In order to understand what tourism destinations need to offer, it is important to know the demand side in depth. The major methods to evaluate on it was a tourist survey. On top of that informal interviews and participant observation were conducted. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders were giving insights into the demand side.

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Outcome of the tourist survey

Questionnaire

As mentioned in the methodology, this research has used a questionnaire as a survey method to obtain information about the existing demand in the Canggu area. The results of the questionnaire can be divided into three major findings: the demographics, the motivation to travel (push factors) and the activities tourists took part in (pull factors).

 

First, as seen in image 1, almost half of the respondents, 41%, stay in the Canggu area for more than 7 nights. Therefore, it can be stated that tourists in the Canggu area are long-stay visitor and not day visitors. When looking at the age of the respondents, there is an age range in which the majority of the respondents have responded, which is between 20 and 36 years. When looking at the nationalities of tourists, most respondents currently reside in Germany (13,1%), Australia (11%), the Netherlands (9,6%), the United Kingdom (8,2%), the United States (7,5%), France (6,2%), Indonesia and Russia (both 4,8%). Furthermore, the majority of the respondents is female (63,1%) and 36.9% is male. Finally, most tourists are traveling by themselves within the Canggu area, followed by traveling with friends and traveling with partner. After analyzing the demographics of the respondents, the motivation to travel, or the so-called push factors, are analyzed through a factor analysis in SPSS. In the factor analysis, the items of the questionnaire that show relationship to one another are grouped. From this analysis, five groups of tourists are categorized, with all their own characteristics and activities. The first group of respondents has the commonality of taking part in sports activities and enjoying the sun and water. The second group has the characteristics of sharing experiences through social media and going shopping. The third group has enjoying landscape, nature and local culture in common. Then, the fourth group participate in nightlife and meet new people. Finally, the fifth group enjoys healthy food and lifestyle and takes time for themselves.

 

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Finally, the activities tourists took part in, or the so-called pull factors, are analyzed the same way as the push factors. Through the factor analysis, activities that show a relationship between one another are grouped. From this analysis, four groups are categorized, with all their own characteristics and activities. The first group of respondents has the commonality to enjoy landscape, nature and local culture. The second group of respondents takes part in sport activities, takes time for themselves and enjoys the sun and water. The third group shares experiences through social media, enjoys healthy food and lifestyle, goes shopping, takes time for partner, friends and or family and experiences a variety of culinary offerings. Finally, the fourth group participates in nightlife and meets new people.

 

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With some motivations that tourists had in the beginning, some tourists did a lot of activities while they are in Canggu area. From what they did in Canggu area, then we can define them into 4 groups.

 

Short informal interviews with tourists

While taking the questionnaire, short informal interviews have been done with either the respondents or their travel parties. The main focus of these informal interviews was on how often they had visited the Canggu area before, so if the tourists was a repeat visitor, and to gain in-depth information on why they had chosen the Canggu area for their holiday, which is directly related to the questionnaire item about the activities they took part in. From these short informal interviews, the main finding was that all questioned tourists fit into one of the two following options:

1. The tourist has come to Canggu for a longer time, but is starting to dislike the developments taking place in the area and is not planning on returning.

2. The tourist has not been or has been after 2016 to the Canggu area before and is very enthusiastic about the area and is planning on returning.

 

Furthermore, the tourists that have mentioned option 1 as their case, also talked about how the quietness, landscape, nature and the local culture has always been their reason to come to the Canggu area and how it is now disappearing. It has been stated by this group that the Canggu area is becoming crowded. Then, surfing is also mentioned as one of the activities that is decreasing in attractiveness for these type of tourists, because it stated to become more like a beginner spot instead of the advanced spot it used to be.

 

Outcome of the participant observations

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Outcome of the semi-structured interviews

Different interviewees show different opinions about the demand in the Canggu area. First, interviewee 7, 8 and 18 all mention that many instagrammers visit the Canggu area and specifically their business. They take pictures of their products and share them with the rest of the world. Furthermore, interviewee 6 and 9 both mention to see working visitors in their enterprise. These are business people who need a working space outside, other than their homes. Also, health conscious and vegan customers are mentioned to be seen by interviewee 3. Finally, both interviewee 8 and 12 mention to see a surfer type in the Canggu area. They are characterized to be laid back and alternative backpackers.

 

The visitor profile

The three field research methods used within this research formed the base of triangulated data about the visitor profile. The results show that the profile can be divided into four types of profiles:

 

The authenticity seekers: The authenticity seekers is a group of tourists that have their focus on landscapes, nature and the local culture. This group is looking for an authentic experience. For the Canggu area, rice fields still dominate the area, which is an important aspect for the authenticity seekers. Also, the different banjars in the area play a role in the preservation of the local culture by maintaining local traditions and celebrations.

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The active travelers: The active traveler is a group of tourists that focuses on sports activities. Through the factor analysis, it has shown that taking time for themselves and enjoying sun and water are related activities to this group of travelers. From observations and interviews, it is stated that the Canggu area is known as a surf spot and yoga is practiced by many visitors. From different interviews, this group of travelers is characterized with a laid back style.

 

The multi experiencers: The multi experiencers is a group of people that are connected with several activities in the Canggu area. The activities that seem to have a connection through the factor analysis are enjoying healthy food and lifestyle, enjoying a variety of cuisines, sharing through social media, shopping and taking time for partner, friends and or family. This connects with the observations and interviews, which have shown that social media is a popular activity within the Canggu area.

 

The networkers: Networkers are kinds of tourists that show a relation to nightlife participation and meeting new people. Also, through participant observation, it has shown that digital nomads are a group of people that fit into this tourist profile. Finally, interviewees mention to see this group of tourists in their businesse

                                    

Market shift

When combining all field research methods, the tourist survey, the observations and the interviews, data shows there is a shift in the market taking place at this moment. In the Canggu area, there is a shift from the traditional markets towards new market segments. First, the traditional market segments are based on the characteristics of nature, local culture, intermediate or advance surfers, less crowded areas and with a focus on individualism. Now, the market is shifting towards new market segments with characteristics such as social media sharing, healthy food and lifestyle, beginner surfers, shopping, multi experiences, bars and cafés and with a focus on the mass. At the moment of doing field research, it has shown that the traditional market is still present at the destination, thus is declining.