Year: 2008 Volume: 1 Issue: b

Abstract: This research is set in the context of tourism marketing and refers specifically to tourist roles. A representative sample of 1675 tourists brings to light the tourist role preference in Greece, and allows us to examine the possible differences between men and women of varying ages. The Tourist Role Preference Scale (TRPS) was used for this research. The findings of this study support the existence of Yiannakis and Gibson’s 15 leisure tourist roles in Greece. Sun lover, anthropologist, archaeologist, independent mass tourist and escapist were found to be the most prevalent tourist roles in Greece. A comparison between gender and age revealed more similarities than differences. TRPS was proven reliable and valid for the sample used in this study and the questions of the scale represented significantly the tourist roles measured.