Gender, travel party and Great Barrier Reef travel experiences

Abstract

Many of those involved in marketing and studying tourist behaviour behave as if this realm of social activity is gender free or neutral. One of the claims for not considering gender issues in more detail is that simple male female comparisons tend not to demonstrate major or significant differences. But such simplistic comparisons can hide significant and complex patterns of gender relationships with other variables. The present study, guided by a social identities approach, explored profiles of women travelers in different travel groups visiting Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR). A detailed examination of gender and travel party indicated complex patterns in which female travelers varied both from other females in different groups and from male travelers across all of the groups on a variety of features of their GBR travel.