Exploring tourists' perceptions of tourism impacts

Unlike how tourism is viewed by residents, little is known about how tourists feel about tourism in the destination. Nevertheless, studies have shown that tourists' emotional bonds with the destination positively affect their perceptions of and reactions to tourism in the destination. Such emotional bonds often vary based on tourists' previous experience in the destination. Thus, this study explored how tourists' emotional solidarity with residents influences their perceptions of tourism and how first-timers and repeat tourists differ in their views. To this end, 404 responses from South Korean sport tourists were analyzed. Though differences were not evident between first-timers and repeat tourists in their emotional solidarity or attitudes toward tourism, a positive relationship was confirmed between emotional solidarity and perceptions of tourism. The findings suggest that attitudes toward tourism is no longer a construct exclusive to residents and destination managers should also consider tourists' views.     

Tourists' perceptions of environmentally responsible innovations at tourism businesses

This paper investigates tourists' perceptions of environmentally responsible practices by tourism businesses by analyzing the attitudes of tourists toward “green” innovations in tourist places. It was hypothesized that tourists who were more strongly motivated by nature-oriented experiences would perceive environmentally responsible practices as more valuable than tourists less motivated by nature-oriented experiences. The study is based on a survey of individuals who visited the Arizona Welcome Center in northeastern Arizona and the Chamber of Commerce offices in Holbrook and Springerville, Arizona. As expected, visitors with a stronger nature orientation had more positive views of environmentally responsible practices by tourism businesses than tourists not nature-oriented. They felt such innovations are important and valuable.     

THE TAIPEI MRT (MASS RAPID TRANSIT) TOURISM ATTRACTION ANALYSIS FROM THE INBOUND TOURISTS' PERSPECTIVES

Of all cities in Taiwan, Taipei is fully internationalized and best‐equipped with a completed metro public transit system. Taipei MRT Company is trying to increase the number of inbound tourists by providing a better travel experience and design different marketing strategies to increase better MRT tourism attraction. The study purposes are to investigate inbound tourists' considerations for choosing public means of transportation during their travel in Taipei City, conduct the tourism attraction analysis of Taipei MRT system from the perspectives of inbound tourists, and identify how inbound tourists' traveling behavior influence their perceptions of Taipei MRT tourism attractions. The study sampled 312 inbound tourists in August and September of 2006 by using a closed‐ended questionnaire. Factor analysis revealed five factors that can be attractive to inbound tourists: holistic, service, information, tourism image, and location attraction. The study result also indicated that inbound tourists with different socio‐economic characteristics, traveling behaviors, and different MRT experience have statistically different perceptions of Taipei MRT Tourism attractions.     

Reputation,subjective well-being,and environmental responsibility: the role of satisfaction and identification

Based on signaling theory, this study investigates how the perceived reputation of a destination impacts the environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) and subjective well-being (SWB) of tourists through satisfaction and identification with a destination, respectively. The findings support the proposed behavioral model. A total of 539 valid questionnaires were obtained from tourists to a natural ecology and historical culture destination in China and analyzed. The results show that destination reputation has a direct impact on tourists' satisfaction and identification with the destination. Satisfaction and identification with the destination both partially mediate the effect of perceived destination reputation on tourists' ERB and SWB. Findings suggest that enhancing perceptions of a destination's reputation is an important step in increasing tourists' SWB and strengthening their engagement in ERB. Discussion of the findings, research implications, and future research directions are provided.     

ENGAGING TIMESHARE OWNERS IN TOURISM DESTINATION MANAGEMENT: TOURISM PLANNING AND TOURISM MARKETING IMPLICATIONS

It is important to understand tourists' willingness to participate in tourism planning and the factors influencing their willingness because they are an integral part of the destination and ultimately one of the main buyers of the product. Timeshare owners are a special group of tourists who have additional connections with the tourism destination through their timeshare. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among timeshare owners' perceptions of tourism planning, civic engagement, sense of place, and willingness to participate in tourism planning.

This study was based on a questionnaire survey of U.S. timeshare owners. The total sample size was 302. A two‐stage structural equation modeling approach was applied in data analysis. Results from the measurement model suggested that the model fit the data quite well. Results from the structural model suggested that timeshare owners' perceptions of tourism planning, their past history of civic participation, and their sense of place significantly impact their willingness to participate in tourism planning, while timeshare owners' past experience in political participation did not significantly affect their willingness to participate in tourism planning. Implications of the findings in tourism planning and tourism destination marketing are presented.     

Sustainable Mi'kmaw cultural tourism development in Nova Scotia,Canada: examining cultural tourist and Mi'kmaw perspectives

This study assessed tourists' motivations and satisfaction in participating in authentic Mi'kmaw tourism activities in Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as the ideas, perceptions and components of sustainable cultural tourism development from the Mi'kmaw perspective. To solicit the tourists' perspective, surveys were administered to tourists visiting the existing Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites in Nova Scotia, while the Mi'kmaw perspective was obtained through key informant interviews. The results of the survey suggest that tourists visiting the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites were highly educated and deeply interested in learning about culture and participating in authentic cultural experiences. Tourists were also highly satisfied with their experience and were interested in participating in aboriginal tourism again. Findings regarding the Mi'kmaw perspective indicate a focus on cultural tourism's ability to educate both tourists and the Mi'kmaw people on the Mi'kmaw culture as well as provide economic opportunities for Mi'kmaw communities. Of greater importance to the Mi'kmaw people is the preservation and protection of the Mi'kmaw culture. Conclusions drawn from the research include recommendations for the future success and sustainability of the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sector. This study's findings may also inform other Canadian aboriginal communities seeking to develop robust and sustainable cultural tourism in their own settings.     

Residents' Perceptions Toward the “Chinese Tourists' Wave” in Hong Kong: An Exploratory Study

Mainland China experienced an extraordinary progress in its economy in the past two decades which directly stimulates more outbound travels. Considering the geographical proximity and political ties between Hong Kong and Mainland China, the share of inbound tourists to Hong Kong has been, and will continuously be, largely occupied by Mainland Chinese tourists on an uprising basis. The phenomenon of the “Chinese tourists' wave”, operationalizing as the influx of tourists from Mainland China, has brought tremendous change on Hong Kong's tourism industry, economy and local community. It is, thus, of necessity to understand the perceptions and response toward this phenomenon from local residents' perspective as they are the stakeholders of local tourism. Drawing on the findings from three focus group interviews with 18 Hong Kong residents, three conventional dimensions, namely “Economic”, “Social-cultural” and “Environmental” were identified and discussed to demonstrate the local residents' perceptions toward the impact of “Chinese tourists' wave” phenomenon. Generally, residents tend to recognize the positive economic impacts as well as negative social–cultural and environmental impacts generated from this tourism phenomenon. The recommendations suggested in this study also serve as a reference for tourism authorities concerned to redress the existing problems.     

The influence of recreation experience and environmental attitude on the environmentally responsible behavior of community-based tourists in Taiwan

This study examines the relationships between recreation experience, environmental attitude, and the general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior of tourists at Taomi and Smangus in Taiwan. The first is an agriculturally based community and the second home to one of Taiwan's ethnic minorities. A total of 862 usable questionnaires (432 for Taomi and 430 for Smangus) were collected in this study. The empirical results indicate that recreation experience is positively and significantly related to environmental attitudes among tourists. Environmental attitudes are also positively and significantly related to general and site-specific tourist behaviors and mediate the relationship between recreation experience and environmentally responsible behavior. The paper contributes to the literature by examining the structural linear relationships between recreation experience, environmental attitudes, and environmentally responsible behavior. This study suggests that tourism destination providers should provide pro-environmental activities, ecotourism experiences, and interpretations of environmental issues to enhance tourists' environmental attitude and general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior, thereby potentially reducing the adverse environmental effect produced by tourists during daily life and at tourism destinations. Reducing the adverse environmental effect of tourism destinations will benefit the development of sustainable community-based tourism.     

Domestic tourists to Elmina Castle,Ghana: motivation,tourism impacts,place attachment,and satisfaction

Abstract

Current research on dark tourism lacks an in-depth investigation of the relationships between the various psychological factors that influence tourist satisfaction. Using the cognitive-affective-behavior system, this paper evaluates a theoretical model that postulates relationships between four constructs, namely: motivation, perceptions of tourism impacts, place attachment, and satisfaction. The study extends the tourism literature on cultural sustainability by showing the psychological connections of domestic tourists to a dark heritage site, and the implications for perceptions of tourism impacts on this heritage. Based on a sample of 414 domestic tourists at a dark heritage site in Elmina, Ghana, PLS-SEM confirmed several inter-relationships among the four constructs. Motivation had a positive relationship with perceptions of positive and negative tourism impacts, suggesting that the tourists who were more motivated to visit the site for cultural/learning experiences were also more inclined to perceive both positive and negative tourism impacts. Implications for dark tourism and how heritage site management can influence tourists’ perceptions of impacts are offered.     

Tourists' Attitudes Toward Tea Tourism: A Case Study in Xinyang,China

Tea tourism as a new niche market has become more and more popular. Through a case study in Xinyang, China, this research explores tourists' attitudes and perceptions toward tea and tea tourism, identifies who the potential tea tourists are, and compares their attitudes with others. One hundred seventy-nine questionnaires were administered; one-way ANOVA and chi-square test were used based on their willingness of tea tourism. The results suggest that tea tourists and non-tea tourists have significant differences in terms of their attitudes toward tea drinking and their willingness of buying tea as souvenir. Tea tourists are mainly tea lovers driven by their high interest in tea and tea culture; they tend to be both males and females (yet females show a significant higher percentage than males), between ages 31–40, who have a positive attitude toward tea drinking, and who often drink tea. This research also provides some marketing suggestions for this niche market.     

Service encounter failure,negative destination emotion and behavioral intention: An experimental study of taxi service

The relationship between transportation and tourism has not been fully explored in tourist research. The effects of transportation services at destinations, particularly with service encounter failures, on tourists' perceptions of the destinations and their behavioral intentions have not been considered. We examine taxis, a main form of tourist transportation, and assess how tourists evaluate the service encounter failures. Our sample of 308 residents in Hong Kong participated in an online experiment with a 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design. The results indicated that both dishonesty and inhospitality were regarded as attributes of taxi service failures and can contribute to tourists' negative emotions regarding destinations. The negative emotions were found to be a strong predictor of tourists' negative behavioral intentions, including their intentions to post negative online reviews and not to revisit. The implications are also discussed about managing transportation services such as taxis for destination marketing and management.     

‘Through the magic of authentic reproduction’: tourists’ perceptions of authenticity in a pioneer village

As a concept, authenticity is widely debated across tourism studies and theoretically approached from numerous perspectives. This mixed-method qualitative study utilizes a constructivist framework for examining tourists' motivations, perceptions of authenticity and landscape experience in a self-proclaimed ‘authentic reproduction’ pioneer community. Spring Mill Pioneer Village is the original location of the former village; however, as a heritage landscape, it is composed of restorations, reproductions, and replicas of nineteenth-century structures. Thus, it is an appropriate case study for the examination of tourists' perceptions of authenticity. Moreover, tourists note authenticity as a motivating factor in their decision to visit the village, yet they define the concept in numerous ways. As a result, tourists’ pioneer community experience is governed by more than their perceptions of authenticity, but engages the village landscape, active atmosphere and their own imaginations.     

Tourists' Perception of International Air Travel's Impact on the Global Climate and Potential Climate Change Policies

Tourism's increasing contribution to climate change, especially through the use of air travel, is now acknowledged. This study seeks to explore tourists' knowledge and awareness of aviation's impact on the climate, their sense of personal responsibility and their reactions to specific climate change policies. A focus group approach – informed by interviews with international tourists leaving New Zealand – was chosen to involve tourists in discussing climate change and travel. In the focus groups, three policy options were discussed: voluntary initiatives, a global air travel charge and a per capita carbon budget. The global air travel tax emerged as a realistic compromise between restricting travel and achieving emissions reduction. When discussing individual responsibility for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, tourists distinguished between their travel and their everyday life, where responsibility for mitigation was perceived to be greater. The value of freedom to travel is firmly established in the minds of many tourists and limiting travel is considered unacceptable by the (hyper) mobile tourists who participated in this research. Only major societal changes to bring about behavioural change seem likely to reduce air travel's contribution to climate change.     

Marine angling tourist behavior,non-compliance,and implications for natural resource management

Wild living marine resources are a common pool resource in Norway, and successful development of marine angling tourism (MAT) – a form of consumptive wildlife tourism is dependent on healthy fish stocks. This article examines foreign tourists' non-compliance with Norway's 15 kg export quota, and the effects of the non-compliance on community wellbeing. Analyses of 528 responses to a 63-question questionnaire compare tourists' pro-environmental behavior at home, with behavior on holiday, and opinions on more stringent management regulations. No statistically significant correlations were found between pro-environmental behavior at home and support for more stringent regulations. Strengthening regulations would likely have a negative impact on both willingness to return and recommend. Findings suggest that the majority of tourists do not view fish as a resource that should be more tightly controlled, if their holiday fishing experience would be negatively affected. Results are compared against studies investigating management strategies for non-consumptive forms of wildlife tourism. Management solutions are identified which might mitigate non-compliance, positively influence environmentally responsible behavior, and address community wellbeing.     

Tourism development at the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ,Jordan: residents' perspectives

Several studies have discussed the impacts of mass tourism on destinations and how local residents perceive such impacts. However, only a few studies have looked specifically at how sacred destinations and their residents are affected by religious tourism. This research note explores tourism's impacts on the Baptismal Site of Jesus on the eastern side of the Jordan River in Jordan. The study also examines the perceptions of residents about these impacts. Interviews were conducted with staff at the site, including the manager, the conservationist and locals working in conservation and tour guiding. Findings revealed that religious tourism helped create a source of income in the area and enhanced the local infrastructure. Tourism was also perceived to help restore and protect archeological remains. There is a general positive perception of tourism development; no negative sociocultural impacts were perceived. As well, it appears that residents have little concern for negative social impacts because their economic benefits outweigh any concerns, and there is minimal contact between tourists and residents.     

Exploring the influence of tourists’ happiness on revisit intention in the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine cultural tourism

Based on how tourists interpret the destination experience and on attachment theory, this study investigates the influencing mechanism of tourists' happiness on revisit intention for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) cultural tourism destinations. Three tourist samples confirm the three dimensions of tourists' happiness: positive emotions, engagement, and meaning. Two surveys were conducted to test the direct and indirect influence of tourists' happiness on revisit intention and the moderating role of tourists' health consciousness. The results show that tourists' happiness promotes memorable tourism experience and place attachment, in turn stimulating revisit intention. The results also support health consciousness as a significant moderator between happiness, place attachment, and revisit intention. The findings enrich theoretical understanding of tourists’ happiness and provide marketing and management advice for TCM cultural tourism destinations.     

Towards an Integrated Image-based Typology of Volunteer Tourism Organisations

This paper focuses on volunteer tourism organisations that offer conservation expeditions, where volunteer tourists can assist in scientific research or ecological restoration. It seeks to identify organisational images and suggest how these images affect the expectations of volunteer tourists. Using the promotional material of volunteer tourism organisations, the contents of organisations' mission statements, promotional photographs and volunteer testimonies were analysed. Potential volunteer tourists were also asked to perform a multiple sorting procedure on the organisations' brochures to assess their images of volunteer tourism organisations. From the results, four groups of volunteer tourism organisations were identified and labelled ‘conservation research expeditions’, ‘holiday conservation expeditions’;, ‘adventure conservation expeditions’ and ‘community holiday expeditions’. It is proposed that organisations need to be aware of their perceived images in order to match their volunteers' expectations and needs, manage tourists' expectations and ensure the success of their volunteer tourism expeditions.     

How subjective knowledge influences intention to travel

This study analyzes tourist intention in the early phase of the tourists' decision-making process. Through correlations and web-experiments, we trace subjective knowledge through the tourists' accumulation of diagnostic cues inherent in a destination and the ways tourists falsely believe that having more knowledge can be beneficial. This research uncovers the negative relationship between tourists' subjective knowledge about a destination and their intention to travel. Subjective knowledge psychologically activates a higher degree of self-congruity with a destination, impregnating the destination with a sense of familiarity that curbs the intention to travel. The results indicate that practitioners need to understand the way that congruence between market-generated materials and tourists' sense of self can counterintuitively clog the decision-making process at the early stages.     

Image Transformation for Mazu Pilgrimage and Festival Tourism

The aim of this article is to examine image transformation among tourists in regard to Mazu pilgrimage tourism in Taiwan. The focus is on examining the transformation in organic, induced and complex image dimensions targeting tourists; this study adopts one factor within-subjects ANOVA and systematic sampling as the methodology. A total of 297 samples studied shows that tourists exhibit significant differences in relation to the formation of 33 organic, induced and complex image items of Mazu pilgrimage. A summary of differential trends shows that tourists' perception of unique images (such as the 10 major ceremonies) is enhanced with information stimulation and tourists' actual visitation. Furthermore, tourism information stimulation has a significant effect on “psychological–common–individual attribute” images.     

Value orientations and heritage tourism management at Petra Archaeological Park,Jordan

Involving different stakeholders, including tourists, in managing tourism and understanding their value orientations are key concepts to achieve sustainability of heritage tourism. However, tourists have been mostly ignored in managing heritage attractions. Given the importance of values in heritage tourism management, and the different tourists' preferences toward management actions, this article aims to explore the value orientations of different types of tourists at Petra Archaeological Park, and how these values influence their management actions preferences. Majority of the tourists were preservation value oriented, and they preferred direct management actions rather than indirect actions. Results indicated that whenever the level of the importance of heritage tourism increases in tourists' trip motivations, tourists tend to be more preservation value oriented and support direct management actions.