Developing a revised competitive position for Sun/Lost City, South Africa

The study tested the efficacy of a positioning model for tourists engaged in a high-involved destination selection process in the context of Sun/Lost City, South Africa. Data were collected by personal interviews with a convenience sample of 302 visitors at the resort. The data were used to identify Sun/Lost City's strengths compared to its main competitors in meeting visitors' push factor needs, in the destinations' attributes, and in surmounting visitors' situational inhibitors. Key differentiating attributes from each of these three sets of variables were used to formulate a suggested position for Sun/Lost City. Data confirmed both the funneling effects of choice sets and the roles of passive and active information search that were postulated in the model.