Defining the Tourist: Is It Possible? A View from the Convention and Visitors Bureau

Abstract

Defining a tourist is a difficult proposition, as shown by the use of dissimilar definitions in various books, articles, re search reports, and serials. This article investigated the defi nitions used by research managers at convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs). Distance traveled is used most often to identify the tourist, but the figure used to identify that same tourist fluctuates between 20 and 150 miles. The type of indi vidual from whom CVBs seek information also varies with the number of CVBs that contact these types and the fre quency of the contact. The significance of these data is that the individuals used to describe the tourist and measure tour ist behavior is inconsistent between the various CVBs.