Wine tourism: Motivating visitors through core and supplementary services

Wine tourism is a relatively fledgling industry sector facing a number of important economic development issues. One such issue is the industry's ability to foster a sustainable revenue base for small and medium wineries. Winery visitation is a significant concern and in this paper is defined as the visitor's intention to pay a first or return visit to a winery. The purpose of this exploratory study is to compare specific factors that may influence wine tourists' intentions to visit or revisit a winery or wine region in North Carolina. A theoretical model of core and supplementary services is examined to see which of a number of factors are most influential in decisions to visit a winery and to determine the role of winescape and tourism services in promoting wine tourism. The importance of customer service was found to be the primary predictor of intentions for repeat visitation.     

Examining the Influences of Senior Discount Usage in the Hospitality Industry

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study was to examine older adult attitudes and behaviors of discount usage in the hospitality industry. A secondary purpose was to understand the relationship between usage category (nonusers, light users and heavy users), age and influences of discount usage in the hospitality industry. Results suggested that (1) the profile of the older adult discount user in the hospitality industry reveals that the average discount user is married'partnered, educated, with a variety of income levels, basically the “average” older adult and (2) generally, the age of the senior does not have a significant impact on discount usage, but rather previous discount behavior and institutional barriers played a significant role. Employees in the hospitality industry need to be trained to recognize and manage for “ageism.” Seniors will be less inclined to use discounts if employees in the hospitality industry treat older adults poorly. If use of hospitality discounts is related to general discount then specials or cents-off coupons should be placed in the newspapers along side of general coupons.     

The importance of foreign language skills in the tourism sector: A comparative study of student perceptions in the UK and continental Europe

There is little doubt that skills in the language of another country are invaluable when communicating with people from that country. This is nowhere more apposite than in the context of the cross-cultural interface between tourism enterprises and visitors. However, the need for such skills in the UK has gained little attention, even in the key area of tourism. UK-based research that has been undertaken reinforces this view and also established the attitudes and perceptions of tourism students to the study and development of foreign language (FL) skills. In contrast, other EU countries reputedly have a greater awareness of the need for these skills and commitment to developing them which leads to speculation that tourism students in continental Europe would have contrasting attitudes to their UK counterparts. Subsequent to review of the importance of FL skills in the tourism sector the findings of research undertaken to investigate this hypothesis are presented. Significant variations between UK and non-UK students are identified not the least of which is the comparatively weak attention given to FL skills development in the UK. In concluding, the implications of the findings are discussed and concerns raised over the need to address evident weaknesses in order to enhance career options and tourism management in the UK.     

An existential conceptualization of the vacation cycle

Utilizing the notions of existential authenticity and normal anxiety, we propose the five-phase model of vacation cycle and elucidate mechanisms behind vacation and fade-out effects. Departing from a purely philosophical view on existential authenticity, we focus on its understanding via the existential psychology lenses, arguing that existential authenticity is a relative, dynamic, and four-dimensional concept. Supported by the current empirical evidences and theoretical advancements in existential psychology, this study posits that, accompanied by anxiety fluctuations, authenticity varies during a vacation across four dimensions of human existence: Umwelt, Mitwelt, Eigenwelt, and Uberwelt. We suggest that these changes are associated with vacation (when evoked by liminality and awe) and fade-out effects (when prompted by the lack of existential courage and anxiety tranquilization).     

Measurement scale for eco-component of hotel service quality

Growing acknowledgement of the need to achieve more sustainable forms of development has resulted in environmentally conscious tourists who have indicated a dissatisfaction with existing hotel service quality. The objective of this study was to investigate tourists’ ecological expectations referring to the quality of spas and wellness hotel services in order to develop and test a scale for measuring the ‘eco-component,’ a new component of hotel service quality. The findings revealed four dimensions of the eco-component: hotel staff's eco-behaviour; environmentally friendly and healthy equipment; efficient use of energy and water; and bio-food. Tourists also demonstrated a hierarchy of eco-dimensions, with the most important being hotel staff's eco-behaviour and the least important being bio-food. Tourists’ expectations about the level of eco-dimensions differ significantly with respect to their income, nationality, and the hotel certification. However, no significant difference emerged in their expectations due to different educational levels.     

Does a server's attentiveness matter? Understanding intercultural service encounters in restaurants

Interaction between customers and servers from different cultures provides an interesting case of intercultural communication. Although a server's attentive service on customers is common in full service dining restaurants, especially in the United States, this may not be preferable to customers from different cultures. Two studies examined cultural differences between Americans and Japanese customers on their preferences regarding U.S. restaurant servers’ attentiveness and a moderating effect of culture on the relationship of server attentiveness with customer orientation, customer satisfaction and tip. A survey study (N = 975) and an experimental study (N = 145) found that server attentiveness had a positive effect on customer orientation, customer satisfaction and the amount of tip for Americans, but not Japanese customers. Implications and future directions were discussed.     

Towards quality of life: the effects of the wellness tourism experience

ABSTRACT

The wellness tourism sector has experienced a significant worldwide increase. This study aimed to identify the relationships between customer experience, leisure and non-leisure satisfaction, and quality of life in wellness tourism. Specifically, customer experience was evaluated with four dimensions of the experience economy: entertainment, educational, esthetic, and escapist. The findings of this study indicate that customer experience influences leisure satisfaction, which consequently leads to non-leisure satisfaction. It was also found that both leisure and non-leisure satisfaction contribute to customer quality of life. This study provides industry practitioners with practical knowledge for promoting traveler quality of life through wellness tourism and designing effective marketing strategies to this end.     

Engagement-Based Loyalty: The Effects of Social Media Engagement on Customer Loyalty in the Travel Industry

In this article, we investigate the relation between customer loyalty and social media engagement. Two dimensions of customer loyalty are considered: affective and conative loyalty. We distinguish two forms of social media engagement: consuming of social media (passive engagement) and contribution to social media (active engagement). In a survey among 1,050 customers of a travel agency, the level of engagement of customers with the company’s social media activities is measured in relation to their degree of loyalty. Results show a partial positive relationship between social media engagement and customer loyalty: only consuming social media is directly related to affective loyalty.     

Business Traveler Satisfaction with Hotel Service Encounters

Abstract

This study examines customer satisfaction with a series of hotel services. Five service encounters were examined in a sample of business travelers (n = 140) who had stayed in Hong Kong hotels. Overall satisfaction and repurchase intention were differentially impacted by the various service encounters. Business center encounters had the greatest effect on business traveler satisfaction, followed by check-out and check-in encounters. Interestingly, room and restaurant encounters had the least impact on satisfaction. The delivery of good core services alone cannot guarantee customer satisfaction. Hotels must also pay attention to peripheral service delivery, because these encounters help to shape the customer's overall level of satisfaction and repurchase intention.     

Predictors of customer service training in hospitality firms

Small hospitality firms have a reluctance to embrace business improvement activities in general and customer service training in particular. In a survey of 255 hospitality firms, this study investigated a range of predictors for owner–managers to adopt specific customer service training activities, in a series of regression equations. It was found that, in general, those firms that placed more importance on customer service training were willing to take up more training activity. In addition, it was found that predictors for specific customer service training activities, such as benchmarking best practice or mystery shopping, varied between types of activity and with a general intention to consider customer service training.