Developing a Typology for Understanding Visiting Friends and Relatives Markets

This study seeks to classify visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel and to explore the linkage between VFR travel types and commercial tourism in an empirical study. The VFR phenomenon is multifaceted, making it hard to integrate research findings. This article proposes an initial typology of VFR travel and positions the major existing studies within this typology. Using data from Queensland, Australia, an examination is made of the relationships between the proposed variables and VFR travel and behavior patterns. The data set gave the researchers the ability to identify VFR as either a prime trip motive or one of a set of activities or regional attractions. The study provides an activities-based segmentation of this type of VFR traveler and attempts to connect different segments to both travel patterns and the variables in the proposed typology.