Crisis Management in Small-Scale Tourism

Summary

Since the events of September 2001, many tourism academics, analysts, and corporations have displayed attention toward crises in the tourism industry. Most attention has focussed on how nations and large tourism corporations cope with unforseen crises. However, when crisis strikes, it is indiscriminate, affecting small-scale tourism businesses also. This article analyses some popular crisis management models, and their applicability to smaller scale businesses. The small island of Gili Air in Indonesia is examined, and the crisis management techniques employed by owners and operators of small and micro tourism businesses. The results indicate that while these businesses face similar issues resulting from crises, they are ill equipped to produce long-term solutions.     

综合国家距离对中国入境旅游的影响——基于CAGE距离框架的实证研究

入境旅游在旅游发展中具有重要战略地位,而我国入境旅游发展相对滞后,甚至影响到我国服务贸易的高质量发展。旅游具有异地性特征,现有研究往往从文化距离、行政距离、地理距离或经济距离等单一距离开展研究。然而,多种距离同时影响游客决策,单一距离模型降低了距离因素的解释力,同时纳入模型又会造成共线性问题,导致现有研究结论间存在矛盾,阻碍理论发展与应用。Ghemawat提出的国家距离框架基于多种距离形成评价总体国家距离的综合国家距离,得到普遍认可。文章基于国家距离框架,整合来自世界银行数据库、霍夫斯泰德文化维度官方数据、双边地理距离数据库、世界经济论坛等相关数据,形成2006—2018年我国55个客源国入境旅游的平衡面板数据,系统分析了综合国家距离对入境游客量的主效应、非线性影响,以及客源国互联网使用率的调节作用,得到如下结论:(1)综合国家距离是影响我国入境游客量的显著变量,距离对入境游的影响是文化距离、行政距离、地理距离和经济距离的复合效应;(2)综合国家距离与入境游客量之间呈正U形关系,综合国家距离可以是入境旅游的阻碍因素,也可以是促进因素,入境游客量随着综合国家距离增加而先减少后增加;(3)客源国互联网使用率没有弱化综合国家距离的影响,反而产生极化作用,极化了综合国家距离在拐点左侧的负影响和在拐点右侧的正影响。以上发现的主要价值为:(1)增进了对距离因素在国际旅游中作用的理解,提出影响入境游客量的综合国家距离变量;(2)识别出综合国家距离与入境游客量呈现正U形关系,证实综合国家距离是细分客源国市场的新变量;(3)揭示出客源国互联网使用率对综合国家距离产生的极化效应,突出了我国采用互联网传播目的地形象的必要性和重要性。     

Profiling Japanese Tourists Visiting Night Markets in Taiwan

Abstract

Night markets have become the most popular tourism attraction for international tourists in Taiwan since 2003. They offer tourists a chance to experience new things and visit different environments when visiting the island. Japan has long been the leading generator of international tourism for Taiwan in terms of numbers and expenditures. Thus, the objective of this research is to profile Japanese tourists based on their novelty-seeking motives in visiting night markets. The 320 Japanese tourists are segmented into three groups: conservative tourists, moderate novelty-seekers and well-planned explorers. Based on the results, implications and recommendations are provided to the tourism authorities, and future research possibilities are also noted.     

Tourism Markets and Marketing in Sarawak,Malaysia

Abstract

A multi-scale approachs is used to analyze issues of markets and marketing with regard to the emerging destination of Sarawak in Malaysia. In particular, an analysis of market profiles and travel patterns reveals marked differences in the demand for tourism in Sarawak and in peninsular Malaysia and suggests different strategies might be needed for marketing the state. Issues of state marketing within a federal system are then explored.     

Tourism Education in Austria and Switzerland

SUMMARY

Both Austria and Switzerland are small countries with a long tradition hosting tourists. Irrespective of high levels of economic development, the two countries also have high levels of tourism intensity when measured either in terms of number of tourists per native population or in terms of tourism receipts per population (e.g., per gross national product). Consequently, both countries also display a long tradition and evolution in their development of systems of tourism education and training albeit under differing market conditions and pressures. Both countries provide similar products like in the field of cultural tourism and alpine tourism. The tourism structure is also comparable. Both countries are dominated by family owned small and medium size businesses. However, their political structures are very different. This paper shows how each country under the three forces of labour market pressures and industry requirements, on the one hand and tourism education policy initiatives on the other has evolved two slightly different tourism education systems. Furthermore, an attempt was made to provide, based on the discussion in the first part of the paper, a more general explanation with respect to the response of tourism schooling/training supplies to varying conditions in tourism product markets, tourism employment and labour market systems, public choice decisions and general economic conditions. Finally, the paper discusses the paradigmatic shift (i.e., structural change) of tourism factor and product markets from the “Old to New Tourism” and discusses its implications for new types of tourism schooling and training in these two countries.     

Profiling the Strategic Marketing Activities of Small Tourism Businesses

Abstract

This study profiles the strategic marketing activities of small tourism businesses, by examining the extent to which they engage in specified practices which may be broadly described as “strategic.” It was found that city-based enterprises are more strategic in their emphasis than their rural counterparts, and that larger small businesses are more strategic than smaller small businesses. Businesses which engage in product packaging appear to be more strategic than those which do not. Possible explanations for the relatively low incidence of strategic marketing amongst small tourism business generally are a lack of managerial expertise and the absence of staff to whom tasks may be delegated.     

‘What’s the Story in Balamory?’: The Impacts of a Children’s TV Programme on Small Tourism Enterprises on the Isle of Mull,Scotland

Film- and television-induced tourism effects have been witnessed in a number of locations world-wide, creating a range of positive and negative impacts for host communities and environments. The children’s television programme Balamory, filmed on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, has created a new tourism phenomenon for the island, leading to concern that Mull’s reputation as a green destination for the discerning might be displaced by a less desirable form of tourism. Through a questionnaire survey of tourism businesses on Mull, this paper explores the perceptions of television-induced tourism and the effect of Balamory on business activity during the 2003 season, exploring customer numbers, spending, turnover and profitability, along with attitudes to the new visitors. The research also explores the implications for sustainable tourism development, particularly recognising the limited life-span of film- and television-induced tourism and issues relating to displacement of traditional markets, with an emphasis on sustaining tourism as a means of generating revenue to support a rural island community.     

A comparison of the moderating effect of tourism reliance on the economic development for islands and other countries

Tourism is usually one of the top industries in most countries, especially islands. However, there is some question as to whether there is a negative potential impact if a country relies too much on tourism as a means of economic development to the detriment of other industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of tourism reliance on the relationship between tourism development and economic development for regular countries and island economies, including “small island developing states” (SIDS). This study uses quantile regression on panel data from the WDI database from 1995 through 2014 for all of the countries that report tourism and economic data. The findings demonstrate that tourism reliance does have a moderating effect on the relationship between tourism development and economic development for all countries, but mainly at higher levels of economic development.     

Buyer Decision-Making Behavior in International Tourism Channels

Summary

Despite the development and maintenance of effective channel relationships in international tourism markets being critical to a firm's success, little research has been undertaken in business-to-business relationships in cross-national markets (March 1997a; Crotts, Aziz & Raschid 1998). This research paper offers insights into the decision-making behavior of a critical intermediary in international tourism channels, the inbound tour operator (ITO). In an exploratory study, the purchasing attitudes of ITOs, in their functions as purchasers of tourism products on behalf of overseas clients, are examined. Respondents were asked to assess the importance of a number of supplier attributes for three types of tourism products: hotels, coach companies and restaurants. Twenty-six inbound tour operators specialising in the Asian or Japanese inbound markets into Australia were surveyed; though small in number these firms handled over 800,000 visitors to Australia in 1998 (including 82% of the entire Japanese market). The results from a 43-item questionnaire, designed after preliminary discussions with ITOs, reveal differences between the attitudes of Japanese-market and Asian-market ITOs in their purchase decision-making behavior and in buyer attitudes toward different product types. The findings offer useful lessons for suppliers in the management of their relationships with inbound tour operators.     

Introducing Environmental Management in the Hotel Industry

Summary

The hotel industry in Jamaica, like so many other tropical destinations, markets itself on the “3-Ss”-sea, sun, and sand. Hotels ring the north coast of the island in four main resort areas (i.e., Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Port Antonio). Located in sensitive coastal ecosystems, most of Jamaica's hotels face the challenge of reducing the environmental impact of their operations while meeting the increasing demand of a growing tourism industry.

This article presents a case study of the introduction of environmental management practices and systems in the hotel industry in Jamaica over the past 3 years to provide an answer to the environmentally sustainable tourism challenge. It describes the programmatic approach, the results at both the property and industry level, and the lessons learned in replicating the approach to other tropical tourism destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America.     

Japanese Visitors to Guam: Lessons from Experience

Abstract

Naisbitt (1994) notes that 60 percent of the world's radio broadcasts, 70 percent of the worlds' mail, 85 percent of international phone calls and 80 percent of computer data are in English (pp. 24-25). Perhaps a similar preponderance exists in tourism literature. But beyond this language orientation there is a “Western” orientation of thought regarding tourist behavior and culture that might influence survey design and research methodology. This may leave researchers less able to understand the heterogeneous Asian travelers that are traveling in increasing numbers. It is important to understand the culture of the sending country when analyzing tourist behavior and motivation. This paper illustrates how understanding Japanese culture enhances the development of survey instruments as well as the interpretation of survey results. Examples are taken from the quarterly visitor exit surveys conducted on the island of Guam, a U.S. territory that serves as one of the major short-haul destinations for Japanese travelers.     

The effect of tourism investment on tourism development and CO2 emissions: empirical evidence from the EU nations

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of tourism investment on tourism development and CO₂ emissions in a panel of 28 EU countries using annual data from 1990 to 2013. The empirical results from a panel cointegration test confirm the presence of long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables. The long-run elasticities indicate that tourism investment has a significant positive and negative impact on tourism development and CO₂ emissions, respectively. Finally, the short-run heterogeneous panel non-causality test results show the evidence of bidirectional causality between tourism investment and tourism revenue. These results therefore suggest that tourism investments not only increase tourism revenue but also reduce CO₂ emissions. Given these findings, we suggest the policy makers of the EU nations to initiate more effective policies to increase the tourism investments. The increasing tourism investments will allow the industry to grow further by ensuring sustainable tourism development across the EU member countries.     

Are there cultural limits to tourism?

This article poses the question: are there cultural limits to tourism? It argues that tourism is a culture industry in the sense that it markets cultural products to tourists as cultural experiences. The three elements of tourism as culture are: the cultural foundations of tourism products, the sophistication of tourists’ perceptions and experiences of tourist cultures, and the cultural consequences of tourism development on resident communities. Yet these aspects are usually treated in a tokenistic way in favour of economic and environmental considerations, ignoring the cultural consequences of major changes to destination communities as a result of tourist development. This article proposes that the changes and consequences of tourism on the culture of destinations and on the culture of tourists should be central to debates about sustainable tourism development. The article proposes a number of conditions or indicators to identify the matrix of impacts of tourism from which acceptable and unacceptable limits can be determined. The use of these indicators should be central to planning, management and monitoring practices to achieve sustainable tourism.     

Visiting probability model: a new method for tourist volume forecasting

ABSTRACT

Tourist volume forecasting is an ongoing theme in tourism research. Current methods rely too much on the previous tourist arrivals data. Based on tourism system perspective, we propose a visiting probability model composed of five independent variables: the attractiveness of a destination, the travel time from a origin to the destination, the traffic expense to and from the destination, the physical fatigue travel time and the per capita disposable monthly income of the origin. The model provides a new method for forecasting the number of tourists from a specific origin without historical tourist arrivals data.     

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.     

Dependency on Tour Operators

Abstract

Tour operators have increasingly emerged as the most powerful and influential factor of international flows from the main generating countries to various destinations, since they are able to interpret and manipulate the “push” and “pull” factors of the tourism process to a commercial end. As a result, many tourist-receiving destinations have to face the intervention of foreign tour operators in their tourism industry. Despite the crucial role played by tour operators for the development of insular regions' tourism, little empirical evidence is available on the relationship between tour operators and the destination tourism suppliers. This paper presents the findings of a study undertaken during the summer of 1997 on the Greek island of Crete. From the findings, it is evident that the Cretan tourism industry is heavily dependent on tour operators, and that various actions should be undertaken by the island's public and private sector to overcome this problem.     

Tourism in the Gambia: problems and proposals

This paper analyses the development constraints which confine The Gambia to being one of the poorest countries in the world. The programmes designed to reduce these constraints are outlined. In particular, tourism is identified as an appropriate development strategy. Using primary data, tourism in The Gambia, its development and administration are described in some detail. Althoiugh a prima facie case can be made extolling the virtues of tourism in that country, the industry is beset by a range of problems. The juxtaposition of the country's growing reliance on tourism against increasing stagnation in the sector is a focus of particular concern. Constraints in the tourism sector are identified in the spheres of policy formulation and implementation, capital investment, human resource endowment, existing and potential tourist markets, seasonality issues and product resource base. For each constraint identified, a management strategy is proposed. In essence, the article is an advocation of sustainable tourism development for The Gambia based on long-term holistic planning, including appropriate resource development, community involvement, education and training.     

The role of relationship quality in integrated destination marketing

ABSTRACT

This study illustrates the role of the relationship quality perceived by the international public, which is increasingly discussed in public diplomacy research. It leads to the implications for integrated destination marketing of a host country in targeting the international public, where the host country is considered both as a tourism destination and as a place for business and investment. The study proposes a model illustrating the intervention of relationship quality in the way tourism destination image and country image are associated with tourism and business behavioral intentions. Empirical testing shows that image itself cannot assure that the international public would support the host country. Instead, it establishes the critical role of enhancing relationship quality.     

A Consumer-Based Measurement of Tourism Innovation

SUMMARY

The present paper reviews the innovation literature related to tourism and examines the twin problems of operational definitions and measurement of innovation in the tourism sector. A conceptual model is then proposed by which the most relevant aspects of innovation and the most relevant aspects of the “tourism experience” can be integrated conceptually, and which can guide the development of related operational definitions and measurements and lead to a standardization of, and therefore an ability to aggregate, tourism innovation statistics across products, providers, markets and geopolitical regions. The model first categorizes innovations along two dimensions: an “invention-adoption” continuum and an “impact-on-the-tourism-experience” dimension, which includes accessibility, affective transformation, convenience and value. How the use of these categories can direct attention to important definitional and measurement issues are discussed as is how their use can improve the comparability of tourism innovation data collected from disparate sources. Finally, a third dimension, the economic impact of the innovation, is introduced to the model. The paper concludes with implications and guidelines for future research aimed at validating the model described.     

Developing a new Multi‐Nation tourism region: Thai perspectives on the Mekong initiatives

This article examines Thailand's recent tourism policy and its attitudes towards international tourism development collaboration in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Thailand is the major tourist destination country and gateway for international tourists visiting the region, and is a leader of Mekong tourism developments. This paper considers the Thai perspective on its tourism development, and examines current co‐operative activities in the Mekong region in the context of its own tourism industry. A number of research needs are sketched out as a proposed framework for future studies.