Research to Estimate and Manage Carrying Capacity of a Tourist Attraction: A Study of Alcatraz Island

Carrying capacity has been a long-standing issue in management of parks, outdoor recreation and tourism. Contemporary carrying capacity frameworks rely on formulation of indicators and standards of quality to define and manage carrying capacity. This paper describes a programme of research to support estimation and management of carrying capacity of Alcatraz Island, an historic site within Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California, USA, and a heavily visited tourist attraction. Research included: (1) a survey of visitors to Alcatraz Island to identify indicators and standards of quality for the visitor experience; and (2) development of a computer simulation model of visitor use to estimate maximum daily use levels without violating standards of quality. Study findings are used to estimate a range of carrying capacities for the prison cellhouse and for the island as a whole.     

Outcomes of Destination Marketing Organization Website Navigation: The Role of Telepresence

This study explores how informative and entertaining features of destination marketing organization (DMO) websites affect a sense of telepresence, and how these features affect visitors’ evaluation of the utilitarian and hedonic performances of such websites. This study further examines how DMO websites affect visitors’ familiarity with, interest in, and knowledge about a destination and their consequent intention to visit the destination. A total of 433 responses from United States (US) Internet users were collected in an online survey. The study results suggest that informative and entertaining telepresence is crucial in DMO web performance, making a destination appear more familiar and interesting to prospective visitors. This increases the likelihood that potential tourists will plan a trip to the destination.     

Environmentally Responsible Behavior in Ecotourism: Exploring the Role of Destination Image and Value Perception

Creating more environmental awareness among tourists and inducing environmentally responsible behavior is an essential precondition for, as well as consequence of, ecotourism. The aim of this study is to explore what role destination image and value perception play in shaping environmentally responsible behavior. A survey involving 332 valid questionnaires was conducted at an ecological area in Southern Taiwan. The results of structural equation modeling show that the cognitive image of the eco-site induces environmentally responsible behavior via its affective image and tourists' perceived value. Affective image and perceived value can subsequently enhance the environmental consciousness of tourists and their specific concern for the ecological environment, thus enhancing their environmentally responsible behavior at the eco-site. With environmentally responsible behavior an essential aspect in ecotourism, this study emphasizes destination image and value perception as important antecedents to environmentally responsible behavior. The study concludes with managerial suggestions.     

The City as a Destination

ABSTRACT

The findings of this original research provide a methodology that eliminates the subjectivity inherent in prior methods utilized to rank or gauge the capability of a city to attract delegates to conventions of professional associations. These new analytical techniques may also be employed to estimate convention attendee market shares, as well as determine reliable rankings of a destination's “attractiveness” and its financial or economic sustainability. The criteria identified in this study also comprise the “vital signs” for measuring a city's future health.     

Challenges for Competitive Strategy in Public and Private Sector Partnerships in Electronic National Tourist Destination Marketing Systems

Abstract

There are challenges and issues in the business environment for sustainable public and private sector partnerships in electronic national tourism destination marketing systems (DMS). These challenges and issues for partnerships, and their implications for the competitive strategy of the DMS, have been neglected in the research literature to date. The article documents the evolution of the need for, and trend to, public/private sector partnerships in electronic national DMS and explores the challenges and issues for their successful development. It then analyses the implications of such partnerships for the competitive strategy of the electronic national DMS and concludes with suggestions for further research regarding partnership, strategy and electronic national DMSs.     

The Importance of Food Safety in Travel Planning and Destination Selection

Summary

This study investigates the strength of the relationship between the destination choices of respondents and the perceived risk of food-borne illnesses, as well as respondents' sources of information regarding food safety prior to traveling. Results indicate that food safety was of secondary importance to respondents with frequent travelers more willing to discount the use of food safety in their travel decisions. Female respondents were likely to regard food safety as more important than their male counterparts. Africa was the top region that most respondents would avoid due to food safety concerns. Friends and relatives, travel agents, and magazines and newspapers were the most common sources turned to for health and food safety information. Travel agents were not perceived as a reliable source of food safety information.     

Guest Satisfaction Barometer and Benchmarking

Abstract

An increasing number of companies use customer satisfaction data for improvement programs, strategic decision making, and compensation schemes. Typically, single companies carry out satisfaction measurement for their own purposes. As a consequence, results are not comparable with other companies. Thus, valuable information on competition is not available and benchmarking is not possible. Moreover, in order to use satisfaction data for decision-making, it should be measured continuously and systematically. In practice, however, many firms do not have the required resources or competencies to carry out these research activities on their own. As a result, there is a lack of reliable data. The implementation of a customer satisfaction barometer seems to be a promising approach. It facilitates competitive benchmarking and delivers valuable information for quality improvement. provide participating hotels with information on overall satisfaction, attribute satisfaction, price satisfaction, complaining behavior, loyalty, word-of-mouth, etc.; (3) to identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as improving opportunities; and (4) to provide participating hotels with data for competitive benchmarking. Thirty-seven hotels participated in the pilot phase and data from more than 3,500 guests were collected. In order to illustrate the ideas of the guest satisfaction barometer and the benefits for the participating hotels, the authors first describe the basic ideas and guiding principles of the barometer and report some empirical findings to demonstrate how benchmarks can be used to improve quality and satisfaction. The paper closes with a summary of the experiences and some recommendations for future applications.     

旅游目的地地格的理论源流、本质与测度指标

全球化背景下,在旅游目的地开发与营销过程中忽视了地方的本质特征,旅游目的地竞争走向“无地方性”与“无个性”的地方趋同陷阱。地格理论融合地理学的地方性理论、营销学的品牌个性理论、旅游学的推拉理论以及管理学的资源基础论,提出旅游目的地开发与营销成功的关键是以地格为依托,即关注目的地长期积累形成的生活方式的本质特征,避免地方趋同。本文指出具有代表力、吸引力与竞争力的旅游地格是旅游目的地的品牌基因,还从旅游目的地政府、游客和居民视角出发,运用定性与定量相结合的方法,创建了由自然环境、人文环境与群体性格组成的地格因子体系。     

旅游者异质性对目的地绩效的影响研究

对于同一目的地,不同旅游者的旅游体验往往存在差异,因此,满意-绩效研究中应充分考虑旅游者异质性特征的影响.文章突破了传统的满意度均值和方差指标的局限,借助对网络游记的分析,创造性地构建了同质化满意与异质化满意两个新变量,更加有效地衡量了旅游者的同质性与异质性特征,并在此基础之上验证了两者与目的地绩效间的关系.文章通过对中国60个旅游城市数据的分析发现:以满意度均值衡量的满意同质性对绩效的影响显著(H1),但解释力有限;以往利用满意度方差来衡量旅游者满意异质性,进而提升对目的地绩效解释力的思路(H2),由于多重共线性问题难以真正实现;构建的同质化满意与异质化满意两个新变量,不仅对目的地绩效有显著的正向影响,而且在传统的满意度均值-绩效模型的基础之上具有较好的增益效度(H3、H4),这为旅游者群体特征及目的地绩效等领域的研究提供了有价值的启发.     

Design of Destination and Attraction-Specific Brochures

The design of destination and attraction-specific brochures is examined, with particular reference to attributes of attractiveness and utility. Results from three focus groups are employed to generate hypotheses, which can be tested. Implications are drawn on the design and use of brochures and their role in trip motivation and destination choice.     

The Impact of a Sport Mega-Event on Destination Image

Abstract

There is intense competition to host sports mega-events as cities and countries perceive that doing so will enhance their global image and make the destination more attractive to future tourists. Is there empirical evidence to prove that hosting a mega sport event really does stimulate international visitation and enhance the destination's image? In this paper we investigate this question in relation to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. To this end, 412 foreign tourists were surveyed during the World Cup about their image of South Korea. Differences in demographics, motive and perceptions between tourists travelling specifically for the World Cup, and those coming to South Korea for non-World Cup-related reasons, are noted. The study provides a baseline dataset from which future research on megasports events can build.     

An Overview of Benchmarking Literature

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review the concept of benchmarking with emphasis on its strengths and weaknesses and the methods by which it can be applied to tourist facilities and destinations. To achieve its aim, the paper presents several approaches to the benchmarking and benchmarking development. In doing this, it examines the perceived benefits and costs of benchmarking and the implementation process. It then examines the different benchmarking methods using qualitative and quantitative research to identify performance gaps. From this, weaknesses of past benchmarking research are addressed. Finally, it analyses the development of benchmarking within the tourism industry together with some examples and its limitations.     

The Role of Service Quality in Influencing Brand Attachments at Winery Visitor Centers

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to investigate the relationships between brand attachment and selected service quality variables in winery visitor centers. Brand Attachment was hypothesized to be a function of Customer Service, Visitor Education, Brand Differentiation, Appearance and Purchase Assistance. Data for the empirical study came from a mystery shopper program and the sample had 144 evaluations from 26 different wineries. Scales to measure the constructs were tested for reliability, and correlation and regression analysis on factor loadings were used to test the relationships between variables. All of the 5 factors correlate highly with Brand Attachment, with the most important factors appearing to be Visitor Education, Brand Differentiation and Customer Service.     

旅游地形象的时间演变与演变机制

旅游地形象是动态变化的,时间是旅游地形象动态变化的一个重要维度。现有旅游地形象研究主要从游客感知角度来解构旅游地形象属性,并对游客不同游览阶段、大事件前后的旅游地形象变化进行实证研究。少有文献对旅游地形象的季节波动、生命周期变化等时间演变问题进行探究,且相关研究多忽视了供给方层面的旅游地形象。研究认为,旅游地形象涉及旅游者和供给方两个层面,并分别包含感知形象和发射形象。研究对国内外旅游地形象时间演变的相关研究成果进行了梳理,包括旅游地形象随游览阶段的演变、事件前后的旅游地形象变化、旅游地形象的生命周期演变、旅游地形象的季节波动等,提出了更为系统的旅游地形象时间演变机制,并从供给方与游客两个层面对感知形象与发射形象的演变过程进行了分析。     

黑色叙事对旅游目的地引致形象的影响机制

"讲好故事"已成为塑造和传播国家和地方形象的重要手段。以"讲故事"为手段打造旅游目的地形象是一种国际通行的旅游目的地营销方式。现有旅游目的地叙事研究开展还很不充分,关注的叙事偏重于正面叙事材料,对负面叙事的关注还很不够。文章着眼于黑色叙事对旅游目的地引致形象的影响机制,以德国首都柏林作为研究案例,以著名历史游记《柏林:一座城市的肖像》(Berlin:Imagine a City)中关于柏林的系列黑色叙事和柏林旅游局在微信公众号发布的图片作为实验材料,通过招募志愿者参与包括4个阶段的混合研究设计,验证黑色叙事对柏林旅游目的地形象(认知、情感及意动)的复杂影响。研究的主要理论贡献在于:首先,验证了黑色叙事对旅游目的地形象具有显著影响,实证该影响主要透过"叙事主角-游客-自我形象一致性"这一主线发挥作用,明确了黑色叙事主角形象对黑色叙事引致旅游目的地形象的影响机理,丰富了叙事传输理论相关结论。其次,验证了黑色叙事引致情感形象在黑色叙事影响旅游目的地形象过程中的影响效应,发现黑色叙事引致情感形象(而非认知形象)是黑色叙事最终能够影响游客动机的关键。最后,在黑色叙事这一特定研究情境中,验证了目的...     

从韩流看"影视表象"与"旅游地形象"的构筑

近年来在影视作品引发下,韩国大众文化产品在日本广泛流行,形成"韩流"现象,并吸引了大批旅游者前往韩国旅游.现代大众旅游业中,旅游目的地的知名度是引发游客产生出游欲望的重要因素,而影视表象则促进了游客对于目的地集合性关注的形成.表象的特征是替代性与再现性,亦即具有非实在性特征.韩剧虚构的表象世界在与旅游地形象的重叠、交织下得以有形化,从而获得自身的空间性特征.影视旅游中游客通过亲身参与所产生的情感移入,最大程度地实现对影视作品所描绘的理想世界的融入.     

The "Value Stretch" Model and Its Implementation in Detecting Tourists' Class-Differentiated Destination Choice

The ôValue Stretchö model is illustrated and analyzed in this paper as an alternative tool for exposing the destination-choice behavior of tourists who share various background characteristics. This paper presents the theoretical background supporting the model and the research design needed in order to utilize it in applied research exposing touristsÆ destination choice behaviors. It also shows results of statistical analysis of data collected to learn about the destination-choice behavior of the North-West London Jewish community. Based on these research findings the paper reassesses the modelÆs applicability in exposing touristsÆ class-differentiated destination choice     

The Use of Problematic Integration Theory to Assess Destination Online Promotion Activities

Abstract

This paper uses problematic integration theory to assess destination online promotional activities often used to influence consumer travel purchase behavior. The model of destination online promotion activities assessment focuses on the link between consumers' online brand preference drivers (differentiation, quality, and value) and online market data (price, distribution, Web presence, promotions, direct online communication tool, and ad identification). The model is tested using the case of Australia (www.australia.com) and their efforts to attract a U.S. market. The study found Australia.com is a well-designed travel guide that provides information and emphasizes its aesthetic aspects. However, the Website's interactive aspects could be improved. By assessing destination online promotional activities, destination marketing organizations may be able to reduce underlying uncertainty regarding the destination and more clearly address the needs of their target markets.     

The Effect of Service Climate on Perceived Service Value and Behavioral Intentions: The Mediating Role of Service Quality

The purpose of the current study is to assess the influence of employees’ perceived service climate on customers’ perceived service value and behavioral intention. Furthermore, the paper investigates the extent to which service quality mediates the relationship among employees’ perceived service climate, customers’ perceived service value, and behavioral intention. Data were collected from convenience samples of 400 customers and 375 hotel employees. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that: (1) employees’ perceived service climate has a positive and significant influence on service quality, customers’ perceived service value, and behavioral intention and (2) service quality has a positive and significant influence on customers’ perceived service value and behavioral intention. Additionally, this study revealed that the indirect effect of employees’ perceived service climate on customers’ perceived service value and behavioral intention through service quality is more than the direct effect of employees’ perceived service climate, customers’ perceived service value, and behavioral intention.     

Strategic Destination Management in the Face of Foreign Competition: The Case of Macao SAR

This study illustrates that the gaming market is underutilized in mainland China, and legalizing casino gambling is strategically helpful in mitigating the problem of market underutilization and preventing a mass exodus of capital to foreign gaming establishments. An analytic model is constructed to analyze and predict the possible consequences of such a prospective policy for a major gaming destination: Macao. To maintain its economic prosperity, Macao is advised to upgrade its gaming facilities and service levels, and to promote itself as a world-class gambling destination. In the long term, it must widen its clientele base and diversify its economy.