Millenials’ intentions to book on Airbnb

ABSTRACT

The sharing economy has witnessed a significant growth in recent years, enhanced by the development of online platforms. In particular, Airbnb has witnessed a significant worldwide year-on-year growth. Given the importance and popularity of Airbnb, it is crucial to examine which factors affect intentions to book on this website. This study proposes and tests a model based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, to examine millennials’ determinants of intentions to book on Airbnb. Based on two online surveys targeting millennials from Germany and China, the results show that intentions to book on Airbnb is mostly influenced by subjective norm, desire for unique accommodation and variety, attitude and economic benefits. Surprisingly, economic benefits have the smallest effect. Perceived risk with the purchase channel was found to have no impact on intentions to book on Airbnb. Managerial implications and theoretical contributions are provided.     

Reinventing Macau tourism: gambling on creativity?

The paper identifies some major economic, social and environmental effects of gaming-related tourism in Macau, the world’s largest gaming location in respect of casino turnover. The main types of effects of casino development are typically those associated with growth machine theory. The paper also identifies major threats to the sustainable development of Macau as a gaming/tourism destination, arising from a narrow industrial base, competing destinations, community alienation, and what is referred to as the ‘China factor’. The paper discusses the types of strategies that are required if Macau tourism is to counter these threats and develop successfully as a ‘World Centre of Tourism and Leisure’. It is argued that Macau can most effectively achieve this goal if it develops its tourism and gaming industries to be consistent with the key attributes of a creative city.     

Detecting passengers' heterogeneity on airlines’ services using SP data

In this paper, the heterogeneity in passengers' perceptions of airlines' services has been investigated by using a Random Parameter Mixed logit model. To calibrate and validate the proposed model, data from a Stated Preferences choice experiments was used. The survey was conducted online and involved the whole population of the University of Calabria (Italy). The experiments were designed by considering the main service attributes characterizing air travellers’ experience in its entirety: before, during, and after the flight. Differently from the previous studies using Stated Preferences survey, two different groups of choice experiments were designed: the former referring to before/after the flight stages, and the last referring to during the flight experience. For each group, specific attributes were considered.Final findings remark that flyers' perceptions on airline's services vary among the different service aspects and among individuals. Specifically, we found that curtesy of cabin crew, space available, temperature, cleanliness, service on board and ticket cost are attributes referring to the during the flight stage of the travel that showed heterogeneity in passenger's perceptions. On the contrary, the attributes referring to the before/after the flight stages for which we detected heterogeneity in passengers' perceptions are waiting time at check-in, delay of flight departure, and ticket cost.     

Differential tourism zones on the western Canada–US border

This paper examines how a single international border can exact different policies, practices, spatial variations, and tourism spaces at various points along its length. Based on an examination of the westernmost portion of the Canada–US frontier, this constructivist study investigates how the juxtaposition of barriers, attractions, transit spaces, and tourism landscapes is created concurrently on a single stretch of an international boundary. Four coterminous ‘zones’ of tourism were identified, including an area of illegal activity, ports of entry or crossing points, the peace park, and the exclave zone. Theoretical and practical implications are drawn from this study for border managers, tourism planners, and border agencies.     

The effect of authenticity on visitors’ expenditure at cultural events

The main aim of this study is to analyse the influence of the perceived authenticity of cultural events and their products on shopping expenditure. The quantitative analysis is based on 1275 self-administered questionnaires collected among event attendees in three different Northern Italian Christmas Markets in 2008. In order to estimate separately the determinants of the propensity of respondents to shop and how much money they are willing to spend for each kind of purchase, we have adopted a double-hurdle model. The results show that tourists are more likely to spend and that they do spend more if they consider the event and the products sold to be authentic. This study also reveals that socio-demographic factors and visit motives are interrelated with authenticity perception and together affect the amount of personal expenditures during the event. Finally, some implications of the study are discussed.     

Residents’ attitudes on the contribution of cultural tourism in Tanzania

This study aimed at evaluating residents’ attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism to the social welfare of the local rural residents participating in cultural tourism activities by factoring gender and level of education as possible differentiating factors in residents’ attitudes. Based on survey of local people in northern part of Tanzania, a questionnaire was administered that yielded data that were subjected to a series of t-tests. The results indicate residents to have both positive and negative attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism. Gender differences are noted to relate with cultural tourism participation and attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism. Females benefit more from cultural tourism than males in economic terms. Having education raises the chances of locals having a more positive attitude towards cultural tourism. From the results, implications to facilitators in cultural tourism to further aid tourism contribution to the locals are derived.     

Influence of bus-based park and ride facilities on users’ car traffic

The rate of provision of bus-based park and ride facilities on the fringes of UK urban areas has grown in recent years. However, there has been a debate about whether the schemes reduce traffic. Research published in 1998 for the UK Government considered eight case studies and was interpreted by some as providing reassurance that park and ride can have traffic-reduction benefits. The present paper offers a new approach to the appraisal of the same eight park and ride schemes, separating the analysis into urban and extra-urban components. The urban-area analysis considers the net result of intercepting cars on the edge of urban areas and running additional dedicated bus services from the car parks. The finding is that traffic was avoided in seven out of eight cases. The analysis of the extra-urban effects of park and ride considers three sources of traffic increase: motorists that are intercepted detouring to reach sites, users switching from public transport services and motorists making additional trips. All are found to be important phenomena, with the total additional traffic generated outside the urban area being greater than that avoided within the urban area in every case study. It is concluded that the main effect of the schemes is traffic redistribution, and that their role within traffic restraint policies is unlikely to be directly one of traffic reduction.     

Determining flight frequencies on an airline network with demand–supply interactions

This paper determines flight frequencies on an airline network with demand–supply interactions between passenger demand and flight frequencies. The model consists of two submodels, a passenger airline flight choice model and an airline flight frequency programming model. The demand–supply interactions relevant to determining flight frequency on an airline’s network are analyzed by integrating these two submodels. The necessary condition for the convergence of the demand–supply interaction is discussed. An example demonstrates the feasibility of applying the proposed models. The results are more accurate than those obtained without considering demand–supply interactions, and the models provide ways to consider demand–supply interactions well in advance to determine flight frequencies on an airline network.     

An analysis on the concentration–advertising relationship in the hospitality industry

This paper empirically investigates the non-linear relationship between advertising and concentration in the hotel industry. Using data collected from the Taiwanese hotel industry, this paper finds that (1) the influence of concentration on advertising intensity is inverted U-shaped in the room service market and (2) concentration in the food and beverage markets has no significant effect on advertising intensity.     

To smile or not to smile – an eye-tracking study on service recovery

ABSTRACT

The effect of service with a smile on consumers is undoubtedly positive. Yet, in service failure and recovery, this remains unclear. This study examines the importance of morphological characteristics of a smile and different types of smile in service failure and recovery using eye-tracking technology. Results indicated that the degree of mouth activation and the gender of the service worker were crucial factors in service recovery. In addition, eye-tracking data revealed that the longest fixations occurred on smiles with teeth showing and eyes that produced crows’ feet wrinkles. Taken together, this suggests that eye tracking may identify optimal display of smile in service recovery.     

The effect of manager mobbing behaviour on female employees’ quality of life

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of manager mobbing behaviour on female employees’ quality of working life and overall quality of life. A mobbing behaviour may be a long-term hostile behaviour detected in employees at workplaces. A total of 373 female employees who work in five-star hotels in Turkey participated in this study. First, correlation analysis was performed between manager mobbing behaviour and female employees’ quality of working life, and overall quality of life. The results of the study revealed that there was a negative correlation between manager mobbing behaviour and female employees ‘quality of life. Second, the structural equation model was applied to analyse the relationship among these three constructs. The results of this analysis showed that managers’ mobbing behaviour has a significant negative effect on female employees ‘quality of working life and overall quality of life. In addition, employees’ quality of working life influences their overall quality of life.     

The impact of fuel taxes on public transport — an empirical assessment for Germany

An increase in fuel taxes is often connected with the hypothesis of a triple dividend: Apart from the modal-shift-effect, which relieves the environment as well as the infrastructure, and the fiscal effect, which should increase the public revenue, the movement of passengers to public transport systems should decrease its deficit. However, this calculation fails because higher fuel prices increase peak-hour transit use but not leisure or off-peak transit. But the typical attribute of peak traffic is above-average marginal costs and below average revenues. Therefore, higher fuel taxes will increase public transport's deficit rather than decrease it. The fiscal lucrativeness of higher fuel taxes will be significantly lower than is often expected.     

‘Hafa Adai … means hello!’ Written banal codeswitching on tourism websites

In the expanding research on the discourse(s) of tourism, a paucity of work exists in the context of written codeswitching (CS), that is, the use of two or more languages (codes) within a written text. In this article, I explore the presence and use of indigenous language CS within the English text on official tourism websites. The focus is on ‘exotic’ US island states and territories including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands. Though English is predominant on these sites, a few codeswitches into ‘exotic’ languages are found within the English text. In contrast to Mühlhäusler's [(2008, August). Developing language-based tourism products for Norfolk Island. Paper presented at the 15th World Congress of Applied Linguistics, Essen] findings related to Norfolk (Norf'k) Island, Australia, that tourism promotes not only the island but also the language native to the island, I argue that this particular type of CS, which I label ‘banal’, may function solely for the purpose of promoting the identity of an exotic Other rather than to promote or maintain their indigenous languages.     

Airport–airline interaction: the impact of low-cost carriers on two European airports

This paper uses case studies to look at the impact of low-cost airlines on two European airports. Low-cost airlines continue to exert an influence in air transport markets and small airports face pressures to compete for their business. The low-cost model motivates airlines to negotiate contracts that significantly reduce aeronautical revenues, leaving airports to compensate by seeking commercial revenues from the increase in passengers. This has consequences for the airports, their passengers and the relationship between the airport and its existing operators. It is found that it is important for airport management to see both passengers and airlines as customers and to understand the resultant revenue streams, before negotiating preferential contracts with low-cost carriers.     

The ASEAN multilateral agreement on air services: En route to open skies?

The ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently adopted a Multilateral Agreement on Air Services that seeks to liberalize market access and ownership and control requirements for air carriers in the region. The Agreement is a precursor to an eventual Single Aviation Market arrangement targeted for 2015. This article analyzes the key provisions of the Agreement and identifies the factors that will likely impact on the future SAM. In particular, there is uncertainty as to whether the SAM will go beyond third, fourth and fifth freedom relaxations to include important seventh freedom rights as well as more permissive ownership and control structures for air carriers. There are also lingering concerns over the loss of state sovereignty impacting on attempts to harmonize safety and technical standards, aviation security and competition policy.     

Effects of the Asian Crisis on the geography of Southeast Asia’s air traffic

An examination is made of how the Asian Crisis of 1997–1998 has affected the geography of air traffic within Southeast Asia and between the region and other parts of the world. The study’s context is provided by an examination of extra-regional and intra-regional air transport networks in 1965 and 1995 to highlight the key features of the period of rapid traffic growth. This exercise is repeated in 1998 and comparisons are made with the 1995 pattern to gauge the impact of the Crisis on the geography of air traffic and the variable response of major regional carriers. Interpreting the many extra-regional and intra-regional patterns emerging from this data comparison proved difficult. Some of the readjustments and realignments can be attributed to the Asian Crisis, others cannot. There are many explanations of these patterns just as there are multiple causes of the Crisis. As the Crisis is related to wider interconnections of the globalising economy it cannot be seen as a separate and isolated event. Invariably, the general effect of the Crisis meshes with specific political factors.     

‘Scary … but I like it!’ Young tourists' perceptions of fear on holiday

This paper explores young tourists' perceptions of fear on holiday. The work on which this paper is based is important because it sheds light on tourists' emotional experiences on holiday, which are central to increase our understanding of tourist behaviour. The importance of investigating perceptions of fear has been recognized within a number of different disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, criminology, and marketing. Indeed, it has been argued that fear may provide significant information concerning an individual's motivations, preferences, and patterns of behaviour. Despite this, perceptions of fear within the tourism experience have remained relatively unexplored. It is often assumed that perceptions of safety and security may influence individuals' destination choice. However, there is a paucity of studies concerning tourists' perceptions of fear during the tourism experience. This paper is based on three months of qualitative fieldwork conducted on the island of Ios, Greece in the summer of 2007. More specifically, participant observation and semi-structured interviews were methods employed for data collection to explore young tourists' perceptions of fear. The possibility to develop a rapport and build a relationship with young tourists on Ios was crucial to collect valuable information concerning tourists' background, their emotions, expectations, perceptions, and the context in which perceptions of fear were experienced and expressed. The study found that most holidaymakers on Ios participated in activities perceived as risky in order to experience fear. In this respect, young tourists deliberately sought fear and thrill to increase their levels of pleasure and enjoyment during the tourism experience. The results suggest that fear may play a positive role in the tourism experience of young tourists, which should no longer be ignored by tourism scholars.     

Going beyond the traditional destination competitiveness – reflections on a smart destination in the current research

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the literature on tourism destination competitiveness from different aspects, focusing on comparative and competitive advantages. Also, the paper highlights the importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in tourism destinations and their increasing impact on the achievement of destination competitiveness. Thanks to the wider application of ICTs in tourism, tourists nowadays are well informed and have access to global market which creates a new dynamic environment by creating a smart demand. Since smartness emphasizes on ICT-based tools, including smartness integration for value co-creation, it can increase and enhance destination competitiveness. In this regard, special emphasis is placed on exploring the core components of smartness and smart tourism destination.     

Whether low-cost-carrier passengers spend more on duty-free goods at the airport? Evidence from Incheon International Airport

With a dramatic growth in the low-cost carrier (LCC) traffic around the world, many airports have built budget terminals to accommodate the LCC flights with cheaper airport charge to the airlines but inferior shopping environment and service quality to the passengers. This study aims to answer the following research questions: i). Whether the LCC passengers have higher purchasing power than FSC (full-service carrier) passengers for the airport concessions, particularly the duty-free goods? ii). Would the budget terminal design contribute to or jeopardize the LCC passengers' airport concession expenditure? iii). How could the airport operator maximize its concession revenue by re-designing terminal or re-allocating flight slots? We collect the actual airport duty-free transaction data from Incheon International Airport (ICN) for an empirical investigation. Our empirical evidence first suggests that LCC passengers could have comparable or even higher purchasing power than FSC passengers in consuming duty-free goods at the airport. Among all the LCC passengers, Chinese have the highest purchasing power. Second, the inferior shopping environment and service quality of budget terminal seriously jeopardize the duty-free sales from the LCC passengers. Third, counterfactual analyses show that, if ICN could convert its budget terminal into a conventional terminal, 44 million USD more duty-free sales can be generated per year. Even keeping the current terminal design, re-allocating the LCC flights between the budget terminal and conventional terminal could bring approximately 4.9 million USD more duty-free sales per year. The findings provide managerial implications to ICN and other airports for effective airport revenue management. First, the budget terminal design may not be ideal to accommodate LCC traffic as it damages the concession revenue from particular LCC passengers with high purchasing power. Second, exploring the concession revenue from the growing LCC traffic could help maintain an airport's advantage in aeronautical charge under single-till regulation.     

SOCO's impact on service outcomes of tour guides: the moderating effect of customers’ shopping orientation

This research examines the effects of both sales-oriented and customer-oriented service strategies of tour guides on service outcomes: rapport, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and willingness to tip. This research also investigates how customers’ shopping orientation moderates the above relationships. A convenience sampling was conducted and 370 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings are as follows: (1) customer-oriented strategy of tour guides has a significantly positive impact on the service outcomes; (2) selling-oriented strategy of tour guides has a significantly negative impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty; and (3) shopping orientation of tour members moderates the relationships between selling orientation and service outcomes. Thus, if tour guides can provide service for customers in a suitable way, they will then improve the customers’ perception of services. These findings provide practical information for travel agencies and tour guides.