Basic characteristics of the fall tourism market

To mitigate the ill-effects of seasonality in the tourism industry, efforts to attract tourists during non-peak seasons must become more effective, but this can be accomplished only by better understanding the nature of low season markets. To enhance our understanding of the fall tourism market, this article presents insights gained from a telephone survey of households in the Great Lakes region. Fall tourists, compared to their summer counterparts, were found to be older, less likely to travel with children, and less active in recreation. Fall color viewing rarely motivated trips and was much more prevalent as an ancillary activity. Distinct types of fall tourists were identified based on patterns of participation in trip activities and whether trips began during the early, middle, or late fall.