**3. Methodology**

*Tourism*

The tangible product according to them represents the physical manifestation of the core product that facilitates the need satisfaction. They give examples detailing,

The final level in their classification constitutes augmented products, which provide additional features above and beyond the tangible product that add value and facilitate easier satisfaction of the core need. It could be something such as a free shuttle to and from the hotel, the provision of umbrellas for rainy days, a souvenir

Slightly different approach developed by [9], which is called 'product culture model' views cultural tourism products in terms of four elements. These are *essence of product*, which the consumer receives to fulfill a need; *real product*, which encompasses those features that distinguish a product from those in the market; *processed real product,* where marketing interventions via promotional materials are done; and *additional product*, which explain the additional benefits and services added to the core one. At the heart of the model is *real product*, which encompasses the five product lines: tangible symbolic representations, intangible symbolic representations, staged symbolic representations, replicated symbolic representations, and

It can be concluded that though several cultural tourism product definitions and models exist [19], almost all of them place culture at the heart of the models with

Cultural tourists are an easily recognizable market niche [25]; and in wide body of literature [23, 26–29], they are highly regarded as visitors who tend to stay longer, spend more and travel in low seasons. In addition to this, they are also older, better educated, and more affluent than the traveling public as a whole [13] where women constitute a significant share. Furthermore, cultural tourists join in more activities than other tourists [26]. However, according to [30], these characteristics do not reliably represent cultural tourists; and as a result of this, there are several cultural

The majority of cultural tourist typologies that exist these days are either adopted or elaborated versions of framework developed by [23]. This typology, which was tested in Hong Kong in 1999 and adopted widely by governmental and quasi-governmental agencies, identifies five types of cultural tourists based on centrality of trip purpose and depth of experience at destinations. First there is the *purposeful cultural tourist* to whom cultural tourism is the primary motive for visiting a destination, and the individual has a deep cultural experience. Then they identified the *sightseeing cultural tourist* to whom cultural tourism is a primary or major reason for visiting a destination, but the experience is shallower. The *serendipitous cultural tourist* is the one who does not travel for cultural tourism reasons, but who, after participating, ends up having a deep cultural tourism experience; while to the *casual cultural tourist, cultural* tourism is a weak motive for visiting a destination, and the resultant experience is shallow. Finally there is the *incidental cultural tourist,* who tourist does not travel for cultural tourism reasons but nonetheless participates in some activities and has shallow experiences. They concluded that most cultural tourists at a multi-product destination can be classified as casual or incidental; and

*"It is the historic fort that is entered, the battlefield site that is visited, the museum that is seen, the cultural tour that is joined, or the festival that is attended. The tangible product is not the core experience provided. It is the means by which the* 

*core need can be satisfied." ([23], p. 155).*

at the end of a tour, or a money back guarantee.

transferable symbolic representations.

learning being the major core product.

**2.2 Cultural tourists**

tourism typologies [12].

**322**

Sidama Region is one of the 14 administrative states in Ethiopia. The region covers a total area of 72,000 square kilometers and is located in southern hemisphere around Equator in Horn of Africa at 6°14'N and 7°18'N latitude and 37°92′E and 39°19′E [20]. With the population of over 4 million inhabitants, the administrative structure of Sidama region constitutes 21 *woredas* (districts), 532 rural *kebeles* (counties) and 4 town administrations. With over 592, 539 households, the region has a population density 452p/km2 , which makes it one of the mostly densely populated areas in the state [20]. The cultural and ethnographical riches of Sidama make it attractive to academic and industrial inquiries and this is the major reason the researcher was drawn to the study area (**Figure 1**).

This research adopted a descriptive research design employing a survey-based quantitative research approach. This is because quantitative approaches are common in cultural tourism research and have been in use since [34] work on the motivations of American cultural travelers. As [11] contend, the practice of conducting surveys of cultural tourists is well established in destinations around the world. This is mainly because of the advantages surveys provide in studying visitor activities, motivations, behavior and expenditure patterns. Surveys are also a useful means of monitoring trends over time. Several surveys in cultural tourism involve visitors and in most cases, foreign tourists [11].

**Figure 1.** *Map of Sidama region, Ethiopia.*

Because including whole population in surveys is impossible or unfeasible due to factors associated with data management and cost [11], taking samples becomes a necessity. As the subjects of this study were international tourists to Sidama Zone, convenient sampling method was employed to target them. This was done with the view to catch cultural tourists as representatively as possible given the limited international visitor flow the area. Across the survey, questionnaire was administered to 375 international tourists who visited Sidama zone during the study period. The sample size of was determined by applying the [35] formula, n = N/1 + N(α <sup>2</sup> ); Where, n = Expected Sample Size, N = Population Size and α = Level of Confidence Interval 0.05 or 95% level of confidence, out of 8100 international tourists who visited Sidama in 2015/16 based on the data obtained [20].

The questionnaire was designed either as an interviewer-assisted or selfcompletion one; and questions were translated in to German and French in addition to original English versions. International tourists were approached for data collection after trips to cultural tourist villages and other cultural attractions in Sidama and on *fiche cambalala* festival*.* The data collection was conducted between January and October 2018 as these months embrace most cultural festivals which attract international tourists [20].

Data analysis was conducted on 302 questionnaires after 7 of them had been excluded because of partial completion out of a 309 collected papers. The data was analyzed using statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22; and tables have been used to present outputs of processed data.
