Travel industry structure in fast growing but immature outbound markets: the case of Korea to Australia travel

This paper examines the structure of the travel industry in Korea with particular reference to outbound travel to Australia. The relationship between the wholesaling and retailing functions is examined. It was found that despite the existence of strict licensing procedures, which have created three categories of travel business, the distinction between the wholesaling and retailing functions remains blurred. Most business is handled by a single category of operator — general travel agents. In contrast to the oligopolies evident in other industrial sectors in Korea, however a fairly large number of companies each handle a fairly small proportion of the market. This may change as a combination of intense price competition and the impact of the East Asian financial crisis forces less competitive operators out of business. Until the expected shake-out occurs, inbound tour operators in countries such as Australia will feel the pinch. An excessive and continuing emphasis on price will make it difficult for long-haul destinations to offer high quality products and to build high-yield business. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managing ethics in the tourism supply chain: the case of Chinese travel to Australia

The purpose of this paper was to provide clues to the industry and the academia on how best to approach the challenge of managing ethics in the tourism supply chain. To achieve this objective, the paper provided a case study of how the Australian government has responded to concerns about unethical practices in the tourism supply chain from China to Australia. A series of best practice recommendations were provided following a review of both the demand side and the supply side processes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Restoring tourist confidence and travel intentions after disasters: some insights from a rejoinder to a series of unfortunate events in Malaysian tourism

Many countries face a decline in tourist confidence and reduced travel intentions after disasters. However, Malaysia – a country that experienced a series of aviation tragedies throughout 2014 – encountered an overall increase in inbound tourists and monetary receipts. This article more closely examines the effects of these unfortunate events on Malaysian tourism and identifies several strategic avenues that can contribute to restoring tourist confidence and reigniting tourist interest in travelling to disaster-stricken countries.     

Students' travel behaviour: a cross‐cultural comparison of UK and China

This paper compares the travel behaviour and attitudes of two different nationalities of undergraduate students from the United Kingdom and China. The survey did find some similarities between the two. Both groups enjoyed beach holidays, and placed importance on having fun and relaxing after their studies. Both were motivated to discover somewhere new and both preferred to eat the local food of the destination. In other ways, the two groups showed significant differences. The Chinese students thought it more important to see the famous sights and learn about other cultures and history, while the British were more concerned to have fun, to socialise and enjoy the challenges of outdoor adventure. These differences were found to exist in both male and female groups. The paper discusses the extent to which these differences could be explained by cultural factors as opposed to market factors or the students' previous experience in their travel career. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing preferences for mega sports event travel products: a choice experimental approach

Hosting mega sports events spreads positive destination images and generates massive tourism arrivals for the host communities. It is, therefore, important for tourism businesses to better understand what types of travel products, tailored for particular mega sports events, are purchased by sport tourists. Using a choice experimental approach, this study aims to examine how sport tourists formulate their preferences for travel products customized for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games by making intricate trade-offs among various product attributes. We utilize a gender perspective to further understand the preference dynamics embedded in segmented sport tourism markets. Study results suggest that sport tourists put distinctive weights on each of the attributes comprising the Olympic travel products. Gender differences are also identified in sport tourists’ choice decisions for sports event travel products. Based on the study findings, this paper proposes several marketing strategies to meet the needs of targeted market segments.     

Enhancing Singapore travel agencies' customer loyalty: an empirical investigation of customers' behavioural intentions and zones of tolerance

The services marketing literature focuses on the measurement of service quality and its impact and consequences on businesses. Set in the context of the travel retail agency in Singapore, this study focuses on the relationship between service quality and favourable behavioural intentions. The findings revealed that improving service quality can increase favourable behavioural intentions. However, service improvements that exceed customers' minimum‐service threshold and those that exceed customers' desired‐service level were found to have mixed effect on behavioural intentions. Hence travel agencies must carefully determine the behavioural intentions they wish to foster amongst their various customers and develop service quality strategies in line with the findings of this study. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paradoxical effects of tourism ethnocentrism on domestic tourism: The moderating effect of pandemic anxiety travel

This research findings to study the impact of socio-psychological, economic, and political antecedents on tourism and to study the relationship among tourism ethnocentrism (TE), civilized tourism behavioral intention, willingness to visit, and electronic-word of mouth. Also, it examines the moderating role of pandemic anxiety variables. The results show that American socio-psychological and political antecedents are factors that directly affect TE and have a significant effect on travelers who are insecure about traveling due to the pandemic. Travelers affected by socio-psychological and political antecedents were found to have higher TE and higher travel anxiety due to the pandemic. Therefore, this study suggests the need to strengthen people's patriotism and pride in their country to activate domestic tourism, which should be used as a tourism marketing material to promote domestic travel post-pandemic.     

Cruising,freighter‐style: a phenomenological exploration of tourist recollections of a passenger freighter travel experience

Opportunities to participate in freighter cruises, which use cargo ships outfitted with a small number of passenger cabins, have been growing in recent years. In order to better understand the experiential characteristics of this phenomenon, 22 respondents were selected to take part in a phenomenological study based on their recollections of the activity. The respondents discussed the issues of remoteness and the often limited tourism facilities they were able to access during their travels. Mostly though, they reflected on friendships made, opportunities for learning and places visited as being an important and enjoyable part of the freighter cruise experience. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Visual tourism and post-colonialism: imaginative geographies of Africa in a Portuguese travel magazine

This paper is about tourism, visual culture, and imperialism in the post-colonial present. International literature on these issues has been especially focused on the experience of British and French post-colonialism. Few studies have addressed this issue regarding other post-colonial realities. This paper runs counter to that fact by analysing the visual touristic discourse produced in the post-colonial Portugal. The paper examines the way the sub-Saharan Africa is represented in a Portuguese travel photo-magazine – the Blue Travel magazine – so as to verify the extent to which the ideology of colonialism continues to shape the post-colonial touristic discourse in this former colonizing country of the southern Europe. More than 522 photographs were analysed. Using visual methodologies, the paper concludes that many aspects of the photographs contain encoded encomiastic messages of colonialism and participate in a discursive construction of Africa that was clearly shaped by an imperialist gaze. The paper suggests that not only there is an obvious nostalgia for empire in the Portuguese touristic discourse on sub-Saharan Africa, but also that many imperialist myths continue to circulate diffusely within the Portuguese post-colonial society and to shape the way sub-Saharan Africa is touristically imagined.     

Household decision-making for everyday travel: a case study of walking and cycling in Lancaster (UK)

Increased walking and cycling for short journeys in urban areas has many obvious advantages yet so far gains from the promotion of more sustainable travel of this type are mostly small. This paper reports on a large research project which uses a mixed method approach to explore attitudes to and perceptions of walking and cycling, and which examines the process of household decision-making for everyday travel and the constraints that this imposes. Using survey, interview and ethnographic data it is argued that many people hold ambiguous and sometimes contradictory views of walking and cycling as effective means of everyday travel, that what they do rarely matches precisely what they believe, and that the complexity and contingency associated with everyday travel for many households is a major barrier to the use of more sustainable travel modes. It is suggested that better understanding of these processes could help to inform both future transport policy and the promotion of walking and cycling for short trips in urban areas.     

Assessing the efficiency of travel agencies with a stochastic cost frontier: a Portuguese case study

This paper uses an econometric frontier model to evaluate the technical efficiency of a sample of Portuguese travel agencies. The model encompasses a Cobb–Douglas cost frontier approach, with data running from 2000 to 2004, and makes use of financial variables to generate the travel agencies' efficiency scores. We conclude that the efficiency scores are, at best, mixed. A policy is then derived for guiding management teams, as far as this specific sector is concerned. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information searching and the travel behaviours of MICE travellers: a cross‐cultural study

Despite growing academic interest in meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) travel in recent years, there has been little investigation of the comparative information search behaviours of MICE travellers on the basis of their country of origin and cultural background. This paper proposes that country of residence and primary language spoken are significant factors in explaining the information searching and travel behaviours of MICE travellers. The sample population included Japanese‐, English‐ and Chinese‐speaking MICE travellers. A self‐completion questionnaire was administered to travellers undertaking MICE‐related travel in Taipei, Taiwan. Some significant differences were identified between the three respondent groups. The findings demonstrate the important role that is played by internal and external information sources among MICE travellers as a predictor of their subsequent travel to Taiwan. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Representing protected areas: a critical discourse analysis of tourism destination building in a Greek travel magazine

The present paper examines the way protected areas are constructed as tourism destinations by the information sources (i.e. a Greek travel magazine) that are consumed by potential visitors to such areas. Specifically, it explores what form of tourism is proposed for virtual visitors, whether it is ecotourism (i.e. both tourism and environmentalism) or simply a nature‐based one (i.e. exclusively tourism). Examining the way a Greek travel magazine builds protected areas as tourism destinations, and consequently what expectations are created for readers and potential visitors to such areas, the focus of the present paper is on whether the media contribute to the failure on the part of visitors to protected areas, who are the majority of the people engaging in ecotourism activities, to incorporate environmentalist besides tourism pursuits in their travel experiences. The analysis suggests that the travel magazine cultivates the view that other protected areas (with a tradition in mass tourism) are suitable for nature‐based tourism, others (with great ecological interest) for environmentalism, but few for ecotourism. This means that visitors to protected areas will probably have a difficulty in combining tourism with environmentalist pursuits, rather than in developing environmentalist concerns in general. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Marketing performance measurement in hotels,travel agencies and tour operators: a study of current practices

As successful tourism firms invest heavily in marketing to defend or improve their competitive position, they increasingly need to measure their marketing performance. Previous studies related to tourism have largely focused on financial and operational performance, but the marketing perspective has been largely overlooked. Drawing on an in-depth investigation involving 12 hotel chains, 8 travel agencies and 8 tour operators, this study provides an overview of the state-of-the-art marketing performance measurements among some of the leading tourism firms in Italy. Several issues and unanswered questions are also identified.     

The techne of making a ferry: a non-representational approach to passengers’ gathering taskscapes

Drawing upon ethnographic data collected in British Columbia’s ferry-dependent island and coastal communities, non-representational theory, and mobility studies literature this article examines the process of making, or catching, a ferry. Making a ferry is conceptualized as a form of gathering, and as a phase of the wider performance of travel by ferry boat. Gathering for a ferry sailing before its scheduled departure—data show—is a complex taskscape. Passengers keen on making a ferry employ reflexive, adaptive, orientation skills, weaving artful journeys to the ferry terminal in order to make a specific sailing. Analysis shows how passengers’ work is a creative performance.