Escaping the Jungle

ABSTRACT

One of the most challenging, but also most interesting, features of tourism and hospitality as an area of study is that there is considerable variability in the backgrounds and training of those who are involved in its management. In some commercial sectors there is a lengthy tradition of the use of marketing as an integral component of management practice, while in public management organisations, marketing concepts are either unknown or mistrusted. This lack of application of marketing is particularly apparent in the management of tourism to protected areas such as National and State Parks and forests. An ongoing challenge in this sector is to conduct research into visitors and how they choose and enjoy their nature based leisure experiences. This article will report on a project to improve the study and management of visitors to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in the North Eastern part of Australia. The study involved a travel lifestyle market segmentation of over 1200 visitors to the area based on travel interests, activities and desired rainforest based tourism experiences. The analysis identified four core types of rainforest visitor and these groups were compared and contrasted in terms of their service quality ratings and overall satisfaction. The article concludes with links to the management frameworks for this tourism destination and the value of different segmentation techniques     

Service Problems,Service Crises and Service Disasters

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the need for tourism service organisations to implement effective ways of responding to their clients when a problem occurs in the delivery of a service. Failure to recognise or respond appropriately to a problem when it occurs can cause a crisis which requires more organisational resources and skills to overcome, and if this is not achieved the original problem may result in desertion of the company by its clients, or adverse publicity impacting severely on the company's success. The paper presents a short illustrative case study. The paper suggests that organisations may learn from analysing service problems how to adopt adaptive strategies to minimse the negative consequences of future service failures. It indicates the need for further studies to improve the responsive of organisations to service problems.     

Using Performance Measurements to Explore the Influence of Service Quality Dimensions on Customer's Perception of Overall Value of a Nature Based Tourism Outfitter

ABSTRACT

Customers of leisure services have increased their expectations of experience providers in recentyears. As the competition among service providers has increased for customers, service providers have begun to focus efforts on assessing the quality of the experiences they provide for their guests. Using the findings from their investigations, leisure service providers seek to modify current program offerings, add new experiences that enhance the perceived quality of their experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of using service performance measurements to determine if customer's perception's of service performance significantly predicts their perception of trip value, likeliness to recommend, and likeliness to repurchase from the same outfitter, and overall quality in the context of white water rafting. A total of 309 guests of an outfitter were surveyed for this study. Service performance was measured within the context of four company-specific dimensions (Reservation, Transportation. Facilities, and Guides). MANOVA and discriminant analyses were used to test each of the four hypotheses. Results of the MANOVA revealed that reservations, facilities, transportation and guides do significantly predict, overall perceived value, the likelihood to recommend the experience next year, and overall quality. However, only transportation and facilities were significant when asked about repurchasing the trip from the same outfitter next year. The strongest predictor resulting from the discriminant analyses for three variables (overall perceived value, the likelihood to recommend these outfitters and overall quality) was reservations. In contrast the strongest predictor of repurchasing the experience from the same outfitter was transportation.     

Proposed framework for the management of resorts Mini Clubs: an ambidextrous approach

ABSTRACT

Drawing on ambidextrous approaches to management, this study has found that Mini Clubs, whilst predominantly adopting an exploitative approach, need to redesign their services to enhance children’s experiences but also to contribute to the resorts’ competitive edge. The study suggests that a two-step strategy needs to be implemented by leisure organisations, namely an increased complexity strategy and an increased divergence strategy, which would make a strategic shift to a more exploratory approach and therefore ambidextrous management and marketing practices. Management initiatives are proposed and discussed in relation to key global trends influencing the leisure and hospitality sector. The paper represents the first endeavour to examine the management of resort Mini Clubs, proposes to fill a gap in the literature aimed to recognise the increasing role of children activities in the leisure and hospitality sector, and contributes to the study of ambidextrous management in leisure research.     

How Cultural Differences Cause Dimensions of Tourism Satisfaction

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual model of the relationship between different cultural values and how they influence consumer satisfaction in the tourism industry. It is hypothesized that cultural differences manifest themselves in different levels of importance being placed upon different aspects of service, and the differences between the levels of importance and the actual service received cause differences in the levels of satisfaction. These hypotheses are tested using 269 independent samples of levels of importance and 411 independent samples of satisfaction of tourists from four cultural groups (Australian, USA/Canadian, Japanese, Mandarin speakers) who visited Melbourne, Australia in the period May-September, 1996. The analysis develops dimensions of importance and satisfaction separately for each cultural grouping, and uses structural equation modeling (Amos 3.6) to develop the causal model measuring the way in which importance of service dimensions cause dimensions of satisfaction. Conclusions from the analysis show little evidence of a causal relationship between importance of service quality attributes and satisfaction. However, significant differences are found between cultures for different levels of satisfaction resulting indirectly from differences in the importance and actual levels of service received.

The implications for cultural differences affecting tourism satisfaction are discussed.     

Serious leisure among older gardeners in Australia

Activities such as gardening are fast becoming acknowledged as a much desired health management strategy in later life. However, few studies have examined gardening as a serious leisure pursuit. The aim of this study was to apply the concept of serious leisure to the context of leisure gardening by older adults in Australia. Casual, participant and devotee gardeners were compared with respect to the relative importance of the characteristics of serious leisure, using self-administered questionnaires (n = 514). Findings indicated that characteristics of serious leisure varied significantly across the three groups. The most powerful discriminating characteristics were Identity, Unique Ethos and Significant Effort; with Identity particularly important for devotee gardeners. The deeper the level of engagement, the more gardening was perceived as contributing to overall life satisfaction. Findings indicated that gardening could be a serious leisure pursuit that assists in the development of a positive leisure identity and contributes to a more mobile and active life for older adults.     

Benchmarking Best Practice in Hotel Front Office

Abstract

During the past decade there have been significant changes in the hotel sector, the marketplace and its operations. This paper reports a research study across a number of western European countries into the changing functions within front office operations and the role of personnel in a range of hotels and locations. Issues addressed include the flattening of organisations; the increasing expectation of multi-tasking and multi-skilling; and creating a balance between technological solutions and the delivery of quality customer care. These issues are linked to wider findings on the growth in the need for the more generic skill types together with the importance of personal attributes as key selection criteria and the growing emphasis of the employers role in providing training for vocational skills. Work in these areas has seen a decline in routine activities and has become increasingly complex, involving the use of a wide range of software, maintaining in-house systems and the expectations of faster response to more complex methods of communications. Industry has realised the importance of customer care and the subsequent increase in focus by operators on its provision. These issues have led to the setting of procedures and benchmarks for the various functions and services of front office and the empowerment of employees in their implementation. The paper provides an insight into changes in front office and the manner in which technology is acting as an enabling force rather than replacing traditional roles. The paper addresses education and training implications for the hotel sector and education providers by examining current curricula and training provision and questions the relevance of some “sacred cows” that have traditionally been taught. The paper concludes with recommendations for future education and training provision.     

Current Human Resources Practices Affecting the Employment of Persons with Disabilities in Selected Toronto Hotels

Abstract

Due to the continuous growth of the hotel industry, Canada's highest employment rate since the 1980s boom, an aging labour pool, and shortages in talent across a range of key economic sectors, hotel organisations could face strong competition from other industries for skilled labour. In light of these potential labour shortages, persons with disabilities could represent an important under-utilised labour source for hotel organisations if the latter provide appropriate accommodating measurements and supporting human resources policies and programmes. This case study provides a snapshot of current human resource practices affecting the employment of persons with disabilities within a small number of Toronto hotels. The complexity of defining people with disabilities, the limitations of Canada's legal framework and the limited awareness, understanding, and communication between persons without a disability and people with a disability within the case study organisations seems to enforce a reactive approach. Changes and shifts in areas such as communication, awareness, and education might lead the participating hotel organisations to proactively recruit and integrate a highly motivated and committed group of employees. Despite the inability to generalize the findings across and to be representative of Canada's hotel industry, this study could be seen as a starting point for further research in the exploration of human resource practices and challenges affecting the employment of persons with disabilities in hotel organisations in Toronto and across Canada.     

Study on the Degree of Importance of Convention Service Factors

ABSTRACT

As customers come to understand that service is one of the most important industry products, identifying customer needs and providing what they want will be essential to a successful approach in service-related industries. In consideration of the increased importance of service in the convention industry, this article identifies convention service factors and provides statistical analysis based on data from the actual industry. The results of this research will enhance an understanding of the factors used by customers to evaluate the quality of convention service and help planners improve their performance in the planning of conventions.     

Perceived Parental Control,Restructuring Ability,and Leisure Motivation: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

ABSTRACT

Leisure is viewed worldwide as an important developmental context for adolescents. As leisure research and programs are shared across nations, it is crucial to examine the cultural equivalence of leisure-related constructs and how they are related. Grounded in self-determination theory, this study explored the influence of perceived parental control and leisure restructuring ability on leisure motivation (amotivation and autonomous motivation) using samples of eighth grade adolescents in the United States and South Africa. Results of multiple-group structural equation modeling showed that the measurement model of the constructs was equivalent across the two samples, but the determinants of leisure motivation differed between the two samples. The findings provide implications for future cross-cultural research in leisure and offer insights on design and adaptation of leisure-based intervention and education programs in different cultural contexts.     

Profiling Asian and Western family independent travelers (FITS): An exploratory study

This study explored perceptual and behavioral differences in service quality, satisfaction, and intention to revisit between Asian and Western family independent travelers (FITs) and to profile each group by its demographic and vacation characteristics as well as its family vacation decision‐making modes. Qualified FITs (n = 183) from seven major source markets were interviewed in the departure lounge at the Hong Kong International Airport. Results indicated that, compared to Asian FITs, Western respondents were more likely to favorably evaluate service quality, be first time visitors, and be younger. However, they were less likely to return to Hong Kong for leisure. Most Western travelers shared all decisions together between spouses, whereas their Asian counterparts were more likely to report individual dominant decisions, especially for those trip specific decisions. Marketing implications and future research directions are discussed.     

European Silk Road Tourists' and Their Tour Guides' Perceptions of Product and Service Quality

Abstract

The development potential of the China Silk Road tour has been recognised by international organisations. In a preliminary survey product and service quality perceptions of 78 European Silk Road tourists and of 20 guides were assessed. The tourists were quite critical of food served outside their hotels, the interest created by the attractions, the friendliness of locals and the price and quality of souvenirs. In nearly all these aspects tour guides' assessment differed substantially from their clients'. These results indicate a need for product and service quality improvements, including tour guides' training, to realise the undoubted potential of China Silk Road tours.     

Leisure and urbanisation in Brazil from the 1950s to the 1970s

There is growing interest in how workers recover and unwind from work during leisure, as poor unwinding has been associated with negative health. This research explores the recovery process to gain a greater understanding of how individuals switch‐off from work‐related thoughts post work. Specifically, we conducted interviews with workers who habitually find it difficult to switch‐off from work (i.e. high ruminators), and workers who find it easy to switch‐off from work (i.e. low ruminators). Three master themes were elicited using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: (1) work philosophy, (2) coping strategies and (3) coping outcomes. The findings revealed differences in core beliefs about work; high ruminators perceive blurred boundaries between work and home life, and they allowed work to mentally predominate during their leisure time, whereas low ruminators viewed their work and leisure as two distinct spheres, and actively developed strategies to switch‐off and disengage from work. Both high and low ruminators acknowledged the health benefits of unwinding post work, yet only low ruminators managed to successfully do so. It was concluded that there is a need for organisations to educate their employees, particularly high ruminators, about the importance of strategic unwinding post work to optimise the quality of leisure time and prevent them from becoming fatigued and burnt out.     

The Effects of Travel Agent Characteristics on the Development of Trust: A Contingency View

Abstract

Trust is a key factor in the establishment of long-term relationships between travel agents and their customers. Prior research across service industries has documented that both “person-related” (e.g., empathy, politeness, and customer/service representative similarity) and “offer-related” (e.g., customization, competence, reliability, and promptness) service representative characteristics have an impact upon trust. However, the relative importance of these characteristics, and in some cases the direction of their relationships with trust has varied across studies. In this paper, we posit a contingency model of trust, suggesting that within the travel agency industry, the effects of the above variables on trust will be moderated by length of customer/service provider relationship. Our model is tested in a business-to-business context by means of a mail survey involving 487 small business owners. The small business owners provided data about their relationships with their travel industry service providers (i.e., agents). Our results demonstrate how corporate travel agencies can work toward the establishment of trust with their clients under varying market conditions.     

An Investigation of Professional Development Education for Tourism and Hospitality Employees Through University and Industry Cooperative Education Partnerships

ABSTRACT

Cooperative educational partnerships in Australia are innovative education partnerships where universities join with a business or industry association in a working relationship. The partners share resources to develop and provide undergraduate award-bearing professional development education courses for employees and association members. The aim of this research is to investigate the nature of outcomes that encourages tourism and hospitality organisations to encourage professional development education for their employees and members.

This research used a qualitative approach to understand and analyse five cooperative education partnerships operating in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia. The outcomes emerging for tourism and hospitality organisations include encouraging confidence and loyalty in employees and a strengthening industry commitment to further education. The university saw professional development education provided through cooperative education partnerships as becoming part of their core education activity. Communication difficulties between different organisation cultures appear to be a barrier to overcome.     

An Investigation into the Perceived Importance of Service and Facility Attributes to Hotel Satisfaction

SUMMARY

In a complex service environment such as the hotel sector, assessing the perceived importance of services and facility attributes provides management with information not only to benchmark their service level provision, but also to retain and increase their customer base. The present study examines the perceived importance of the service and facilities attributes provided by a 3-star hotel. Results of the self-administered survey of 101 guests of three 3-star hotel properties in Perth (Western Australia) indicated that 13 of the 18 attributes were perceived as important. The 18 services and facility attributes were factor-analysed and three components emerged: physical facilities service experienced and services provision. These three components were found to significantly contribute to the overall importance rating of the hotel attributes. Statistically significant differences were noted for age and residence on the physical facilities and services provided components. Results were discussed and implications with further research opportunities were suggested.     

Social differences in leisure behavior: Measurement and interpretation

This article examines how three major dimensions of leisure behavior, i.e., rates of leisure participation, money expenditure for leisure goods and services and discretionary time available for leisure pursuits, are distributed across various socio‐demographic and socio‐occupational groups. The money expenditures for leisure, it is argued, follow traditional class lines most closely; the rates of leisure participation are characterized by a more egalitarian distribution; and the amounts of leisure time are often inversely related to social centrality and social status. The article interprets these varying patterns of leisure inequalities as a function of the cumulative nature of leisure participation as opposed to the “finite” nature of leisure time, and as a reflection of the complex relationship between leisure, work, income, leisure class, and leisure status.     

Service Recovery Efforts in Fast Food Restaurants to Enhance Repeat Patronage

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to: (a) identify service failure incidents; (b) identify service recovery efforts; and (c) determine the effects of resolution levels repeat patronage. Employee service behavior and monetary rewards were found to have a significant effect on resolution levels. The manager should provide guiding principles to improve service quality. Furthermore, mentoring and empowerment may improve employee service performance. Complete resolution leads to repeat patronage. The study found significant relationships between demographic characteristics with service failures and service recovery efforts. Lastly, there were significant relationships between the critical service failures and service recovery efforts and types of fast food restaurants.     

Hard-Core Leisure: A Conceptualization

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research reflection is to describe a slice of serious leisure that we call hard-core leisure, which we define as a form of serious leisure that involves extraordinary commitment that is directed toward an “authentic” style of social world activity. Using examples from birdwatching, Civil War reenacting, and climbing, we explain how hard-core participants separate themselves from other participants in terms of what they believe are superior styles of participation and unusual degrees of effort, perseverance, and conduct. Too often, serious participants in any given leisure activity are seen as homogeneous in their attitudes and behavior. The concept of hard-core leisure makes problematic this assumption by bringing to light an extreme form of leisure participation.     

Race Equality and Leisure Policy Discourses in Scottish Local Authorities

ABSTRACT

This article presents and discusses the findings of a survey designed to assess two issues. First, it considers the extent to which Scottish local authorities have sought to discover and provide for the specific needs of their black and minority ethnic (BME) populations. Second, it provides preliminary reflections on the impact of political, organisational and legislative change upon the policy and practice of Scottish local authorities in their delivery of services to their BME populations. It raises questions about the potential for improvement in local authority leisure services following the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2002. The study was carried out in the context of previous research by Horne (1995) and thus sought to assess the extent to which there had been change during the intervening period in the approaches of Scottish local authorities. Results suggest that the environment in which local authority leisure providers operate has changed significantly since 1995. All local authorities now have formalised equal opportunity policies and race equality schemes. Whilst there exist examples of good practice, the degree to which local authorities seek to discover and meet the needs of their BME populations varies considerably. Analysis of the discourses of local authorities suggests that the extent to which the ethos of equality has permeated organisations remains uneven.

Scotland, a country of some five million people, is actively seeking a flow of Fresh Talent to flourish alongside native‐born Scots and secure its place as an essential part of the global economy

(Scotland is the place to be for opportunities www.scotlandistheplace.com).