Introducción Isoflavonas de Soja

Tourists’ demographics and psychographics influence their behaviour, as well as explain their expressed views on, and attitudes towards, tourism offerings (Veisten, Haukeland, Baardsen, Odemark & Grue, 2015). Veisten et al. (2015) further explain that the demographic profiles concerned satisfy the need for more knowledge and for an improved understanding of the needs and expectations of the different tourists involved. The above, according to Lang and O’Leary (1997), enables a destination to create different marketing strategies that cater for the needs and expectations of different types of tourists from different geographies, age groups, occupations, genders, and economic and educational backgrounds.

In relation to the above, the current study saw the need to incorporate the tourists’ views on tourism offerings in Zimbabwe. In the study, the gender and age profiles, the educational background, the economic status, the employment/occupation, and the countries of origin and residence of the respondents were analysed with a view to gaining an enhanced understanding of their needs and expectations over the tourism offerings of Zimbabwe.

5.3.1.1 Gender profile of the tourists

The gender profile of the tourists concerned was strikingly similar to that of the resident respondents, with the female respondents forming 58% of the total, whereas the male respondents formed 42% thereof. Table 5.10 shows the results that were obtained in such respect. The gender profiles showed that more women than men participated in the study.

Despite the differences, the result indicated that both genders were fairly represented in the study.

Table 5.10: Gender profile of the respondents (n=223, in %)

Gender Total (n=223, in %)

Female 58%

Male 42%

5.3.1.2 Age of the tourists

When the respondents were asked to indicate their age, the majority (32%) indicated that they were between 35 and 54 years old, with such percentage being followed by the 22% who indicated that they fell in the age group 55 to 64 years old. A considerable number (19%) of respondents indicated that they were 65 years of age, or over. Of the respondents, 16% fell in the 25 to 34 years old age group, while only 11% fell between 18 and 24 years of age. The age profiles of the tourists are portrayed in Table 5.11 below. The results showed that there was an equal distribution of the age groups that participated in the study, which assisted in obtaining results that were not biased towards only one age group.

As a consequence of the above facts, the views that were obtained and analysed in the current section were representative of all the age groups of tourists visiting Zimbabwe. Alen et al.

(2016) indicate that obtaining the age profiles of tourists is important for tourism planners, for knowing their age facilitates coming to an understanding of the tendency to travel, the motivation to travel, based on pull and push factors, and the travel characteristics of tourists of different ages. Based on the above, the importance of such findings for the current study might have been that they informed Zimbabwe of the differences and similarities in the travel patterns of the tourists of different ages visiting the country. Such knowledge might assist Zimbabwean tourism to cater for the needs and expectations of all the tourist age groups concerned.

Table 5.11: Age profile of the respondents (n=223, in %)

Age groups Total (n=223, in %)

18–24 11

25–34 16

35–54 32

55–64 22

>65 19

5.3.1.3 Economic status of the tourists

Of the respondents, only 4% indicated that they were either below average economically (1%), or poor (3%). The majority of the respondents indicated that their economic status was average (55%), above average (21%), or affluent (20%). The results that are portrayed in Table 5.12 below show that the majority of tourists visiting Zimbabwe were those travelling with a high

budget, meaning that they could have been regarded as high-spending tourists, who were likely to stay longer than average at a destination. George (2008) postulates that high-budget tourists tend to spend more and to stay longer than average at a destination. Hence, the result entails that the country’s current markets were high-budget tourists, making their views important for policy formulation and planning, helping to ensure that they tended to revisit destinations, as well as to spend and stay longer when visiting.

Table 5.12: Economic status of the respondents (n=223, in %)

Status Total (n=223, in %)

Poor 3

Below-average 1

Average 55

Above-average 21

Affluent 20

5.3.1.4 Highest educational qualification of the tourists

The educational qualifications of the respondents showed that most of the travellers to Zimbabwe had a good educational background. When they were asked to indicate their highest educational qualification, over half of the respondents (55%) indicated that they had completed a postgraduate degree, whereas 27% had completed an undergraduate degree. The respondents who had attained a diploma/certificate, and those who had completed their secondary schooling constituted 8%, respectively. Only 2% of the respondents indicated that they had completed their primary schooling. The results showed that the tourists who visit Zimbabwe tend to have a good educational background. This might mean that they have some knowledge on the concept of tourism, hence their views might also assist in the management of the tourism offering in the country. Table 5.13 below presents the findings that were made in such regard.

Table 5.13: Highest educational qualification of the respondents (n=223, in %)

Highest level of education Total (n=223, in %)

Primary schooling completed 2

Secondary schooling completed 8

Diploma or certificate 8

Undergraduate degree completed 27

Postgraduate degree completed 55

5.3.1.5 Employment status, or occupation, of the tourists

Table 5.14 on the next page presents the findings that were made in relation to the employment status / occupation of the respondents. Only 1% of the respondents indicated that they were labour/unskilled. All the others were either employed, students, or pensioners. The findings on the employment status / occupation concur with ZTA’s (2015) Zimbabwe’s Annual Tourism

Statistics and Trends Report. According to the report, most people who travel to Zimbabwe are either pensioners, business people, or full-time employed. Accordingly, the findings of the current study indicate that 33% of the respondents were full-time employed, while 26% were business people, and 25% were pensioners.

Only 13% of the respondents indicated that they were students, probably being those who travelled for history and education purposes. Only 2% of the respondents indicated that they were part-time. The results, in terms of employment status, indicate that most people travelling to Zimbabwe have a good background in terms of employment, which means that they are aware of the need for the responsible use of resources. Hence, their views were deemed relevant in achieving the current study’s objectives.

Table 5.14: Employment status, or occupation, of the respondents (n=223, in %)

Employment status / occupation Total (n=223, in %)

Full-time 33

Part-time 2

Unemployed (student) 13

Unemployed (retired) 25

Labour/unskilled 1

Business person 26

5.3.1.6 Country of origin of the tourists

The respondents were asked to indicate their country of origin. Table 5.15 below presents the results that were obtained in such regard. Saftic et al. (2011), as well as Slaba (2016), indicate that the originator region of a tourist is one of the main important pieces of information to obtain when profiling tourists. Obtaining such information assists in understanding the spending patterns of tourists from different regions, as well as in making strategies that meet their expectations. The majority (37%) of the respondents indicated that they originated from Europe, followed by the 33% who indicated that they were African travellers. Australia and Asia constituted the country of origin of 19% of the respondents. The respondents from the USA amounted to 9%, whereas those from Brazil and the UAE totalled 1%, respectively.

The above-mentioned results could be evidence that Zimbabwe might have been regaining the trust of its former major tourist markets, who had stopped coming to the country due to the early 2000s travel bans imposed on the country (Chingarande, 2014). The results obtained were important in the current study, because the views from the country’s major tourist markets, as well as those from the emerging markets, were learned. The results, in such regard, confirm those of the ZTA (2000) and Chingarande (2014), who highlight the fact that Zimbabwe’s major tourist markets originate from the USA, Europe, Australia, and Canada.

The result might also show that Zimbabwe tends to receive a number of tourists from within the African continent. The above confirms the findings made by the ZTA (2015) and the ZIMSTAT (2016), which both indicate that the major tourist markets of Zimbabwe are from mainland Africa. The result shows that South Africa had the highest number of travellers (17%) to the country in 2016. The above could be acceptable, given that research has proven that South Africa is Zimbabwe’s main source market (ZIMSTAT, 2016; ZTA, 2015). The 2% of respondents from the UAE and Brazil combined confirms ZTA’s (2015) report findings that there are growing, or potential, tourist markets in the Middle East and South American regions of the world.

Table 5.15: Country of origin of the respondents (n=223, in %)

Country of origin Total (n=223, in %)

5.3.1.7 Tourists’ country of residence, if not country of origin

A follow-up question was proposed to the respondents to indicate their country of residence, if it differed from their country of origin. From the small number of respondents with a different residence status, 14% indicated that they resided in South Africa, whereas 2% resided in the UK. Table 5.16 below presents the findings that were made in such regard. The respondents concerned might have been ex-Zimbabweans who had immigrated to the other countries.

Mutana and Zinyemba (2013), as well as Simon (2017), highlight that, since the Zimbabwean economy began to fall in 2000, a number of Zimbabweans have immigrated to other countries,

where they have since acquired residence status. In relation to the above, the result could justify why Zimbabwe’s VFR tourism markets are growing, since such people would tend to visit their friends and relatives whom they had left behind.