| Summary: | Tourists are not homogenous; they have different needs and wants regarding their ideal holiday. It therefore implies that tourists are heterogeneous and their needs keeps on changing overtime. Given the above, market segmentation becomes an important strategy to assess the differences and or similarities of the tourists. Market segmentation means the grouping of tourists into smaller market segments based on similarities in terms of needs but also separating market segments based on dissimilar needs from the other market segments. Market segmentation has been used in the tourism industry to maximise on opportunities for competitive advantage but also to ensure that the needs of
tourists are met. It is therefore important to understand visitor needs and motivations that attract them to visit a particular destination. This is important to ensure sufficient demand for the destination but also to position the destination correctly in the market place. Further to this, the understanding of the pull
factors for tourists to visit a particular destination is crucial for successful marketing and promotional strategies by the destination. The aim of this study was to profile the market segments of international tourists to Lesotho and what motivates them to visit the country. The study adopted a quantitative
research methodology and used questionnaires as a data collection instrument. The survey was carried out over a 12 months period from April 2016 to April 2017, at eight border posts, namely: Calendonspoort, Maputsoe Bridge, Maseru Bridge, Peka Bridge, Qacha’s Nek Gate, Sani Pass, Vanroovens Gate, and Moshoeshoe International Airport. A total of 5,264 questionnaires were successfully completed. Questionnaires were distributed throughout the whole year with approximately 500 completed each month. The research only focused on those visitors who stayed overnight during their visit in Lesotho. The results infer that the main segment of international visitors to Lesotho are leisure and visiting friends whilst religion and business tourists are the secondary segments
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