Ethics of Chinese & Western tourists in Hong Kong

The potential for tension between tourists and residents due to tourist behaviour is rising. In such environment, understanding tourists’ ethical judgments of different scenarios is important. This study asks tourists and residents to ethically evaluate five different scenarios, using a multidimensional ethics scale and rate the likelihood they are to engage in these scenarios while at home and on vacation. An intercept survey of 1827 questionnaires were collected from Hong Kong residents, Mainland Chinese and Western tourists. Teleological ethical theories may justify actions that are deemed ethically inappropriate by deontology or ethics of justice. Western tourists are more likely to engage in unethical behaviour on holidays than at home. For Mainland Chinese visitors, the opposite is true.     

Finisterre: being and becoming a myth-related tourist destination

The phenomenon of travelling to myth-related places has had a revival in recent decades, warranting an investigation of how such places are perceived by today’s tourists. While established myths and the specific places they are associated with have been extensively researched, there is as yet relatively little research on how tourists appropriate and rework conventional myth-based place meaning and identity. The aim of this article is to contribute to wider debates on place, meaning and identity in tourism studies particularly as regards myth-related tourist destinations. Relying on theories of place and identity, we highlight how mythical places and their identities are appropriated and consumed by and made part of individual tourists’ experiences. Drawing on qualitative interviews with tourists journeying to Finisterre in Spain, this article shows how tourists rework the classical symbolism surrounding mythical places and imbue these with new meanings and identities. Based on Finisterre as a case, our study found out that myth-related places have become tourist-driven attractions: at present it is tourist flows that shape traditional myth destinations.     

Local impression of tourist photographing: A perspective from Iran

The current study discusses the impression of local people towards tourist photographing in three heritage villages of Iran. A qualitative face-to-face interviews were undertaken of 65 respondents through snow-ball sampling technique. Unlike previous tourist photography literature where photos taken by tourists were analyzed (photographers' perspectives), in the current study authors brought up the impression of local residents in tourist photography. The results showed that locals had disgust feeling when they have been photographed without permission. They, moreover, were afraid of photo misuse and called for application of ethical codes in tourist photographing. Locals were not happy of their heritage commodification, although some advocated of earning revenue through tourist photographing. The findings also cleared out that locals felt proud when they appeared in tourist-local shared photos. The study enhances knowledge and understanding of local impression in tourist photography specifically in a part of the world which has been relatively neglected.     

旅游意象图:基于游客感知的旅游景区规划新设想

受启发于"城市意象"理念和图论学说,文章从游客感知出发,提出"旅游意象图"的旅游景区规划设想,认为旅游意象的基本要素包括旅游道路、旅游节点、旅游边界、旅游标识和旅游区域5个方面,旅游意象图的构建过程可分解为旅游意象点→旅游意象线→旅游意象链→旅游意象面→旅游意象图5个基本步骤,指出可从资源类旅游意象、产品类旅游意象、市场类旅游意象3个层面确定具体的旅游意象,并分析了旅游意象调研的4大基本方法:传统问卷调查、绘制心智地图、旅游意象游戏法和旅游意象访谈法。     

Chinese heritage tourists to heritage sites: what are the effects of heritage motivation and perceived authenticity on satisfaction?

Much of the literature on authenticity is Western-centric, while little work addresses the concept in the Asian environment. The literature relating to authenticity from Asian tourists’ point of view is even underdeveloped. This study therefore aims to fill the knowledge gap by investigating Chinese tourists’ perspective of authenticity. It also examines tourists’ perceived authenticity as a multi-dimensional construct in a consumer-based model, the relationship with heritage motivation and tourist satisfaction. Findings indicate that Chinese tourists’ perceptions of authenticity are closely related to objective and constructive authenticity. The study demonstrates that heritage motivation has a significant positive influence on perceived authenticity and that perceived authenticity has a strong ability to predict tourist satisfaction.     

基于IPA分析的中国旅游景区网站发展研究

在信息化技术飞速发展的时代背景下,旅游网站的功能以及旅游者对于旅游网站的需求也会随之发生相应的变化,把握这一变化趋势对于旅游网站的发展有重要意义。文章通过在2005年和2010年对100名旅游者和75个中国5A级旅游景区网站进行调查,获得在5年的时间里旅游者对旅游景区网站评价指标的变化和旅游景区网站的变化情况,在此基础上分析了旅游者对旅游景区网站需求的变化以及中国旅游景区网站对互联网技术运用的变化。同时,文章通过重要值—表现值(IPA)方法对两者进行关联比较,分析了中国旅游景区网站发展过程中与旅游者期望一致的变化以及不符合旅游者期望的变化,进一步论述了中国旅游景区网站5年来在发展中存在的问题以及未来的改进方向。文章在最后还讨论了研究成果在学术界和业界的应用前景。     

旅游者恢复性环境感知与游后行为意向——影响机制和边界条件

游客恢复性环境感知作为联结旅游体验和健康的重要环节,是游客与旅游地环境交融形成的综合性体验,是游客管理研究的新视角,但游客恢复性环境感知对游后行为意向的积极效用还未得到深入理解。文章从注意恢复理论出发,应用Mehrabian-Rusell模型,探讨游客恢复性感知、满意度对游后行为意向的影响及游客涉入的调节作用。通过问卷调查收集数据,得到547个有效样本,使用结构方程建模。研究发现:游客功能类恢复性感知(一致性、新奇)正向影响情感类恢复性感知(迷人、兼容性、逃逸);兼容性比迷人对满意度的正向影响更大;新奇比逃逸对游后行为意向的正向影响更大;兼容性与满意度在"一致性、新奇-游后行为意向"的结构中有多重链式中介作用;迷人、兼容性对满意度的影响受游客涉入的正调节。游客恢复性感知对游后行为意向的影响过程表现为"环境刺激认知-情感-意向"三阶段传递机制。最后讨论了上述发现对目的地营销与管理的启示。     

Exploring cultural tourist towns: Does authenticity matter?

This study applies various conceptualisations of authenticity to explore to what extent tourists appreciate the authenticity of cultural tourist towns. Using the visitor-employed photography (VEP) method, this study collected visitor-employed data in two cultural tourist towns in Shanghai, China to analyse tourists' personal enjoyable aesthetic experience. Results show that tourists were not overly concerned about objective authenticity as long as they had a positive and enjoyable experience, and that some tourists experienced and favoured existential and postmodern authenticity in the tourist towns. Results highlight the importance of designing entertainment activities and iconic attractions in a strip shape to engage tourists and enhance their enjoyment. Overall, results suggest that sophisticated design characterised by interaction of four townscape factors – nature setting, emotional design, spatial configuration, and commercialised elements – can shape tourists' enjoyable authentic experience. Findings have implications for tourism and tourist attraction operators in their planning, design, conservation, and promotional efforts.     

A broader social identity comes with stronger face consciousness: The effect of identity breadth on deviant tourist behavior among Chinese outbound tourists

Deviant tourist behavior (DTB) among Chinese outbound tourists has sparked concerns that such behavior not only exposes destinations to various negative impacts but also damages the international image of China. Hence, it is necessary to explore how to reduce such behavior. Social identity cues are an effective inhibitor of DTB; however, previous research has focused on the influence of the interdependent and interactive nature of social identities on DTB, neglecting the inclusive nature of social identities. To fill this gap, the current study focuses on how Chinese outbound tourists’ identity breadth affects their deviant behavior in international tourism contexts. In Study 1, we examine a distinctive feature of international tourism contexts and find that tourists have high face consciousness. Second, we propose and document that Chinese outbound tourists primed with a broad (vs. narrow) identity develop higher face consciousness and a lower intention to engage in deviant behavior (Studies 1 and 2), with face consciousness mediating this process (Study 3). Finally, Study 4 finds that the number of fellow tourists with the same identity moderates this effect. The influence of identity breadth on DTB is manifest when there are few in-group members present. Our findings provide meaningful practical and theoretical value regarding how to reduce tourists’ deviant behavior through identity-related cues.     

Conflicting preferences among tourists and residents

In this paper we present the results of a choice modelling (CM) experiment designed to estimate preferences of residents and tourists in Alghero, Sardinia (Italy). In 2004 Sardinia’s regional government introduced a set of reforms on coastal development and environmental protection that had important consequences for the tourism industry. The CM experiment took place in 2006, and aimed to study both resident’s and tourists’ preferences regarding the 2004 reform and other tourist development alternatives. We also assess the hypothesis that the perceived social and environmental effects of tourism differ among classes of respondents. The analysis indicates that there are conflicting preferences within the host community as well as between the host community and tourists. This creates a mismatch between residents’ supply and tourists’ demand of recreational services that needs to be addressed to promote the best tourist development strategy. It also shows that the 2004 reform is not such an effective strategy as it matches neither resident’s nor tourists’ preferences.     

The roles of perceived internal and external benefits and costs in innovation co-creation: lessons from Japan

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that motivate tourists to engage in collaborative efforts with tourist destinations for the co-creation of innovative tourism products. Targeting tourists who have visited Tokyo for tourism purpose, the study verifies the antecedents of tourists’ intention to co-create, which include perceived benefits (PB), perceived costs (PC), subjective norms, and ability to co-create tourism innovation. This study further reveals that PC do not have a significant impact on tourists’ intention to participate in innovation co-creation activities, while the other antecedents play important roles. Also, separating PB and costs into internal and external factors, perceived internal benefits (PIB) play a significant role in motivating tourists to participate in co-creation, while perceived external benefits do not. Practical implications are provided for destinations such as Japan to encourage tourists to share their valuable knowledge to improve tourism products and services of tourist destinations.     

Distinction and omnivorousness in tourists’ food consumption

This study investigates tourists’ cultural tastes in food by applying the sociological theory of cultural distinction and omnivorousness. The consumption of food by Chinese tourists in their travels across Spain is analyzed, with the fieldwork being conducted in Spain. Semi-structured interview was used to collect data about tourists’ food tastes. The results show that distinctive and omnivorous tastes in food coexist, but differently across tourist groups. Snobbish tourists regarded exotic food as distinctive and legitimate, and undervalued familiar food. Omnivorous tourists held a more equal and inclusive attitude towards both exotic and familiar foods. The omnivorous tourists’ openness to familiar food involved many utilitarian purposes. The research results have implications for future research on cultural tastes of tourist class, and destination marketing and management.     

The effect of Cultural Intelligence on consumer-based destination brand equity

Achieving destination appeal and competitiveness is a major priority of tourist destination managers. They must implement new strategies that are distinct from those of their competitors and that influence tourists’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviors and reinforce the brand equity of the destination. The present work focuses on Cultural Intelligence (CQ). CQ increasingly features in business strategy due to the effect of cultural differences and diversity on tourist behavior. The aim is to propose and validate a model that captures the effect of tourists’ CQ on their evaluation of the destination. Using a sample of 503 tourists visiting Spain, the study demonstrates that a tourist’s CQ influences their assessment of destination brand equity and that this relationship is moderated by tourism type. The paper presents a series of implications of interest both to scholars and professionals in the tourism sector.     

The politics of knowledge as a tourist attraction

The past ten years have seen an increasing interest in the politics of knowledge production in tourism studies. However, tourists’ hosts’ politics of knowledge, the ways in which tourists’ hosts can use local knowledge as both a tourist attraction and a way to negotiate power relationships, are yet to be explored. This article identifies the need for more analysis of the political uses of cultural knowledge as a tourist attraction, reporting on an ethnographic study of the politics of knowledge unfolded by an Aboriginal group of Western Australia in the context of their tour guiding activities. It will hopefully contribute to a better understanding of the political conditions, and potentials for, local cultural knowledge (re)production and utilization in tourism.     

Are neighbour tourists more sensitive to crowding? The impact of distance on the crowding-out effect in tourism

The concept of the crowding-out effect has been employed in the tourism literature to analyse complex phenomena. However, there is limited insight into the crowding-out effect on tourists by tourists, and even less into the impact of distance on the crowding-out of tourists. This paper examines the relationship between crowding perceptions, tourists' attitudes toward crowding and the consequences of being crowded out. Results from a sample of 729 international tourists in Hong Kong suggest that there is a crowding-out effect on tourists by tourists, but this has only a marginal influence on the majority. The limited crowding-out effect is induced by tourists in general rather than by a single segment. The study also investigates the effect of distance on tourist crowding. The findings reveal a decaying effect of distance on tourists’ crowding perceptions, as neighbour tourists are more susceptible to tourist crowding than tourists from long-haul markets.     

Photograph's role in tourism : Some unexplored relationships

Chalfen, Richard M., “Photography's Role in Tourism: Some Unexplored Relationships,” Annals of Tourism Research,” October/December 1979, VI(4):435–447. While photography is one of the most common attributes of tourist behavior, its role in tourism has never been studied. Tourist photography is understood as both photographs made by tourists and photographs made available to tourists by members of the host community. This paper draws attention to three unexamined topics: the relationship between certain tourist types and patterns of photographic behavior and/or content of photographs; the culturally variable standards of appropriate subject matter and camera use in different parts of the world; and the variety of responses exhibited by host communities to being photographed. Examples are given of host sensitivities and camera related disturbances. A trend is noticed in which host communities specify which images are appropriate and inappropriate for tourist photography.     

A MODEL OF ‘CREATIVE EXPERIENCE’ IN CREATIVE TOURISM

This study explores the essence of ‘creativity’ in ‘creative tourism’ from a tourist perspective. Creative tourism is receiving an increasing amount of attention, although the concept remains rather vague, and more research is needed. Data was collected using in-depth interviews with tourists and observations at four ‘Creative Life Industry’ sites in Taiwan. Grounded theory approach was employed, and the findings show that ‘outer interactions’ and ‘inner reflections’ construct the model of tourists’ creative experience. The former refer to tourists’ interactions with ‘environment’, ‘people’, and ‘product/service/experience’, while the latter refer to ‘consciousness/awareness’, ‘needs’ and ‘creativity’, and these dimensions ‘interact’ in tourists’ inner-self throughout the experience. Moreover, ‘consciousness/awareness’ is a prerequisite for ‘creative experience’, differentiating it from other types of experiences.     

Tourists’ happiness: are there smart tourism technology effects?

The purpose of this study is to develop a research model demonstrating tourists’ value-seeking processes through the tourism services and travel experiences of a destination. The model suggests that tourist happiness is assessed by tourists’ perceived experiences, which are formed by two motivational values: smart tourism technology (STT) and destination value. Despite a large quantity of research attention on destination tourism, the relation between tourists’ destination experience and STT has been less enthusiastically studied. Therefore, this study proposes to test an integrated model with attributes of STTs and destination values that contribute to tourists’ life happiness. The results of this study, from a survey of 191 foreign tourists in Seoul, South Korea, indicate that tourists are likely to put more value on what they perceived from their destination travel experiences than what they perceived from their experiences with STT services when they evaluate their overall happiness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Vulnerability and resilience of the tourism sector in India: Effects of natural disasters and internal conflict

Tourism resilience studies often focus on a single shock event. In reality, the same destination may face different kinds of shocks. It is important to compare the relative effect and resilience to different shocks.Using a panel dataset for 22 Indian states, we build random effect models to understand the impact of natural disasters and political conflict on domestic and foreign tourist arrivals. Severe conflict events affect domestic tourist arrivals negatively, while natural disasters do not. In contrast, natural disasters affect international tourist arrivals negatively but conflicts do not.We study resilience by identifying breaks in tourist arrivals and noting corresponding recovery times. Breaks were observed in more states for the international segment compared to domestic segment. Recovery times was also greater for international rather than domestic tourists. Thus domestic tourists seem to be more resilient compared to international tourists. Our study provides useful insights that may have policy implications.     

The role of visa exemption in Chinese tourists’ decision-making: a model of goal-directed behavior

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of visa exemption in tourist decision-making using the extended model of goal-directed behavior (EMGB). Surveys were administered to Chinese tourists interested in traveling to South Korea. The structural equation model indicates that the inclusion of the expectation of tourist visa exemption enhanced Chinese tourists’ behavioral intention. Specifically, positive and negative anticipated emotions, perceived behavioral control, and the notion of a subjective norm were important antecedents of travel intention. Desire was the only significant factor affecting Chinese tourists’ travel intention. This study enhances our understanding of Chinese tourists’ intention to travel to South Korea.