Understanding the Cultural Differences in Tourist Motivation Between Anglo-American and Japanese Tourists

Summary

There is considerable evidence to suggest that differences in cultural characteristics exist across the world. Among them, individualistic societies emphasize “I” consciousness, autonomy, emotional independence, pleasure seeking and universalism. On the other hand, col-lectivistic societies stress “we” consciousness, collective identity, group solidarity, sharing, and particularism. A comparative research on the motivation of tourists from different cultures may challenge current tourism research, which mainly focuses on individualism and rationalism. These values of individualism and rationalism result in underestimation of the influence of groups, norms, culture, and emotion or impulse on tourist behavior. There have been few studies which attempt to directly measure cultural characteristics and identity across culture, and to explain how these cultural characteristics play a role in creating distinctive differences in tourist motivation. Thus, this study explores (1) cultural differences underlying individualism-collectivism between Anglo-American and Japanese tourists; (2) examines the relationship of two cultural dimensions to tourist motivation, and (3) suggests management implications facing tourism industry.     

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.     

Market Segmentation in the Tourism Industry and Consumers' Spending

Abstract

Despite the unabated pace of globalisation and the incessant flow of tourists to multiple tourist destinations, there is little attention paid by tourist operators and hospitality managers to the segmentation of holiday makers based on their distinctive spending habits for revenue maximization. Segmenting holiday makers according to their levels of expenditure is an important factor in developing comprehensive marketing strategies since travellers who decide to spend a vacation in the same area and in the same period might spend their money in very different ways. This paper uses the CHAID technique to examine direct as well as daily tourist expenditures of holiday makers in Hong Kong to define market segments (particularly, the big spenders). The results obtained confirm that CHAID is a relatively flexible technique to use and can be employed as a precursor to a more parametric approach.     

Wine tourism involvement: a segmentation of Chinese tourists

ABSTRACT

This study profiles the Chinese wine tourist market based on levels of consumer involvement. Using a sample of 503 Chinese wine tourists visiting Australian wineries, the study identified four dimensions of involvement in wine tourism among Chinese tourists: Interests and Importance, Risk Importance and Possibility, Risk Avoidance, and Status Value. Based on the various levels of involvement, four clusters of Chinese wine tourists were identified: low-involvement wine tourists, highly involved wine tourists, interest-driven wine tourists, and high-risk perception wine tourists. For the group size, high-risk perception wine tourists included the highest number of people in the sample, while a relatively small number of people belonged to the interest-driven group. Significant differences were found for behavioral variables and activity participation level across the four clusters, but similarity outweighed the differences among demographic and socio-economic variables. The research proceeded to theoretical and marketing implications.     

Visiting probability model: a new method for tourist volume forecasting

ABSTRACT

Tourist volume forecasting is an ongoing theme in tourism research. Current methods rely too much on the previous tourist arrivals data. Based on tourism system perspective, we propose a visiting probability model composed of five independent variables: the attractiveness of a destination, the travel time from a origin to the destination, the traffic expense to and from the destination, the physical fatigue travel time and the per capita disposable monthly income of the origin. The model provides a new method for forecasting the number of tourists from a specific origin without historical tourist arrivals data.     

The effects of push and pull travel motivations,personal values,and destination familiarity on tourist loyalty: a study of Chinese cigar tourists to Cuba

This study examined Chinese cigar tourists’ motivations for visiting Cuba. Six push factors and five pull factors were identified using a push–pull factor framework. The effects of travel motivations, personal values, and destination familiarity on tourist loyalty were examined using a sample of 348 Chinese cigar tourists. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that unique experience seeking (a push factor) and destination-specific attractions and socialistic nostalgia (pull factors) predicted revisit intention; socialistic nostalgia also predicted willingness to recommend. Destination familiarity was found to influence revisit intention but not willingness to recommend. Personal values appeared unrelated to tourist loyalty.     

Autonomy in trip planning and overall satisfaction

ABSTRACT

Tourists increasingly rely on Internet-based, autonomous resources to gather information, book, and pay for their trips; this increasing autonomy may affect their overall satisfaction. Using data about how Spanish tourists search for information and complete their bookings, this study analyzes the influence of tourist autonomy on overall satisfaction with the trip, as well as the effects of moderating characteristics related to both tourists and their trips. The results indicate a direct relationship between tourists’ autonomy and their overall satisfaction, as well as positive moderating effects of tourists’ previous travel experience and education, but negative moderating effects of trip complexity.     

Are we all environmental tourists now? The role of biases in social comparison across and within tourists,and their implications

From a management and research perspective, it is important to get a better understanding of what influences tourists in their decision to choose environmentally friendly travel options, and how these are related to social cognitive processes. This paper reports findings from two separate studies investigating the role of biases in social comparison, with particular reference to tourists' perception of their personal roles as environmentally friendly tourists, and especially tourists’ views of the environmental attitudes of other tourists. Samples of N = 1607 and N = 2076 tourists, respectively, were obtained for two studies in Western Norway. Results indicate that tourists perceive themselves to hold more pro-environmental attitudes than other tourists (i.e. “typical tourist”, “average tourist”, “tourists”). This suggests that there are differences in the perception of the self and others when it comes to social comparisons concerning issues of environmental sustainability. The findings also suggest that tourists hold overly positive views of themselves generally concerning issues of environmental sustainability and that their environmental attitudes reflect perceived desirable standards. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed from a social psychological perspective, and implications for tourism managers and researchers noted.     

旅游个性化推介服务的未来发展：时空一体化

文章在问题解决策略剖析基础上,指出了旅游个性化推介服务的未来发展方向：时空一体化,并认为旅游网站、LBS网站和ESNs3种平台的整合会成为发展的突破点。以携程网、人人网、切客网等20多个代表性旅游网站、ESNs和LBS网站统计数据为基础,分析了3类平台当前的发展状态,发现3种平台具有趋向融合的发展态势,阐明了旅游个性化推介服务向时空一体方向发展的信息化基础。设计了“信息检索、个性旅行计划辅助决策、动态结伴同游、商务推介、景区导航、导游实时到岗服务、会员口碑推介、旅游预警”等8项时空一体个性化服务内容,是对旅游电子商务、旅游信息化未来发展方向的前瞻性思考。     

基于游客涉入的入境旅游者分类研究——以桂林、阳朔入境旅游者为例

涉入是消费行为最重要的决定因素之一,文章基于游客涉入对桂林、阳朔入境旅游者进行聚类分析,并比较不同类型旅游者的特征和态度差异。聚类分析将入境旅游者分为4种类型：中等涉入型、低涉入型、高涉入型和低风险可能型。这些类型旅游者在大多数社会人口统计特征和旅行行为特征上无显著差异,但在所属文化群体、信息来源数量、主客交往偏好、目的地整体形象和满意度上存在显著差异。     

Market segments based on the dominant movement patterns of tourists

This paper presents an innovative method for tourist market segmentation-based on dominant movement patterns of tourists; that is, the travel sequences or patterns used by tourists most frequently. There were three steps to achieve this goal. In the first step, general log-linear models were adopted to identify the dominant movement patterns, while the second step was to discover the characteristics of the groups of tourists who travelled with these patterns. The Expectation–Maximisation algorithm was then used to partition tourist segments in terms of socio-demographic and travel behavioural variables. The third step was to select target markets based upon the earlier analysis. These methods were applied to a sample of tourists, over the period of a week, on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. A significant outcome of this research is that it will assist tourism organisations to identify tourism market segments and develop better tour packages and more efficient marketing strategies aligned to the characteristics of the tourists.     

Between Authenticity and Ethnicity: Heritage Tourism and Re-ethnification Among Diaspora Jewish Youth

Heritage tourism takes on a new meaning when conceived and implemented in the framework of a diaspora – homeland context. Trip organisers utilise heritage tourism that identifies the signifiers of national collective identity or Peoplehood and construct an experience of authenticity that supports a newly reconstructed narrative of personal and collective identity that bridges the diaspora and homeland identities. This paper examines into the differential consequences of heritage tourism on the ethnic identity of diaspora travellers from North America and the former Soviet Union to their homeland, specifically contrasting Jewish tourists from different diaspora localities making an otherwise almost identical birthright Israel trip. For both groups, Jewish ethnic identity was strengthened, particularly their emotional attachment to Israel. However, the difference between the two groups was found in the actual factors that explain this post trip attachment to Israel. The experiential component was more prominent among participants from the former Soviet Union, while among North American student participants, Jewish background as well as their higher pre-trip motivations provide an explanation for their high post-trip scores of attachment to Israel. Israel thus serves as the liminal domain of diaspora tourists, where existential authenticity and pre-trip ethnicity as latent as the latter may be, intertwine experientially to generate an expansion of the frame of individual identity of diaspora tourists in their homeland.     

The psychological process of travel destination choice

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews literature on travel destination choice and organizes these studies systematically. A “cell–system” structure is proposed to describe the psychological process of travel destination choice. When forming decisions on vacations, tourists gather information on potential destinations and evaluate visit intentions among potential destinations (“cell”). The visit intentions are successively compared while information is updated in the process (“system”). The “cell–system” structure provides a clear view of the psychological process of travel destination choice. Empirical studies based on the structure can provide further insights into why and how tourists choose travel destinations.     

Present whilst absent: Home and the business tourist gaze

This paper reflects on business travel as a contemporary form of mobility and how it relates to family life. Through qualitative research with business travellers, insights are gained into the role digital technology plays in enabling connections to home and family. The paper argues that technology affords a ‘business tourist gaze’, characterised by a focus on ‘home’ rather than ‘away’ as might be the case for leisure tourists. The paper discusses how, through the business tourist gaze, the boundaries between the everyday and the exotic are dissolved and the business traveller is disconnected from the destination, simultaneously absent whilst present both at the destination and at home. Theoretical understandings of the business tourist experience are offered.     

Senior Pleasure Tourists: Examination of Their Demography,Travel Experience,and Travel Behavior Upon Visiting the Bangkok Metropolis

The senior travel market has become an increasingly important area of interest to travel agents. This study examines senior travellers based on their travel experience, behavior, and overall experience on visiting Thailand, in terms of their age, marital status, and education. In this study, a sample of 384 senior foreign tourists responded to a survey carried out at the Bangkok International airport. Seniors are shown not to be a uniform conservative market, which has implications for product development. Profiles differed in the priority attached to travel experience factored into health, safety, language, itineraries, and general conditions in connection with travel. Travel behavior of seniors also differs in terms of types of tour, lodging preference, outdoor activity, mode of transportation, type of information used, and people travelled with. Recommendations based on these findings have strategic implications for travel companies and travel organizers.     

Information Search Behavior and Tourist Characteristics

SUMMARY

The Internet as a new form of media is impacting tourist information provision and acquisition. A better understanding of the use of the Internet and other information sources by tourists will benefit the marketing efforts of destination organizations. Based on a general consumer behavior theory by Berkman and Gilson (1986), this study examined the relationships between tourists' use of the Internet vs. other information sources and their characteristics. It was found that demographic characteristics of gender and household income and situational factors of trip purpose and travel party type were significantly related to tourists' choices of information sources; and such behavior was associated with their trip outcomes of accommodation types and expenditure. The study's implications were discussed in the context of destination marketing.     

Segmenting foodies for a foodie destination

ABSTRACT

The consumption of food is an integral part of a tourism experience. As foodie travellers seek out unique food experiences, it is valuable for tourism destination managers to understand their preferences and behaviours. Using a 61-item foodie activity scale, 2948 surveys were analyzed to determine clusters of foodies. The findings suggest that researchers or destination managers should avoid a “one size fits all” approach in the development of foodie destinations. Giving attention to the travel preferences and types of experiences that foodie segments prefer may allow communities reap the benefits of serving as a destination for foodie travellers.     

Travel Motivation,Destination Image and Visitor Satisfaction of International Tourists After the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: A Structural Modelling Approach

This study investigates the relationships between travel motivation, destination image and overall satisfaction of international tourists visiting Sichuan province after the great Wenchuan earthquake of 2008. Did the earthquake influence tourist’ motivations for visiting Sichuan either positively or negatively, and did the earthquake affect their image of the province as desirable travel destination? Survey data collected from 346 international tourists in Chengdu, the provincial capital, revealed that respondents were primarily motivated by Sichuan's traditional attractions – its scenery and the giant pandas native to the area rather than by the earthquake. Structural equation modelling revealed a statistically significant relationship between travel motivation and overall visitor satisfaction, as well as relationships between travel motivation and types of destination image. Furthermore, both positive and negative destination images seem to have an effect on overall satisfaction. This study implies that international tourists to Sichuan tend to visit for its scenery and wildlife; the 2008 earthquake has had little effect on their travel motivations and destination images; and these visitors hold positive images of the province.     

旅华外国散客旅游流地理分布和网络结构研究

散客旅游是全球主流旅游方式,入境散客市场在中国入境旅游市场中也占据重要地位。文章主要采用问卷法采集数据,研究样本总量1451份,运用地图分析法研究旅华外国散客旅游流的分布和扩散规律,运用社会网络分析法研究旅华外国散客旅游流网络结构特征。研究发现:散客以北京、广州和上海为主要出入境口岸,以香港为辅助口岸,旅游线路以单目的地、短线为主,平均到访目的地数量较少;北京和广州是单目的地散客的主要旅游目的地;多点散客旅游流集中分布在中国人口线东南部,以"北京—西安"之间的流量最大,并形成了长三角、珠三角、川滇3个区域性集中分布区;散客旅游流网络规模较大,但网络密度较低,整体结构松散,发育程度较差;网络具有小世界特性;网络中的节点可以划分成综合性节点、枢纽节点、重要节点和一般节点4种角色类型。文章首次从宏观联系的视角对旅华外国散客旅游流进行了整体研究,丰富和拓展了中国入境旅游流研究内容。     

Toward an integrated model of tourist expectation formation and gender difference

This study aims to build and test a theoretical model of tourist expectation formation and seeks to explore the gender differences regarding how tourists form their expectations toward a travel destination. Survey data were obtained from 774 outbound Chinese tourists to Macao, and structural equation modelling was used to test the model and proposed hypotheses. The results reveal that travel motivation, advertising, and word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations influence travelers' cognitive image and cognitive image interacts with affective image to form individuals' expectations toward travel destinations. Notably, the impacts of travel motivation and advertising on cognitive image, and of cognitive image on tourist expectations were significantly stronger for males than females, while the effects of WOM on cognitive image and of affective image on tourist expectations were stronger for females than males. Both theoretical and practical implications of these important findings are discussed.