The effect of distance on tourist behavior: A study based on social media data

Previous studies have mostly used government statistics and survey data to examine the effect of travel distance on tourist behavior. In this study, we used data obtained from Sina Weibo to analyze the travel patterns of tourists who visited Suzhou, China from April 2012 to October 2013. We divided tourists into three groups according to their origin: long-haul, short-haul, and local. A comparison of the three groups' spatial patterns, preferred attractions, restaurants, and hotels, and expenditure levels showed diverse behavioral and consumption patterns of the three groups. We further found a divergent effect of distance on hotel and restaurant expenditure, and the effect of distance on expenditure is less salient than income level and the sites they visited.     

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。     

Network approach to tourist segmentation via user generated content

The study contributes to the tourism literature by demonstrating an approach to segmenting tourists using network analysis with user-generated content. Online reviews of destination attractions are considered as a proxy for visitation data reflective of tourists’ interests. The connectivity between attractions is represented with a network of links created by tourists visiting and reviewing multiple attractions. Attraction clusters are revealed by segmenting this network using network analysis tools. Two segmentation solutions are provided: a posteriori, in which only review information is taken into account, and mixed, in which tourist groups are defined a priori by their travel interests and age, and this information is combined with visitation information. The findings are validated using geovisualization and by comparing them with randomly simulated models.     

Tourist movement patterns understanding from the perspective of travel party size using mobile tracking data: A case study of Xi'an,China

Travel party size has been shown to affect tourists' behavior. However, due to a previous lack of big-data analytical techniques, there remains limited research on the effect of party size on tourist movements from a large-scale perspective. This paper presents an empirical case study on the understanding of tourist movement patterns from the perspective of party size using mobile tracking data in Xi'an, China. A Fine-grained Travel Party Partition (FTPP) method is proposed to automatically distinguish accompanied tourists from a dataset of all tourists in Xi'an. After aggregating travel parties according to the size, tourist movement patterns are compared across different party sizes from demographic, spatial and temporal aspects. We further discuss how the obtained insights can help the stakeholders in travel package improvement, connectivity enhancement among attractions, attraction planning and management, and personalized next-attraction recommendation.     

Are Chinese nationals’ attitudes to wildlife tourist attractions different from those of other nationalities?

Many wildlife tourist attractions (WTAs) have negative impacts on animal welfare and species conservation. In the absence of regulation, raising standards requires tourists to create market pressure by choosing to attend WTAs with benefits for wildlife. We surveyed respondents from five countries – China, Australia, Canada, UK, and USA – to quantify how attitudes to captive animals, and towards WTAs’ outputs and standards, may vary with nationality. Our aim was to provide a firm basis for behaviour change interventions to alter current patterns of tourist consumption of WTAs. All respondents agreed on the importance of conservation and animal welfare, but Chinese respondents were twice as likely to believe that WTAs would not be allowed to exist if they were bad for animals, and that WTAs’ promotional materials were reliable indicators of welfare and conservation standards. These findings indicate Chinese respondents had fundamentally similar attitudes to those from the other countries, but differed in how those attitudes were likely to be applied. Chinese tourists may experience more barriers to aligning their actions with their values with respect to WTAs. Removing these barriers may require information campaigns to highlight the lack of regulation, and the unreliability of some WTAs’ promotional materials and tourists’ reviews.     

Tourists’ digital footprint: The spatial patterns of tourist flows in Qingdao,China

Spatial patterns of tourist flows represent the movement of tourists and show differences in tourism resources giving advice for promoting balanced and sustainable tourism development. This paper proposes a novel framework for analyzing these patterns based on tourists' digital footprint data collected from online travel diaries. Based on illustrative case study data from Qingdao (China), the framework, combining traditional quantitative and social network analysis, is able to pinpoint: (1) The influence of distance decay and attractions’ popularity on the spatial patterns of tourist flows; (2) The uneven distribution of the core tourist nodes and the existence of the structural hole phenomenon, which form a network pattern with unbalanced power and intense internal competition; (3) The formation of the core area for tourism along the coastline – as is typical for coastal tourism cities. This difference of tourism resources between coastal and inland areas, thus, remains a challenge for future tourism development in Qingdao.     

Which endorser and content are most influential in Korean restaurant promotions?

This study explored the influence of advertising brochures that feature endorsers and informational content for a restaurant located in a highly competitive district of Seoul, Korea, that primarily targets foreign tourists. The study examined the effects of three types of endorsers (customer, chef, and owner) on the responses of Japanese tourists. A total of 300 questionnaires were collected from Japanese tourists after personal interviews were conducted at locations in Seoul frequently visited by Japanese tourists.Of the three types of advertisement endorsements tested for Japanese tourists’ attitudinal responses and purchase intentions, the owner spokesperson was found to be the most effective endorser. However, the chef endorsement and the customer endorsement showed similar influences on the Japanese tourists’ attitudinal or behavioral responses. Among the four brochure treatments that tested the effects of resumes and photos, brochures that included both a resume and a photo were found to be the most effective, followed by brochures that only included a photo and brochures that only included a resume. In contrast, the group of brochures that included neither a resume nor a photo was found to be the least influential.     

A machine learning approach to cluster destination image on Instagram

Symbols are powerful in branding and marketing to represent tourist attractions. By bridging semiotics, marketing, and data science in the tourism context, this study uncovers the destination image based on Instagram photographs. This study constructed a novel methodological framework by evaluating different machine learning models to group textual information based on pictorial content. The results highlighted specific destination image clusters such as the wilderness and spirituality of alpine experiences. This information facilitates marketers' understanding of tourists’ preferences and movement. It also discloses blind spots that are less promoted by the marketers.     

Spatial and temporal modelling of tourist movements using Semi-Markov processes

Tourist movement is a complex process. It can be modelled from a number of different perspectives; for example, Tourism, Geography, Economics, Mathematics, Computer Sciences and Psychology. This paper aims to establish a sound methodology, using Semi-Markov processes to model the spatial and temporal movement of tourists. The objective is to understand, predict, control for, and optimise the decisions made by tourists in their choice of attractions. Semi-Markov processes have a Markov chain and a renewal process embedded within their structure, and as such, can be used to provide a wide variety of practical models. One of the outcomes of this approach is the introduction of a measure to assess the attractiveness of particular tourist attractions based on spatial and temporal interactions between the attractions. A case study conducted at Phillip Island Nature Park, Victoria, Australia is used to validate the model. The study’s results support the proposed model’s efficiency. The results are also practical and useful for assisting park managers and tourist operators with park planning and marketing decisions: for example, knowing which attractions are the most popular, how long tourists will spend at any one site; and what the likely routes are that they will follow.     

旅游资源与旅游吸引物:含义、关系及适用性分析

旅游资源和旅游吸引物分别是汉语界和英语界经常使用的重要概念,然而学术界对这两个概念的理解和使用方式不但存在国别差异,还存在概念内涵与外延理解的深层次分歧。文章通过梳理这两个概念的界定方式、含义理解、翻译使用等方面的分歧,从概念产生背景、语词本意、逻辑规则、现实含义等角度,逐一进行辨析,指出旅游资源和旅游吸引物这两个概念是中英文学术界创造的具有旅游学科独特含义的专属概念,它们总体上被用来指称旅游活动的对象。旅游资源一词容易引发诸多理解歧义,而旅游吸引物一词在含义上更为清晰、准确,有更大的使用空间;而常被我们用来作为旅游资源英文对译词的tourism resources,其在英语中的实际含义并非如此,使用频率也不高。文章还将旅游资源和旅游吸引物的概念界定方式进行了分类,概括了其间的核心差异,疏解了歧义,辨析了合理性。在此基础上,对利珀(Leiper)的旅游吸引物系统论做出了新的解读。     

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.     

Market segments based on the dominant movement patterns of tourists

This paper presents an innovative method for tourist market segmentation-based on dominant movement patterns of tourists; that is, the travel sequences or patterns used by tourists most frequently. There were three steps to achieve this goal. In the first step, general log-linear models were adopted to identify the dominant movement patterns, while the second step was to discover the characteristics of the groups of tourists who travelled with these patterns. The Expectation–Maximisation algorithm was then used to partition tourist segments in terms of socio-demographic and travel behavioural variables. The third step was to select target markets based upon the earlier analysis. These methods were applied to a sample of tourists, over the period of a week, on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. A significant outcome of this research is that it will assist tourism organisations to identify tourism market segments and develop better tour packages and more efficient marketing strategies aligned to the characteristics of the tourists.     

Religious Tourist Motivation in Buddhist Mountain: The Case from China

This study aims to develop a measurement scale assessing motivations of tourists traveling to religious sites within the Chinese context. Deploying quantitative methods in relation to Putuo Buddhist Mountain – one of the most visited Buddhist destinations in China, this study depicts 20 motivation attributes. Accordingly, the scale dimensionality of tourist motivation in the context of religious tourism is first revealed by an exploratory factor analysis and further validated by a confirmatory factor analysis. Consequently, three resultant constructs entailing religious belief, cultural enjoyment, and mental relaxation exhibit acceptable levels of reliability. Construct validity, including discriminant and convergent validity, is satisfactorily established. Furthermore, this study examines how tourists’ past experience and degree of religious belief affect the derived constructs that define the motivations of religious tourist. The results suggest that past experience significantly affects tourists’ motivation to achieve religious beliefs, while degree of tourist religious belief has a great impact on both their motivation to achieve religious beliefs and mental relaxation. Finally, according to motivation theory, religious beliefs and mental relaxation can be classified as push factors, while cultural enjoyment and one item belonging to religious beliefs are pull factors.     

Different Jerusalems for Different Tourists

Abstract

National capital cities are rich in heritage sites that mean different things to different people. Some of these sites are directly related to the heritage of the nation's citizens or, alternatively, to the heritage of other nations and cultures. In this study tourist motivations to visit the specific sites as well as the nature of the interpretation provided while touring the city were investigated in relation to tourist perceptions of Jerusalem as part of their personal heritage. The study involved a sample of 213 tourists interviewed in different locations in Jerusalem. The findings indicate that multi-heritage site cities, such as capital cities, are visited by different tourists with different preferences regarding the tourist experience sought. Implications arising from this study for marketers and heritage site operators are highlighted.     

Using a four-step heuristic algorithm to design personalized day tour route within a tourist attraction

The design of personalized day-tour routes for tourists plays a fundamental role in improving tourists’ travel experiences, and it is a crucial practice for managers of tourist attractions in an increasingly competitive marketplace. This study constructs a tourist recommendation system with consideration for aesthetic fatigue and variable sightseeing value. A four-step heuristic algorithm (involving a genetic algorithm and a difference evolution algorithm) is proposed, which serves as the nucleus for a new system to deal with the tourist trip design problem. To evaluate the performance of this algorithm, a case study was conducted at the Jiuzhai Valley in Sichuan, China. The results of paired sample t-tests indicated that the proposed heuristic algorithm indeed performed significantly better than existing methods. Furthermore, the study showed that our proposed system was able to design more realistic and better personalized routes for tourists than previous systems.     

Too Much of a Good Thing? Visitor Congestion Management Issues for Popular World Heritage Tourist Attractions

World Heritage Sites (WHS) are often popular and primary attractions for a destination for many reasons, in particular the economic benefits they bring in terms of increased visitation and extension of stay. However, without active management to reduce negative impacts, such as congestion, both tourists and the host community can become caught up in a downward spiral of poor visitor experiences and degradation of World Heritage values. Accordingly, this paper examines the nature of congestion and its impact on visitor experience at two popular WHS attractions in Macao. It also provides some insights into Chinese outbound tourist behaviour and visitation patterns. These observations should be of interest to planners and site managers of popular World Heritage attractions elsewhere in the world as China begins to adopt mass international leisure travel.     

A cross-cultural study of perceptions of medical tourism among Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourists in Korea

The purpose of this study is to observe factors related to perceptions of and possible participation in medical tourism by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean visitors to Jeju Island in Korea. It aims to identify cultural differences among them, and how those differences affect their pursuit of medical tourism in the future. The research results illustrate that significant differences exist in how Chinese, Japanese and Korean visitors view factors of choice, discomfort and preferred product items. The study establishes four factor groups regarding medical tourism with exploratory factor analysis. Based on these findings, differences of participation intention and behaviors among the three groups are explained. From this, the study describes distinct characteristics of medical tourism among the three cultural groups. The differences among Chinese, Japanese, and Korean tourists with regard to the selection of destination, inconveniences, and preferred products were found to be all significant. Korean tourists placed most significance on selection factors, followed by Chinese tourists, and, lastly, the Japanese. On the other hand, inconveniences related to medical and care services, stay and cost, and information and insurance elements were most strongly associated with Japanese tourists. This may be a reflection of a possible tendency of Japanese tourists to value safety and cost effectiveness. For Chinese tourists, the importance of stay and cost was equally high as those of their Japanese counterparts, which is indicative of Chinese tourists’ cost sensitivity. Light treatments (minor surgery) were preferred by Chinese tourists, while more significant treatments (major surgery) were preferred by Japanese tourists. In terms of aesthetic and healthcare services, Chinese tourists showed the most interest, while Japanese tourists placed emphasis on rehabilitation (lifestyle-related), which may reflect the Korean Wave’s influence in certain Chinese market segments, leading to an increased demand for cosmetic or plastic surgery.     

Thanks for the memories: Exploring city tourism experiences via social media reviews

This study uses online reviews to explore memorable tourism experiences of tourists visiting different city attractions. Seeking to identify a collection of themes and concepts reflecting tourists' memorable experiences during their attraction visits, this study reveals the most shared tourism memories in cognitive-emotive-behavioral themes. By developing a matrix that categorizes tourist city attractions based on an ideographic approach, the study also argues that there are different types of tourist memorable experiences at different types of attractions (i.e., human-marker, nature-sight and human-sight tourist attractions). The findings extend previous understanding of the research in tourism experience and attractions by analyzing 156,986 TripAdvisor tourist reviews of the top ten most popular tourist attractions in London. This study also provides recommendations for destination management organizations and various city tourism stakeholders to plan, market and manage city tourism products and services.     

An application of network analysis on tourist attractions: The case of Xinjiang,China

This study constitutes a novel application of network analysis to explore the underlying mechanisms of tourist attraction network informed by tourist flows. Using survey data collected from a sample of 456 tourists visiting Xinjiang, China, the study applies the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) to test the relationships between region proximity, grade proximity, and tenure proximity, and the attraction network determined by tourists' free choice movements. Results show that while region proximity and tenure proximity among major attractions in a destination were positively related to attraction network, grade proximity was negatively related to the attraction network, indicating that same grade attractions were mostly competing with one another for tourists. The study contributes to the methodological development of social network analysis in tourism and advances understanding of demand-driven network relationships among tourist attractions in a destination. Destination management implications are discussed.     

Travel Motivation,Destination Image and Visitor Satisfaction of International Tourists After the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: A Structural Modelling Approach

This study investigates the relationships between travel motivation, destination image and overall satisfaction of international tourists visiting Sichuan province after the great Wenchuan earthquake of 2008. Did the earthquake influence tourist’ motivations for visiting Sichuan either positively or negatively, and did the earthquake affect their image of the province as desirable travel destination? Survey data collected from 346 international tourists in Chengdu, the provincial capital, revealed that respondents were primarily motivated by Sichuan's traditional attractions – its scenery and the giant pandas native to the area rather than by the earthquake. Structural equation modelling revealed a statistically significant relationship between travel motivation and overall visitor satisfaction, as well as relationships between travel motivation and types of destination image. Furthermore, both positive and negative destination images seem to have an effect on overall satisfaction. This study implies that international tourists to Sichuan tend to visit for its scenery and wildlife; the 2008 earthquake has had little effect on their travel motivations and destination images; and these visitors hold positive images of the province.