ABSTRACT
This chapter raises the necessity of understanding market segmentation and how it relates in a service-provider tourist-customer exchange. The chapter stresses that tourists come with different credentials, levels of experience, and resources, crossing all levels of the socioeconomic spectrum. Depending on the targeted market, it becomes essential to know what kinds of leisure expectations are required of that particular market segment. The relationships between quality standards and customer expectations are discussed and examined. These include varied kinds of practice that service providers have available to them to ensure they will stay ahead of their targeted customer. The activity profile of the traveler and other marketing data information is presented as an important tactical tool. Although this section of the chapter is not very extensive, it identifies the most important sociological group profiles for serving specific tourist customers and their primary and secondary roles. These social affiliations define general dispositions that are a reflection of a party in that role – seniors, singles, families with children, and certain cultural groups. Knowing the identity of the customer at the most basic level helps to reduce uncertainty and the risk of missing the most obvious requirements due to lifestyle.
