Marketing to the visiting friends and relatives segment: an international analysis

Abstract

This paper provides a unique analysis of the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market across four different countries. It highlights that this market, although substantial at both the domestic and international levels, is poorly understood and that certain common assumptions made by travel marketers about VFRs are inaccurate. Marketing directors’ attitudes toward the VFR market are measured in a special study of VFR marketing in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. Successful cases of VFR marketing in these countries are described.