(Re)constructing the tourist experience? Editing experience and mediating memories of learning to dive

Abstract

Through an analysis of the mediative techniques involved in the production of videographic tourist memorabilia (specifically souvenir DVDs of learning to SCUBA dive), in this paper I seek to render visible the often unconsidered aspects of visual media production that result in not only visual images themselves, but also by extension, the construction of alternate realities of leisure space and tourist performance. A connectionist approach to the study of memory is advocated highlighting that mediatory technologies, whilst acting as stimulants for recollection, actually inform and construct memories rather than transmitting realistic snippets of past experience. In the paper, it is questioned whether ‘authenticity’ is a relevant frame of reference bearing in mind that the ‘post-tourist’ is often perfectly aware of the lack of authenticity in many tourist activities and happy to go along with a pretence. With this in mind, the paper concludes by stating that ‘reality’ is arguably being edited out of memories concerning tourism’s places and practices through the production of commercially driven and produced ‘souvenirs’. For the most part, the paper focuses on the experiences of young tourists between the ages of 18–25, the key demographic attracted to the field site in question.     

‘Intelligent investment’? Welsh sport policy and the (in)visibility of ‘race’

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we draw on research conducted in Wales to consider reasons for participation and non-participation in sport and physical activity among Black and minoritised ethnic (BME) groups. This study exposes the challenge at the heart of sports policy in relation to ‘race’ and ethnicity in Wales that, if not addressed, may lead to the marginalisation of attempts to increase BME participation in sport and physical activity despite good intent. It points to a disjuncture between supply and demand and leads us to question the extent to which such policies resonate with the interests, needs and lived experiences of people from different BME communities in Wales. We draw on testimonies of policy-makers and implementers, as well as individuals from various BME communities in five regions of Wales, to consider the extent to which national sports policy encourages strategies to increase participation among different ethnic groups. We suggest that increasing participation among BME communities and other ‘hard-to-reach’ groups must go beyond accounting for the supply aspects of sport and physical activity to consider more critically the plethora of barriers and exclusions facing many BME communities. We conclude by arguing that for racial inequalities to be reduced, and promises such as ‘sport for all’ to be realised, the analysis of policy needs to be related to broader relations of power in the culture of both sport and society.     

Sex and the (seventeenth‐century) city: a research note towards a long history of leisure

Sociability and sexuality have long been acknowledged by scholars as core aspects of leisure, but historical quotidian practices such as heterosociability among young people have remained elusive. Sociologists as well as historians have elevated the interrogation of leisure to a rich area of specialisation, but one with limited historical depth since their attention has primarily focused on the last 200 years, and especially – by historians’ standards – the very recent past. This research note explores the centrality of heterosexuality as a key to youth leisure culture in seventeenth‐century French cities to argue that the pre‐modern history of leisure needs to be complicated not only by questions about class and about clearer categories of labour and leisure, but by the topics of gender and sexuality that are strikingly absent from current literature.     

Present State and Trend of Development of the World's Tourism

The World Tourism Organization has tecently announced a survey on the golbe's tourism in the past 30years     

Negative Film Plot and Tourists´ Image and Intentions: The Case of City of God

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the effects of films with a negative plot on tourists’ cognitive and affective image about Brazil and behavioral intentions of visiting the country. The film selected is City of God, one of the most internationally acclaimed motion pictures produced in Brazil. The results suggest that films with a negative plot tend to negatively reinforce the viewers’ evaluations of the image attributes, although the influence on the general image tends to be subtle. Moreover, it was concluded that in the case of films with a negative plot, the imagery of landscapes is the element that is most likely to increase visiting intention.     

Measuring the Service Quality of a Package Group of Mainland Students Taking the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) in Hong Kong – Application of the Structural Equation Model (SEM)

Based on the analysis of relevant literature studies on tourism service quality, this paper develops a theoretical model of the service quality of a package group of mainland students taking the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) in Hong Kong. The structural equation model (SEM) is utilized to analyze the dimensionality of service quality of this special travel mode and its relationships with important consequence factors. The results turn out a 6-dimension, 21-item scale for measuring service quality and positive relationships between the scale and customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions levels. This study not only fills the gap in the study of package groups of mainland students taking the SAT in Hong Kong, but also offers practical insights into better developing and operating products of this special travel mode.     

How the introduction of concepts of energy saving and carbon reduction (ESCR) can affect festival visitors’ behavioural intentions: an investigation using a structural model

This study investigates the relationships across a behaviour model of festival visitors based on a major festival encouraging energy saving and carbon reduction (ESCR). Using the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition (Taiwan) as a case study, 275 visitors completed a questionnaire, the answers to which were assessed using a structural equation model to test the behaviour model and its six hypotheses. The results showed that behaviour intentions are the best predictors of “value orientation”, “motivation for visiting”, “visitor experience” and “attitude towards behaviour”. Specifically, a highly positive correlation between visitors’ motivations and their experiences was found, suggesting that the presentation of festival activities influences visitors’ perceptions. The ESCR curriculum design and pedagogy, especially the inclusion of reflective learning, was found to be very important for the successful planning of future events, as was green transportation using advanced, energy-saving vehicles and effective waste processing and disposal at the site. Prior studies have explored links between festival tourism and behavioural change, but have often focused on Western contexts; this study provides an Asian cultural setting. Suggestions are made for future research.     

Home of (or for?) Champions? The Politics of High-Performance/Elite and Community sport at New Zealand’s Home of Cycling

Abstract

Creating inclusiveness and user-friendly spaces is a challenge to any new sporting venue. This article explores the attempts by various ‘stakeholders’ involved in the production of the Avantidrome, New Zealand's ‘Home of Cycling’ to align the rhetorics with the realities for creating a new velodrome across its first 20 months of operation. More specifically, there exists a tension in the ‘selling’ of a sport-for-all model with the public construction of a high-performance, elite-use facility. In neoliberal times, such contradictions seemingly proliferate when public spending blends and blurs with corporate sponsorship and a results-driven framework for funding elite sport while being aligned with visions of community. Combining user interviews and sustained on-site ethnographic observations with Foucault's theories of power, we seek to understand how these multiple entities produced relational forms of power that resulted in efforts to accommodate both community-based and high performance models within the same cycling space.     

Making Reservations Online: The Impact of Consumer-Written and System-Aggregated User-Generated Content (UGC) in Travel Booking Websites on Consumers’ Behavioral Intentions

This study examines how consumer-written and system-aggregated user-generated content (UGC) on travel booking websites jointly influence consumer behavior. The purpose of this research is to test the effects of different types of UGC on various consumer behavior outcomes. Experiment 1 found a significant interaction effect between UGC type (consumer-written versus system-aggregated) and valence (positive versus negative) on product evaluation, perceived information value, and satisfaction. Experiment 2 found a significant interaction between consumer-written and system-aggregated UGC valences. When consumer-written UGC was negative, consumers demonstrated more negative product evaluation and lower buying intention, regardless of system-aggregated UGC valence. When consumer-written and system-aggregated UGC valences matched, consumers indicated greater perceived information value, satisfaction, and future behavioral intention. Trustworthiness partially mediated the effect of the fit between consumer-written and system-aggregated UGC on consumer satisfaction.     

Wonderful Tourist Views: Mingsha (Roaring)Sand Dunes and Crescent Moon Spring

Located at south of Dunhuang City in Gansu Province, there isa wonderful desert scenery ofunique grace—the Mingsha(Roaring)Sand Dunes and the Crescent MoonSpring. The former is renowned forthe sound of sand-sliding; the latteris well-known for its new-moon-like-shape. In thousands of years, thismarvellous landscape in theimmensity of sand gained world-widefame just as the frescos in MogaoGrottoes at Dunhuang.     

Tourists’ Experiences of Mindfulness in Dubai,United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Mindfulness is a relatively new theoretical area that has received little research focus. This is surprising, considering the wealth of benefits to individuals and businesses who adopt a mindful philosophy. The aim of this study was to reduce this gap in knowledge by attempting to understand how mindfulness affects tourists’ experiences while holidaying in a popular tourist destination, such as Dubai. Results suggested that mindfulness appears to occur indiscriminately and, almost, haphazardly. Empirical results of the study revealed that mindfulness was a likely occurrence regardless of visitor demographics, and that mindfulness would impact what visitors remembered and why.     

Which Journal Articles are Uncited? The Case of the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research and the Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing

Two main streams of research performance evaluation rely on quantitative measurement of research output and citation count. Although research output counting has achieved a certain degree of success, such an approach cannot assess the impact of a publication on knowledge development. A citation count, in contrast, measures the influence of a publication on subsequent research efforts. Citation count has thus become an important way to represent research performance. This study analyzes the uncited articles published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research and the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing in the period 1996–2005. Findings would be of use to academic researchers in planning for the type of article to write.     

情丝(散文)

1979年,那个白雪皑皑的冬天我离开了东北那片辽阔的土地,回到了北京.然而,多年过去,对那片土地、那片山水的缕缕情丝却难以割断.     

旅游服务(续)

１６、据世界旅游组织的数据显示，在过去的１０年中，不含国际交通费的国际旅游收入增加了两倍多，年递增率在１３％左右。１９９７年，从旅游总收入上说，美国名列第一，总计７５１亿美元，尔后是意大利，３００亿美元，法国２７９亿美元，西班牙２７２亿美元。在发展中...     

历山(垣曲)

历山是中条山的主峰,境内峰峦叠翠,高距云表,保存着华北地区仅有的一片原始森林,是国家级自然保护区。在这里,自然风光、原始森林和古人类文化融为一体。舜王坪为历山之巅,海拔2358米,是一处5400余亩的亚高山草旬区,一派塞外草原风光,是为舜王躬耕之地,舜王犁沟清晰可辨,舜王庙、斩龙台、汤坡、舜王灶台、千层饼等关于     

信息库(英文)

国务院发布第三批国家重点风景名胜区名单 THE STATE COUNCIL RELIEASES THE THIRD BATCH OF THE MAJOR NATIONAL SCENIC SPOTS LIST The third batch of the major national scenic spots have been examined and approved by the     

The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail: myths of scientific racism and the pursuit of excellence in sport†

Despite the continuing publication of research that suggests there is no scientific basis to ‘race’ as a biological category, theories of racial difference continue to be invoked within sport to explain the perceived dominance of black athletes. In the case of John Entine’s controversial ‘Taboo: why black athletes dominate sports and why we are afraid to talk about it’ or undergraduate textbooks that suggest ‘racial differences’ in physique may significantly affect athletic performance, scientific racism is normalised in sport. In this article, the relationship between scientific racism and sport will be examined. Qualitative research with current sport scientists is used to investigate the socio‐ethical tensions within the subject field of sport science between professionalism, scientism and the demand from external interests to produce results that help people in sport win medals. It will be shown that these tensions, combined with the history of race as a category in sport science, combine to create the discourse of scientific knowledge that reflects, rather than challenges, folk genetics of black athletic physicality.     

The Impact of Tour Guides’ Physical Attractiveness,Sense of Humor,and Seniority on Guide Attention and Efficiency

In this study, we investigated whether tourists view attractive tour guides as more competent, humorous tour guides as more approachable, and experienced tour guides as more professional, and whether these three factors influence the effectiveness of tour guide interpretation. The results indicated that physical attractiveness and humor had additive effects on interpretation effectiveness when combined. Although some tour guides were not physically attractive, experience provided an additive effect on interpretation effectiveness. Thus, we recommend discarding stereotypes regarding physical attractiveness and improving education and training in humor for tour guides. Experienced tour guides wearing appropriate attire also increases interpretation effectiveness.     

听雪(散文)

海是壮丽的,茫茫无边的它让人感到自身的渺小.