A Study on Segmentation of Preferred Characteristics of Rural Tourists after COVID-19 Using Decision Tree Analysis

Purpose - The purpose of this study was to explore and diagnose the characteristics and behavioural patterns of rural tourists after COVID-19 using decision tree analysis to classify and identify key segmentation groups. Design/methodology/approach - The CHAID algorithm was used as the analysis technique for the decision tree. The explanatory variables used in the analysis of each decision tree model were demographic variables and rural tourism usage behaviour and perception variables, and the target variables were the preferences of rural tourists' activities after COVID-19. From the Rural Tourism 2020 survey data, 614 samples with rural tourism experience were extracted and used in the analysis. Findings - The variables that significantly explained the preference for each type of rural tourism activity after COVID-19 were rural tourism safety perception, repeated visits to the region, rural tourism priority activity, rural tourism accommodation experience, gender, age group, marital status, occupation, and education level. Among them, rural tourism safety perception was the most important explanatory variable in each analysis model. Research implications or Originality - Overall, to promote rural tourism, it is necessary to enhance the safety image of rural tourism, strengthen loyalty programs for repeat visitors, and develop customized products that reflect the preferred trends of rural tourism.