step #3. Head to  Google.com  and enter some of your niche keywords. Google will instantly suggest some sub-niches for you.

You can even keep niching them down as you type:

This is a very effective and easy trick to find sub-niche and micro-niche ideas.

The last step is to use  Google Trends  to validate the niche. Following this example, I will check for ‘medical tourism.’

The graphic below shows a stable trend with a good number of people with interest over time. Despite Covid, this topic trend did not change much, which is a great signal.

Also, if you scroll down, you will find a series of related topics and queries. These can be great to find out current trending niches.

You just need to click on the one you are interested in to see the graphic trend. For this example, I clicked on ‘Turkey dental tourism.’ In this case, you can observe that this trend is starting to get traction recently. So it might be a good idea to deep dive and find out if this could be a micro-niche where there is not yet almost competition.

Lastly, you could also include in th e Google Trends search bar a few terms from your Google suggestions or your Wikipedia keywords to get a good picture of interest over time about a certain topic.

As you can see, all these trends are very stable, and even though they suffered a drop in interest due to the covid, they are slowly recovering.

The higher the interest over time, the higher the competence as well. So it is vital to find a sub-niche or micro-niche in the sweet spot between search volume and commercial value—more on this in the next section.

In any case, this a very effective method to find sub-niche and micro-niche ideas in any industry quickly.

Lastly, trends that are just starting to grow are the ones with the most potential. It could be a new market blooming, meaning the competition is inexistent or limited. So do no drop ideas only because trends show low numbers. If the trend’s interest is exponentially growing and then it gets stable, it is probably worth pursuing.

Tourism niche competition.

In this section, you will learn how competitive is this niche and opportunities.

As in any niche with demand, competition in the tourism niche can be brutal. Big corporations typically dominate the internet for competitive terms in popular niches. And entrepreneurs like us simply don’t have the resources to compete against them.

That is why sub-niches and micro-niches are a much better option- The more you niche down, the smaller the competence. But if you go too niche, you might face another issue: That the market might be too small. The only way to know is by analyzing keywords directly related to your sub-niche or micro-niche ideas.

To perform keyword research, you will need access to an SEO tool. Here you can find how to do it with Keysearch and SE ranking .

Let’s use for this example a trend which is increasing in popularity: ‘Adventure Tourism’

As you can see from the image below, the difficulty to rank for this term is ‘effortless,’ which gives you a good chance to stand out. Also, the volume for this specific term is Ok. But let’s see if we can find related topics with little competition on this sub-niche.

With the help of your SEO tool, you can generate related terms and look for topics without much competition.

In my case, with a quick filter, I came up with a list of 11 keywords with good search volume and fairly easy competition:

It took me only five minutes to come up with a list of keywords with low competition and a decent search volume. They also have a reasonable CPC, which suggests there is a commercial value behind some of them.

With this quick keyword research, I was able to find excellent terms for potential blog posts in the tourism niches. You need to stay away from competitive terms and always look for keywords where you stand a chance to rank.

• The best keyword research service.
• SE Ranking Review 2022: Pros, Cons, Pricing, and Alternatives.
• The 9 Best AI SEO Software To Quickly Improve your Rankings.

How to make money with the tourism niches.

In this section, you will learn different ways to monetise this niche.

There are several ways you can monetize your tourism niche website.

But what works best is to adapt your strategy to the user intent. For instance, if your website is about adventure tourism offering adventure packages or working with adventure tourism affiliates will probably be the best solution.

The idea is to adopt a solution to your audience’s problem in the best format. Also, most of the time, online businesses adopt more than one monetization method.

Some methods you can use to make money with tourism niches are:

1. Provide a service.

Services are probably the most used method to monetize tourism niches websites.

Are many the services you can provide in the tourism industry.

• Transportation.
• Adventure packages.
• Food service.
• Trip organizer.

Depending on your selected niche, some services will work better than others.

Also, some of the services might be presential, but you could deliver many others online. For instance, you could provide a service to organize adventure trips based on online consultations. You just need to set up a call with your potential customer or ask them to fill a form with the requirements and deliver the pdf plan.

You could even create online courses to help specific users providing valuable training.

Some website examples using these methods are:

• Get Your Guide : Tour activities.
• Booking.com : Lodging.
• Triplt Trip planner.
• How to create and sell an online course .

2. Create a product.

Products can be a great way to monetize a website easily.

Some products you could create are:

• Niche-specific products  to solve your audience’s problems. An app to find adventure in different locations can be a good idea for instance.
• Ebooks . This is one of the resources most used for bloggers. They are relatively fast to create and can make you some extra money.
• Videos/Podcasts . You could create videos or podcasts about particular tourism topics, which you could sell individually or with a subscription.

When you present the right product to the right audience, products can be the easiest way to start making money. They also allow you to earn a passive income when you combine them with an evergreen sales funnel .

• Nomadic Matt : Travel guides.
• All Trails Trails app.
• Orioly : Tourism podscast
• Digital product creation guide.

3. Subscriptions & Memberships.

Subscriptions and memberships can make a great alternative to monetize your website.

Subscriptions are based on delivering extra value to your readers. This could be access to a premium section, deliver new content only to subscribers, and things like that.

Also, you can get recurring income from memberships. But you need to keep providing value to your readers constantly. This could be by delivering tourism reports of a certain niche, long-from articles like guides to a destination, video series or anything else related to your niche.

You can also provide exclusive access to your videos or podcast to your subscribers. And the best thing is that you simply need a plugin like MemberMouse to create subscriptions and memberships effortlessly.

Some website examples using this method are:

• My Travel Research : Membership for Tourism research reports.
• Creative tourism network . Membership with special perks to their members.
• Think Digital : Membership offering industry resources.

4. Display ads.

Ads used to be one of the most common ways to monetize websites. However, there are three downsides with them:

• You need a lot of traffic to make good money.
• The user experience can not be as good.
• Most people use ad blockers these days.

Having said so, many businesses use ads as their primary source of income. You could use platforms like Google Adsense,  Media.net , VigLink, etc.

In any case, you could place ads just for an extra income rather than the primary source of income.

• Goats On the Road
• The Trusted Traveler

5. affiliate marketing.

This is my favorite method to make money online in any niche.

Affiliate marketing might need some time to get traction, but you will earn a passive income when it does.

All you need to do is to sign to the best affiliate programs in your niche . Then, I suggest you read how to make money with affiliate marketing , and you will be ready to monetize your site with this method.

• Nomads RTW.
• Expert Vagabond.
• Notes From The Roads.
• Pinterest Affiliate Marketing: Your guide to passive income.
• Affiliate Email Marketing: The Smart Way To Passive income .

Tourism sub-niche and micro-niche ideas.

In this section, I will provide you with some profitable niche ideas.

After putting into practice what I have explained in this report and researching keywords, I have collected a list of sub-niches and micro-niches in tourism that can do a great online business.

I personally recommend focusing on sub-niches or micro-niches where trends are steady even though the volume is not high since they probably will be the ones with fewer competitors. At the end of the day, if you find good enough keywords, you will be able to monetize more easily.

Sub-Niche: Enotourism.

Micro-niche ideas:

• Wine activities.
• Wine destinations.
• Wine experiences.

Interest by regions:

Recommended monetization methods:

Sub-Niche: Adventure tourism.

• Diving tourism.
• Cycling tourism.
• Hiking tourism.

Sub-Niche: domestic Tourism.

• Local restaurants.
• Local activities.
• Local hotels.

Sub-Niche: Family Tourism.

• Family hotels.
• Family restaurants.
• Family destinations.

Sub-Niche: Culinary tourism.

• Food tours.
• Cooking classes.
• Gourmet food.

Other tourism niches ideas are:

• Sustainable tourism
• Movie tourism
• Volunteer tourism
• Event tourism
• Creative tourism
• Experiential tourism
• Dark tourism
• Sportst tourism

Recommended Resources:

Now it’s your turn!​

did you already find your tourism niche?

Although in 2022 the tourism industry is still affected by the covid, there is no doubt it will bloom again.

Maybe is the right time to tap into new niches. in any case, the best option for any entrepreneur who wants to get into the tourism niche is to niche down.

Going sub-niche or micro-niche, you might have fewer customers, but they will be able to find you. This will also help you grow your website authority faster and start making money quicker!

If you have any question leave a comment below.

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Niche Tourism – Thematic Intelligence

All the vital news, analysis, and commentary curated by our industry experts.

Published: January 19, 2024 Report Code: GDTT-TR-S107-TH

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• Report Overview
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Table of Contents

Niche tourism report overview.

Many companies looking to differentiate their brand from others are focusing on niche tourism. Many large conglomerates such as Expedia, TUI, and Booking Holdings have globalized the niche tourism industry through mergers and acquisitions and brand extensions. Social media has played an important role in the development of niche tourism and the rise in investment in this theme. Instagram has been directly responsible for an increase in tourists to certain beautiful areas as many people visit specifically to get a photo to share online. For instance, at Horseshoe Bend, a picturesque part of the Colorado River, in Arizona, tourism has been increasing in earnest since 2015, from around 4,000 visitors a year to more than 2 million in 2019.

The niche tourism thematic research report provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of the niche tourism theme on the travel and tourism industry. This report also provides the industry analysis along with challenges, timelines, and real-life case studies to understand how players have responded to niche tourism in the last few years. Furthermore, the report also sheds light on key consumer, enterprise, and industry trends transforming the sector in the medium and long term.

Niche Tourism Trends

The main trends shaping the niche theme over the next 12 to 24 months are classified into consumer trends, enterprise trends, and industry trends.

Consumer Trends: The key consumer trends impacting the niche tourism industry are commoditization, growing demand for niche tourism, globalization, and the rising influence of social media.

Enterprise Trends: The key enterprise trends influencing the niche tourism sector are the presence of larger companies investing in niche tourism experiences and the rising popularity of the sharing economy and similar platforms such as Airbnb.

Industry Trends: The key industry trends influencing the niche tourism sector are growing adventure tourism, rising agri-tourism and rural tourism, and an increase in health and wellness tourism.

Buy the Full Report for More Insights on Niche Tourism Trends Download A Free Sample Report

Niche Tourism Industry Analysis

The niche tourism theme within the travel industry is growing significantly owing to rising disposable income in emerging economies in APAC. This is attributed to the growing middle class and better-educated population, particularly in densely populated countries. This has increased the demand for wholesome, immersive, and fulfilling touristic experiences by consumers. The experience economy also plays a large part, with many travel products now commoditized due to the online travel boom and the emergence of price comparison sites.

The growth of online travel and technological innovations had a significant impact on niche tourism. Various competitors are looking to differentiate themselves in the market while offering a competitive price. Big Data and AI will become essential for targeting the right customers, and today’s internet landscape algorithms are getting accurate due to machine learning, through social media. Social media use is most popular with the Gen Z and millennial age groups. Most Gen Z and millennials are influenced by what they see on social media. Thus, companies need to come up with affordable plans and focus on social media marketing.

The industry analysis also covers:

• The impact of niche tourism
• The challenges of niche tourism
• Recommendations
• Case Studies
• M&A trends
• Social media trends

Buy the Full Report for More Insights on Niche Tourism Industry Analysis Download A Free Sample Report

Niche Tourism Value Chain Insights

The niche tourism value chain is divided into three different layers, including third-party suppliers, direct suppliers, and ancillary suppliers.

Third-party suppliers: Third-party suppliers involve travel intermediaries that are typically split between online travel agents (OTAs) and in-store travel agents. Both OTA and in-store agents offer niche tourism experiences for all traveler types. OTAs are heavily involved in niche tourism themes. The companies involved include smaller, independent companies such as G Adventures and Intrepid Travel to mainstream brands such as Expedia Group and Booking Holdings. Travel agents generate value for both direct and ancillary suppliers as they curate tailored itineraries and recommendations for all travel customers.

Niche Tourism – Competitive Landscape

Leading public niche tourism companies: A few of the leading public niche tourism companies are Airbnb, Farah Experiences, Booking Holdings, Carnival Corporation, and Expedia Group among others.

Leading private niche tourism companies: G Adventures, Intrepid Travel, Hays Travel, Responsible Travel, Nepal Eco Adventure, and RSVP Vacations are a few of the leading private niche tourism companies.

Travel Sector Scorecards

At GlobalData, we use a scorecard approach to predict tomorrow’s leading companies within each sector. Our travel intermediaries sector scorecard has three screens: A thematic screen, a valuation screen, and a risk screen.

• The thematic screen ranks companies based on overall leadership in the 10 themes that matter most to their industry, generating a leading indicator of future performance.
• The valuation screen ranks our universe of companies within a sector based on selected valuation metrics.
• The risk screen ranks companies within a particular sector based on overall investment risk.

• This thematic report provides an overview of the impact niche tourism has on the travel sector and helps understand a few of the contributory factors.
• The key trends within the theme are split into three categories: consumer trends, enterprise trends, and industry trends.
• Several case studies are included to analyze the multiple ways countries and companies have responded to the impact of this theme’s growth and what they are doing to grow with this theme.

Reasons to Buy

• GlobalData’s thematic research ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors.
• Identify important themes early to make the right investments ahead of the competition and secure that all-important competitive advantage.
• Understand how the Niche Tourism sector will continue to be a key theme in the future travel landscape. All components in the travel and tourism supply chain have an opportunity to capitalize on niche tourism as it is a potential sector.
• Understand the current niche tourism trends within the travel landscape today and how these will escalate in the near future.
• Assess how travel and tourism companies such as tour operators, OTAs, and DMOs are utilizing niche tourism to drive revenues.
• Identify the potential pitfalls of using niche tourism by understanding the social, cultural, and environmental effects on the destination. The report also discusses recommendations for businesses involved in niche tourism.
• 1 Executive Summary
• 3 Thematic Briefing
• 4.1 Consumer trends
• 4.2 Enterprise trends
• 4.3 Industry trends
• 5.1 Impact of niche tourism
• 5.2 Challenge of niche tourism
• 5.3 Recommendations
• 5.4 Case studies
• 5.4 Timeline
• 6.1 M&A trends
• 6.2 Social media trends
• 7.1 Third-party suppliers
• 7.2 Direct suppliers
• 7.3 Ancillary suppliers
• 8.1 Public companies
• 8.2 Private companies
• 9 Sector Scorecards
• 10 Glossary
• 11 Further Reading
• 12 Our Thematic Research Methodology
• 13 About GlobalData

Frequently asked questions

The key trends shaping the niche tourism sector are consumer trends, enterprise trends, and industry trends.

Third-party suppliers, direct suppliers, and ancillary suppliers are the key niche tourism industry value chain components.

A few of the leading public niche tourism companies are Airbnb, Farah Experiences, Booking Holdings, Carnival Corporation, and Expedia Group among others.

G Adventures, Intrepid Travel, Hays Travel, Responsible Travel, Nepal Eco Adventure, and RSVP Vacations are the key private niche tourism companies.

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The innovations that could revitalise tourism in emerging markets

Emerging Markets | Tourism

– Global tourism figures are recovering but remain below 2019 levels in most regions

– Support for smaller firms and local content is expanding tourism offerings

– Markets in the Middle East target the sector as path to economic diversification

– Regenerative tourism supports both revenue- and emissions-focused targets

As emerging markets develop new attractions and tap into new visitor source markets, they are leveraging technology and sustainable development in line with emissions targets.

Following sharp declines in 2020, international tourism figures rebounded in 2021 and were on track to reach approximately 65% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

Notably, in September arrivals in the Middle East and the Caribbean surpassed 2019 levels by 3% and 1%, respectively.

The recovery in travel demand is projected to create 126m jobs globally over the next decade, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), with more than 60% of those jobs in the Asia-Pacific region.

The lifting of travel restrictions in China and Japan announced at the end of 2022 will likely fuel an uptick in activity in the region. South-east Asia in particular is set to benefit from an increase in demand from China, which was the world’s largest outbound tourism market in 2019.

Supporting MSMEs

Many countries sought to boost domestic tourism numbers as international source markets were cut off by Covid-19-related travel restrictions.

As international tourism numbers rebound, some governments are pushing reform to create more equitable tourism sectors post-pandemic. In St Lucia, for example, where tourism accounts for some 65% of GDP, lawmakers plan to launch the Community Tourism Agency, with a mandate to increase local participation in the sector.

Such policies often aim to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) – which make up an estimated 80% of the sector globally, according to the WTTC – while also providing more authentic experiences for a new generation of visitors.

In Thailand, the Ministry of Labour has rolled out measures to support students working part-time in the hospitality industry and provide tourism-related training for the unemployed, hoping to address a labour shortage as the country prepares to welcome 25m visitors in 2023.

Prior to the pandemic, tourism activities, both domestic and foreign, accounted for 18% of the country’s GDP.

Africa’s tourism sector, meanwhile, is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6.8% in the coming decade, more than twice the expected rate for the continent, according to WTTC data, in addition to creating 14m new jobs by 2032.

Private sector actors are also involved in efforts to develop the tourism industry. Purple Elephant Ventures, a Kenya-based venture studio, was founded in 2020 with the goal of building four start-ups per year, with a focus on firms working at the intersection of technology, climate and tourism.

During the pandemic the studio launched a software-as-a-service product that allowed hospitality providers to take direct online bookings, and it raised $1m in a pre-seed funding round in late 2022.

Targeting diversification

Tourism is an important plank in economic diversification efforts in the Middle East, and a number of high-profile projects are seeking to boost arrivals in the region.

Saudi Arabia has centred its goals for the sector around its Saudi Vision 2030, with an ambitious target to attract 100m domestic and foreign tourists by 2030.

In January 2023 the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund designated Diriyah as its fifth giga-project. Encompassing the Turaif district, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the project is intended to educate visitors on the history of the country.

Egypt is also hoping to reinvigorate its tourism industry post-pandemic. Tourism revenue is set to rise by 20% to a record $13.6bn this year, according to projections from data and research firm Fitch Solutions. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities aims to attract 30m tourists by 2028, and the government is preparing to launch a new strategy for the sector later this year.

Beyond conventional tourism initiatives, Egypt is pushing the use of metaverse technology to promote the medical tourism segment. According to Ahmed El Sobky, chairman of the General Authority for Health Care, the use of 3D virtual-reality software will allow prospective patients to remotely tour health care centres in governates such as Luxor and Port Said.

This reflects a global growth trend for medical tourism, as Western patients seek more affordable care in emerging markets such as India, Turkey, Thailand and Malaysia – in turn propelling investment in advanced medical equipment powered by artificial intelligence and robotics.

Wellness tourism has been identified as another emerging trend as Covid-19-related restrictions are lifted. After contracting significantly during the pandemic, wellness tourism is projected to grow by 20.9% annually in the 2020-25 period, according to a 2021 report from the Global Wellness Initiative.

Regenerative tourism projects

Achieving net-zero emissions has become a tourism sector priority , as the industry accounted for 8% of global emissions in 2019.

In January 2023 the UN World Tourism Organisation and the Development Bank of Latin America announced a partnership to fund tourism projects in Latin American and the Caribbean. The initiative is focused on attracting foreign direct investment to support projects focused on climate adaption and reducing the sector’s emissions.

In addition to reducing emissions, natural conservation efforts often align with tourism outcomes, as more emerging markets highlight their diverse natural heritage as part of their offering.

In mid-2022 a team of UK scientists used machine learning to develop an algorithm that uses sound to recognise the relative health of coral reefs. The technology has been deployed on a small scale in Indonesia. The country is also home to the Mars Coral Reef Restoration project, which is using hexagonal “reef stars” to kick-start coral growth across more than 40,000 sq metres of seabed.  

Two of the projects initiated by Saudi Vision 2030, the Red Sea and Amaala projects, focus on regenerating local ecosystems to support tourism. Managed by multi-project developer Red Sea Global, the projects are set to contribute SR33bn ($8.8bn) annually to the economy upon completion.

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Privacy Overview

The state of tourism and hospitality 2024

Tourism and hospitality are on a journey of disruption. Shifting source markets and destinations, growing demand for experiential and luxury travel, and innovative business strategies are all combining to dramatically alter the industry landscape. Given this momentous change, it’s important for stakeholders to consider and strategize on four major themes:

• The bulk of travel is close to home. Although international travel might draw headlines, stakeholders shouldn’t neglect the big opportunities in their backyards. Domestic travel still represents the bulk of travel spending, and intraregional tourism is on the rise.
• Consumers increasingly prioritize travel—when it’s on their own terms. Interest in travel is booming, but travelers are no longer content with a one-size-fits-all experience. Individual personalization might not always be practical, but savvy industry players can use segmentation and hypothesis-driven testing to improve their value propositions. Those that fail to articulate target customer segments and adapt their offerings accordingly risk getting left behind.
• The face of luxury travel is changing. Demand for luxury tourism and hospitality is expected to grow faster than any other travel segment today—particularly in Asia. It’s crucial to understand that luxury travelers don’t make up a monolith. Segmenting by age, nationality, and net worth can reveal varied and evolving preferences and behaviors.
• As tourism grows, destinations will need to prepare to mitigate overcrowding. Destinations need to be ready to handle the large tourist flows of tomorrow. Now is the time for stakeholders to plan, develop, and invest in mitigation strategies. Equipped with accurate assessments of carrying capacities and enhanced abilities to gather and analyze data, destinations can improve their transportation and infrastructure, build tourism-ready workforces, and preserve their natural and cultural heritages.

McKinsey Live event: Faces, places, and trends: The state of tourism & hospitality

Thursday, June 13 at 10:30 a.m EDT / 4:30 p.m CET

Now boarding: Faces, places, and trends shaping tourism in 2024

Global travel is back and buzzing. The amount of travel fell by 75 percent in 2020; however, travel is on its way to a full recovery by the end of 2024. More regional trips, an emerging population of new travelers, and a fresh set of destinations are powering steady spending in tourism.

There’s no doubt that people still love to travel and will continue to seek new experiences in new places. But where will travelers come from, and where will they go?

We share a snapshot of current traveler flows, along with estimates for growth through 2030.

The way we travel now

Which trends are shaping traveler sentiment now? What sorts of journeys do today’s travelers dream about? How much are they willing to spend on their trips? And what should industry stakeholders do to adapt to the traveler psychology of the moment?

To gauge what’s on the minds of present-day travelers, we surveyed more than 5,000 of them. The findings reveal disparate desires, generational divides, and a newly emerging set of traveler archetypes.

Updating perceptions about today’s luxury traveler

Demand for luxury tourism and hospitality is expected to grow faster than for any other segment. This growth is being powered in part by a large and expanding base of aspiring luxury travelers with net worths between $100,000 and $1 million, many of whom are younger and increasingly willing to spend larger shares of their wealth on upscale travel options. The increase is also a result of rising wealth levels in Asia.

We dug deeper into this ongoing evolution by surveying luxury travelers around the globe about their preferences, plans, and expectations. Some widely held notions about luxury travelers—such as how much money they have, how old they are, and where they come from—could be due for reexamination.

Destination readiness: Preparing for the tourist flows of tomorrow

As global tourism grows, it will be crucial for destinations to be ready. How can the tourism ecosystem prepare to host unprecedented volumes of visitors while managing the challenges that can accompany this success? A large flow of tourists, if not carefully channeled, can encumber infrastructure, harm natural and cultural attractions, and frustrate locals and visitors alike.

Now is the time for tourism stakeholders to combine their thinking and resources to look for better ways to handle the visitor flows of today while properly preparing themselves for the visitor flows of tomorrow. We offer a diagnostic that destinations can use to spot early-warning signs about tourism concentration, along with suggestions for funding mechanisms and strategies to help maximize the benefits of tourism while minimizing its negative impacts.

Six trends shaping new business models in tourism and hospitality

As destinations and source markets have transformed over the past decade, tourism and hospitality companies have evolved, too. Accommodation, home sharing, cruises, and theme parks are among the sectors in which new approaches could present new opportunities. Stakeholders gearing up for new challenges should look for business model innovations that will help sustain their hard-won growth—and profits.

Unbundling offerings, cross-selling distinctive experiences, and embracing data-powered strategies can all be winning moves. A series of insight-driven charts reveal significant trends and an outlook on the future.

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