Typology of Foreign Tourists in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar Using Two-step Cluster Analysis: an Approach to Urban Planning

Market segmentation is a prerequisite of tourism planning success. Tourist segmentation based on psychological variables is in turn one of the most important, most operational methods in tourism market segmentation. Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive-analytical applied study was to segment the tourism market of Tehran, Iran through identification of the travel incentives and lifestyle characteristics of inbound tourists visiting the ancient Grand Bazaar of the city. The research population consisted of inbound tourists who visited Tehran Grand Bazaar from March 2017 to May 2018. A sample of 394 tourists was selected from the population through convenience sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire composed of 67 questions. To assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, content validity and Cronbach’s alpha were used. Data analysis was made in SPSS using factor analysis, cluster analysis, and K-square. To specify the number of samples required for factor analysis, the model presented by Everrit was used. In this study, fifteen incentive and lifestyle factors were identified, and four segments of inbound visitors were demonstrated. Based on the results of the analysis, the four clusters appeared to be appropriate, significant, and interpretational. To interpret and name the clusters, mean values were used. In accordance with the employed five-point Likert scale, mean values above or below 3.00 indicated the significance and insignificance of tourist incentive and lifestyle. The results demonstrated that the 394 respondents could be classified into four clusters: ideal seekers, behavioral fundamentalists, moderators, and special seekers. The cluster analysis indicated that the mean values for the factors relationship orientation, accessibility, special-seeking, self-valuation, conservativeness, cultural heritage, and occupational attachment were higher than 3.00 in all the clusters. This demonstrated that visitors in all the four segments were highly interested in interaction with other people, exploration of the local culture and the way of life therein, and visit to sights that their friends had never seen when traveling abroad. Specifically, ideal seekers would like to visit cultural and historic sites, to socialize with people, to do interesting activities, or to go the movies, the theater, an amusement park, a common party, or a festival or to a restaurant to have local cuisines. Behavioral fundamentalists included sociable, optimistic people interested in healthy, safe routines when traveling. Moderators exhibited moderate tendency to everything, but were unmotivated, careless buyers in their selection of products and services and their shopping behavior. Special seekers, who made up the second largest cluster in this study, were highly motivated and interested in exploration of different culture-nations, exposing themselves to different situations and interacting with other people. The results also indicated a significant positive relationship between demographic variables and clusters.