Diverse Expenditure Patterns of International Tourists on Santiago Island—Cape Verde

ABSTRACT

Tourism is a relevant economic activity to promote the economic development of island destinations. This paper aims to segment the international market of Santiago Island in Cape Verde, based on tourism expenditures (accommodation, food and beverages, and transport). A total of 330 international tourists were interviewed. A hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out and analysis of variance, Kruskal–Wallis and Chi-square tests were undertaken to identify the profile of each segment. Three clusters emerged: the local products spenders, the supporting services spenders and the lodging spenders. The clusters differed in motivations, travel behavior, loyalty and sociodemographic profile. This study highlights several issues that should be considered when designing tourism development strategies to promote the economic development of island destinations.

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism expenditures
• segmentation
• international tourism market
• island destinations
• Santiago Island—Cape Verde

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.