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.     

Whale shark tourism at Ningaloo Marine Park: A longitudinal study of wildlife tourism

This article demonstrates the changes that occur due to the maturation of a wildlife tourism industry through the application of a Wildlife Tourism Framework. Specifically, in 2005 survey data was collect from participants of whale shark tourism at Ningaloo Marine Park in Western Australia, facilitating a direct comparison with a study conducted a decade earlier. The results conformed with predictions by the Framework, in particular, a shift in the industry towards the mainstream from the periphery. In comparison with the past, whale shark tourism at Ningaloo now attracts more generalist tourists who place different preferences on the whale shark tourism experience. There is now a greater distribution of age groups; less skilled individuals; a higher tolerance to crowding; and a larger focus on the non-wildlife components of the experience. Furthermore, this article, discusses the pertinent management implications associated with this shift.     

Sustainable urban tourism success factors and the economic performance of small tourism enterprises

The aim of this study is to introduce the relationship between sustainable urban tourism success factors and the economic performance of small tourism enterprises (STEs). The related data was obtained from 330 STEs business owners/managers in Eskisehir (Turkey). To determine the dimensions Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed and Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used for verifying these dimensions. Structural Equation Modelling was applied in order to introduce the relation which is foreseen. As a result of the analysis, seven dimensions of urban tourism success factors and two dimensions of the economic performance of STEs have been determined and a significant relation was found between them. These findings provide an insight to literature and new directions and suggestions for local governments, regional marketing organizations and business managers on how tourism development and sustainability can be achieved in urban areas.     

Customer relationship management in small–medium enterprises: The case of Turkish tourism industry

In this study, the factors influencing the implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) at small and medium-sized tourism enterprises in Cappadocia were analyzed. The findings of the research indicate that communication-distribution infrastructure, business dynamics, customer relations and innovation-quality factors affect CRM. Business dynamics plays an especially critical role in customer relations. It was also determined that the most important barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector are inadequate supporting budgets, lack of senior management commitment to CRM and poor communication.     

Business characteristics and efficiency of rural tourism enterprises: an empirical study from China

The booming rural tourism (RT) has broadened ways for rural revitalization and poverty alleviation strategy in China. Rural tourism enterprises (RTEs), as the core operator and a hinge delivering its benefits to rural communities, play a critical role in the achievement of RT expectation on rural revitalization. To address the research gap in business characteristics and efficiency of RTEs, and make the theoretical contribution to rural business and tourism management, this study collected and analyzed the business data with investors or managers of 60 national-class RTEs in Jiangsu Province, north Yangtze River Delta of China. The results showed that business characteristics of RTEs varied with their property, business strategy, and rural industrial base. Flexible and sustainable business operation and comprehensive regional development have a profound influence on business efficiency that presented multi spatial disparity from inter-regional and intra-regional views, respectively. In addition, the political and practical implications on rural business and RTEs for research and practice were also discussed.     

Multidimensionality of HRD in small tourism firms: A case study of the Republic of Ireland

This case study explores multiple dimensions of human resource development (HRD) in small tourism firms (STFs) within the Republic of Ireland. Underpinned by the evolutionary resource-based view (ERBV) and institutional logics, this study investigates owner-manager/senior manager and employee perceptions of the internal and external STF context and how such contextual contingencies shape their perceptions and experiences of multiple dimensions of HRD. Our study highlights (a) a dynamic interaction between external institutional logics and internal contextual factors, with the owner–manager acting as a key agent in shaping HRD dimensions; (b) actors within STFs are able to reconcile potentially conflicting institutional logics to create a dynamic HRD approach; (c) STFs implement HRD in a coordinated manner, imbued with elements of formality and informality, and (d) significant differences exist between owner-manager and employee perceptions of HRD dimensions. We discuss the implications of the findings for both research and practice.     

Understanding small firms in tourism: A perspective on research trends and challenges

Although small firms in tourism have featured on the agendas of policy-makers for several decades, academic interest over the same period has fluctuated. Certainly the flurry of activity that occurred during the early 1990s became a steady flow of somewhat fragmented output rather than the ambitious and coherent programme of research that was anticipated at the time. The paper traces progress in this field by reviewing inter-, multi- and disciplinary studies that contribute to current understanding of small firms in tourism and how this understanding articulates with wider debates within tourism studies. In so doing, it challenges some conventional wisdom and provides an agenda for future research.     

Integrating spirituality in tourism higher education: A study of tourism educators' perspectives

Academic discourse supporting the inclusion of spirituality in higher education has grown across many disciplines. Scholars are arguing for the integration of spirituality into the contemporary intellectual landscape. However, the significance of spirituality to tourism higher education has not been adequately understood and little research has been undertaken.This paper presents findings from a qualitative study exploring tourism educators' perspectives about the role and importance of spirituality in tourism higher education. Based on the findings from in-depth interviews of tourism educators, the author presents a discussion and examination of respondents' interpretation of spirituality, their viewpoints on the inclusion of spirituality in tourism education, including the perceived challenges and the effects of embodying a spiritually-grounded paradigm on classroom teaching and learning experiences. Recommendations are provided on how a meaningful engagement of spirituality can be fostered in tourism higher education.     

The resilience of formal and informal tourism enterprises to disasters: reef tourism in Phuket,Thailand

This paper explores the resilience of vulnerable tourism sectors to disasters in a period of global change and interdependence. The coral reef tourism industry is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and economic and political shocks. The paper also explains why enterprise resilience is central to sustainable tourism management, for economic, socio-cultural and environmental reasons. It extends the concepts of ecological and social resilience to that of enterprise resilience. Using scenarios and interviews with key enterprise staff, the study contrasts the levels of resilience of formal and informal reef tourism enterprises, and the factors associated with the enterprise resilience in Phuket, Thailand, following the 2004 tsunami and the 2008 political crisis. Informal enterprises reported better financial condition in a crisis scenario and higher levels of social capital in the form of government, family and community support than formal enterprises. Formal and informal enterprises both enjoy high lifestyle benefits from reef tourism, which supports resilience. Most formal enterprises had part foreign ownership/management (61%); no informal enterprise had any foreign ownership or management. Management policies supporting reef tourism should consider local nuances and the importance of lifestyle benefits for both formal and informal enterprises, and take steps to enable enterprise flexibility and cost-cutting during crises.     

The influence of terrorism in tourism arrivals: A longitudinal approach in a Mediterranean country

This longitudinal study examines the impact that terrorist attacks within a representative group of European countries can have on the tourism demand of a South European country with no record of terrorism attacks. In order to analyze the connections between terrorist attacks and tourists' arrivals, occurred between 2002 and the end of 2016, an Unrestricted Vector Autoregressive model was used for multivariate time series analysis. The main results show that terrorist attacks have a strong impact on tourist arrivals and confirm the existence of terrorism spillover, namely the substitution and generalization effects phenomena.     

Operating small tourism firms in rural destinations: A social representations approach to examining how small tourism firms cope with non-tourism induced changes

This study explores the representation that owners and managers of small tourism firms ascribe to their rural destination and how non-tourism induced changes interfere with this representation and motivate coping as guided by social representations theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-four owners and/or managers of at least one small accommodation property in Gloucester, New South Wales, Australia. The informants became involved in the area's accommodation sector primarily driven by the lifestyle goals embedded in their representation of Gloucester. The perception that mining-induced changes might transform Gloucester into a mining town as opposed to its current representation as a town with a mine has motivated many informants to cope. However, coping is impeded by feelings of powerlessness, perceived uncertainties, and distrust in both government and industry. The findings provide preliminary insight into why and how small tourism firm owners/managers cope when faced with change from the perspective of social representations.     

The impact of holiday tourism development on tourism total factor productivity: Evidence from China

Tourism development during holiday periods may influence tourism total factor productivity (TTFP) in the industry. However, little is known about the impact of holiday tourism on TTFP. Focusing on China's Golden Week holiday system, this study applies dynamic panel models to test the effect of holiday tourism development on TTFP with panel data of 31 provinces in mainland China from 2001 to 2019. The study also compares the effects before and after 2008 when the Golden Week holiday system changed from three weeks to two weeks with shorter holiday breaks. Results show that holiday tourism development has a negative effect on TTFP. Before 2008, the magnitude of the negative effect was constant while after 2008 the negative effect was reduced significantly. This study contributes to the understanding of TTFP from a holiday tourism perspective. The findings offer valuable implications for national holiday governance and tourism productivity in developing countries.     

Perception of small tourism enterprises in Lao PDR regarding social sustainability under the influence of social network

This paper uses a generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to examine the relationships between a social network, the perception of social sustainability, and the future business intentions of small tourism enterprises, in the context of a developing country, Lao PDR. The data were derived from 177 such enterprises located in two destinations in 2016. Initiatives in building social networks and the provision of training and employment of local residents are identified as the key determinants of success in social sustainability, while specific attempts to create brands congruent with local culture are also important. Undifferentiated policies, while useful to the business expansion of small tourism enterprises, are less successful in generating local social sustainability.     

Profiling the participants in creative tourism activities: Case studies from small and medium sized cities and rural areas from Continental Portugal

Although cultural tourists increasingly seek to experience cultural events actively and to directly engage in creative activities, empirical knowledge about the creative tourist remains limited. This study aims to characterize the motivations and profile of creative tourists. The data was collected through a survey of participants in creative tourism activities in Portugal developed by 40 pilot institutions of the CREATOUR project during 2017 and 2018, with 814 usable questionnaires collected and validated. The questionnaire had 30 questions and marked the first time this kind of research was conducted in Portugal. The questionnaire included questions on: the composition of their travel companions, their previous participation in a creative tourism experience, reasons for visiting the destination, their characterization of the creative tourism experience, an evaluation of their creative tourism experience, and their socio-demographic profile. Using a cluster analysis to analyse the data, three clusters were found: Novelty-Seekers, Knowledge and Skills Learners, and Leisure Creative-Seekers.     

How does culture influence a Country's travel and tourism competitiveness? A longitudinal frontier study on 39 countries

The greater competitiveness of a firm improves the chances of its success. Likewise, countries are constantly attempting to improve their travel and tourism competitiveness to attract global tourists. In this study, we present a theoretical framework linking the culture of a country and its travel and tourism competitiveness. We adopted the theoretical foundation of global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness (GLOBE) cultural values and practices to examine the panel effects of culture on competitiveness. We conducted a longitudinal study by using secondary data of 39 countries from 2011 to 2021. Results show that the culture of a country influence its travel and tourism competitiveness. Furthermore, we provide empirical evidence by performing longitudinal frontier analysis to determine which GLOBE model, that is, cultural practices or cultural values, is appropriate for future studies. Findings of this longitudinal study contribute to the novel understanding of competitiveness and culture.     

Uncovering crowdsourcing in tourism apps: A grounded theory study

Even though crowdsourcing emerges as a new business principle of many successful tourism apps, its underlying mechanism in tourism remains unexplored. This research note explores this topic with a qualitative design through interviews with stakeholders involved in a crowdsourcing tourism app, Gold Medal Tour Guide. Applying the grounded theory, researchers propose a framework of crowdsourcing in tourism apps consisting of six themes and 15 subthemes. The framework identifies the drive of crowdsourcing and discusses the complexities and contradictions in multi-stakeholder collaboration. The contextual impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the crowdsourcing phenomenon are also examined. The findings provide practical implications for tourism destinations to take advantage of the crowdsourcing mechanism for sustainable operation and development.     

Site and situation strategy in tourism planning: A Mexican case study

Mexico has experienced all the effects, good and ill, of a large and expanding tourist trade. Tourism's negative consequences--economic dependency, crime, cultural erosion--have manifested themselves in tourist ghettos along Mexico's northern border, on the Mexican Riviera, and in the capital. This study is an assesment of contemporary Mexican tourism planning as it relates to these problems, and further as it seeks to make tourism a stimulus to economically depressed areas of the nation. A case study approach is utilized to identify the strategy of site and situation selection for the new programmed resort complex at Cancun on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan peninsula. It is concluded that Cancun embodies, at least for Mexico, a radical departure in tourism development. The resort is situated to attract a large foreign clientele and to create the greatest possible positive economic and social impact on a resident Mexican population that has suffered chronic underdevelopment.     

Sustainability-oriented Service Innovation: fourteen-year longitudinal case study of a tourist accommodation provider

Abstract

Progressing sustainable tourism requires both an innovative transition from “unsustainable” tourism and innovative research methods to develop theory and concepts for a sustainable tourism. While there are many ad hoc examples of initiatives, there are very few examples of firms systematically recording their medium-term evolutionary progress. This case study of an accommodation provider uses longitudinal data over 14 years, deductive and inductive methods, and comparison with other similar eco-friendly providers, to provide the first exploration of sustainability-oriented innovation by a firm attempting to make transitions. Findings show how important hindsight and insight are for continuous learning, and how broader community sustainability issues influence the owners’ worldviews. Both learning and changing views are required to support innovation. A Sustainability-oriented Service Innovation model is recommended, recognising the characteristics of a service industry where innovation can be an organic process led by humans for humans and consequently more fuzzy in its progress than the clearly defined steps that are suggested by previous research. This model seeks to assist researchers and practitioners to better measure innovative progress of service firms, and develop more relevant strategies to ease transitions towards sustainable business practices.