Examining destination images from travel blogs: a big data analytical approach using latent Dirichlet allocation

ABSTRACT

In the big data era, destination images have played an increasingly important role in tourism development. However, seldom tourism research has utilised big data analytics to examine destination images from travel blogs. Therefore, this study proposes and evaluates a big data analytical approach using latent Dirichlet allocation to extract attributes of online destination images from 140,286 travel blogs about 20 cities in China. Results reveal 14 dimensions with 54 attributes of destination images of the studied cities. Interesting findings are discovered between online destination images and tourism cities. This study also summarises the implications for tourism research and practice.     

Environmental psychology and tourism

The relationship between environmental psychology and tourism is outlined. Relevant research from environmental and social psychology is reviewed and implications for understanding tourism behavior are discussed. A five-phase recreation travel framework is applied to tourism and socioenvironmental processes are discussed for each phase. The five phases are anticipation, travel to the destination, on-site behavior, return travel, and recollection. Topics discussed include proxemics, environmental perception, environmental imagery, behavior settings, perceived authenticity, and secondary explorations. Some future research questions are suggested for each tourism phase.     

黑色叙事对旅游目的地引致形象的影响机制

"讲好故事"已成为塑造和传播国家和地方形象的重要手段。以"讲故事"为手段打造旅游目的地形象是一种国际通行的旅游目的地营销方式。现有旅游目的地叙事研究开展还很不充分,关注的叙事偏重于正面叙事材料,对负面叙事的关注还很不够。文章着眼于黑色叙事对旅游目的地引致形象的影响机制,以德国首都柏林作为研究案例,以著名历史游记《柏林:一座城市的肖像》(Berlin:Imagine a City)中关于柏林的系列黑色叙事和柏林旅游局在微信公众号发布的图片作为实验材料,通过招募志愿者参与包括4个阶段的混合研究设计,验证黑色叙事对柏林旅游目的地形象(认知、情感及意动)的复杂影响。研究的主要理论贡献在于:首先,验证了黑色叙事对旅游目的地形象具有显著影响,实证该影响主要透过"叙事主角-游客-自我形象一致性"这一主线发挥作用,明确了黑色叙事主角形象对黑色叙事引致旅游目的地形象的影响机理,丰富了叙事传输理论相关结论。其次,验证了黑色叙事引致情感形象在黑色叙事影响旅游目的地形象过程中的影响效应,发现黑色叙事引致情感形象(而非认知形象)是黑色叙事最终能够影响游客动机的关键。最后,在黑色叙事这一特定研究情境中,验证了目的地认知形象对"情感形象影响意动形象"具有"增强调节效应",丰富了现有旅游目的地形象"认知-情感-意动"三联结构理论。文章在此基础上提供了相应的管理和营销建议。     

The Amazing Race to India: Prominence in reality television affects destination image and travel intentions

Considering the increasing popularity of reality television shows, this research investigated the impact of a destination placement in reality television on tourism. Two experiments reveal that a reality show can change the image of the destination in which the show is set. This positively affects cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes. Specifically, it changes perceptions in accordance with the depiction of the destination in the reality show, increases knowledge about the destination, favorably affects viewers' attitude toward the destination, and even more importantly, increases the intention to travel to the destination. Our findings are of interest to destination marketing organizations; they inform them on how to promote touristic destinations.     

境外信息技术与旅游的交叉研究进展——基于ENTER会议文献集(2005~2012)的统计分析

在信息通信技术与旅游业发展日益紧密结合的背景下,国际信息技术与旅游业联盟(IFITT)应运而生,并展开了一系列相关交叉研究。作为探讨信息和通信技术在旅游行业中应用与影响的组织,IFITT每年召开的ENTER会议是西方相关学者交流的重要平台。文章以ENTER会议论文集(2005～2012)为研究对象,从文献的时间分布、作者及机构、所属国家/地区、研究议题、演进规律等方面来展现国外信息技术与旅游的交叉研究现状和发展轨迹,并进一步归纳出国外旅游与信息技术交叉研究发展特点,并提出研究展望,以期为国内相关研究提供参考。     

A Preliminary Investigation of NFL Games and Self-Drive Tourism

Abstract

This article addresses the thesis that the presence of an NFL team in a market area creates a unique self-drive (i.e., travel by car) tourism opportunity. Even though the impact of the presence of one or more professional sports teams in a community has been repeatedly studied, the research to date has not looked specifically at the impact on any one industry, or examined the extent to which the self-drive sports fan presents marketing opportunities for the host communities. The purpose of this study is to address these two gaps in the research by investigating the impact of an NFL team's play dates on lodging industry revenue (i.e., occupancy percentage, average daily rate, revenue per available room and total dollar impact) in the market area and to discuss destination marketing strategies to increase lodging revenues by targeting the self-drive NFL fan.     

Tourists’ happiness: are there smart tourism technology effects?

The purpose of this study is to develop a research model demonstrating tourists’ value-seeking processes through the tourism services and travel experiences of a destination. The model suggests that tourist happiness is assessed by tourists’ perceived experiences, which are formed by two motivational values: smart tourism technology (STT) and destination value. Despite a large quantity of research attention on destination tourism, the relation between tourists’ destination experience and STT has been less enthusiastically studied. Therefore, this study proposes to test an integrated model with attributes of STTs and destination values that contribute to tourists’ life happiness. The results of this study, from a survey of 191 foreign tourists in Seoul, South Korea, indicate that tourists are likely to put more value on what they perceived from their destination travel experiences than what they perceived from their experiences with STT services when they evaluate their overall happiness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Examining Chinese College Students’ Intention to Travel to Japan Using the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior: Testing Destination Image and the Mediating Role of Travel Constraints

Understanding the decision-making process and predicting travel behavior are critical for destination tourism marketers. This study develops and tests a structural equation model using the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explain Chinese college students’ intention to travel to Japan. Ten hypotheses were proposed regarding the relationships between destination image, travel constraints, and the original TPB constructs. The results of structural analyses reveal that the extended TPB has better predictive power for travel intention to Japan than the original one. Attitude is found to have the greatest impact on intention to travel to Japan. The mediating role of travel constraints shows a significantly negative effect on the relationships between the predictors and travel intention except for the relationship between perceived behavioral control and travel intention. The results of this study can help improve marketing promotions and the development of more effective destination positioning strategies for Japanese inbound tourism.     

旅游企业社会责任对目的地形象及游客忠诚的影响研究

在旅游市场竞争日趋激烈的背景下,由旅游企业经营所引发的社会责任问题受到广泛关注,但学界关于旅游企业社会责任的影响研究还不够系统和深入.文章将旅游企业社会责任划分为6个方面,将目的地形象划分为认知形象和情感形象两个方面,并构建了旅游企业社会责任对目的地形象及游客忠诚的影响模型.实证研究表明,旅游企业社会责任在目的地形象及游客忠诚形成中发挥非常重要的作用,其中,经济责任、环境责任、游客责任、员工责任和法律责任对认知形象有正向影响,游客责任、员工责任和慈善责任对情感形象有正向影响;认知形象和情感形象不仅对游客忠诚产生直接影响,而且通过游客满意对游客忠诚产生间接作用.相比认知形象,情感形象对游客满意和忠诚的影响作用更大.     

VFR travel: It is underestimated

Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel is a substantial form of tourism worldwide. In Australia, official data measure VFR in one of two ways - purpose of visit or type of accommodation. However, this is only a measurement of those factors; it is not a measure of the size by volume of VFR travel. Yet tourism practitioners often mistakenly use these data to state the size of VFR travel in their destination. Based on quantitative research undertaken in three contrasting destinations in Australia, estimates for the size of VFR travel in those destinations is provided. These results highlight that using official data for measuring VFR travel will underestimate this segment in any Australian destination. Using the VFR definitional model as a conceptual model, this research has estimated that VFR travel represents 48% of Australia’s total overnight tourism market.     

Cosmopolitan tourists: the resilient segment in the face of terrorism

Terrorism is the most impactful travel risk influencing destination perception and choice. Little research has been done on the long-term effects of terrorism on tourism. One potential long-term impact of terrorism is the change in personal values of travellers, shifting permanently towards a security-concerned mindset. The image of safety emerges as the foundation for destination resilience in the face of terrorism. This paper aims to understand how the image of safety and stability, the prerequisites of tourism, can be restored. Through grounded theory, successful resilience strategies are analysed. Moreover, this research identifies a resilient tourist segment: travellers with strong cosmopolitan conviction. Insight is provided on how the tourism industry can contribute to building a more open-minded and resilient global society, the foundation of enduring tourism resilience.     

Representing tourists’ heterogeneous choices of destination and travel party with an integrated latent class and nested logit model

Aiming at a better understanding of heterogeneous interdependencies between destination and travel party choices in tourism, this study attempts to simultaneously represent these two choices by integrating the nested logit model with the latent class modeling approach to accommodate both types of nested model structures together. Empirical analysis confirmed the effectiveness of the developed model, using a data collected from more than 2000 tourists in Japan. It was observed that on average the two types of nested model structures are almost equally shared by samples and the model structures could significantly vary with income level and gender. Influential factors related to choices of destination and travel party were also explored. Concretely speaking, travel time, attractiveness of destination and number of tourism spots were found to be important influential factors in destination choice, and gender, age, marital status have important effects on travel party choice.     

Effects of personification and anthropomorphic tendency on destination attitude and travel intentions

This research examined how individual differences in anthropomorphic tendency (the tendency to humanize non-human agents/objects) influence how people respond to destination marketing communications. Specifically, this study examined whether individual-level anthropomorphic tendency and text-personification of destination marketing communications interact to influence destination attitude and travel intentions. Results from a study involving 210 Australian participants revealed that destination attitude and travel intentions were most favorable for people with high levels of anthropomorphic tendency and who were exposed to personified tourism messages. These findings indicate that text-personification represents a new communication tactic for tourism – particularly for target consumers who are high in anthropomorphic tendency – and one that can humanize the destination leading to more favorable attitudes and higher intentions to travel. This effect is mediated by positive emotions. People with high anthropomorphic tendency who are exposed to a personified advertisement feel more positive emotions, which lead to positive tourism outcomes.     

Exploring user acceptance of 3D virtual worlds in travel and tourism marketing

The virtual world of Second Life provides opportunities for companies in communicating marketing messages to targeted markets and capturing the attention of potential customers. Second Life has also been used by the travel and tourism industry as a collaborative and commercial tool for communicating with travelers in marketing tourism destinations (e.g. Tourism Ireland) as well as business management (e.g. Starwood Hotels; Crowne Plaza; STA travel agents). However, few studies have applied formal theory to understand the significance of virtual worlds to tourism destination marketing. The purpose of our study was to develop a research framework identifying the factors that affect tourists' experience and behavioral intentions within a 3D tourism destination by examining the applicability of the Technology Acceptance Model and Hedonic Theory. From a theoretical point of view, this study provides a research framework to capture the entertainment nature of virtual worlds and to reflect the concept that people in these worlds are technology users as well as potential consumers; it does so by extending the Technology Acceptance Model to incorporate the hedonic elements of enjoyment, emotional involvement, positive emotions, and flow experience for understanding the use of 3D virtual worlds within the context of travel and tourism. For destination managers, this study could help in designing engaging and interactive 3D tourism destination sites that contribute to an increase in people's interests in visiting the tourism destination in the future.     

How cute mascots affect relationships with tourism destinations: A moderated mediation model

The mascot, acting as an ambassador for a destination, plays a significant role in promoting tourism development. However, limited research has focused on the cute features of a mascot and its marketing effects on a destination. This study extends the literature on cuteness and mascots by examining the effect of including a cute mascot in destination advertising on a person's travel intention. Four experiments were undertaken to investigate the cuteness effect. It was found that including a cute mascot in a destination advertisement increased travel intention. Feelings of healing and destination intimacy mediated the cuteness effect. The moderating role of social exclusion was also examined. The study revealed that a mascot's cuteness effect was stronger for socially excluded individuals. The findings give destination managers novel insights into mascot design in tourism and destination marketing.     

社会网络视角下旅游线路研究——以新疆为例

多目的地旅游已成为当前一种重要的出行方式,因此,合理设置和安排旅游线路是旅游市场供需双方共同关注的焦点。但以往的研究仍停留在线路的描述上,未能对其成因进行系统阐释。在梳理和评述相关文献的基础上,文章以新疆目的地网络为例,进行问卷调查,并利用社会网络视角及分析方法,通过整体网和个体网两个层面探寻旅游线路形成的内在机理。网络分析结果表明,新疆已初步形成以喀纳斯为中心的目的地网络,而以中心度和结构洞为代表的目的地网络结构特征是多样化旅游线路形成的关键所在。研究结论对现有旅游线路研究在理论、研究方法和实践方面有重要启示和指导意义。     

Developing a conceptual framework for slow travel: a grounded theory approach

This paper discusses the sociocultural phenomenon of slow travel and explores and clarifies definitional issues. The 30-year-plus antecedents of slow travel are examined. A literature review shows a concentration on four key features: slowness and the value of time; locality and activities at the destination; mode of transport and travel experience; and environmental consciousness. Links to the slow food and slow city movements are discussed, and evidence that slow travel is an important emergent form of tourism in Europe, accounting for 10% of the holiday market, is provided. A grounded theory approach continues the exploration, involving 23 in-depth interviews with practitioners and academics, which revealed that their core requirements for slow travel centred on slowness, the travel experience and environmental consciousness. There was a lack of consensus about the eligibility of car travel and high-speed rail. Slow travel is seen as a group of associated ideas rather than as a watertight definition; it is a mindset about travel rather than a tangible product and concentrates on lack of speed rather than slowness per se. The conclusion shows it to be a growing part of the sustainable tourism paradigm and proposes a working definition of slow travel.     

An assessment of convention tourism's potential contribution to environmentally sustainable growth

The tourism literature contains substantial discussions on how increasing numbers of attendees and conventions at a destination contributes to the local economy, but there is limited research on the environmental impact of the concomitant increases in air and other travel, and other activity increases in energy and other resource use. This research assesses the current environmental position of the convention industry in the United States and formulates suggestions for future direction in regard to “green” concepts by examining and comparing the perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of three groups of convention stakeholders: convention attendees, meeting planners, and convention suppliers. This empirical study recognizes the critical problem of inadequate understanding of the environmental impact of convention activities and the lack of knowledge regarding ecological convention practices. It shows that the perception of environmental impact among the three groups varies depending on which environmentally friendly practices are available to each group. It discusses the background to – and the implications of – the emotional formation of decisions and self-motivation based on positive attitudes and the strong intention to adopt green management practices agreed to by convention stakeholders.     

Tourism destination decisions: the impact of risk aversion and prior experience

This study broadly explores the impact of risk aversion on tourists' destination decisions and, in particular, explores for differences in individuals' leisure and medical tourism destination decisions. The results of this study indicate that risk aversion significantly distinguishes tourists' destination decisions in both leisure and medical tourism in Indonesia, but not in Singapore. All risk-averse groups are less likely to visit Indonesia than Singapore for leisure and medical purposes. By contrast, all risk-averse groups are likely to visit Singapore for leisure purposes, although they remain unlikely to travel to Singapore for medical tourism. In addition, the study found that the impact of prior experience on the likelihood that the two risk-averse groups will travel to Indonesia and Singapore for leisure was significant. Conversely, the effects of prior experience on medical tourism generally do not significantly differ between the two countries.     

互联网对旅游目的地分销渠道影响——黄山案例研究

互联网的发展与应用对旅游目的地分销渠道产生了显著影响,传统旅行社的分销渠道功能发生变化,一些新的分销渠道如黄山的自助游服务酒店开始出现。关于互联网是否导致旅游分销渠道的"去中介化"和"再中介化"的争论成为学术界讨论的热点。文章以黄山为案例,以历时态的视角动态分析了互联网对黄山旅游目的地分销渠道的影响。研究发现,互联网使旅游目的地分销渠道更加多元化、网络化,目的地旅游分销关系、功能与结构等方面也发生了相应的变化,旅游者的主导地位增强,旅游中介的垄断地位相对减弱,但目的地的分销渠道"去中介化"与"再中介化"并未清晰地形成。