Ready for the train? Segmentation analysis of travelers to identify those who can be attracted to rail

Abstract Tourism is an important driver of economic activity in many countries, yet it is also associated with a number of negative externalities. In a quickly warming climate, special attention is being given to tourism-related CO2 emissions, which largely result from travel to and within destinations. Rail travel shows significantly lower emissions than other modes of transportation, but the factors that can increase rail's share in vacation travel vary among different segments of the population, as does the ability of different stakeholders to influence these factors. In this study, we use stated preference data of visitors to the Austrian Alps to identify clusters of travelers with different preferences and different propensities to switch modes. Further, by scrutinizing the attributes that can increase the utility of rail in clusters, we provide a foundation for tailored marketing and effective policy design that can initiate a shift from road to rail. Our findings demonstrate that travel costs are important across clusters, but manipulating them hinges on government interventions. Improved mobility services at the destination, on the other hand, are easier to implement and show great potential in increasing the share of sustainable transportation modes both to and within the destination. We find three clusters: Service-Oriented, Car-Committed, and Budget Travelers, that differ substantially in terms of their preferences concerning long-distance travel mode choice. However, difficulties in predicting cluster affiliation ex-ante prevent us from addressing clusters independently, which would be required to implement targeted actions.