Prioritizing destination attributes for optimal resource allocation: a study of Chinese tourists visiting Britain

ABSTRACT

This study assesses the importance, performance, and the interrelationships of key destination attributes for marketing managers to prioritize resource allocation. A three-dimensional analysis of importance–performance–impact-analysis (IPIA) factors, based upon a survey sample of 275 Chinese tourists to Britain and an expert panel interview with 10 destination marketing managers is presented. Data analysis was based upon a mix of multi-criteria decision-making methodologies, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method and the Analytic Network Process (ANP) method. The framework can be applied to prioritize resources allocation to improve customer satisfaction in other contexts, such as a sector or a specific business.     

Marketing Culture and Business Performance in the Airline Industry

Abstract

In recent years the airline industry has witnessed increased emphasis on the cultivation of a culture which fosters the effective implementation of marketing programmes. This growing attention stems from the belief that sound marketing practices provide an important source of competitive advantage in the service sector which is characterised by high levels of interaction between firms and their customers. Moreover, marketing academics and managers proclaim that a strong marketing culture leads to customer retention, which in turn, yields higher profitability. In this study an attempt is made to investigate empirically the relationship between UK airline firms' marketing culture and business performance. Our results indicate a strong relationship between marketing culture and business performance. To conclude, implications of the findings for airline managers and avenues for future research are discussed.     

Copysites / duplitectures as tourist attractions: An exploratory study on experiences of Chinese tourists at replicas of foreign architectural landmarks in China

This study aims to clarify the position of duplitectures/copysites in the theoretical stream of tourism authenticity. It does so by exploring the meanings assigned by domestic Chinese tourists, based on their socially and culturally held beliefs, while they interact with architectural imitations imported from alien cultures. The primary research method is an emergent qualitative design that involved in-depth interviews of Chinese tourists at the eight copysites considered in this study. The findings reveal three relevant themes. Reconceptualization of authenticity indicates that the concept of imitation has very different connotations in China compared to those in the West. Cultural self-exploration reflects an evolving stage of intercultural maturity manifested by Chinese tourists. De-globalization has led to cultural homogenization of the tourist spaces in China. The findings fill the lacuna in existing theoretical streams of tourism authenticity by clarifying the position of copysites and has practical implications for domestic tourism marketing organizations in China.     

Destination gender: Scale development and cross-cultural validation

Destination gender traits have attracted considerable attention in the tourism marketing literature, inspired by the concept of branding. A scale to measure destination gender with a Chinese sample is first developed and validated in this study. Then, the scale is tested with a Western sample for comparison. Results show that destination gender is a second-order construct encompassing two first-order constructs (i.e., masculinity and femininity) and their sub-dimensions. Ultimately, a 25-item Destination Gender Scale (DGS) is assembled with four sub-dimensions of masculinity (i.e., dominance, vigor, courage, and competence) and four sub-dimensions of femininity (i.e., grace, softness, gorgeousness, and kindheartedness). Nomological validity results suggest that destination gender is positively related to individuals’ actual/ideal gender identity congruity and revisit intentions irrespective of their biological sex. This study contributes to the destination branding literature by considering destination image through a gender-based lens and presenting a reliable tool to assess destination gender. Destination managers can apply these findings to develop efficient marketing tactics around salient destination gender traits.     

When enough is enough! Alcohol servers’ refusal styles and key antecedents

While alcohol servers’ play a critical role in managing customers’ intoxication in hospitality settings, there is little research that investigates actual server refusal behaviors within hedonic interactions. This study is an in-depth exploration of the key styles alcohol servers use to refuse alcohol service and the determinants of these behaviors. Fourteen interviews conducted with service staff reveal four styles of alcohol refusal behaviors: assertive, hedonic, avoiding, and compromising refusal. Four determinants of supervisory/organizational support, efficacy in enacting behavior, perceived responsibility, and perceived customer characteristics and behaviors appear to relate to these refusal behaviors. The paper addresses marketing and policy implications for hospitality managers, and concludes with limitations and future research directions.     

Managing green marketing: Hong Kong hotel managers’ perspective

In view of the serious environmental problems we are currently facing, taking action to protect our planet is becoming more persuasive and important. Along with various environmental initiatives, the concept of green marketing emerged in the late 1980s. Some hotels have taken various initiatives to position themselves as green hotels, including the use of eco-labels as a marketing ploy to attract customers. Nevertheless, some of the hotels that use these green marketing strategies have been accused of “green washing”. The main aim of this study is to investigate Hong Kong hotel manager perceptions of the relative importance of different green marketing strategies. Questionnaires containing 30 attributes were distributed to this effect. The findings reveal that hotel managers equally perceive “Hotel green marketing should begin with green product and service design”, “Hotels provide products and services that do no harm to human health” and “The Internet is an effective channel to market a hotel's green initiatives to customers directly” as the top green marketing ploys. Independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA were also used to examine significant differences in the way hotel managers with different professional backgrounds and individual demographic characteristics rate the importance of hotel-related green marketing strategies. The findings indicate that lower-grade hotels tend to adopt lean green marketing strategies, whereas hotels with larger sizes or formal environmental management systems are likely to adopt shaded or extreme green marketing strategies. The study also provides a number of insights to help hotel managers and especially marketers better understand the implementation and importance of different green marketing strategies, thereby allowing them to employ suitable measures to avoid the “green washing” designation and attract more green-conscious travellers.     

Technology

Abstract

The presence of technology in the hospitality industry is increasing at a rapid rate. Technology has had an effect on the efficiency of many facets of the hospitality industry. Despite the growing number of meetings, conventions, and conferences, there has not been a published needs assessment study of training needs-especially technology needs-of hospitality sales managers. This paper presents the results of the first part of a study that examined technology training needs for hospitality sales managers and meeting planners. The top three technology skills training needs that surfaced in the 1996 study included advertising/marketing on the Internet, developing request for proposals, and meeting planning/sales management systems.     

MICE,ICT and Local Economic Development

Abstract

This paper investigates how information and communication technologies (ICT), and particularly the World Wide Web (Web), can enhance the role that Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) properties play in local economic development (LED). The complex linkages between MICE, ICT and LED are explored through a literature review, a website audit, in-depth interviews, and a case study of Te Kahurangi (TK) in New Zealand (NZ). Our findings reveal that the Web has considerable (but as yet largely untapped) potential to facilitate linkages between MICE and local economies. Such potential can only be reached, however, through careful planning, and the realization on the part of managers, developers and planners, that the Web is not only simply a marketing tool but also an integral part of attempts to improve internal MICE performance and external links to local development.     

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.     

Practitioner perspectives on arts tourism marketing

Public sector organizations in the UK, especially those responsible for tourism and leisure services, have embraced the private (business/commercial enterprise) sector paradigm apparently in order to improve efficiency, increase usage and provide higher levels of customer service. This paper presents the findings of an initial study of UK arts and leisure managers responsible for the marketing of their venues and services. Applying an interpretivist methodology, the study identifies perceptions and applications of marketing concepts to this highly sensitive area of cultural development and expression. Key marketing tools are identified and their suitability for use in achieving sponsor, provider and customer objectives evaluated, as is the impact of marketing activity. The rationale for (marketing) decision‐making is explored. The methodology developed and employed in this research is transportable to other marketing applications and is therefore significant in terms of research development. The discussion and conclusions show the way forward to this end, particularly within the tourism and leisure field, which is the immediate focus of this study.     

Social marketing,sustainable tourism,and small/medium size tourism enterprises: challenges and opportunities for changing guest behaviour

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the impact on the guest experience of initiatives promoting water efficient behaviour in small/medium-sized enterprises (SMTEs) offering tourism accommodation. Interviews with 16 SMTE managers revealed businesses were unable to incorporate many initiatives previously examined in the literature, due to the small size of their businesses. In the interviews, however, they contributed three new ideas not previously examined in existing sustainable tourism dialogues. A subsequent questionnaire (n = 408) was administered to potential guests to better understand their water use behaviour, explore how initiatives might impact their accommodation experience, and to assess guest reactions to social marketing messages. Eight initiatives and five messages were tested. Cluster analysis revealed three distinct water user segments with one cluster showing the greatest promise for targeting to increase return on investment. Guests reported the highest positive impact on their experience from initiatives SMTEs stated were not operationally viable. This may indicate that larger firms have a competitive advantage over SMTEs if applying social marketing to change guest behaviour. However, the study found that two of the new initiatives, suggested by SMTE managers as more appropriate to their businesses, would be viable in engaging guests and at acceptably low costs.     

The moderating role of context in the effects of choice attributes on hotel choice: A discrete choice experiment

This study used discrete choice modeling to identify the moderating role of context in the effects of cognitive, affective, and sensory attributes on hotel choice. To evaluate a hotel consumer's choice for attributes in a different choice context (leisure vs. business), a stated preference experiment based on D-optimal design was conducted using both a multinomial logit (MNL) model and a random parameter logit (RPL) model. The results show that while leisure travelers' choices for family vacation trips were more influenced by price and overall atmosphere than were business travelers', business travelers put an emphasis on room quality and comfort when on a business trip alone. The study demonstrates the trade-offs made by leisure and business travelers when choosing a hotel through discrete choice modeling. The findings provide hotel managers with important insights and implications in terms of target segmentation, product development, and marketing communication strategy.     

The effect of Facebook users’ arousal and valence on intention to go to the festival: Applying an extension of the technology acceptance model

The rapid development of social media has challenged event managers to rethink how this trend will shape traditional marketing practices. Given the rise of these technologies, the current breed of special event “fan” has started to take advantage of and venture into this social space for possible benefits. For event managers, the fundamental issue becomes how to uncover the process through which special event consumers come to accept social media marketing. This paper reviews social media marketing literature, the characteristics of event marketing, and highlights the emotional aspect of social media applications. An extended TAM (technology acceptance model) is adopted to explain the mechanism by which social media marketing influences attitudes toward Facebook event pages. The authors find that users’ emotions exhibited on the Facebook event page do have a significant impact on the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived enjoyment of such social media marketing. However, only the last construct significantly influences users’ attitudes and intentions toward an event. Implications and insights were provided to event practitioners and were discussed accordingly.     

Tourism life cycle and sustainability analysis: Profit-focused strategies for mature destinations

Tourist destinations tend to follow similar development patterns. Eventually, all destinations enter the market maturity stage leading to a decline in visitors. To prevent visitor decline, tourism managers and policy makers try to reposition their destinations appealing to more tourist segments. A multi-segment strategy is expensive and may create a fuzzy destination image, further accelerating the decline. An alternative strategy extends Zeithaml, Rust, and Lemon’s (2001) customer pyramid theory. This paper applies customer pyramid theory to Turkey’s tourism industry. Precise targeting of the most loyal visitors (Platinum tourists) creates a less costly and more focused marketing strategy leading to a sustainable tourism industry. Loyal Platinum tourists tend to be less price sensitive than other visitors. The discussion includes strategies to convert Gold and Iron category tourists to Platinum providing additional growth opportunities.     

Deployment of Restaurants Websites’ Marketing Features: The Case of Spanish Michelin-Starred Restaurants

ABSTRACT

Websites have become a fundamental marketing tool for tourism businesses and have a special importance for highly rated restaurants. The aim of this article is to propose and apply a model to evaluate the deployment and adoption of website marketing features of restaurants from a specific category. The model is based on the application of an extended model of Internet commerce adoption (eMICA) technique for technical depth, combined with content analysis for breadth. This study analyzes the website features and capabilities for Spanish restaurants in the 2015 Michelin Red Guide. A total of 102 restaurants were analyzed. The results of the website evaluation model suggest that, despite the importance of the restaurant sector in the economy and in the tourism industry, the websites of high-quality restaurants require improvements to adapt to customers’ demands. Results further found that these websites are not tourist-orientated and are established at different stages of development.     

Lifestyle Segmentation in Tourism and Leisure

ABSTRACT

This article examines three different approaches to lifestyle segmentation in improving the quality of tourism and leisure marketing decisions in three separate cases. Tourism and leisure products are prototypical lifestyle purchase yet in many tourism research studies visitors are described by demographics or tourism behaviour only. These cases illustrate different approaches to lifestyle segmentation. Firstly, there are segmentation schemes based on external logic that can be broadly applied across a range of markets, including tourism and leisure. Alternatively, there are schemes that are based on a 'conversation' with the data and which rely on an internal logic within that data that may not transfer to other market contexts. Between these two lie schemes that apply external paradigms to specific datasets. The cases selected illustrate points along this spectrum.

The first case study examines the use by government tourism organizations of lifestyle segmentation 'bought in' from an external source. Here lifestyle segmentation data is collected from a representative sample of the Australian population as part of a commercial “single source” data set. The second case is based on a regional tourism study, which has utilized prior theory to develop its own lifestyle segmentation and at the same time related this to boarder characteristics of tourists in Tropical North Queensland. The third case examines the development of tailored lifestyle segmentation among 'event' spectators based on purely internal criteria unrelated to the broader population. These cases provide insight into the appropriate development and application of lifestyle segmentation and the use of the data by tourism and leisure managers. Managers may think about the type of lifestyle segmentation approach required based on how the segmentation scheme results need to be related to the wider market or population.     

A Field Experimental Investigation of Managerially Facilitated Consumer-to-Consumer Interaction

Positive social interactions among consumers are considered increasingly important elements in corporate relationship marketing efforts. There is scant empirical research, however, demonstrating the effect of consumer interactions facilitated by service industry managers on consumer evaluations and behavioral intentions. This study employs a field experimental methodology utilizing four half-day cultural heritage tours (n = 156) to examine consumer-to-consumer (C-to-C) interactions within the group travel context. Research findings demonstrate that managerially facilitated C-to-C interactions significantly increase tour member satisfaction and enjoyment. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, and calls are made for more field experimental methodologies to be used in tourism research.     

Market Segmentation in the Tourism Industry and Consumers' Spending

Abstract

Despite the unabated pace of globalisation and the incessant flow of tourists to multiple tourist destinations, there is little attention paid by tourist operators and hospitality managers to the segmentation of holiday makers based on their distinctive spending habits for revenue maximization. Segmenting holiday makers according to their levels of expenditure is an important factor in developing comprehensive marketing strategies since travellers who decide to spend a vacation in the same area and in the same period might spend their money in very different ways. This paper uses the CHAID technique to examine direct as well as daily tourist expenditures of holiday makers in Hong Kong to define market segments (particularly, the big spenders). The results obtained confirm that CHAID is a relatively flexible technique to use and can be employed as a precursor to a more parametric approach.     

Restaurant Management and Operations

Abstract

Virtual enterprise (VE) is an inter-disciplinary business simulation, where students use technology to trade products and services through a global e-commerce network of more than 3,000 firms. VE CAANESA International Restaurant utilizes the Internet as a major part of the daily enterprise operations. This inner city community of students worked in an on-campus office environment as managers of different departments, using a web-based instructional platform. The paper is an empirical study, demonstrating the course design, development and dissemination of information using regular classroom instruction in business and marketing techniques, as well as the Internet accessed instructional program. The course information could be accessed at any time day or night. The usage information is detailed within. The shift in the comfort level of the students in various skills was measured at the beginning and end of the semester when the students took a self-evaluative skills inventory assessment survey. The survey measured their competency; their ratings are included.     

Enhancing Competitiveness Through Guests’ Experiences: A Typology of Customer Experiences in Upscale Hotels

This study sought to develop a marketing model that can enhance the competitiveness of four- and five-star hotels in Kenya. The main factors generating guests’ expectations and delight were investigated after focusing on managers’ and customers’ opinions since these perspectives have generally been underexplored. The voices and viewpoints of these stakeholders were therefore incorporated and analyzed in determining an appropriate marketing model, which was based on the experiences of guests in hotels after examining what they considered important.