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Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 408427, 2004
#2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Printed in Great Britain
0160-7383/$30.00
doi:10.1016/j.annals.2004.01.002
ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
An Australian Perspective
Jo-Ann Foo
Eureka Strategic Research, Australia
Robyn McGuiggan
Sydney Graduate School of Management, Australia
Andrew Yiannakis
University of Connecticut, USA
Abstract: Understanding leisure behavior is extremely important in the marketing activi-
ties of tourism organizations. Researchers in the United States have developed a tourist role
preference scale to measure 15 distinguishable patterns of behavior among leisure tourists.
This article reports the ndings of a replication study undertaken in Australia based on the
American typology, to determine its intercultural applicability. The ndings verify the rel-
evance of the tourist roles in the Australian context and support the use of multi-
dimensional scaling to dene role characteristics. The results lend credence to the
suggestion that optimal destination characteristics are requisite for people to enact their
preferred roles. Keywords: leisure tourist, role, multidimensional scaling, crosscultural
analysis. # 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Resume: Les roles joues par les touristes : une perspective australienne. La comprehen-
sion des loisirs est extremement important aux activites de marketing des organisations de
tourisme. Des chercheurs aux Etats-Unis ont developpe une echelle de preferences des
roles touristiques pour mesurer quinze patrons de comportement qui se distinguent parmi
les touristes de loisirs. Le present article rapporte les resultats dune etude de reproduction
entreprise en Australie et basee sur la typologie americaine an de determiner applicabilite
interculturelle de celle-ci. Les resultats verient limportance des roles touristiques pour le
contexte australien et soutiennent lutilisation dune echelle multidimensionnelle pour
denir les caracteristiques des roles. Les resultats ajoutent foi a` lidee que les caracteris-
tiques optimales de destination sont requises pour que les gens jouent leurs roles preferes.
Mots-cles: touriste de loisirs, role, echelle multidimensionnelle, analyse interculturelle.
# 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION
Tourism is generally regarded as the short-term movement of people
from one place to another for leisure, business, or other purposes
Jo-Ann Foo is a research consultant for Eureka Strategic Research. Robyn McGuiggan,
Director, Academic Programs & Quality, Sydney Graduate School of Management (PO Box
6145, Parramatta Delivery Center, NSW 2150, Australia. Email <r.mcguiggan@uws.edu.au>)
conducts research on the psychological inuences affecting consumer tourism and leisure
choices. Andrew Yiannakis, Director of the Laboratory for Leisure, Tourism & Sport at the
University of Connecticut, focuses on the sociopsychological aspects of touristic behavior,
impacts, and forecasting.
408
(WTO 1996). This denition regards all travelers as tourists, whereas
many people would only perceive themselves as partaking in touristic
activity if the main purpose of the trip is for leisure. One of the major
differences between travel for leisure and for work-related purposes is
that the derivation of pleasure from the journey is of primary concern
for the leisure tourist (Cohen 1974; Iso-Ahola 1983). Choices are made
to satisfy intrinsic motivations. They are non-instrumental, reecting
personal preferences.
Leisure tourists represent the largest proportion of the traveling
population, accounting for 62.1% globally (WTO 1998) and 55.4% in
Australia (BTR 1999). The development of a more comprehensive
understanding of tourist behavior would allow organizations to better
identify potential target markets through segmentation. This in turn
should lead to the evolution of more appropriate products and mar-
keting strategies for the chosen segments. However, to do so, it is
necessary to distinguish relatively stable patterns of behavior: clusters
of people who exhibit similar behaviors in various vacation situations.
TOURIST ROLES
Cohen (1972) was one of the rst researchers to suggest that tour-
ists could be classied on the basis of similar observable behaviors.
He describes four categories: the independent mass tourist, the orga-
nized mass tourist, the drifter, and the explorer. He bases the classi-
cation on preferences for novelty and familiarity, reliance on the
environmental bubble of their own culture, and the extent to
which they deal with the organizational side of the tourism system:
the institutional setting of the trip. In developing this categorization,
Cohen suggests that the enactment of tourist roles reects a relation-
ship between a tourists motivation and the resultant behavior. He fur-
ther expands these ideas demonstrating the use of fuzzy set theory
and incorporating the notion of a touristic experience, or the
search for ones spiritual center (Cohen 1974, 1979). His work sub-
sequently inspired numerous other researchers (Dalen 1989; Morrison,
Hsieh and OLeary 1994; Perrault, Darden and Darden 1979; Plog
1987; Smith 1989; Urry 1990) to develop various touristic typologies.
Early typologies resulted from phenomenological research (Cohen
1979) and non-empirical conceptualizations (Smith 1977). Pearce
(1982), recognizing this limitation, undertook one of the earliest
comprehensive quantitative studies of tourist roles. Based on Cohens
(1979) fuzzy-set study and previous typologies, he developed 15 roles
(the tourist, traveler, holidaymaker, jet-setter, businessman, migrant,
conservationist, explorer, missionary, overseas student, anthropologist,
hippie, international athlete, overseas journalist, and religious pil-
grim) assessing each on 20 dimensions or constructs such as buys
souvenirs, searches for the meaning of life. Examining the
relationship among the 15 roles using multidimensional scaling, he
identied ve major clusters: environmental, high contact, spiritual,
pleasure rst, and exploitative travel.
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 409
While Pearces (1982) work had a signicant impact on the study
and understanding of tourist behavior, he did not distinguish
between that of an expressive, leisure-based nature and that of an
instrumental kind. As already noted, such a distinction is crucial, due
to the different underlying motivational inuences of both groups.
Yiannakis and Gibson (1992) addressed this issue, specically devis-
ing a comprehensive classication of leisure tourists. Basing their
work on the previous research and conceptualizations of Cohen
(1979) and Pearce (1982, 1985), they undertook a number of quanti-
tative studies in order to develop a typology to describe the nature
and dimensions of leisure-based tourist roles and their major beha-
vioral indicators. Their initial work (Yiannakis and Gibson 1992),
using principal components analysis, permitted them to identify
13 roles (the sun lover, action seeker, anthropologist, archaeologist,
organized mass tourist, thrill seeker, explorer, jetsetter, seeker, inde-
pendent mass tourist, high class tourist, drifter, and escapist). Further
Table 1. A Typology of Fifteen Leisure-based Tourist Roles
a
Sun Lover: Interested in relaxing and sunbathing in warm places with lots of sun,
sand and ocean
Action Seeker: Mostly interested in partying, going to night clubs and meeting
the opposite sex for uncomplicated romantic experiences
Anthropologist: Mostly interested in meeting local people, trying the food and
speaking the language
Archaeologist: Mostly interested in archaeological sites and ruins; enjoys studying
history of ancient civilizations
Organized Mass Tourist: Mostly interested in organized vacations, package tours,
taking pictures and buying lots of souvenirs
Thrill Seeker: Interested in risky, exhilarating activities which provide emotional
highs, such as sky diving
Explorer: Prefers adventure travel, exploring out of the way places and enjoys
challenges involved in getting there
Jetsetter: Vacations in elite world class resorts, goes to exclusive night clubs, and
socializes with celebrities
Seeker: Seeker of spiritual and/or personal knowledge to better understand self
and meaning of life
Independent Mass Tourist: Visits regular tourist attractions but makes own travel
arrangements and often plays it by ear
High Class Tourist: Travels rst class, stays in the best hotels, goes to shows, and
dines at the best restaurants
Drifter: Drifts from place to place living a hippie style existence
Escapist: Enjoys taking it easy and getting away from it all in quiet and peaceful
places
Sport Tourist: Primary emphasis while on vacation is to remain active engaging in
favorite sports
Educational Tourist: Participates in planned study programs or education orien-
ted vacations, primarily for study and/or acquiring new skills and knowledge
a
Adapted from Yiannakis and Gibson (1992).
410 ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
analysis, using both principal components analysis and multi-
dimensional scaling with a three dimensional solution, prompted the
addition of the sport lover. More recent research (Gibson 1994) has
led to the creation of the educational tourist and the renaming of the
sport lover to the sport tourist. Thus, the latest typology contains 15
tourist roles as presented in Table 1.
To measure the representativeness of the 15 leisure tourist roles
within a sample and empirically determine their underlying structure,
Yiannakis and Gibson (1992) designed their Tourist Role Preference
Scale (TRPS) (Dimanche and Havitz 1994). The development of the
scale involved a number of phases and was tested extensively to
ensure the instrument demonstrated acceptable levels of validity and
reliability (Yiannakis and Gibson 1992). For the individual tourist
roles, test-retest scores over a three-week period provided reliability
coefcients ranging from 0.66 to 0.84. Cronbachs alpha internal con-
sistency scores ranged from 0.82 to 0.87. In the TRPS, each role is
measured using two variables, demonstrating both high loading on
the appropriate factor and close proximity in three-dimensional
space. Their analysis utilizing multidimensional scaling led Yiannakis
and Gibson to suggest that people enact preferred tourist roles in
destinations which provide an optimal balance of familiarity-strangeness,
stimulation-tranquility, and structure-independence (1992:287).
They propose that the positioning of each role in this three-
dimensional space (Table 2) is reective of the optimal destination
characteristics and relative behavior with reference to all others. In
response to previous research (Pearce 1982, 1985; Yiannakis and
Table 2. The Three Dimensions of the TRPS
StimulationTranquillity: Explains an individuals need for active stimulation
from his/her surrounding holiday environment. Simulation manifests itself
through a desire for high levels of interaction with surrounding environments.
This may be through physical (for example partaking in adventure activities) or
spiritual (searching for the meaning of life in different cultures) stimulation.
Those roles preferring more tranquil environments have little interaction with
their surroundings, taking relaxing holidays to get away from it all
StrangenessFamiliarity: Indicates the level of novelty preferred in the holiday
environment. Those roles scoring high on strangeness prefer holidays with low
environmental predictability, enjoying destinations that are markedly different
from their usual environmental bubble. Those with a preference for familiarity
conversely prefer familiar destinations with societies similar to their home culture
StructureIndependence (high structure-low structure): Refers to the level of
organization and planning undertaken in order to travel. Roles preferring
structured travel arrangements have a large number of dealings with tourism
operators, liking to have their holiday fully planned before departure. Persons
enacting high structure roles are not averse to packaged holidays. Low structure
individuals prefer spontaneity and are happy to make their own travel arrange-
ments during their holiday
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 411
Gibson 1988) suggesting gender was inuential in tourist preference,
they undertook a comparison of the dimensions of the roles by gen-
der. The results reveal prole similarity rather than dissimilarity
between males and females, with the overall multidimensional pat-
terns indicating a high degree of congruency.
Yiannakis and Gibsons classication has been cited as the most
comprehensive to date (Dimanche and Havitz 1994). Their research
has made a signicant contribution to the understanding of leisure
tourist behavior in the United States by building on the work of pre-
vious researchers and developing descriptions of leisure tourist role
characteristics in a three-dimensional, interactive form. However, in
order for their typology to be of greater use internationally, further
research must demonstrate its applicability to other countries. A study
undertaken in Greece by Yiannakis, Leivadi and Apostolopoulos
(1990) suggests the roles were generally applicable to the Greek sam-
ple, but evidence of slight cultural variance, particularly in relation to
gender, was identied.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether Yiannakis and
Gibsons leisure tourist roles are applicable within the Australian con-
text. Theories and models need to be tested in various settings and
populations to ensure their generalizability. If the model holds in the
new setting, the theory gains signicant credence. If it does not hold,
then questions need to be raised as to the validity of the original stu-
dies (Goldsmith and Litvin 1999). Three specic questions are
addressed in this study. Do the 15 leisure tourist roles devised by Yian-
nakis and Gibson exist in the Australian context? Are the three-
dimensional structures of the roles similar to those of the US study?
What differences exist in relation to gender: within the Australian
sample and in comparison with the US sample?
Study Methods
As this study replicates Yiannakis and Gibsons research, the meth-
odology and analysis followed are as per the original study. The TRPS
used in the original study comprised 26 short statements, actually 13
pairs, each question within the pair measuring a different aspect or
behavior of the same role. Respondents indicate the degree to which
each statement reects their actual tourist behavior on a ve-point
Likert scale from 1 never like me to 5 always like me. A sum-
mation of the values given to the two questions for each role allows a
composite score to be calculated. An individuals dominant tourist
role(s) is determined by those that comparatively exhibit the highest
composite scores. As previously discussed, subsequent research by
Yiannakis and Gibson led to the addition of two roles and their corre-
sponding composite measures to the TRPS. The nal preference scale
utilized in this study contained 30 questions, two questions measuring
each of the 15 tourist roles (Table 1).
A self-completion written survey instrument comprising the TRPS
questions and standard demographic lines relating to gender, marital
status, household structure and income, education, occupation,
412 ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
country of origin, and age was mailed to a sample of 1,156 house-
holds in the Sydney metropolitan area. A reminder letter was sent
three weeks after the initial mail out to encourage participation. At
the completion of the data collection phase, a response rate of 19%
was achieved, resulting in a nal sample size of 207.
The sample consisted of 61% male and 39% female respondents
ranging in age from 1865+ years with the mean falling in the 4044
range. Among the respondents, 69% were born in Australia and
70.5% had obtained additional qualications after leaving school. Of
the 69% who were working, 53% worked full-time and 16% part-time,
contributing to an average annual household income of US$ 27,600.
In comparison with the general population, the sample was skewed
towards males, those who were married or living with their partners
and to households with children. There was a high number of man-
agers within the sample, and the respondents on average had higher
educational levels. This may have been due in part to the greater rep-
resentation of older personsthe average age 4044 years, with one
quarter over 60. This may also have contributed to the greater com-
parative number of non-working people in the sample, as many of
this latter group were retirees.
To facilitate a comparison between the present sample and its
counterpart, the demographic characteristics of both were compared.
The average age of Yiannakis and Gibsons (1992) respondents was
37.5 years, slightly lower than the mean age for the present study
(falling in the 4044 age group). Of the US sample, 54% fell into the
1841 age bracket, while 47% of the total sample reported having had
four years of college study. The Australian sample comparatively had
25.7% in the 2039 years bracket, and although 70.5% reported hav-
ing post-highschool qualications, only 19.8% of these had com-
pleted a University degree. Yiannakis and Gibsons male to female
ratio was 0.64, compared with 1.59 in the present study. The demo-
graphic composition of the two samples is different and this must be
taken into account when comparing the role structures. However,
Goldsmith and Litvin (1999) point out that if results can be repli-
cated across non-matched samples, then condence as to the general-
izability of the results is further enhanced.
Study Results
Data analysis procedures were performed in three stages. First, a
conrmatory factor analysis was performed using LISREL VII to deter-
mine the model t of Yiannakis and Gibsons typology to the Aus-
tralian sample. Second, the three-dimensional structure of the tourist
roles within the total Australian sample was ascertained using multi-
dimensional scaling. Finally, the sample was split according to gender
and the multidimensional scaling procedures repeated on the result-
ing two subsamples. To facilitate a comparison of tourist role dimen-
sions between the Australian and US samples, the two latter
procedures emulated the method of analysis used in the original
Yiannakis and Gibson study.
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 413
The Leisure Tourist Roles. To determine whether the 15 leisure tourist
roles devised by Yiannakis and Gibson existed in the Australian con-
text, a conrmatory factor analysis specifying a 15-factor solution was
performed. The results indicate that all items of the TRPS, with the
exception of the second composite item for the escapist (Q2,
factor loading 0:31), exceed the minimum factor loading criteria
value of 0.40 (Hair, Anderson, Tatham and Black 1998). This indi-
cates that they are signicant in representing the tourist roles they
are intended to measure.
Reliability estimates for the 15 roles range from 0.52 to 0.86,
exceeding the cut off value of 0.5 as recommended by Nunnally
(1967). Variance extracted values, which are a measure of convergent
validity, approximate the 0.5 recommended level with the exception
of the action seeker and independent mass tourist (variance extracted
values of 0.38 and 0.36 respectively). Discriminant validity was exam-
ined and the results suggest that the roles are not as distinct as
required for the specication of a structural model. These ndings
were expected as the theoretical descriptions, and Yiannakis and Gib-
sons three-dimensional structure, infer that certain characteristics
will be shared among roles.
The overall t of the TRPS to the sample was determined using a
number of measures. The chi-square statistic of 556.25 (301 df) had
an associated probability of 0.00 which suggests that the specied 15-
factor model is not conrmed by the data. However, chi-square has
been noted to be unreliable (Hughes, Price and Marrs 1996), so sev-
eral other measures were employed to assess model t. As the good-
ness of t index, the adjusted goodness of t index, the Tucker-Lewis
index and the comparative t index are all close to the advocated
level of 0.90 (Hair, Anderson, Tatham and Black 1998) and exceed
the corresponding values generated for the null model, the conrma-
tory factor analysis indicates that the factor model is an acceptable
t to the data. Therefore, model t is established and Yiannakis and
Gibsons typology of 15 leisure tourist roles is supported in the Aus-
tralian context to the extent that further analysis is justied.
The Three-Dimensional Structure of the Roles. To determine whether the
structure was similar to that of the US study, multidimensional scaling
(SPSS program ALSCAL) was utilized to derive a three-dimensional
solution for the total sample. This yielded a stress value of 0.04 and a
squared correlation coefcient of 0.99. The stress value is a goodness
of t measure between the data and the solution, with values from
0.00 to 0.15 indicating good t (Stalans 1995). The coefcient is a
complementary concept measuring the proportion of variance not
accounted for by the conguration. Values above 0.85 are generally
accepted as indicating a good t (Yiannakis and Gibson 1992). Both
measures indicate that the data was satisfactorily represented by the
three-dimensional solution.
The conguration was interpreted by plotting the coordinates in
three-dimensional space. The selected framework for the derived sol-
ution was based on Yiannakis and Gibsons study. The coordinates
from the multidimensional solution for each tourist role were
414 ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
considered with regard to the theoretical role descriptions and the
ndings from their analysis. Each dimension was reviewed by attempt-
ing to ensure that roles found at the extreme ends of each dimension
were placed on the same corresponding end of the scale. In so doing,
the solution depicted in Figure 1 provided the best possible match of
the tourist roles in the sample with their underlying theoretical
descriptions.
The results show that on the strangeness-familiarity dimension,
roles such as the archaeologist and seeker prefer strange environ-
ments, while the sport tourist at the opposite end of the X-axis pre-
fers more familiar environments. On the Y-axis, several roles
characterize individuals who enjoy stimulating environments, such as
the thrill seeker and the explorer. At the opposite extreme, the orga-
nized mass tourist favors tranquil environments. Highlow structure, as
represented by the Z-axis, is typied by the jetsetter, drifter and action
seeker at the high structure end and the independent mass tourist,
anthropologist, escapist, and sun lover at the low structure end.
The three-dimensional characteristics of the sport tourist and edu-
cational touristthe two previously unexplored roles developed by
Figure 1. Tourist Roles in Three-dimensional Space (n 207)
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 415
Yiannakis and Gibson since their original researchappear to sup-
port the descriptions. The former within the sample evidence the
need for high levels of stimulation and familiarity which is in line
with their primary emphasis on vacation being the desire to remain
active engaging in favorite sports (Yiannakis and Gibson 1992:291).
They show a slight preference for low structure environments, per-
haps reecting the desire for a certain level of spontaneity and inde-
pendence in their sporting activities, and balancing their need for
familiar yet stimulating environments. The educational tourists, in
contrast, prefer environments of relatively high tranquility, high levels
of unfamiliarity, and structured vacations. This supports their role
description which indicates the propensity to partake in planned
study programs of what would usually be considered unfamiliar or dif-
ferent cultures.
The results would appear to support the conclusion that the under-
lying dimensions of the tourist roles are the same in both the Aus-
tralian and US samples. In order to determine if the comparability of
the multidimensional structures in both samples, the roles were stud-
ied. Since multidimensional scaling space identies the tourist roles
with regard to their perceived relationship with each other, by obtain-
ing the relative rankings for each in each sample, the results from the
two samples may be compared with some objectivity. The relative
rankings for the 13 comparable roles are presented in Tables 3 to 5,
Table 3. Relative Rankings of Tourist Roles for Strange-Familiar Dimension
Ranking US Sample Yiannakis
and Gibson (1992)
Number of Ranking
Positions Difference
Australian
Sample
1 Strange ARC 0 ARC
2 ANT 2 SKR
3 SKR 1 DTR
4 OMT&IMT 7
a
&1 ANT
5 DTR 2 IMT
6 EXL 0 EXL
7 ESC 4 JST
8 TRS 2 HCT
9 ACT 0 ACT
10 SNL 3 TRS
11 JST 4 ESC
12 HCT 4 OMT
13 Familiar SNL
SNL sun lover, ACT action seeker, ANT anthropologist, ACR archaeologist, OMT orga-
nized mass tourist, TRS thrill seeker, EXP explorer, JST jetsetter, SKR seeker, IMT
independent mass tourist, HCT high class tourist, DTR drifter, ESC escapist, SPT sport
tourist, EDT educational tourist.
Note: Difference in ranking position is calculated using the rank of the US role as the
base gure. 0
a
Denotes a signicant difference in perceived behavior between the samples.
416 ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
but the sport tourist and educational tourist are excluded, as these
were not examined in the original study.
Roles are considered to be similar on a dimension if they are within
four ranking positions of each other and indicate the same prefer-
ence for it. A visual comparison of the diagrams for each sample
reveals that those more than four ranking places apart appear to
depict a notable difference in spatial position. A comparison of the
tourist roles in both samples reveals more similarities than differ-
Table 4. Relative Rankings for the Stimulation-Tranquility Dimension
a
Ranking US Sample Yiannakis
and Gibson (1992)
Number of Ranking
Positions Difference
Australian
Sample
1 Stimulating DTR 2 TRS
2 TRS 1 EXK
3 ACT 2 DTR
4 SKR 6
a
IMT
5 EXL 3 ACT
6 JST 3 ANT
7 ANT 1 ESC
8 HCT 4 SNL
9 ARC 2 JST
10 SNL 2 SKR
11 OMT&IMT 2&7
a
ARC
12 ESC 5
a
HCT
13 Tranquil OMT
a
See footnotes of Table 3.
Table 5. Relative Rankings for the High-Low Structure Dimension
a
Ranking US Sample Yiannakis
and Gibson (1992)
Number of Ranking
Positions Difference
Australian
Sample
1 High HCT 4 JST
2 JST 1 DTR
3 SKR 3 ACT
4 ARC 5
a
TRS
5 ANT&EXL 5
a
&3 HCT
6 TRS 2 SKR
7 OMT 0 OMT
8 ACT 5
a
EXL
9 SNL 1 ARC
10 IMT 3 SNL
11 DTR 9
a
ESC
12 ESC 1 ANT
13 Low 3 IMT
a
See footnotes of Table 3.
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 417
ences. Only one role, the organized mass tourist, exhibits a difference
in relation to the strangeness-familiarity dimension. It evidences a
higher preference for familiar surroundings in both samples, effec-
tively making it a better representation of expected behavior for the
Australian group. In the original classication of an organized mass
tourist (Cohen 1972), it was described as being highly dependent on
ones environmental bubble, with experiences being dominated by
the over-riding desire for familiarity, with novelty virtually non-
existent (Lowyck, Langenhove and Bollaert 1992). As Yiannakis and
Gibsons typology is derived in part from Cohens work, a greater
level of familiarity indicates a better t to the conceptualization of
this role.
With regard to the stimulation-tranquility dimension (Table 4),
three of the roles in the Australian sample display behavior differing
from their respective counterparts. These are the independent mass
tourist and escapist, who prefer more stimulating environments, and
the seeker, skewed towards the tranquil end of the dimension. The
independent mass tourists need for stimulation may be the result of
their nature. Although they are still considered to be an institutiona-
lized form of tourist (Cohen 1972), as they frequent regular tourist
attractions (Yiannakis and Gibson 1992:291), the element of inde-
pendence suggests that they seek stimulation elsewhere. It is possible
that the play it by ear aspect of this role may represent a greater
desire for stimulation by Australian tourists.
The present studys ndings indicate that the Australian escapist
prefers stimulation to tranquility. This is in stark contrast to the beha-
viors evidenced and predicted by Yiannakis and Gibson. In their
three-dimensional representation, the escapist was at the extreme end
of the stimulation-tranquility dimension, denoting a high level of pre-
ferred tranquility. This reects ones desire to take it easy and get
away from it all in quiet and peaceful places (Yiannakis and Gibson
1992:291). The adjectives quiet and peaceful could be considered
to be synonymous with tranquil, so at rst glance the Australian
ndings seem unusual. Consideration of the conrmatory factor
analysis reveals a possible explanation for this deviation. The results
show that while the reliability of the escapist role is acceptable, the
factor loadings of the individual items making up this role did
present an anomaly. The two composite measures (escapist Q1 and
Q2) appear to measure different forms of behavior. It seems that Q1
(factor loading 0:99) alone may better represent the role in the
Australian sample, reecting a preference for stimulation in the form
of social contact. The implication here is that the isolationist, tranquil
notions of Q2 (factor loading 0:31) are not applicable to the role
within this sample.
The third role indicating a difference on the stimulation-tranquility
dimension is the seeker. The preference for tranquil rather than sti-
mulating environments in this study places the role at the opposite
end of the stimulation-tranquilly dimension when compared to the
American study. For the Australians, the search for spiritual and/or
personal knowledge to better understand self and meaning of life
418 ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
(Yiannakis and Gibson 1992:291) takes place in more tranquil set-
tings. This stimulation avoidance may provide a better means to
understand self without material disruptions, such as the desire for
luxury, the need to interact with local people, or buying souvenirs
(Pearce 1982). Further, this preference for tranquility may balance
the seeker preference for strange environments, by enabling the
search for the individuals spiritual center (Cohen 1979) to take
place outside the usual environment. It is posited that in relative tran-
quility, spiritual and personal knowledge can be drawn from within
the individual, subsequently fullling the objective of this role.
For high-low structure environments, four roles in the Australian
sample demonstrate a contrasting preference in terms of the desired
level of structure, when compared to their counterparts (Table 5).
The anthropologist and archaeologist were found to prefer lower
levels of structure. Yiannakis and Gibson suggest that these two roles
most closely align with Cohens (1979) conceptualization of the
experiential mode of travel. This involves the tourist experiencing the
lives of the cultures they are visiting. The low structure positioning of
the two roles in the present sample may better reect their experien-
tial nature than the high structure preference of their US counter-
parts. Enacting their roles in low structured environments provides
the anthropologist and archaeologist with more freedom to experi-
ence the local culture resulting in optimal role behavior.
The preference for a higher level of structure by Australian action
seekers indicates that they have a greater desire to plan and organize
their travel and accommodation, possibly to allow themselves more
time to concentrate on their holiday activities. Being a group that is
generally dominated by younger males (under 40), perhaps the high
structure preference reects the popularity of the 1835s package
tours which are well known for their party atmosphere and pro-
motion of such behavior.
The fourth tourist role that exhibits a difference on this dimension
is the drifter. The high structure preference found is contrary to that
predicted by Yiannakis and Gibson who found that the drifter prefers
relatively unstructured conditions, where planning, organization and
schedules are kept to a minimum (1992:296), thus reasserting
Cohens (1972) suggestion that the drifer is a non-institutionalized
role. Certainly the descriptiondrifts from place to place living a
hippie style existence (Yiannakis and Gibson 1992:291)would
seem to support these theoretical notions. Perhaps the age skew of
the Australian sample may have affected the interpretation of this
role behavior (older persons may have a different notion of drifting
than younger individuals). However, based on the theory, no coher-
ent explanation can be offered. Therefore, the anomalous results of
the drifter in this study need to be claried with further research.
Gender and Tourist Role Behavior
Following the same process as Yiannakis and Gibson in examining
the tourist type proles, the data were analyzed using multi-
dimensional scaling for each gender. This allowed investigation of
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 419
whether the roles varied by gender in the Australian sample and whe-
ther they were comparable across the two samples. Figure 2 depicts
the tourist role pattern exhibited for males and females. The results
are illustrated in two-dimensional space for easier reading (z-axis
high-low structure not shown) (Yiannakis and Gibson 1992).
An examination of the role positions for males and females indi-
cates greater prole similarity than dissimilarity. Comparing the
genders, nine of the 15 roles are within a 0.50 range of each other on
the strange-familiar and tranquil-stimulating dimensions. The other
six are separated by a spatial distance greater than 1.0, which is
deemed to represent a signicant difference in prole. No notable
difference between the genders was found on the dimension of struc-
ture-independence. Four roles display differences on only one of the
two dimensions depicted.
For both the thrill seeker and sport tourist, the results indicate that
females prefer more familiar environments than males. In later work,
based on an American sample using time series analysis, Gibson and
Figure 2. Tourist Role
a
Pattern for Males and Females within the Australian Sample
420 ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
Yiannakis demonstrated a link between several tourist roles and
psychological needs. In the case of the sport tourist, the US study
indicates that psychological needs drive the selection of this role.
For males, the needs driving the distribution are unsatised needs for
play(), sexual () and home and family () in combination with satised
needs for having clear goals (+) and control over their life (+). For
females the ndings suggest that the selection of the Active Sport Tour-
ist role is a function of the joint effects of satised needs for home and
family, and to get away from it all, combined with unsatised needs for
control over their lives, and unsatised sexual and health needs (Gibson
and Yiannakis 2002:68).
On the stimulation-tranquility dimension, females prefer more
stimulation enacting the sun lover role, but prefer tranquility with
regard to the drifter role when compared to males. Two roles denote
marked difference on both dimensions. Male archaeologists have a
greater preference for stimulating and strange environments than
females, and male organized mass tourists also prefer strange environ-
ments but in more tranquil settings than females.
The differences between males and females on the strangeness-
familiarity dimension indicate that the latter prefer more familiar
environments than the former for the organized mass tourist and
archaeologist roles, but prefer more strange environments for the
thrill seeker and sport tourist roles. This suggests that in the case of
organized mass and archaeologist tourists, males are more inclined to
foray outside their environmental bubble than females (Cohen
1972). Quiroga (1990) provides an explanation with regard to the for-
mer by suggesting that the majority choosing this role tend to be
older (40+) and female (Yiannakis and Gibson 1992:297). The nd-
ings afrm that older persons select this role for safety, while younger
persons see it as an opportunity for social contact (Yiannakis and
Gibson 1992). Thus, a sense of familiarity is represented by their
need for safety, or familiar social surroundings. While no specic
work has been performed examining archaeologist-like behavior, the
broad implications from this study are that females prefer the safety
and social opportunities available in familiar environments, whereas
males favor greater levels of novelty. This may be attributed to the
general fact that males have wider leisure opportunities (Bessant and
Watts 1999) that subsequently take place in a range of unfamiliar
environments, than females. Kinnard and Hall (1994) suggest that
womens and mens differential experience of various recreational
activities, and the socialization of girls and boys to enjoy and partici-
pate in gender-specic activities, have an inuence on motivation and
behavior (Frew and Shaw 1998). Female leisure activity tends to be
more passive in familiar surroundings, whereas this for males often
occurs in less familiar environments (Kelly and Freysinger 2000) and
this is reected in their tourist behavior.
In contrast, the sport tourist and thrill seeker roles indicate that
females prefer more novel environments than males. Davidson
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 421
and McKercher (1993) found that commercial adventure travel
appealed to women because of the elements of convenience, safety,
and assured social opportunities (Lynch and Veal 1996:338). It is
suggested that perhaps females perceive commercial adventure tra-
vel as implicitly satisfying their need for familiarity so, in order to
achieve optimal role behavior, they require more stimulating environ-
ments than males to provide the required level of physical activity to
satisfy their needs.
The level of stimulation-tranquility for both groups appears to pro-
vide balance to the strangeness-familiarity preference. Cunningham
(1994:7) found that for women the focus was on the restorative
experiencea comfortable space in which they could experience a
sense of harmony (Lynch and Veal 1996:338). However, this sense
of harmony is enacted in different surroundings. For the female
archaeologist and drifter, harmony is achieved in more tranquil sur-
roundings, but in more stimulating environments for the female sun
lover and organized mass tourist.
Figures 3 and 4 present the comparative positions of the tourist
roles for males and females, respectively, for both the Australian and
US samples. Again, a spatial distance of more than 1.0 was deemed to
Figure 3. Comparison of Australian and US Tourist Role
a
Pattern for Males
422 ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
represent a signicant difference in role prole. The escapist and
organized mass tourist were found to differ for both males and
females. The former was inclined more toward stimulating environ-
ments for both subsamples in the Australian group. This reects the
ndings of the general sample comparisons and may be attributed to
the poor factor loading on escapist Q2 as previously discussed.
The male organized mass tourists in the Australian sample favor
more tranquil environments than their US counterparts. This may be
the result of different sample demographics rather than anything else
(the latter group was on the whole younger, and younger males may
prefer higher levels of stimulation, whereas the older males in the
Australian sample prefer tranquility). This is reective of the decline
in energy levels over an individuals lifetime. For female organized
mass tourists the discrepancy was evidenced in the strangeness-famili-
arity dimension. They prefer more familiarity than their US counter-
parts. This is in line with the theory and is further explained by the
fact that the majority of persons choosing this role in the Australian
sample were females. Thus, the effect may be magnied to a larger
Figure 4. Comparison of Australian and US Tourist Role
a
Pattern for Females
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 423
extent for females, creating the illusion of a distinct difference in
stimulation level between the two female samples, but not the male.
Three other signicant differences in role behavior were identied
in relation to female archaeologist, drifter, and sun lovers. Within
the Australian sample, the rst group prefers more familiarity and
tranquility, and the second evidences a greater need for tranquility,
than their US counterparts. Both roles involve giving meaning to the
present, either through gaining insights from ancient cultures or
from living in a hippie-like existence. For these roles, Australian
females gain these experiences in a more harmonious environment
of tranquility and (for the archaeology tourist) familiarity.
Australian females in the sun lover category require a higher level
of stimulation within the holiday environment when compared with
the US counterpart. This could be due to a difference in activities
needed for relaxation. The I mostly relax and sunbathe (Yiannakis
and Gibson 1992, sunlover, Q1:TRPS) measure of the role could be a
point of difference between the samples. In particular, the reference
to sunbathing may have been given less consideration as a charac-
teristic in the current study. Several respondents indicated their con-
cern for the inclusion of this activity with an exclamation mark, while
others simply crossed it out to indicate that they had ignored that
particular reference. Much media attention in Australia has focused
on the adverse effects of sunbathing, so that it has become less of an
engaged in activity than in the past. While the factor loading for sun-
lover Q1 does not indicate a signicant deviation from its ability to
measure the behavior, it is proposed that more focus has been placed
on the relax element rather than the sunbathe aspect. Australian
female sunlover tourists may exhibit a greater preference for stimulat-
ing surroundings in order to balance this reduced concentration on
sunbathing (instead of sunbathing, they may favor more stimulating
activities to compensate). Certainly, more research needs to be done,
but with the TRPS being almost ten years old, some changes in per-
ceptions of popular culture (like sunbathing) are to be expected.
CONCLUSION
The ndings of this replication study support the existence of Yian-
nakis and Gibsons 15 leisure tourist roles in the Australian context
and reafrm the ability of the TRPS to operationalize Cohens (1979)
and Pearces (1982, 1985) work. An examination of the underlying
dimensions of the roles further demonstrates the applicability of the
typology, revealing that the Australian and American roles are similar
in structure. The majority were alike on all three underlying dimen-
sions. On the strangeness-familiarity dimension, 92% of the roles are
of a similar preference, for stimulation-tranquility 77%, and for high-
low structure environments 69% are comparable.
Between males and females in the Australian sample, 60% of the
roles are of the same structure. The differences that exist in role char-
acteristics between genders suggest that differing socialization pro-
424 ROLES TOURISTS PLAY
cesses for males and females in regards to leisure experiences appear
to affect tourist behavior. A comparison of the results for the genders
between the two samples also reveals more similarities than differ-
ences, with 85% of the role characteristics being comparable for
males between the samples, and 62% of the tourist role patterns for
females being similar.
This study provides an exploratory analysis of leisure tourist roles
within the Australian context. From its results, several areas for fur-
ther research can be highlighted. First, a renement of the TRPS
measures could be undertaken to improve the reliability and validity
of the instrument for the Australian context. Individual items should
be examined for their ability to measure each role to optimize factor
loadings (for example in the case of the escapist). It also suggests that
the items be updated to reect current behavior, for example chan-
ging the wording of Q1 of the sunlover from I mostly relax and sun-
bathe to I mostly relax in the sun. This would maintain the focus
of the role as a sunseeker without the increasingly socially unac-
ceptable connotation of sunbathing. In addition, further study could
determine whether any other tourist roles exist, or have developed,
since Yiannakis and Gibsons study. Cross-cultural testing of the TRPS
in non-Western cultures may provide more insight into tourist beha-
vior and determine the applicability of the TRPS internationally, or
lead to improvement in the current 15-factor model.
Finally, while this study provides information regarding the beha-
vior of leisure tourists, as a typology study, it merely describes, without
providing reasons for, or motivations behind it. Further knowledge of
the psychological motivations behind the selection of roles would pro-
vide an insight into why tourists behave the way they do. Such an
insight is also necessary for the development of a comprehensive
understanding of tourist behavior. This is particularly pertinent for
the study of the leisure group, as the core of the tourism phenom-
enon is the individuals experience (Pearce 1987). Demand for lei-
sure tourism results more from the intrinsic needs (that serve as push
factors) rather than from destinational pull factors (Sharpley 1994).
Gibson and Yiannakis have paved the way in this regard by demon-
strating an empirical link between the preferences of the anthropol-
ogist and the sport tourists and psychological needs. They state that
their study
provides tentative statistical evidence in support of what has so far been
primarily a theoretical contention that tourist role preference is indeed
a function of psychological needs. Further, it provides statistical support
for the contention that tourist roles serve as vehicles through which
vacationers may satisfy or enhance decit or growth needs (2002:378).
To fully understand tourist behavior, further research requires an
interdisciplinary approach to examine the psychological determinants
of such tourist role behavior.
A
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 425
AcknowledgementsThis paper is based on work completed for the honors dissertation of Jo-
Ann Foo (2001).
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Submitted 23 October 2001. Resubmitted 16 March 2003. Accepted 25 September 2003.
Final version 6 October 2003. Refereed anonymously. Coordinating Editor: Tom Selwyn
FOO, MCGUIGGAN AND YIANNAKIS 427