At‐destination visitor information search and venue decision strategies

Numerous studies have been conducted on consumers' information search prior to arrival at a destination. This study attempts to continue to fill a research gap focusing on travellers' information search behaviour for services not only before the trip but in transit to the destination and once at a destination. In particular, the research explores service‐related decisions before and during a trip, the sources of information utilised, which include locals residing at a destination, and how demographic and trip purpose characteristics influence decision‐making. Using the results of this study, practitioners and academics alike can design effective strategies for marketing to travellers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Destination environment quality and tourists' spatial behaviour in Nigeria: a case study of third world tropical Africa

In order to ascertain important features of tourist behaviour and destination environments that could form the basis for destination quality improvement in Nigeria, 376 tourists were randomly sampled from seven tourism destinations, using a simple rating scheme in a questionnaire survey. Results obtained showed that activities involving leisure/recreation, cultural appreciation and appreciation of nature, history and cultural artifacts were dominant experiences, values and motivation for destination visit. Results also showed variations in quality of environmental features between tourists in various destinations and between foreign and domestic tourists in their spatial behaviour, values and motivations. The study provides unique implications for tourism planning management and marketing, and a context for cross‐cultural comparison with similar western studies. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.     

To Gamble or Not? Perceptions of Macau Among Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong Visitors

Macau's casino sector has been expanding rapidly, particularly targeting mainland Chinese gamblers. The novelty and under‐researched nature of this market is a challenge for Macau's casino and destination marketers. This study explores the characteristics of the mainland market and compares this with the second placed and more mature Hong Kong market. The profiling of visitors from Macau's main source markets including demographic, region of origin, trip behaviour and motivation characteristics provides insights into the future success of the destination. Adaption theory is used to explain the implications of differences between Gambling and Non‐Gambling visitors from the two source markets. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gastronomy as a tourism resource: profile of the culinary tourist

The aim of this paper is to explore the characteristics and motivations of culinary tourists whose destination is the city of Córdoba (Spain) while attempting to determine whether gastronomy is an important aspect of the trip or if it is perceived simply as a secondary activity. Fieldwork was carried out among a series of restaurant establishments in the city of Córdoba. A demand survey was conducted in 10 particular establishments that were selected among those offering local dishes and which are regularly visited by tourists and the questionnaire was distributed among clients obtaining 206 valid answers. Our results reveal the strengths and weaknesses of Córdoba's restaurant sector. While 10% state that the cuisine is one of the main reasons for visiting the city, 68% believe that the local cuisine is an important but not an essential aspect of their trip and the rest view it as being secondary. These three types of tourists exhibit different kinds of motivation. This suggests that strategies should be designed and developed to promote gastronomy as one of the city's chief tourist attractions. Good tourism management based on initiatives such as the creation of culinary routes could be an alternative for implementing strategies aimed at the social and economic development and promotion of particular areas, for example turning typical food from rural areas in certain regions into a marketable attraction.     

Non‐participation of Domestic Tourism: Analyzing the Influence of Discouraging Factors

This study analyzes the factors that discourage non‐tourists' participation in domestic tourism. Data were collected in 15 cities in China and analyzed using a comparative analysis and non‐parametric ridit analysis. The findings indicate that (i) non‐tourists have low internal travel motivation and attitude and are more likely to be under 25 or above 55 years old, less educated, less healthy, with small child(ren) and lower income; (ii) non‐tourists consider less on destination environment and attraction, but focus on price and travel expenses when making a travel decision and destination choice; and (iii) economic and leisure time are their main situational travel constrains. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Formation of a Tourist Destination's Image via Information Sources: the Moderating Effect of Culture

The present study aims to outline the growing importance of culture in the field of tourism. More specifically, it highlights culture as a moderating variable in pre‐visit tourist destination image formation, through the information sources utilized by the tourist in the selection of a holiday destination (that is, travel agencies alone vs. travel agencies together with the Internet). For this purpose primary research used a multicultural sample of 371 tourists from different European countries. The results show that the formation of a destination's pre‐visit image amongst tourists, based on the information sources they use, is moderated by the level of uncertainty‐avoidance of their national cultures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Islamic tourism: an empirical examination of travel motivation and satisfaction in Malaysia

The objectives of this study are to test the relationship between tourism motivations and tourist satisfaction, and to test how ‘Religion’ moderates the relationship. The variable ‘Religion’ is represented by the availability of Islamic norms and practices relevant to tourism at the destination. The results of the partial least square indicate that tourism motivations are significantly and positively related to tourist satisfaction. The results also showed that Religion significantly moderates the relationship between pull motivation and tourist satisfaction. However, the moderating effect of Religion on the relationship between push motivation and tourist satisfaction was not supported.     

The Stein Effect: an Alternative Film‐induced Tourism Perspective

Cornwall, in the far west of England, has long been a popular holiday destination, attracting visitors with a range of motivations, both domestically and internationally. At the same time, gastronomy has become more of a motivation, and when viewed on the small screen with celebrity chef involvement, it is argued that a form of film‐induced tourism occurs. The research identified the influence of television celebrity chef Rick Stein upon visitors to the small, coastal town of Padstow, also now known as Padstein. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cultural comparison of tourists' safety perception in relation to trip satisfaction

Although safety and security are seen as a priori for a prosperous tourism industry in any destination, safety and security perception and its influence on tourist behaviour have received limited empirical attention from researchers. This study investigated tourists' perception of the safety and security of a destination in relation to the level of satisfaction with their trip, using Turkey and its visitors as a case in point. The stepwise regression analysis was employed to investigate the relationship between trip satisfaction, safety and security‐related variables, existence of product or service failure, and selected demographic variables. Results showed that positive perception of Turkey's hygiene and health, and safety and security helped visitors to have greater trip satisfaction, especially if they stayed longer and enjoyed their trip without any product or service failure; however, German tourists and tourists with a secondary school degree are more likely to have less trip satisfaction. Practical implications and future research suggestions are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Examination of the Determinants of In‐Flight Duty‐Free Shopping: Hedonic and Utilitarian Motivations

This research note presents the findings of a study that empirically examined air passengers' in‐flight duty‐free shopping behaviors in the perspectives of utilitarian and hedonic motivations. On the basis of the primary data collected from 212 air passengers in Taiwan, empirical findings revealed that both utilitarian and hedonic motivations affect air passengers' intentions to browse in‐flight duty‐free shopping catalogues. Findings also showed that hedonic motivation does not directly influence air passengers' in‐flight purchase intentions. Instead, a higher utilitarian motivation can directly enhance passengers' in‐flight purchase intentions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The tourist experience of domestic VFR travellers: the case of Hungary

Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) is the main driver of domestic travel in many countries. This study is one of the first to analyse VFR travel from a perspective of tourist experience. This study aims to investigate the complex dynamics behind VFR-related travel, especially in aspects of trip activities and tourist experience formation. Based on a survey (N?=?879) examining domestic VFR travellers’ trip activities in Hungary, the paper discusses the formation of a tourist experience in context of short-haul domestic VFR travel, especially the role of influencing factors. The results reveal differences between the segments with trip motivation of visiting friends (VF) and visiting relatives (VR) – the two main types of VFR tourists. It was found that independent variables such as VF, staying for longer and participating in leisure and tourism-type activities have a positive effect on tourist experience evolvement; however, factors such as VR, being rather passive during such a visit and focusing on social acts and bonding negatively affect the formulation of a tourist experience. The paper’s novelty and uniqueness lies in applying a new perspective of analysing and discussing VFR travel: the theoretical concept of tourist experience formation.     

Towards a new approach of destination loyalty drivers: satisfaction,visit intensity and tourist motivations

This study explores the linear and non-linear effects of previous experiences in a tourist destination (satisfaction and visit intensity) on the intention to return and to make a positive recommendation to others. We also consider the external drivers or the appeal of the destination as well as individuals' internal drivers as moderating factors in intensity–loyalty and satisfaction–loyalty relations. The analysis conducted on a sample of 687 tourists in a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Spain supports a non-linear effect of satisfaction on the intention to return. Moreover, time intense and expenditure intense visits positively impact the intention to return when the motivation for the trip is internal, yet have a negative effect if tourist motives are external.     

Robustness of Distance Decay for International Pleasure Travelers: A Longitudinal Approach

Distance decay explains tourism demand in terms of destination distance from the origin. Although travelers tend to travel further over time, scant research studies have examined the relationship between temporal variant and distance decay. This study examines the relationship between distance and destination choice of Hong Kong international pleasure travelers’ activity over a decade. A constant pattern of distance decay with two secondary peaks was identified for a decade. This study suggests a threshold of a three‐hour flight for a five‐day trip before demand declined exponentially. The findings imply that the no traveling zone would result from weak pulling power. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The structure of joint leisure trips: analyzing two-person leisure trips of Dutch students

This paper investigates the spatial structure of students’ leisure trips and to what extent locational characteristics of social network partners influence decisions about their joint leisure activities and travel. To this end a survey was held among university students asking them about details of their last leisure trip made with a friend. Cluster analysis suggests that four typical leisure trip patterns can be derived. Three clusters seem to be determined by the residential locations of ego and alter. Depending on the residential distance between ego and alter, leisure trip distances are either short for ego and alter (if residential distance is very short), somewhat longer for both (if residential distance is slightly longer) or long for at least one partner (if residential distance is large). A fourth cluster includes cases with long leisure trips for both partners, independent of residential distance, representing cases where specific destinations are visited. A more detailed analysis of travel distance suggests that travel distance depends on size of the residential municipality, residential distance and objective and perceived quality of leisure facilities such as cafés, bars and restaurants. Overall, our study provides support for the idea that leisure trip decisions should be understood on the level of social network ties (i.e. ego and alter) rather than based on individual characteristics only. Also, it provides support for the idea that a focus on single ties, rather than on the structure of social networks as a whole, increases our insight in leisure trip decision making.Keywords: Social network links, Social-recreational travel, Spatial context, Students     

Tourism and identity‐related motivations: why am I here (and not there)?

This paper examines past and present literature relating to identity development and identity‐related tourism motivation. It presents a theoretical model of identity‐related tourism motivation that is based on multidimensional rather than unidimensional theories of identity as well as acknowledging both individual and social influences on identity development. It is argued that identity‐related motivations are fundamental to all tourist experiences and vital to understanding not only why individuals engage in tourism but what benefits they derive from the experience, suggesting that tourism is often used by individuals as a means to explore, maintain and even disengage from particular aspects of identity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beyond the journey: the lasting impact of culinary tourism activities

In general, food tourism research has focused on tourist behaviour prior to or during trips, as well as food tourism development and marketing from a destination perspective. This exploratory study investigates food tourism from a broader context to determine if food tourism activities may impact attitudes and future behaviours. Data from a nine-country survey indicate that food activities likely impact trip satisfaction and influence intention to return and likelihood to recommend a destination. Food experiences are connected with memory, and these food experiences and souvenirs may influence destination image and lead to future purchases. Suggestions are provided for further research.     

Determinants of collective transport mode choice and its impacts on trip satisfaction in urban tourism

The continuous growth of tourism has important environmental impacts and transports account for a large proportion of the CO₂ emissions generated by tourists. Understanding the motivations and characteristics of collective transport users in contemporary cities may contribute to promote more sustainable forms of tourism. Based on an extensive questionnaire to international tourists in Barcelona, this study employs a multinomial logistic regression to explore the links among visitors' characteristics, motivations, and means of transportation, while an ordinal logistic regression is applied to investigate whether the preference for collective transport has an impact on the satisfaction with the trip. The novelty of our approach is testing the hypothesis that the choice of collective transports is more related to trip motivations (professional, leisure, or personal) than to socio-demographic or personal characteristics of tourists. The results show that professional travelers are more oriented to the use of private cars, but they prefer collective transports when the length of stay is higher and combined with other trip motivations. Also, using collective transports is linked to high satisfaction with the visit for the tourists using this form of transportation. This study puts forward policy implications and suggestions for future research directions, in particular regarding the utilization of non-motorized forms of transportation cities.     

Destination Stakeholders' Perceptions of Volunteer Tourism: An Equity Theory Approach

This study explores destination stakeholders' perceptions of volunteer tourism (VT) using equity theory. In this paper, 26 semi‐structured interviews were conducted to understand individuals' needs, motivations, expectations and their assessments of inputs and outcomes. Equity theory sheds light on the micro‐level of interaction between residents and volunteers and demonstrates why and how residents of Cusco (Peru) with an active role in VT develop certain perceptions in direct encounters with volunteer tourists. The data reveal how perceptions differ according to the respondents' social roles within VT. Heterogeneity, dynamism and a fluctuation between materialities and affection are discussed as important outcomes of these interactions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Eating with EatWith: analysing tourism-sharing economy consumers

In recent years, a growing body of research has analysed tourism-sharing economy users. While several studies have revealed the specific motivations of tourists for participating in such activities, there is an apparent lacuna with regard to understanding the generic motivations of such consumers. In response to this literature gap, the current study explores the motivations of these users, aiming to shed light on their values, lifestyles and consumption preferences. The motivations of sharing economy users were examined using a quantitative survey involving 738 consumers of EatWith – a global sharing economy marketplace that offers a communal dining experience. The study's findings indicate that EatWith users have the generic primary motivation of achievement. The findings present several contributions to scholars and practitioners, and propose that sharing economy users are affected both by the specific motivations of social considerations, environmental considerations and economic considerations, and by their primary motivations of ideals, achievement and self-expression.     

Roots Tourists' Internal Experiences and Relations with the Ancestral Land: Case of Second‐generation Chinese Americans

Studying ‘roots tourism’ provides insights regarding various relationships between diasporic people and their ancestral countries. The goal of this study was to classify second‐generation Chinese American roots tourists based on the meanings of visiting China and a sense of belonging to China. Through the interpretive analysis of 34 interviewees, five categories emerged. The findings indicated various meanings of visit, although, overall, ties to the ancestral land seemed ceasing. Roots tourism, a temporal, infrequent visit, may not foster strong ties to an ancestral land. Yet, the study also revealed that the ancestral land still signifies as a special destination for diasporic people. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.