The use of repertory grid analysis to elicit salient short break holiday destination attributes in New Zealand

Repertory Grid Analysis was developed almost fifty years ago, but its application in destination image research has been rare. The technique was used to identify 17 attributes deemed salient to New Zealanders, when differentiating domestic short break holiday destinations. These were then compared to those attributes used in 84 previous destination studies, as well as with results from personal interviews with tourism practitioners. A number of differences between the Repertory Grid findings and practitioner opinion confirmed the value of seeking consumer input when developing attribute lists for use in structured surveys. While both the Repertory Grid findings and practitioner opinion showed a general consistency with the range of 100+ attributes used in the literature, key differences highlighted the importance of the New Zealand domestic travel context. The paper attempts to demonstrate the efficacy of Repertory Grid, an economical technique that has been underutilized by tourism market researchers.