Conceptual model For conceptualization reasons, the researchers pursued an a priori segmentation of the solo travel market. This approach is congruent with the procedure for a priori segmentation studies, as discussed in Dolnicar (2004), where “a subgroup of the total tourist population” is “determined by an a priori or commonsense criterion.” This procedure necessitated a two-by-two perspective, differentiating between the framework whence a traveler comes (that is, an outbound or trip-start perspective; a single, compared to a collective or multi-person household), compared to the framework one goes to (that is, a
inbound or trip-end perspective). This approach means that the social networks in which a traveler is embedded (household at home and group while traveling) are not identical (see Figure 1).