Tacit knowledge spillover and sustainability in destination development

This study examines tacit knowledge spillover among lodging firms within a destination and how it contributes to sustainable destination development. Longitudinal data for this study were collected primarily through in-depth interviews with lodging firms' managers and operators in a destination located in southern China. The findings suggest that tacit knowledge spillover in a region may lead to hospitality firm agglomeration. Furthermore, the eco-friendly hotel pioneers' tacit knowledge spillover may, over an extended time period, enhance the eco-friendly initiatives and operations of local hospitality firms, which may contribute to the successful development of sustainable destinations. The findings also indicate that local government's effective interventions tend to encourage and facilitate tacit knowledge spillover through establishing knowledge transfer mechanisms in the community, which is significant in the context of sustainable destination development.     

Examining the Antecedents of Destination Loyalty in a Forest Setting

Loyalty has become a critical part of leisure research due to increasing competition in the field and the recognition of the importance of loyal visitors. To further develop loyalty research, this study looks at the issue of destination loyalty in a forest setting. It specifically focuses on revealing the formation of attitudinal, conative, and behavioral loyalty and the relationship between destination loyalty and related concepts that influence the strength of loyalty: service quality, satisfaction, and activity involvement. Six hypotheses were tested to represent the relationships among six factors. Forest recreationists who perceive high service quality tend to have high satisfaction and activity involvement that lead to destination loyalty. The findings also substantiated the conceptual framework of loyalty formation.     

Message framing and regulatory focus effects on destination image formation

This study examines the influence of message framing and how a match or mismatch between message framing and individuals’ regulatory focus can influence their destination image perceptions and visit intentions utilizing attribute framing and regulatory focus fit theories. This study also examines the mediating role of cognitive fluency and emotional state on attribute framing effects on destination image formation and visit intentions. Findings indicate that framing of marketing messages exerts significant influences on consumers' decision making and destination selection process. Consumers under gain-framed message condition tend to have higher destination image perceptions compared to those under loss-framed message conditions. A match between attribute framing and regulatory focus results in formation of better destination image perceptions compared to mismatch. Furthermore, cognitive fluency and emotional state mediate attribute framing effects on destination image formation.     

The information quality and source credibility matter in customers’ evaluation toward food O2O commerce

This study examines customer’s decision making when purchasing food product through O2O commerce applying the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and the technology acceptance model (TAM). Further, this research investigates which information processing path, central route (information quality) or peripheral route (source credibility), is related to purchase frequency. Results of the data analysis demonstrate (1) the positive relationship between information quality, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use; (2) the significant relationship between source credibility, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use; (3) the significant influence of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on customer trust; and (4) the significant relationships among customer trust, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. In addition, customers with high purchase frequency tend to process messages via the central route, while customers with low purchase frequency focus on the peripheral route. These findings provide theoretical and managerial implications that contribute to O2O commerce marketing.     

Tourism image, evaluation variables and after purchase behaviour: inter-relationship

Numerous authors have pointed out the influence of tourism image on consumer behaviour. Tourism image will also exercise some influence on the quality perceived by tourists and on the satisfaction obtained from the holiday experience. This paper focuses on the relationship between the image of a destination as perceived by tourists and their behavioural intentions, and between that same image and the post-purchase evaluation of the stay. We will also examine the relationship between quality and satisfaction and between these variables and the tourist's behaviour variables. We place the accent on a joint analysis of these relationships, using a structural equation model. The results of the empirical study show that tourism image is a direct antecedent of perceived quality, satisfaction, intention to return and willingness to recommend the destination. The role of image as a key factor in destination marketing is thus confirmed. With reference to the other relationships, on the one hand, it is confirmed that quality has a positive influence on satisfaction and intention to return and that satisfaction determines the willingness to recommend the destination. However, the influence of quality on ‘willingness to recommend’ and the influence of satisfaction on ‘intention to return’ cannot be corroborated. In this sense, further research could be necessary.     

Power dimensions and influence reputation in tourist destinations: Empirical evidence from a network of actors and stakeholders

There is consensus among scholars and practitioners that planning and marketing of community-structured destinations requires a cooperative approach among numerous different actors. It is alleged that power plays a central role, in building the influence reputation of actors in such a cooperative network and thus is important in planning and decision-making. However, there is little empirical evidence with regard to the dimensions of power in a destination community context. This paper contributes to the understanding of how power is perceived by different individuals and stakeholder groups in an actor’s network of an Alpine tourist destination.     

Modeling Vacation Destination Decisions:

The purpose of this study is to develop a multiple criteria decision-making instrument to model vacation destination-choice decisions of individuals based on the factors deemed to be important for vacation destination choice decisions. The study emphasizes the importance of individual differences in making vacation destination choice decisions. Although this research effort is explanatory in nature, the results reveal that application of behavioral decision theory is possible in modeling individualsÆ vacation destination decisions.     

Leverage points of tourism destination competitiveness dynamics

Tourism destination comprises a highly competitive and complex market. This paper integrates the principal factors of destination competitiveness into the Aggregated Model. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, it examines the impact of stakeholders' activities on the principal factors and related sub-factors. It identifies the factors which can be considerably influenced by stakeholders' activities and thus have the potential to become the leverage points of destination competitiveness. However, destination competitiveness is a multi-dimensional concept covering complex relations among the factors of competitiveness. The study exposes such relations by developing a systemic model. It identifies three leverage points that influence the highest number of interrelations in the model. Destination managers can use these points to improve destination competitiveness and its dynamics by focusing cooperation activities with local stakeholders on gathering data and conducting research, undertaking marketing activities, and creating the destination image.     

The impact of guest mix on hotel staffing

This article examines the influence of guest mix (independent versus group travellers) on the level of labour input per occupied room. Using time-series data for a major hotel in Hawaii, one of the key findings is that an increase in FIT guest has a negative impact on the hotel's staffing ratio. This result confirms the conclusion of an earlier study done by the author, and the analysis as a whole provides useful implications for hotel management's decision-making process.     

Developing a Tourism Destination Monitoring System: A Case of the Hawaii Tourism Dashboard

To develop and manage a tourism destination sustainably, it is important for all stakeholders to understand the interrelated tourism dimensions and activities within a destination. One way of determining the conditions of a destination's “health” is to establish a process by which existing data on various aspects of a destination can be assessed. For this purpose, this paper presents the development processes of the Hawaii Tourism Dashboard (HTD), an online information clearinghouse for multiple stakeholders and a diagnostic tool to monitor the conditions of Hawaii's tourism. As a joint effort between the industry and academia, it is hoped that the HTD can play an important role in increasing public awareness about tourism's multifaceted characteristics and in assisting decision-making and policy development by the government and the industry.     

Investigating tourist destination choice: Effect of destination image from social network members

This paper aims to investigate tourist destination choice, focusing on the research question how and to what extent the destination images of tourists' social network members influence their choice behavior. To this end, data were collected using a sequential stated adaptation choice experiment, in which respondents were requested to choose a tourist destination from a single choice set twice, once before and once after being informed about the destination image of social network members. A discrete choice model was estimated to investigate tourists’ choices. The estimation results revealed that the destination image of social network members allow tourists to update their existing knowledge toward destinations, through which their choice behavior is influenced. Tourists tend to adopt their destination image of social network members no matter whether they have a prior image or not. The magnitude of this social influence depends on the properties of the social networks.     

Destination Marketing: Measuring the Effectiveness of Brochures

Abstract

This article reports the findings of an exploratory study defining effectiveness for assessing impacts of brochures. Using data collected from 2,400 information-inquirers of a destination, five major variables are identified to be important for measuring effectiveness: readership, on-site consultation of brochure, influence on decision-making, influence on spending, prior experience of the destination. Implications and recommendations are discussed for developing quality brochures and marketing strategies.     

Application of the extended VBN theory to understand consumers’ decisions about green hotels

An increasing number of hotels are altering their operations proactively to include more environmentally friendly practices. Despite the greater interest in consumers’ green behaviors, the theoretical application of the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory has been used only rarely to investigate consumers’ intentions to visit a green hotel. The purpose of this study was to expand existing knowledge of hotel consumers’ green behaviors by developing and testing an extended VBN theory used in the hospitality literature. More specifically, this study incorporated subjective norms and green trust into the original VBN model as a theoretical framework to understand comprehensively consumers’ decision-making processes with respect to their intentions to visit a green hotel. A web-based survey was used to collect data from a convenience sample of faculty members working at an institution of higher education in the Midwestern United States who have been lodging consumers. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypotheses. The results showed that all but subjective norms were successful in explaining consumers’ decision-making processes regarding their intentions to visit a green hotel. The results can assist hotel managers in the adoption and implementation of hotel operations based on the needs of environmentally conscious consumers.     

Destination positioning opportunities using personal values: Elicited through the Repertory Test with Laddering Analysis

While in many travel situations there is an almost limitless range of available destinations, travellers will usually only actively consider two to six in their decision set. One of the greatest challenges facing destination marketers is positioning their destination, against the myriad of competing places that offer similar features, into consumer decision sets. Since positioning requires a narrow focus, marketing communications must present a succinct and meaningful proposition, the selection of which is often problematic for destination marketing organisations (DMO), which deal with a diverse and often eclectic range of attributes in addition to self-interested and demanding stakeholders who have interests in different market segments. This paper reports the application of two qualitative techniques used to explore the range of cognitive attributes, consequences and personal values that represent potential positioning opportunities in the context of short break holidays. The Repertory Test is an effective technique for understanding the salient attributes used by a traveller to differentiate destinations, and Laddering Analysis enables the researcher to explore the smaller set of consequences and personal values guiding such decision making. A key finding of the research was that while individuals might vary in their repertoire of salient attributes, there was a commonality of shared consequences and values. This has important implications for DMOs, since a brand positioning theme that is based on a value will subsume multiple and diverse attributes. It is posited that such a theme will appeal to a broader range of travellers, as well as appease a greater number of destination stakeholders, than would an attribute-based theme.     

Exploring place perception a photo-based analysis

This paper examines the merits of volunteer-employed photography as a technique for investigating perceptions of residents and tourists of a destination. An exploratory study was undertaken in which both groups were asked to photograph features they considered important to their personal experience of the Welsh seaside resort of Aberystwyth. Participants also completed photologs and written questionnaires, which were used to supplement a content analysis of their snapshots. This enabled various comparisons and inferences to be drawn regarding how the town is perceived as a destination and as a place to live. An unexpected finding is that residents and tourists tend to adopt similar ways of “reading” the destination.     

Brand personality of tourist destinations: An application of self-congruity theory

The purpose of this research was to investigate the perceived destination personality of Las Vegas and to examine the relationships among destination personality, self-congruity, and tourist’s behavioral intentions. A convenience sample of 382 visitors to Las Vegas was surveyed, and 368 usable questionnaires were analyzed. The findings of the study indicate that tourists ascribe personality characteristics to destinations and that the perceived destination personality of Las Vegas is five dimensional: vibrancy, sophistication, competence, contemporary, and sincerity. These dimensions have a positive influence on tourists’ intention to return and intention to recommend. The study also supports the self-congruity theory within the context of tourism destinations, indicating that both actual congruity and ideal congruity have a positive impact on behavioral intentions. The study concludes that self-congruity is a partial mediator on the relationship between destination personality and tourist’s behavioral intentions. The practical and theoretical implications are discussed within the contexts of destination branding and the self-congruity theory.     

Understanding Associations and Their Conference Decision-Making Processes

Abstract

A critical question for organizations and businesses involved in destination marketing and the provision of services for conferences and meetings is how associations decide where to hold their conferences and meetings. An understanding of these decision-making processes could provide valuable insights into how a destination can best promote themselves to this sector. The aims of the study presented in this paper were to identify the decision processes of association conference planners and to explore the attributes that they consider important when organizing a conference. The study used in-depth interviews with association conference organizers who had either planned an event in a regional Australian center during 2003 or who were currently in the process of planning for a future event to be held in that destination. The interviews revealed that while similar attributes were important to all planners, their importance differed between different types of associations. Major findings from the study included the importance of the bid process and the use of committees for the planning and organizing of tasks. Budget constraints were also a major component of the decision-process, as a majority of the associations studied were non-profit organizations. The venue was the most important attribute regarding the decision of host destination. The study concludes with an expanded model for convention planner decision processes based on Crouch and Ritchie's 1998 model.     

The Relationships of Destination Image,Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions: An Integrated Model

Built upon the tourism and marketing literature, a conceptual model depicting the relationship among tourism destination image components, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions was proposed. A conceptual model consisting of six hypotheses was empirically tested using survey data from 550 Chinese tourists who visited Zhang-Jia-Jie, a major Chinese tourism destination shown on the list of the World Natural Heritage. The empirical findings reveal that: (a) overall tourism destination is reflected by both cognitive image and affective image, and (b) overall tourism destination image has an indirect impact on behavioral intentions through satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed before the article concludes with limitations and directions for future research.     

Dimensions of lodging guest satisfaction among guests with mobility challenges: A mixed-method analysis of web-based texts

Given that many lodging businesses cannot afford to provide satisfactory services to people with mobility challenges, this study recommends a strategic order of service attribute development to maximize customer satisfaction with minimal costs. The crucial lodging service attributes of this population are identified and distinguished by degrees of influence on customer satisfaction based on the analyses of 543 web travel reviews. The results suggests prioritizing the bottom-line delivery of basic and performance factors (i.e. room access and staff attitude capability), whereas optionally offering the delivery of excitement factors or above-and-beyond delivery of performance factors, such as luggage and equipment support and general lodging features. Being the first attempt to integrate quantitative and qualitative web content analysis with Penalty-Reward Contrast Analysis, this study captures the real-life tourist service evaluation criteria with improved accuracy and reliability. It also enables a thorough and efficient exploitation of customer-generated web textual data.     

‘You will like it!’ using open data to predict tourists' response to a tourist attraction

The increasing amount of user-generated content spread via social networking services such as reviews, comments, and past experiences, has made a great deal of information available. Tourists can access this information to support their decision making process. This information is freely accessible online and generates so-called “open data”. While many studies have investigated the effect of online reviews on tourists' decisions, none have directly investigated the extent to which open data analyses might predict tourists' response to a certain destination. To this end, our study contributes to the process of predicting tourists' future preferences via Mathematica^TM, software that analyzes a large set of the open data (i.e. tourists’ reviews) that is freely available on tripadvisor. This is devised by generating the classification function and the best model for predicting the destination tourists would potentially select. The implications for the tourist industry are discussed in terms of research and practice.