The influence of self-congruity,perceived value,and satisfaction on destination loyalty: a case study of the Korean DMZ

Destination management organizations have increasingly recognized that destination loyalty provides a strategic competitive edge in tourism. In order to better understand the importance of heritage destinations, this study examined the roles of self-congruity, value perception, and travel satisfaction in the development of loyalty in the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) destination context. Data were collected among domestic tourists that had visited the DMZ with tour guides. Results identified that destination loyalty was positively affected by self-congruity and travel satisfaction; travel satisfaction was positively influenced by self-congruity and perceived value; and perceived value was positively influenced by self-congruity. Overall, these findings indicate that the interaction of self-congruity, perceived value, and travel satisfaction to the DMZ is essential in influencing visitors’ destination loyalty.     

Destination Aesthetics and Aesthetic Distance in Tourism Experience

Given the paucity of scholarly attention to the aesthetic component of tourism experience, this research attempted to empirically explore the roles of destination aesthetic qualities and “aesthetic distance”, that is, the perceived difference between the aesthetic properties of a destination and those of a tourist’s home environment, in the tourist’s aesthetic judgment and vacation satisfaction. The results validated a six-factor structure of aesthetic qualities, namely locale characteristics, scope, upkeep, accord, perceived age, and shape. This research noted that when tourists evaluate their home environment more positively in terms of upkeep and scope than vacation environment, they tend to perceive a destination as less beautiful. Only aesthetic distance in scope of experiential features influences vacation satisfaction. Relevant practical implications are discussed.     

Supplementary Services as a Differentiation Strategy

Abstract

Although some studies have been done on supplementary services in the service industry, very little has been explicitly done in the travel and tourism industry. This paper focuses on adding value to core services in the travel and tourism industry, which Lovelock (1996) referred to as “supplementary services.” Supplementary services can be used as differentiation points in a highly competitive industry such as tourism. Some researchers have developed models in an effort to demonstrate how supplementary services can enhance the core services. Shostack (1977) and Lovelock (1996) have developed models specifically designed for the service industry. This research is based on Lovelock's (1996) “Flower of Service” model, focussing on the “Hospitality: Taking Care of the Customer” cluster. This paper contends that supplementary services add value to core services, which gives firms competitive advantage over their competition. In the dynamic and challenging environment of the travel and tourism industry, operators need to differentiate themselves in order to be successful and continue to offer superior performance. One of the strategies to differentiate from the competition is to enhance the core services with supplementary services. A major Midwestern City was selected to test Lovelock's model. Two conventions held in mid-February were chosen for this study. Attendees of the first convention were provided specially trained greeters at selected key locations. The second convention that was held the following week did not have any greeters. Attendees of both the conventions were asked to complete a one page pre-tested questionnaire. They were to rate the host-city on several criteria including overall satisfaction, meeting their expectations, and satisfaction with the hospitality and non-hospitality services. Obtained findings suggest that attendees who were exposed to greeters rated the host-city more favorably in overall impression, and quality of hospitality services, and non-hospitality services, while the convention attendees that were not exposed rated the host-city less favorably. Based on the results from this study, firms in the travel and tourism industry, especially the convention centers, may want to consider providing their customers with supplementary services such as greeters as a differentiation strategy.     

Exploring Cruise Experiences,Satisfaction, and Loyalty: The Case of Aruba as a Small-Island Tourism Economy

In light of increasing global competition amongst international cruise destinations; growing demand for cruise tourism; and the lack of empirical studies on the “real” destination experience, satisfaction, and intentions to return and recommend (i.e., cruise destination loyalty), the current study investigates cruise visitor satisfaction, cruise destination experience, and the resulting behavioral intention as it relates to the cruise destination of Aruba, Dutch Caribbean. Because of increased reliance of small island economies on cruise tourism receipts and visitor expenditures, cruise ports throughout the Caribbean are seeking ways to improve the quality of destination services and experiences. Results indicate that cruise visitors are satisfied with their visit to Aruba and that overall destination experience in addition to satisfaction, were found to be significant predictors of cruise visitor loyalty.     

Vacation behaviour under high travel cost conditions – A stated preference of revealed preference approach

This paper investigates vacation behaviour under high travel cost conditions. We estimate discrete portfolio vacation choice models on data obtained in a novel free format Stated Preference of Revealed Preference (SP-off-RP) choice experiment. The substantive contribution of this paper is that we develop new insights into vacation behaviour under high travel cost conditions. We find that vacationers exhibit considerable diminishing marginal disutility of vacation travel costs. Furthermore, we have identified significant interactions effects across the following vacation choice dimensions: destination, length of stay, accommodation type and mode of transport. Therefore, a substantial increase in travel costs is likely to have marked consequences for the tourism industry – reaching beyond the transportation side of tourism. Methodological contributions of this paper are twofold: 1) it proposes a choice experiment in which SP alternatives are constructed by pivoting of late consideration set alternatives, rather than only of a chosen alternative, and 2) it proposes, and illustrates the use of, a generalization of a recently proposed SP-off-RP estimation procedure.     

Americans' intention to visit Cuba as a medical tourism destination: A destination and country image perspective

This study focuses on Americans' perceptions of and intentional behaviors toward Cuba as a medical tourism destination. Using a survey-based quantitative method, the study examined the effects of Cuba's country image and destination image as well as the perceived cost and quality of its medical tourism services on intention to visit Cuba. The results showed that country image and perceived quality of medical tourism services had the greatest positive influence on Americans' intention to travel to Cuba for medical purposes. The study also supported the positive effect of destination image and the negative effect of perceived costs of medical tourism services on intention to visit Cuba. Lastly, the study findings revealed that the better the country and destination image of Cuba, the lower the perceived cost and the higher the perceived quality of its medical tourism services would be.     

THEMEQUAL—Adapting the SERVQUAL Scale to Theme Park Services: A Case of Hong Kong Disneyland

Faced with keen competition in the theme park operating environment, operators have realized the necessity of maintaining a high standard of service quality in order to survive. Because of the scarcity of literature on theme park service quality, the present study adapts the SERVQUAL model and modifies it as the THEMEQUAL model to measure the gap between perceived service quality and expected service quality from visitors under the theme park setting. The Hong Kong Disneyland is selected due to its importance to the Hong Kong tourism industry. The impact of the dimensions of the model on visitor satisfaction is also examined. Results expressed visitor satisfaction in terms of physical environment, but signified dissatisfaction on employee performance. Among the six dimensions of the model, “responsiveness and access,” “assurance,” and “empathy” are the critical predictors of visitor satisfaction. Discussions on the findings are presented and managerial implications are explained in detail.     

The mediation of information technology on visitors’ experience at a cultural heritage site

This study identifies perceptual differences between the experiences of using an interactive ubiquitous access tourism service (U-tourism service) at a cultural heritage site and on-site participation-driven services. An interactive U-tourism service, “Hwaseong Haenggung Histour”, a smart phone application, was developed and implemented for this study. The study found (a) visitors who experienced the U-tourism service showed higher recognition on such dimensions as education, novelty, entertainment and fellowships, regarded as important components of on-site experiences, than those who joined on-site participation-driven services and (b) young visitors who used the interactive U-tourism service recorded higher in the dimensions of both education and novelty than those who joined on-site participation-driven services and showed higher satisfaction. These findings provide strong justification for the introduction of U-tourism services, particularly for young visitors. This study contributes to the understanding of a fast-growing and influential electronic tool for cultural heritage sites.     

Selling Strategies and Shopping Behavior—An Example of Taiwanese Guided Package Tourists to Mainland China Destinations

China has become the most visited destination in the world for international tourists. The number of Taiwanese tourists going to China on guided tours has increased; “shopping” and “optional tours” are the two most controversial consumption experiences for them due to price competition. This study aims to investigate the Taiwanese guided package tourists’ shopping intentions and behavior when traveling in China and also to examine how their shopping behaviors are influenced by sales representatives, local tour guides, and other tour participants. This study found that benefits sought, perceived sympathy, and social acceptance are often used by service providers to persuade tour participants to buy. It is expected that the study can contribute to tourism industry theory, and help the travel industry to improve the quality of guided package tours to China.     

Effects of personality traits on visitors attending an exposition: the moderating role of anxiety attachment

Expositions or “expos” are large consumer trade shows representing a catalyst for on-site direct spending by visitors attracted to these events that are promoted by destination marketing organizations, governments, communities, and businesses. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a new research model involving the analysis of five specific personality traits representing pleasure visitors attending an annual expo to provide more meaningful information for destination marketing professionals. This study then examined the effects of how visitor personality traits play upon expo attachment, satisfaction, and revisit intention using anxiety attachment as a moderator. Results revealed the relationships between expo attachment and satisfaction, attachment and revisit intention, and satisfaction and revisit intention were significant. Also, anxiety attachment was shown to moderate the relationships between all visitor personality traits and expo attachment. Accordingly, this study provides theoretical insights for future tourism research and offers new promotional implications for expo practitioners.     

Visitor attendance motivations at consumer travel exhibitions

This study identifies the major motivations of visitors for attending consumer travel exhibitions and segments visitors based on their motivations. The findings suggest that visitors to consumer travel exhibitions have multiple motivations: acquiring purchase information, being attracted by the theme, or being encouraged to visit by media coverage. Half of the visitors perceived travel fairs to be an important distribution channel through which they could get special deals on travel to desirable destinations (or at least sourcing information on travel). It seems likely that consumer travel show attendance may be closely linked with the individual leisure desires of the visitor. The study suggests two clusters: 1) Shopper cluster whose major motivation is purchasing and 2) Total Visitors whose motivation is to undertake an ongoing information search and attend seminars to maintain their awareness of new trends with the tourism industry.     

Social contact theory and attitude change through tourism: Researching Chinese visitors to North Korea

Drawing on 34 interviews with Chinese visitors to North Korea, this paper adopts the social contact theory to examine their attitude change through tourism. The paper first examines how Chinese tourists imagine North Korea as a tourism destination prior to their visits. Then the paper focuses on both the regulated and agentive dimensions involved in their travel, asking how individual Chinese tourist negotiates with the externally imposed restrictions to obtain more tourist-host contact. Third, it identifies both positive and negative post-trip attitude changes. In doing so, the paper creates a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of tourism conducted between China and North Korea which are perceived as “friendly” neighbors with conflicts. Apart from offering empirical and policy implications, this paper extends the use of intergroup social contact theory by focusing on a destination with restrictions on tourist-host contact.     

Integrating the Kano model and IPA to measure quality of museum interpretation service: a comparison of visitors from Taiwan and Mainland China

This study attempts to integrate the Kano model and importance-performance analysis to explore critical interpretation service elements. This study compares the experiences of Mainland China and Taiwan visitors at a museum and their perceptions of interpretation service quality. The critical elements perceived by Mainland China visitors are “There is easy access to interpretation facilities” and “Interpreters provide services when visitors need them.” The critical elements identified for visitors from Taiwan are “There is easy access to interpretation facilities,” “Interpreters offer services at the right time,” and “What interpreters say is interesting and motivates visitors to learn more.”     

Travel demand and behavior of university students in Hong Kong

University students represent an emerging market for the travel industry. This paper reports the findings of a study on the travel behavior and travel patterns of Hong Kong university students. Using a questionnaire, a survey was conducted to identify student travel motives, their travel planning process and travel preferences. A total of 264 university students in Hong Kong were interviewed and data analyzed. The results indicate that to “Experience new and different styles”, “Take it easy and relax”, “Go to places I haven't been before” and “Outstanding scenery” were perceived as important motives in students' travel decision-making. Four factors with 24 attributes were identified. These factors were “Social relationships”, “Obtain new experience”, “Relax and enjoy” and “Cost of travel”. Based on the findings of the study, it was suggested that modifications to the existing tourism products and services and new product development were necessary in order to meet the demand of this emerging market.     

Considering Tobler's first law of geography in a tourism context

Despite potential benefits from applying Tobler's law in a tourism context, the law has been used sparingly within the tourism literature. This study seeks to expand the use of Tobler's law in tourism research by examining the relationship between tourists' distance travelled to a destination and the perceived degree of emotional closeness such visitors have with community residents. In doing so, visitor data from three uniquely distinct Texas destinations were analyzed. Results suggest that visitors to the destinations not only differed in their average travel distances, but also the perceived levels of emotional solidarity with residents. Results supported Tobler's law in a tourism context, whereby results indicated that the further an individual travelled to a destination, the less they agreed with feeling close to destination residents. Implications and future research direction opportunities are offered at the close of the work.     

Testing the proposed “GuidePerf” scale for tourism: performances of tour guides in relation to various tour guiding diplomas

The satisfaction perceived from the performance of tour guides (TGs) affects tour operators and other services in the tourism industry. As the tour guiding performance becomes more crucial in service quality and tourist satisfaction, education also becomes a critical tool to enhance the tour guiding performance. Using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with seven TGs in Cappadocia/Turkey and employing content analysis of the data, the Tour Guide Performance Scale (GuidePerf) was developed in this particular study. Reliability and validity of GuidePerf were supported by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The scale was composed of 18 items and three dimensions, namely: “personality and efficiency,” “presentableness,” and “proficiency.” Proceeding to the next step with the approval, the GuidePerf was conducted on the tour participants (TPs) who were guided by three different TG types in terms of the education they had received. The results revealed that there is significance when “presentableness,” and “proficiency” dimensions are considered.     

What makes Airbnb likeable? Exploring the nexus between service attractiveness,country image,perceived authenticity and experience from a social exchange theory perspective within an emerging economy context

As a result of the growth of the notions of collaborative consumption and sharing economy in the tourism industry, this paper applies social exchange theory to investigate how the Airbnb platform influences the Airbnb experience and authenticity, which might lead consumers to like Airbnb and influence their behavioural patterns. By recruiting 466 tourists who had stayed in Airbnb accommodation in Istanbul, Turkey via travel-related Telegram, Twitter, travel blogs, and Facebook groups, this study revealed the importance of the platform and its features in enhancing service attractiveness, perceived authenticity and experience. Furthermore, the results revealed that visitors’ experiences have an influence on Airbnb likability, where Airbnb likability influences their intention to re-visit and to recommend. Significant implications for tourism planning, management and researchers are highlighted.     

The Image of Taiwan as a Travel Destination: Perspectives from Mainland China

This study presents the perceived and projected image of Taiwan as a travel destination from perspectives from Mainland China. The perceived image of Taiwan was examined by interviewing 28 Mainland Chinese; the projected image of Taiwan was investigated by analyzing articles in China's most popular travel magazines. The different types of images of Taiwan among visitors, nonvisitors, and travel magazines were compared. The projected image changed notably after the opening of Taiwan's tourism to travelers from Mainland China. The results of this study could help destination marketing organizations to assess their marketing strategies for the Mainland Chinese travel market.     

Evaluating Internet Portals—An Empirical Study of Acceptance Measurement Based

SUMMARY

Due to the great importance of the “information business” in the tourism industry, the Internet has seen increasing use in this field. This paper deals with the evaluation of Internet portals based on the example of the Austrian National Tourist Office, Austria's largest tourism service organization. The empirical analyses performed on the basis of 172 useable questionnaires demonstrate the high significance of the Internet in the work processes of tourism professionals. In this context, significant differences were identified between the four user groups examined in the B2B field (provincial tourism organizations, hotels, travel agencies/operators and associations) and between age groups and genders in the various dimensions of Internet portal evaluation. Usability and content play the most critical role as factors influencing the appeal of Internet portals, the users' satisfaction with them, and their frequency of return visits to a portal. The design of a portal has a significantly lower influence.     

Women the taste-makers in tourism

Using data derived from a statistical sample as well as interviews, women are the taste-makers of American tourism because they dominate in the decision-making process. Culturally-specific motivations, generated within a narrowly-defined home community, prompt travel to “in” destinations and the traveler later gains social approval at home for having been to a currently-popular vacation center. The implications for market research suggest that to attract American tourism, the destination must be appealing to American women, and it must be marketed through, channels that American women see and/or read.