Outdoor tourism demand segmentation: a case study from North of Portugal

Outdoor tourism has been practised substantially in the last few years, particularly in the pandemic period when outdoor activities increased considerably (Silva et al., 2021). Outdoor tourism can be understood as the practise of outdoor activities (Ferreira et al., 2021) classified as hard or soft (Tsaur et al., 2020; UNWTO, 2014). These activities often take place in nature, protected areas, urban parks, and rural areas (Derek et al., 2019). Furthermore, outdoor tourism is considered one of the fastest-growing subcomponents of tourism and a trend in line with the principles of sustainability and environmental awareness (Valizadeh & Khoorani, 2020). Demand for outdoor activities encourages innovation, especially during uncertainty. Indeed, practitioners of outdoor activities seek health and have shown a growing interest in different activities and have adopted new behaviours, creating an opportunity for organisations to innovate (Hansen et al., 2019).