‘Passports to pleasure’: credit cards and contemporary travel

This paper explores the relationship between credit cards and contemporary travel. The credit card has transformed the way in which travel‐related experiences are produced and consumed. Production‐related activities within both the travel and credit card industries have, in certain ways, become rationalised, systematised and more co‐ordinated. As a result, credit cards are widely accepted by travel providers around the world. The credit card has also altered travel‐related consumption; in particular, pleasure travel and hedonism have become more accessible to a broad proportion of the population in many Western countries. This tension between rationalised production and pleasure‐driven consumption underpins the travel industry and, more broadly, contemporary economies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The distinctive dynamics of exurban tourism

The distinctiveness of the urban–rural fringe as a tourism venue, which merits recognition of exurban tourism as a distinct subfield, is based on a unique product amalgam that includes theme parks, tourist shopping villages, near‐urban protected areas, factory outlet malls, golf courses and touring. In addition, the market is characterised by blurred tourist/non‐tourist distinctions, a weak accommodation sector and extremely high visitation levels at some sites. It is argued that the urban–rural fringe is an inherently unstable area characterised by a variant of the standard destination life cycle confined to the late involvement, development and consolidations stages, and paralleling comparable volatile stages within the broader urban life cycle. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Globalization with a human face

This paper has six parts. The first part defines globalization. The second discusses globalization eras. The third discusses the irreversibility and inevitability of globalization. The fourth section discusses the benefits and costs of globalization. The fifth section asks what is to be done. The sixth section contains my conclusions.     

Effacing the political future: A response to interfutures

Political change within industrial countries will accompany the restructuring of economies and international relations in the 1980s. The most detailed study of alternative scenarios involving the latter issues—the interfutures report—treats domestic politics in terms of notions of value change. This article criticises these widespread ideas. Futures studies need to take political trends seriously, including those towards corporatism and the strong state. In this light the development of the informal sector can be no panacea for problems of political and economic power.     

Bringing computer power to the consumer market

Firms in m a y industrial sectors are seeking to capitalize on the promise of new information technology to generate new consumer products which can gain substantial markets. Where these are improved versions of familiar products, the marketing task is relatively easy, but many of the new product opportunities involve radically new types of consumer good and/or service. Drawing on studies of efforts to establish such radical innovations, this paper examines the problems that are confornted in attempting to define what sort of product is actually being created and how it may fit into consume life-styles. Though there is considerable discussion of these topics in industrial circles, it appears that until late stages of product development, little serious analysis of social issues is undertaken— if at all. Furthemore, such discussio of the nature and use of products are more intended to mobilize the group of actors who are needed to support the innovation than to feed substantial information about possible user reqquirements into the design process. The design process is much more liable to invorporate ideas derived from analysis of technological trends and the use of products in professional applications, than information derived from social scienc or market research.     

Tourism in a small island economy: the case of Malta

For many small countries, especially those concentrating on the development of their manufacturing industry, the establishment of a stable economic base has proved difficult. In the case of Malta, tourism has emerged during the last decade as an alternative source of foreign exchange earnings. This paper is concerned with the development of Maltese tourism, and with the problems that have arisen within the last three years. Malta's position of weakness as a small economy in the international markets is emphasized as a serious problem, as is the dependence upon the UK tourist markets. Ultimately, the causes of the malaise currently afflicting Maltese tourism are similar to those which have dogged Maltese manufacturing activity.     

Improving employee service levels through identifying sources of customer satisfaction

A major source of satisfaction for customers of hospitality operations is the service employees provide. In order for employees to be trained to perform activities which provide customer satisfaction, it is necessary for the hospitality manager to determine what service actions bring about satisfaction. The major thrust of this article is to describe an objective approach for designing an instrument that may be used to identify components of customer satisfaction. The identification of these specific measurable behaviours will be a great asset to hospitality managers in training and evaluating their employees, ultimately leading to a higher level of customer satisfaction.