Le quattro tipologie di viaggiatore. Uno studio sui tratti di personalità

Abstract

The aim of the research, in the area of tourism psychology, is to identify specific typologies of travelers based on 7 personality traits analysed (dynamism, vulnerability, empathy, conscientiousness, imagination, defensiveness and introversion). The traveler is always been seen as client and consumer, like a social actor or like a targeted market, rather than an individual; this is why I started to be interested by the personality of travelers. The analysis involved a multicultural sample of 740 travelers from 71 different countries; using tools such as the personality test ITAPI-G (Perussia). In a previous research it was investigated how each of the 7 traits, analysed in the ITAPI-G test, suggests aspects, behaviours and preferences of the traveler. The aim of the research was to verify, using a cluster analysis, if it would have been possible to design several different typologies of travelers. The cluster analysis shows 4 typologies of travelers: self-centered runaway traveler, social-adrenaline traveler, emotional-dreamer traveler, introvert-programmer traveler. This traveler clustering gives the opportunity to design four travel experiences of the same location. Designing tailor made travels, based on the personality of every traveler, gives them the opportunity to satisfy their own needs and to be heard in a deeper dimension; this kind of prospective gives new opportunities to the travel industry.