Communicating risk to tourists: A mental models approach to identifying gaps and misperceptions

This study compares the perspectives of government agencies, academic experts, and tourism suppliers on providing tourists with tsunami risk information. Previous studies highlight that government agencies are often in charge of developing tourism-oriented risk communication plans; academic experts are recognized as having a more in-depth understanding of the technical aspects of a risk, as well as the hazard development and potential effects; and tourism suppliers play a fundamental role during the risk communication process, due to direct connection with the tourists. However, tourists are often found to be insufficiently informed about risks and warning systems. We use the Mental Models approach, aiming to analyze the communication between the aforementioned categories of stakeholders. We carried out interviews and conducted field trips in Japan between April and December of 2018. Results highlight an increased general awareness regarding tourists' preparedness, poorly supported by risk-communication gaps, misperceptions, and a lack of efficacy analyses.     

消费者旅游感知风险维度识别及差异分析

旅游感知风险是影响消费者旅游决策的关键因素, 对感知风险的维度识别与影响因素的研究尤为重要。该研究通过文献分析、预调研、大样本调查和探索性因子分析得出旅游消费者基于损失分类的感知风险维度, 研究发现, 除身体风险、功能风险、财务风险、沟通风险、心理风险、社会风险6个基本感知风险维度外, 还存在服务风险、设施风险和沟通风险3个旅游消费情境下特定的感知风险维度。通过方差分析, 发现在不同的消费者人口统计特征和旅游行为特征下, 各维度的感知风险水平存在显著差异。     

Service robots and perceived discrimination in tourism and hospitality

This study explores the influences of the incorporation of service robots in the service delivery systems of tourism and hospitality companies on the perceived discrimination of tourists and tourism employees. In doing so, a conceptual framework is proposed to explain the relationships between robots-based service delivery systems in tourism and hospitality (e.g., fully robotised and mixed service delivery systems) and discrimination. This paper demonstrates that although service robots may be advantageous in eliminating/mitigating perceived discrimination (from employees to tourists, tourists to tourists, tourists to employees, employer/employee to employee), using robots can also create or aggravate perceived discrimination. Though this study is the first attempt on the subject and presents beneficial knowledge for tourism and hospitality service providers and service robot designers, future empirical studies could shed more light on the relationship between robots-based service delivery systems and discrimination in the tourism and hospitality context.     

Book Reviews

Water is a human right and it is essential to sustain life and livelihoods, as well as the health and happiness of tourists. This paper examines a destination with ample rain, but rapid and unchecked tourism development: Bali, Indonesia. The mismanagement of water resources means underground supplies are polluted and local people suffer from water scarcity. A multi-method approach with the various stakeholders was used to develop a stakeholder map that identifies duty bearers and rights holders. The government is the primary legal duty bearer to provide communities with water, but companies also have unique responsibilities. This paper examines why tourism businesses need to conduct human rights impact assessments. Taking due diligence for human rights can be seen as a business opportunity, leading to reduced operating costs and increased reputational strength. The benefits and challenges for business are explored.     

旅游移动商务游客接受实证研究——基于对桂林游客的调查

本文在理论分析和对典型游客访谈的基础上构建了旅游移动商务的游客接受模型,并通过实证调查的方法对接受模型进行了验证.研究发现,认知的有用性、认知的易用性、游客自我感知和游客风险感知都是影响游客接受旅游移动商务服务的重要因素,情景感知仅仅通过显著正向影响游客的认知易用性而影响游客使用意愿,风险感知则直接显著正向影响游客对旅游移动商务的使用意愿,而游客自我感知对游客的认知有用性和游客使用意愿都影响显著.最后,根据实证总结了研究结论,并对我国旅游移动商务发展提出相应的建议.     

Tourists' support for conservation messages and sustainable management practices in wildlife tourism experiences

A common justification for developing wildlife tourism attractions is that they help to secure long-term conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitats. Managers and guides often highlight their role in protecting wildlife and its habitat, yet little is known about the interests, needs and preferences of the tourists who participate in such activities – how aware are they of conservation issues; how concerned are they about the environmental impacts their visit may cause; do they expect and accept the conservation messages they receive? This research explores the perceptions, preferences and conservation awareness of tourists visiting the Mon Repos Conservation Park in Queensland, Australia. Comparison data from four other sites are also presented in order to provide a wider context for interpreting the data. The findings suggest that wildlife tourism management practices that enlist tourists as conservation partners, communicate the reasons behind any constraints imposed, and present a consistent message regarding interactions with wildlife, are likely to be most successful in meeting the needs of both tourists and wildlife.     

How to survive a pandemic: The corporate resiliency of travel and leisure companies to the COVID-19 outbreak

What protects travel and leisure companies from a global pandemic, such as COVID-19? To answer this question, we investigate data on over 1200 travel and leisure companies in 52 countries. We consider 80 characteristics, such as company financial ratios, macroeconomic variables, and government policy responses. Using regressions and machine learning tools, we demonstrate that firms with low valuations, limited leverage, and high investments have been more immune to the pandemic-induced crash. We also find a beneficial effect of stringent containment and closure policies. Finally, our results indicate that countries with less individualism may be better positioned to cope with the pandemic. Our findings have implications for regulatory bodies, managers, and investors concerning future pandemic outbreaks.     

Trip Planning and Decision Making of Self-Drive Tourists—

Abstract

Touring holidays are greenhouse gas intensive, and ways are being sought to reduce these emissions in New Zealand. This research seeks to influence rental vehicle tourists' planning and decision making towards shorter travel. Semi-structured interviews (n = 96) were conducted as part of a quasi-experimental approach, in which tourists were “treated” by receiving a purpose-designed tourist map. Three levels of planning and decision making could be distinguished, whereby both cognitive and affective processes were important. The tourist map did not influence tourists' itineraries, but tourists in New Zealand consistently followed a “travel budget” of about 3-5 hours driving per day.     

A Comparison of Tourists' and Residents' Uses of the Temple of Heaven World Heritage Site,China

World Heritage Sites are designated following evaluations of their universal values. However, their use is often shared by different user groups who may attach different meanings to the same heritage, leading to different interpretations and uses. This situation raises important questions for visitor management at World Heritage Sites, where a variety of users must be accommodated. Using Temple of Heaven as an example, the motivations, preferences and experiences are explored for three major user groups: residents, domestic and international tourists. Results show that residents and tourists exhibit different spatial and temporal patterns of use. Most local users are elderly and use the place regularly for exercise and social purposes. The historical and cultural values are widely recognized but tourists are motivated more strongly than local users to experience heritage values. Practical implications are generated to inform managers of the study site and other heritage sites shared by locals and tourists.     

房车旅游在中国大陆的发展及其战略相互性分析

房车旅游是中国旅游业的新概念，在当前旅行社产品同质性过高从而价格过度竞争的情况下，房车旅游作为一种被国外经验证明前景广阔的旅游产品，引起了各方的注意。本文首先介绍了国内外房车生产与经营的情况，随后对中国大陆房车市场的发展趋势和格局做了分析与预测。随后，从投资的角度，依靠基本的博弈理论，研究了投资旅游房车市场的战略相互性行为及其路径和时机。最后，在理论分析的基础上提出了现实的对策。     

The art of wasting time: sociability,friendship, community and holidays

Slow tourism is motivated by the desire for personal and communal well-being. It emerged as an antidote to the fast-paced imperatives of global capitalism that urge the entrepreneurial self to speed up and work harder to achieve and demonstrate desired social status. The entrepreneurial self can be understood in the contexts of neoliberalism and the class- and gender-based histories of time-thrift and rational recreation; the entrepreneurial self uses leisure time purposively in the pursuit of status, avoids idle pursuits and has restricted capacity to experience leisurely social relationships. In this article, it is argued that leisurely social relations can be reclaimed by letting go, even temporarily, of time-thrift and the compulsion to use leisure time purposively. Data drawn from in-depth interviews with repeat visitors at two Australian caravan parks revealed that for the period of their holiday the tourists relax, refuse to be driven by schedules, socialise with other tourists and feel no compulsion to use time purposively. The key reasons the tourists return to the parks each year were for the friendships and the sense of community they experience as part of the holiday. Slow tourism by its very nature rejects time-thrift, however, as the movement is harnessed by global capitalism, slow tourism risks becoming a source of conspicuous consumption. The findings of this study suggest that friendship and community thrive more readily in conditions where the need to achieve and demonstrate social status is discarded along with time-thrift.     

Changes in tourists’ perception of well-being based on their use of emotion regulation strategies during vacation

ABSTRACT

Based on the theoretical foundation of emotion regulation, this exploratory study aimed to examine changes in tourists’ perceived well-being and to determine whether these changes were due to use of emotion regulation strategies (ERSs) during their vacation. This study used travel diaries to record tourists’ use of ERSs on a daily basis, and also measured tourists’ perceived well-being one day before and after their vacation. Results indicated that tourists had significantly higher perceptions of well-being after vacation, and those who used ERSs were more likely to indicate a higher sense of well-being after vacation. The results provide new insight into which aspects of tourists’ subjective and psychological well-being can be boosted by taking vacations and how these aspects may be enhanced by using different ERSs.     

Stealth Risks and Catastrophic Risks

SUMMARY

What individuals do in the present is to a certain degree influenced by their vision of the future, which comprises a dimension of risk perception. This study compares the risk perception of stealth risks and catastrophic risks to the development of a tourism destination. The main distinction between the two types of risk relies on the distribution of the consequences over a longer or shorter timeline. In the case of stealth risks the consequences are diffused whilst in the case of catastrophic risks the consequences are concentrated in time, suggesting the hypothesis that catastrophic risks would be perceived as higher risks to tourism development than stealth risks, given the higher visibility of the consequences. A second hypothesis compares the risk perceptions of the tourists and residents to the tourism development of the destination. The data shows that stealth risks are considered higher risks than catastrophic risks and reveal a wide consistency in the risk perceptions of tourists and residents. These results and other aspects of risk perception as the sense of personal invulnerability and the effect of gender are explored and confronted with the literature and implications to destination management and travel and tourism research are discussed.     

Forms of body usage in tourists’ experiences of flamenco

This study explores the role of the human body in tourism and focuses on cultural tourists’ experiences of flamenco dance and music in Seville, Spain. It is suggested that the tourists who fully engage in flamenco activities use their bodies towards different ends. First, through disciplined practice, tourists seek to remedy a lack of self-esteem. Second, bodies are used in order to fulfill the need for self-expression and self-exploration. Third, tourists use flamenco as a means to differentiate themselves from other social groups, and bodies are used to contest established social structures. These findings point to the centrality of the body in understanding tourists’ practices and the construction of embodied identities.     

Are Chinese nationals’ attitudes to wildlife tourist attractions different from those of other nationalities?

Many wildlife tourist attractions (WTAs) have negative impacts on animal welfare and species conservation. In the absence of regulation, raising standards requires tourists to create market pressure by choosing to attend WTAs with benefits for wildlife. We surveyed respondents from five countries – China, Australia, Canada, UK, and USA – to quantify how attitudes to captive animals, and towards WTAs’ outputs and standards, may vary with nationality. Our aim was to provide a firm basis for behaviour change interventions to alter current patterns of tourist consumption of WTAs. All respondents agreed on the importance of conservation and animal welfare, but Chinese respondents were twice as likely to believe that WTAs would not be allowed to exist if they were bad for animals, and that WTAs’ promotional materials were reliable indicators of welfare and conservation standards. These findings indicate Chinese respondents had fundamentally similar attitudes to those from the other countries, but differed in how those attitudes were likely to be applied. Chinese tourists may experience more barriers to aligning their actions with their values with respect to WTAs. Removing these barriers may require information campaigns to highlight the lack of regulation, and the unreliability of some WTAs’ promotional materials and tourists’ reviews.     

Tourism attraction systems: Exploring Cultural Behavior

Attractions are vital sub-elements in all whole tourism systems, and yet their study suffers from lack of theoretical depth and empirical foundation. This paper presents an empirical exploration of the attraction system model, based on a survey of over 6,000 tourists to cultural attractions. The results provide strong support both for the general structure of the model and for the idea that tourists are “pushed” towards attractions by their motivations. Visitation is shown to be strongly related to motivation, attraction markers, use of different media, and touristic characteristics. Potential areas of development for the model are suggested, including more consideration of the relationship between agency and structure.     

Complementary services at hotels in accordance with their pricing strategy and the price sensitivity of tourists

This study proposes a procedure for defining, assessing and classifying free or payable complementary hotel services. These services are susceptible of being provided to holiday hotel tourists at mature sun-and-sand destinations to increase guest satisfaction and hotel profitability. Following this procedure, an empirical study was carried out, by means of in-depth interviews, Delphi’s methodology among experts on tourist hotels, and a survey, which was distributed to a sample of 1100 tourists. As a result, a set of complementary services was obtained. These services may be (1) dispensable or susceptible of being eliminated or reduced due to their low importance and frequency of use, (2) essential, as they must be provided because they are very relevant and frequently used, and (3) desirable, because they must be provided due to their high relevance for tourists.     

An in-depth exploration of residents’ perceived impacts of transient vacation rentals

ABSTRACT

The recent explosion of transient vacation rental (TVR) accommodations has been aided by websites like AirBnB, Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO), and HomeAway and this segment continues to grow in popularity. Many communities have enacted bans on TVRs with little empirical data to support decisions. This study explores TVR-related impacts as perceived by residents, and why those particular impacts are perceived. A series of 12 semi-structured, in-depth interviews of key resident stakeholders on Oahu, Hawai’i, United States (US) were conducted. Thematic analysis revealed residents perceived both positive and negative impacts in the economic, environmental, and sociocultural realms. Extended quotes from interviewees reveal the connection of perceived impacts to the presence of TVRs in residential zoned areas and the lack of a proprietor to manage the property and tourists like a traditional bed and breakfast (B&B). Findings provide a baseline for future research examining the unique impacts of this area of rapid tourism growth. Marketing implications are discussed.     

El Camino Inca

Summary

Seventy-five tourists who visited Cuzco, Peru in December 1996 were interviewed with the aim of discovering what kind of tourists are attracted to Cuzco, what attracts them, and what their perception of risks was. Cuzco tends to attract the educated elite of affluent countries of Europe and North America who tend to be long-term, low-to-medium-budget tourists interested primarily in culture and archeology. Many expressed concerns about crime (mostly theft), health, and civil unrest, and, indeed, nearly one-third had either been the victim of theft or assault (17 percent), fallen ill (11 percent), or been extorted or abused by state officials (3 percent).     

Heterogeneity in risk and safety perceptions of international tourists

The travel decisions of international tourists have, over the past decade, been significantly affected by external events, such as the fear of pandemics and terrorist attacks. Yet, little attention has been paid to heterogeneity among tourists with respect to risk perceptions. The question whether some tourist segments are less sensitive to external risks and thus more attractive to tourism industry in times of crises remains largely unanswered. This study conducts a data-driven segmentation of heterogeneity in the tourist population with respect to perceived risks of international travel and assesses if market segments with different risk perception patterns are distinct in other behavioral and personal characteristics. Additionally the study includes nationality as a proxy for “cultural background”, here analyzed in light of Hofstede's (1983) model. Practical implications are discussed.