Social interactions and intentions to revisit for agritourism service encounters

This study addresses how agritourists' social interactions affect their satisfaction and, in turn, revisit intentions. Adopting social exchange theory and resource theory, the study proposes that social interactions with service providers, local residents, companion tourists, and other customers influence satisfaction, which in turn affects revisit intentions. For this, an onsite survey was conducted to examine the proposed model and test the hypotheses. Subjects (N = 266) were tourists who visited farms. All, but one of the hypotheses were supported or partially supported by the data and the proposed model also had an acceptable fit. Results provide direction for the development of a theoretical framework to understand revisit intentions by seeking to improve the social exchange relationships with agritourists. In addition, the results call for the incorporation of social interactions as a component of the agritourism servicescape.     

Assessing the sustainability of agritourism in the US: a comparison between agritourism and other farm entrepreneurial ventures

Diversifying on-farm enterprise portfolios, especially through agritourism, is claimed to increase farm revenues and help alleviate the economic problems of family farms. Thus, the adoption of agritourism in the US has steadily increased during recent years. Agritourism is also suggested to produce environmental and sociocultural benefits. To quantify these benefits, this study assessed the sustainability of agritourism farms, compared with other farm entrepreneurial ventures, using the “sustainable development” and “farm enterprise diversification” frameworks. Data from 873 US farms with a diversified entrepreneurial portfolio revealed that agritourism farms approach sustainability to a greater extent than their counterparts, producing multiple environmental, sociocultural and economic benefits for their farms, households and even society. Results suggest that agritourism, compared with other farm entrepreneurial ventures, is more successful in increasing farm profits, creating jobs and conserving the natural and cultural heritage. For example, 52.4% of agritourism farms have been within the same family for at least two generations and 73.3% are willing to pass the farm on to their children, proportions that are significantly higher than other entrepreneurial farms. Study results also show, however, that while many agritourism farms practice integrated pest management, they need to be more engaged in other environmentally friendly and conservation practices.     

The Festival in My Hometown: The Relationships Among Performance Quality,Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions

Despite the high volume of research on festivals in Western cultures and the incredible growth of festivals over recent decades, little empirical research has been conducted on festivals in Thailand, many of which have existed more than 100 years. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the motivations that drive people to attend the Tenth Month Merit-Making Festival (TMMF) in Nakhon Si Thammarat, a province in southern Thailand, what they thought of products and services provided at the festival, what their level of satisfaction was, and whether or not they would recommend the festival to others or attend it again in the future. There were 324 respondents participating in the study. Friend—family togetherness, festival novelty, excitement, and escape were the leading motivations for attending the festival. Respondents were most satisfied with arts and crafts, entertainment, ticket price, displays and exhibitions, and the festival's duration. The activity–culture factor was the best performer. Those who were satisfied with the festival would encourage others to attend the festival, but they might not attend again in the future themselves.     

The perceived benefits of agritourism: The provider’s perspective

This study examines the perceived benefits of agritourism by examining the importance of this activity in accomplishing 16 goals of farmers receiving visitors for recreation on their farms. This study also examines several farm household and business attributes associated with the accomplishment of four goal dimensions driving agritourism development. Data were derived from a survey conducted among 164 agritourism farms in Missouri. Results showed that agritourism mostly serves to capture new farm customers, educate the public about agriculture and enhance the quality of life for the farm family, which represents both, economic and non-economic benefits. Organized by goal dimensions, findings showed that agritourism is perceived as most important for market related goals, suggesting that the economic role of agritourism should not only be measured in terms of increased profits but also as a marketing tool. Four significant regression models showed that several farm business and household attributes are associated to the perceived agritourism benefits within four goal dimensions, suggesting opportunities for tailored promotional messages and policy considerations for the entrepreneurial development of agritourism.     

Understanding leisure travel motivations of travelers with acquired mobility impairments

The purpose of the study was to understand what motivated people with mobility impairments to travel frequently. Two focus groups were conducted and results were analyzed in light of Crompton’s (1979) push/pull conceptual framework exploring pleasure travel motivation. Results showed that although travelers with acquired mobility impairments shared many similar motives with travelers not identified as having mobility impairments, they also had unique motivations including “Independence”, “The Desire of Being in a Natural Environment”, “Adventure/Risk”, “Do It Today”, and “Accessibility.” Findings and limitations of the study are discussed and implications of the results are suggested.     

Agritourism from the perspective of providers and visitors: a typology-based study

In recent decades, international studies have improved understanding of how agritourism is practiced. However, studies are founded on a range of definitions based on different combinations of key characteristics, which have been synthesised in our recent typology (Phillip, Hunter, & Blackstock, 2010). The typology provides a foundation for this study, which further develops conceptual understanding of agritourism by integrating empirical understandings of agritourism with the original typology, which was based on the literature. Our revised typology presented here incorporates three discriminating characteristics, which are fundamentally consistent with the original version: the nature of interaction between visitors and agriculture; whether the product is based on a working farm; and whether the visitor experiences authentic working agriculture. This paper makes two important contributions to the agritourism literature: 1) it integrates stakeholder perspectives to the agritourism literature; and 2) it exemplifies and examines one way that the typology can be used to underpin further agritourism research.     

The effect of agritourism experience on consumers’ future food purchase patterns

Recent studies on agritourism share a common voice in that the economic benefit of agritourism to farms is significant but rather small. However, the majority of studies examine only the short-term economic impact of agritourism. This suggests that the potential long-run economic impacts of agritourism may not have been empirically investigated yet, leading to underestimation of its net impact. Meanwhile, theories on mere exposure and product familiarity suggest that agritourism may lead tourists to change their agriproduct purchasing patterns after the experience. Thus, this study examines the effect of agritourism experience on consumers' future grocery purchase patterns. Household-level consumer panel data on grocery expenditure is estimated through the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) approach. The results indicate that agritourism experience significantly alters consumers' expenditure patterns in the food categories of grain, vegetable, fruit, meat, and fish. Implications for research and practice are discussed along with the findings of the study.     

Considering the role of agritourism co-creation from a service-dominant logic perspective

In recent decades, providing production and service simultaneously has remained an unsolved problem in developing agritourism. This study adopted the concept of service-dominant logic, with a service blueprint to assist entrepreneurs in designing agritourism activities that will enhance the tourists' experience within four working farm field experiments. The results showed that agritourism activities with SDL design (experiment B) did not comprehensively enhance the experience of tourists learning agricultural knowledge. The agricultural activities (i.e., experience of rural culture) (experiment C) and other tourist behaviors (i.e., tourists' mutual engagement) (experiment D) were integrated with SDL agritourism activities in order to more effectively enhance the tourists' experience of agritourism and lead to an increase in tourists' intention to revisit and actual purchase of agricultural products. Based on our findings, rural culture and tourists' mutual engagement were critical for agribusiness to integrate the specific characteristics of internal service (e.g., agritourism activities or service strategy).     

The Influence of Psychological Needs in Mexican Older Adults' Leisure Motivations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to understand if and how the three elements of the basic needs theory play a role in Mexican older adults' leisure motivations. A case study research strategy was chosen. Data were collected using individual interviews with 18 participants (6 men and 12 women). After the data were analyzed, three core themes emerged: the fulfillment of psychological needs is not always a precondition for leisure engagement, traditional ways of conceptualizing the need for relatedness and the need for competence need to be reconsidered, and gender inequality and gender roles affect women's need for autonomy in their leisure engagement.     

Aspects of Lifestyle Change in China: Motivations for Self-Drive Travel – A Chinese Domestic Market Perspective

China’s rapid economic growth in the last decades has triggered an explosion of private car ownership, which has brought about the increasing popularity of self-drive travel. This study aims to explore Chinese domestic travelers’ motivations for self-drive travel. By surveying 436 habitual self-drive travelers in China, the study extracted a 5-factor motivation model (comprising 24 motivation items). Based on the diverse motivations, respondents were clustered into three groups. The results contribute to a better understanding of Chinese self-drive travelers’ needs and preferences and could be beneficial for operators in related fields and authorities for their product design and operation.     

Leisure motivation of people with physical and visual disabilities in Ghana

Leisure motivation is central to the provision of leisure services especially to marginalised groups such as disabled people who may have different interests from non-disabled people. Using cross-sectional data from 536 people with physical and visual disabilities, this study assessed the leisure motivations of disabled people in Ghana. The findings suggest that the motivations of people with visual and physical disabilities were fourfold, namely competence mastery, social, intellectual, and stimulus avoidance. The influence of social motivation varied across marital status and household size, while stimulus avoidance varied by type of disability, sex, and employment status. Competence mastery and intellectual motivation varied across sex and income levels. It was concluded that the leisure motivations of disabled people in this study are based on their personal circumstances; they are heterogeneous. The study recommends that research on leisure motivation should be conducted with reference to specific context and interpreted in relation to the individual’s circumstances.     

Ecotourism and the Conservation Ethic: Recruiting the Uninitiated or Preaching to the Converted?

Ecotourism is being promoted as a sustainable alternative to mass tourism, although critics suggest that it may be just as damaging because it encourages increased use of natural areas. One of ecotourism's claimed benefits is the promotion of pro-environment attitudes and behaviours. However, this may not occur if ecotourists are already 'converted' to the pro-environment cause. To test this claim, a study was undertaken of ecotourists visiting Lamington National Park in southeast Queensland. A pre-/post-visit questionnaire survey was conducted on-site, as well as a follow-up mail-out survey four months later. This paper presents results of that study in terms of four ecotourist groups. Results indicate that ecotourism can increase environmental knowledge and influence conservation views and behaviours. Of the four groups, coach day tour visitors were the least pro-environment initially but had relatively strong ecotourist motivations. They achieved the highest gains in knowledge and in the short term were influenced the most by the visit. In the long term, respondents who were the most pro-environment and who had learnt most during their visit were influenced the most. Therefore, for immediate effects of the experience on the uninitiated to endure, motivations need to be stimulated to encourage further involvement in and learning about nature. The question remains as to whether encouraging such involvement will have net benefits for the environment.     

The Study of Post-disaster Tourism Recovery and Reconstruction Based on Tourist Motivations: The Case of Jiuzhaigou after “5·12” Wenchuan Earthquake

旅游业灾后恢复重建是灾区经济社会恢复重建的重要“突破口”,尤其在旅游业作为主导产业或支柱产业的地区；而理解灾区游客旅游动机有利于旅游业灾后恢复重建管理战略的制定.该研究以遭受“5·12”汶川地震影响的九寨沟为例,运用结构方程模型,引入“灾害事件引发的旅游动机”,对灾区国内游客的多种旅游动机交互作用关系进行分析,证实了灾区旅游业恢复重建管理中:①恢复重建的关键内容是“核心旅游吸引物与安全”；②恢复重建的重点区域是灾区内已有高知名度的旅游地或在灾害事件中成为全球关注焦点的地区；③对目的地优质旅游接待服务意象的修复或构建能够恢复和提升灾区的旅游市场竞争力；④灾后旅游业市场营销需要重新区分客源市场并进行定位；⑤国民对灾区的爱国情怀可能会为目的地带来更多的国内旅游流,但需要营造“到灾区旅游是对灾区恢复重建最大援助”的社会氛围.     

A typology for defining agritourism

Agritourism has been studied in various ways and contexts. It can be argued, however, that studies have yet to provide a clear and basic understanding of the characteristics that underpin and define agritourism. This paper proposes an original typology for defining agritourism by identifying the key characteristics currently used to define agritourism in the literature and organising them into a transparent and structured framework. For the first time, the agritourism typology clarifies and classifies definitions of agritourism that currently exist in the literature. It therefore offers a comprehensive framework that can be used as a basis for more informed debate and discussion and for future empirical research.     

An Exploratory Study of Convention Specific Social Media Usage by Attendees: Motivations and Effect of Generations on Choice of Convention Information Source and Intention to Use Mobile Application

While social media and mobile devices have grown as important tools of communication and marketing in the meeting industry, limited research has explored convention attendees’ perception of convention specific social networking media and what the motivations are for attendees’ adoption of using convention specific social media. This study aims to identify convention attendees’ motivations of using convention specific social media and demands of convention specific mobile applications. This study also investigated how attendees’ generation affects their selection of convention information sources and attitude toward mobile applications. Based on the identified key motivations of using convention specific social media, convention organizers need to build social media that provide up-to-dated convention information as well as a functionality of building community among attendees. The findings also show that generation affects the choice of convention information source and intention of mobile applications usage. This study identified the most demanded convention mobile applications including, exhibitor directory search, convention floor plan, and convention itinerary planner. This study can be used as a basis for more extensive examinations of the use of social media in conventions and for empirical testing of convention attendees’ attitudes toward convention social media and mobile applications.     

Antecedents and consequences of managerial behavior in agritourism

Drawing from contingency theory and the concept of entrepreneurship, this study investigates the viability of small-scale agritourism business. Specifically, this paper identifies the antecedents (i.e., external environment and internal conditions) and consequences (i.e., financial and non-financial benefits) of managerial behaviors (i.e., innovation, pro-activeness, and aggressiveness) that exist when operating an agritourism business. Based on responses from the USDA census of agriculture, the results of this research reveal the heterogeneous effects of antecedents that contribute positively and negatively to managerial behavior. The varied influences of managerial behavior on different types of business performance are identified. Also, theoretical implications of the development of agritourism studies as well as managerial implications for owners, consultants, and policymakers related to the small tourism business in rural areas are provided.     

Ibiza dances to the rhythm of pedals: The motivations of mountain biking tourists competing in sporting events

Renowned worldwide for its nightlife, Ibiza has been diversifying its portfolio of tourism products by actively committing to sports tourism. The primary objective of this study is to explore the profile of the mountain bikers participating in the 2016 IBIZA BTT, a medium-sized international sporting event, taking place in the Balearic Islands, Spain. The study addresses the analysis of visitor motivations. A sample of participants (n = 499) was segmented using cluster analysis to explore the differences between segments in terms of sociodemographic and behavioral variables. A factor analysis revealed four motivational dimensions: physiological-sensory, utilitarian purposes, hedonic and previous experience. The average values indicated that route signage, good weather, and the cost of the trip were the main motivations. The cluster analysis resulted in three groups of cyclists: multipurpose seekers, utility-prestige and sensory seekers. In order to refine the group profiles, they were crossed with socio-economic and behavioral variables.     

A Comparison of Ecolodge Patrons' Characteristics and Motivations Based on Price Levels: A Case Study of Belize

Ecolodges are an increasingly popular accommodation form. This study determined the demographic and trip characteristics, as well as the travel motivations of ecolodge patrons at three different price levels: budget, mid-price and upscale. Six ecolodges were studied in the Cayo District of Belize. Of 480 questionnaires distributed at the ecolodges, 331 valid surveys were returned (68.9% response rate). The clients of the Belizean ecolodges had some demographic characteristics similar to those of ecotourists found in other studies: middle-aged, highly educated, and employed with high levels of income. This study found consistency amongst the three groups in the most important travel attraction motives, with tropical forests and wilderness/undisturbed nature ranked highest by all groups. The study also showed consistency amongst the three groups with regards to travel social motives, with learn and explore nature the top-ranked social motive by all groups. The study found significant differences amongst the price levels on many variables, including: age, country of residence, education, employment status, income, party composition, trip length, length of stay at the ecolodge and level of ecolodge experience. There were important differences found in travel motivations and the importance of ecolodge attributes. The mid-price group was the hardest to please; they wanted a lower price, yet desired the quality, services and programmes of the upscale group.     

The motivations and expectations of international volunteer tourists: A case study of “Chinese Village Traditions”

International volunteer tourists devote not only financial support but also time and effort to conservation, preservation, or humanitarian projects outside their original countries. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a qualitative study on the motivations of ten international volunteer tourists who joined the “Chinese Village Traditions” expedition of the Earthwatch Institute in the summer of 2008. The main research question was, “Why do people join international volunteer tourism trips?” Eleven themes dealing with motivations emerged and were categorized into three groups: personal, interpersonal, and other. Four personal factors were measured: authentic experience, interest in travel, challenge/stimulation, and other interest. Four interpersonal factors were also considered: desire to help, interaction with locals/cultures, encouraged by others, and enhancing relationships. Other factors included unique style of the trip, time/money, and organization goal. The findings of this study echo previous literature reviews in different settings.     

Diversity of offerings and consumer’s expenditure: an exploration of agritourism in China

ABSTRACT

As diversification becomes a pressing issue in China’s agritourism, extant literature provides insufficient and controversial findings on its influence. This research investigates the influence of the diversity of offerings on consumer’s expenditure, considering its interactive effects with quality and distance, by conducting analyses of hierarchical regression, multiple-linear regression and exploratory factor analysis. It is found that the diversity of offerings does not affect consumer’s expenditure alone, but interactively with quality and distance; consumer’s expenditure can be maximised with an optimal distance depending on the diversity of offerings; and there are four main business models of agritourism in China.