Motivation-based Market Segmentation in Rural Tourism: the Case of Sámán, Iran

Market segmentation is a pivotal and under-investigated issue when evaluating decision-making processes and motivational factors shaping rural tourism. The present study has examined market segmentsof rural tourists in Iran based on their sociodemographic attributes, travel characteristics and preferred leisure activities, profiling rural tourists on the base of their motivational background. The survey results indicated that rural tourism in the study area is a heterogeneous market, whose development depends on general trends in Middle East tourism market. A comprehensive knowledge of rural tourism actors may help formulating appropriate marketing strategies for internal areas destined to tourism growth.