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The purpose of this study is to identify best practices in the implementation of market segmentation via expenditure in tourism research so that the practical potential of this technique can be realized. Market segmentation on the basis of expenditure has tremendous practical potential for tourism destinations, yet the volume of research remains slim. This article examines 20 studies of market segmentation based on expenditure in tourism research in order to identify issues and challenges which currently impede the growth of this area and its translation to policy.

The studies reviewed are analyzed on four dimensions, namely, the tourism market context, the specification of the expenditure variable, data source and sample size and the methodological approach.

To identify commonalities across big spending tourists, tourism markets should be categorized and the expenditure variable clearly specified. Studies using a relatively simple bivariate statistical analysis have more practical usefulness than those using a slightly more complex multivariate approach.

While the articles studied have been selected to include seminal and widely cited early studies and to provide a broad overview, no other selection criteria were established. The study is not exhaustive, and further research could be more broadly inclusive.

Expenditure segmentation if utilized by tourism planners can help maximize revenue from smaller tourism numbers. The results of this article show the most useful research path for practical application.

There is no prior study reviewing the literature using expenditure segmentation in the tourism context. Providing such an overview will facilitate further use of this research tool.

Academic studies have sought to understand the motivations of festival and event attendees usually through single-event case studies. This approach has failed to generate a generalizable set of motivation items. In addition, there is increasing criticism in the literature of the common methodological framework used in festival motivation studies, due to a perceived over-reliance on motivations derived from the broader tourism and travel research, with too little attention to event-specific factors. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues by analyzing a sub-category of motivation studies, music festivals, in order to see if this approach can elicit a consistent set of motivation dimensions for the sub-category, which can in turn be compared and contrasted with the broader literature. A new case study of motivations to attend the 28th Macau International Music Festival (MIMF) is included to complement the existing music festival sub-category by adding a classical music and music festivals in Asia.

Motivation dimensions important to music festivals are compared to dimensions across the broader festival motivation literature to find similarities and differences. Factor analysis is used to identify the motivation dimensions of attendees at the MIMF and the results are compared to those of existing music festival studies.

Music festival goers are shown to be primarily motivated by the core festival offering, the music, in contrast to festival attendees in general, where socialization has emerged as the primary motivating element. The results of the additional case study support these findings.

In contrast to previous research, this study examines the possibility of identifying common motivations among festival attendees through studying festivals by sub-categories.

This paper aims to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing the performing arts as one element in changing the destination image of the Macau special administrative region from that of the Las Vegas of the East to a “World Centre of Tourism and Leisure”. The context is of particular interest as rebranding is typically associated with negative or outdated images, whereas Macau’s existing brand is strong and associated with positive tourism revenues.

Semi-structured in-depth interviews with frontline participants in Macau’s performing arts sector are utilized to evaluate the relevant re-branding strategies and goals of the city’s administration. In-depth interviews focus on understanding policies through the thoughts and experiences of respondents. They are particularly useful in cases where insiders are likely to be better informed than others with respect to policy issues.

Three main themes related to the use of the performing arts as a vehicle for destination rebranding are explored. Findings suggest that few elements common to successful branding campaigns are evident in the approach of the Macau administration. Shortcomings are evident, for example, in communication, infrastructure development, long-term planning and the allocation and monitoring of funding.

Although qualitative research relies on rich data from small numbers, the study focuses only on the views of informed insiders in the performing arts. Input from commercial stakeholders and higher-level policy makers would broaden the perspective.

The findings are relevant for any destination wishing to alter or update its image.

Cultural aspects are increasingly utilized in destination branding. This study is one of only a few which focuses on the performing arts sector.