Understanding Backpacker Behavior through Market Basket Analysis

The backpacker market is important and diverse for many destinations. Understanding what backpackers do on their trip is important for tourism businesses so they can cater to their needs and wants. Market basket analysis uncovers associations between products by looking for combinations of products that frequently co-occur in transactions. We apply this technique to activities that backpackers do while on vacation in Fiji. This study demonstrates the utility of market basket analysis to better understand backpackers’ experiences participating in different activities. Combined with factor analysis and cluster analysis, segmentation based on activities backpackers participate in is more significant than demographic segmentation. In the current study, backpackers can be segmented into active visitors seeking diverse experiences, cultural adventurers and passive fly and flop tourists. Considering the ‘fly & flop’ segment is the second most common segment; the results suggest backpackers are drifting further away from the original counterculture and towards mass tourism.