- Title
- The relationship of VFR travellers with tourism industries
- Creator
- Backer, Elisa
- Date
- 2008
- Type
- Text; Conference paper
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/37452
- Identifier
- vital:3703
- Identifier
- ISBN:9780864762047
- Abstract
- This research explores the extent to which hosts, local industries and destination regions influence VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) travellers’ purpose of visit. Whilst VFR travellers are often assumed to travel for the purpose of visiting friends and relatives, this research, based in the Sunshine Coast Australia, indicates that VFR is only one reason that motivates VFR travellers to travel. The simplistic view that VFRs are travellers whose purpose of visit is only VFR is challenged by these research findings showing that 26.6% of visitors who stayed with friends and relatives stated a Non-VFR purpose of visit. Clearly, if purpose of visit is used as a sole measurement for considering the size of VFR travel then a significant portion of VFR travellers will be missed. Interestingly, visitors staying with relatives were more inclined than friends to be travelling with this purpose in mind. Whilst 80.6% of visitors staying with relatives reported VFR to be their purpose of visit, only 63.4% of visitors staying with friends were travelling for VFR purposes. VFR travellers were also found to be significantly more likely than Non-VFRs to rely on word of mouth than other sources in terms of planning their trip. As such, the role that the local host has in influencing, not only the purpose of trip to begin with, but the activities undertaken during the visit is also critical. This relationship that VFR travellers have with industries, the destination, and the host are all interlinked and can influence the purpose, or purposes, of the trip. A VFR purpose of visit model is proposed to explain the relationships between these elements, also demonstrating that VFR is only one type of purpose of visit amongst VFR travellers.
- Publisher
- Hanmer Springs, New Zealand : Lincoln University
- Relation
- Paper presented at New Zealand Tourism & Hospitality Research Conference 2008: Re-creating Tourism, Hanmer Springs, New Zealand : 3rd-5th December 2008
- Rights
- Open Access
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- VFR; Visiting friends and relatives; Tourism industries
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Conference paper | 112 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |