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Special Interest Travel: Reflections, Rejections and Reassertions

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Consumer Tribes in Tourism

Abstract

The term special interest tourism (SIT) first appeared in the tourism literature nearly three decades ago and continues to be used as a label by tourism scholars, researchers and educators. Given SIT is most robust as a demand construct, this chapter uses the acronym SIT to refer to special interest travel and special interest travellers. The chapter traces the development of SIT, identifying milestones for both SIT and other closely related terms that have gained traction in the tourism literature in recent decades. The similarities, differences and overlaps between SIT, neo-tribal tourism and serious leisure are discussed and presented as a diagram. The chapter concludes with avenues for further research and implications for marketing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia

    Betty Weiler & Tracey Firth

Authors
  1. Betty Weiler
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  2. Tracey Firth
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Correspondence to Tracey Firth .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marketing, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

    Christof Pforr

  2. School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia

    Ross Dowling

  3. School of Marketing, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

    Michael Volgger

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Weiler, B., Firth, T. (2021). Special Interest Travel: Reflections, Rejections and Reassertions. In: Pforr, C., Dowling, R., Volgger, M. (eds) Consumer Tribes in Tourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7150-3_2

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