Exploring tourists' perceptions of tourism impacts

Unlike how tourism is viewed by residents, little is known about how tourists feel about tourism in the destination. Nevertheless, studies have shown that tourists' emotional bonds with the destination positively affect their perceptions of and reactions to tourism in the destination. Such emotional bonds often vary based on tourists' previous experience in the destination. Thus, this study explored how tourists' emotional solidarity with residents influences their perceptions of tourism and how first-timers and repeat tourists differ in their views. To this end, 404 responses from South Korean sport tourists were analyzed. Though differences were not evident between first-timers and repeat tourists in their emotional solidarity or attitudes toward tourism, a positive relationship was confirmed between emotional solidarity and perceptions of tourism. The findings suggest that attitudes toward tourism is no longer a construct exclusive to residents and destination managers should also consider tourists' views.     

VW campervan tourists' embodied sonic experiences

In this paper we argue that sound and the aural senses are integral to tourists' experiences while in motion. Using a metaphorical lens and qualitative research, our inductive findings of VW Campervan tourism demonstrate that there is an embodied relationship between tourist/driver and machine, like that between a musician and her/his instrument, where, through sound, both become intertwined in the act of performance. Our findings suggest that these embodied sonic experiences of travel are psychological, emotional and physiological as the sounds of the van elicit feelings of well-being and stress or physical manifestations of (ill)health. Yet in a Deleuzian sense, we suggest that the human/machine assemblage thus created, through sound, is necessarily ephemeral and always in a state of becoming.     

Built environment and urban cruise tourists' mobility

The article studies the relationship between the characteristics of the built environment and the spatial behaviour of cruise passengers in a city. For this purpose, the mobility of cruise passengers visiting the city of Tarragona (Catalonia) is monitored by means of GPS tracking technologies and analysed through the use of GIS. Consideration has been given to diverse and multiple indicators related to the syntax of the urban space, its physical attributes, the economic activity and the visibility of tourist points of interest. Results show that the visibility of tourist points of interest and the type of economic activity have more influence than other factors related to the characteristics of the urban layout. The resulting information is particularly valuable for city management.     

Exploring tourists' purchase intention of food-related souvenirs

This study aims to understand the association between food souvenirs and a destination. Most related studies focused on locally consumed food while this study aims at food that can act as a souvenir. Food image plays an important role in shaping destination brand and perceived tourist value, which consequently contributes to purchase intention for food souvenirs. In short, the study examines how local food consumption improves perceived tourist value, which eventually contributes to tourists' intention to purchase food-related souvenirs. 355 tourists who purchased brown sugar steamed cake while visiting Penghu Island in Taiwan were surveyed. The study performed structural equation modeling to test the mediating effects of destination brand and perceived tourist value on souvenir food image prompting purchase intention for food souvenirs. The findings indicate that food souvenirs image contributes more strongly through perceived tourist value than through destination brand.     

Chinese diaspora tourists' emotional experiences and ancestral hometown attachment

This study adopts a mixed method to examine Chinese diaspora tourists' ancestral hometown emotional experiences. A qualitative approach was used to establish a conceptual framework of emotional experience, and quantitative research was performed to evaluate the effects of respondents' emotional experiences on their ancestral hometown attachment with diaspora tourism. Results show that diaspora tourists' emotional hometown experiences included nostalgic memory and affective arousal, which influenced diaspora tourists' hometown attachment. Specifically, nostalgic memory positively influenced place dependence, place identity and affective attachment; affective arousal positively influenced place identity and social bonding. Diaspora tourists' emotional experiences and hometown attachment also differed demographically. These findings provide practical implications for the construction of diaspora ancestral hometowns.     

Industrial tourists' behavioral intention toward slow travel in Taiwan

Taiwan has experienced rapid growth in the last decade, especially in the number of international tourists and domestic leisure travelers it receives. In response to pressures to minimize the negative environmental impacts of such visits (i.e. greenhouse gas emissions) and reshape the notion of sustainable destinations, since 2010 the concept of slow travel has been promoted by governments and the tourism industry. Consequently, calls to expand programs connecting various destinations (e.g. the establishment of industrial tourism) using slower modes of transportation have begun to emerge. In an effort to elucidate the key factors that motivate a traveler's intention to engage in slow travel, this study has constructed a research model that incorporates slow travel's three core elements: the mode of slow travel, tourism experience and environmental consciousness. Particularly, this study has focused on industrial tourists who typically rely on cars to reach destinations that have become new tourism hotspots. The quality of the transportation mode (i.e. a shuttle bus) and the tourism experience were found to be the most powerful determinants of their intentions. This study provides important information to practitioners seeking to market slow travel as a form of sustainable tourism and an alternative to conventional leisure.     

Overlooked encounters: young tourists' experiences at dark sites

This research note reviews the existing literature comprised of dark tourism articles and chapters mentioning children. Publications meeting the search criteria were few. Accordingly, we offer possible reasons for the scarcity of research on children in dark tourism, including the legal constraints when researching with minors, the academic risk in undertaking a new field of research, and the substantial expertise needed to engage children in studies. We conclude with the compelling reasons to undertake such research: to inform interpretation of emotionally provocative sites for children, to understand and mitigate children's psychological distress at dark sites, and to advance theoretical work on children as tourists.     

Analyzing tourists' satisfaction: A multivariate ordered probit approach

This article considers a Bayesian estimation of the multivariate ordered probit model using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. The method is applied to unit record data on the satisfaction experienced by tourists. The data were obtained from the Annual Report on the Survey of Tourists' Satisfaction 2002, conducted by the Department of Economic Affairs of the Hokkaido government. Furthermore, using the posterior results of the Bayesian analysis, indices of the relationship between the overall satisfaction derived from the trip and the satisfaction derived from specific aspects of the trip are constructed. The results revealed that the satisfaction derived from the scenery and meals has the largest influence on the overall satisfaction.     

Influencing tourists' pro-environmental behaviours: A social marketing application

Tourism, whilst delivering economic benefits, can deliver environmental harm. Although several measures to mitigate tourism's environmental effects have been documented, a shared responsibility that encompasses the tourism industry and tourists themselves is needed to limit environmental damage. This paper demonstrates how social marketing can be applied to gain insights that can be used by the tourism industry to promote pro-environmental behaviours of targeted tourists to contribute positively to the environment. Social benchmarks that were applied resulted in the identification of two segments, one of which was examined in more detail using a follow-up interview format to gain insights for intervention planning, design and implementation. Implications for the role that tourism may play in delivering changes that benefit our planet are outlined and opportunities for future research are provided.     

Making sense of tourists' photographs using canonical variate analysis

Tourists' photographs can serve as a rich database for researchers wishing to study tourists' perceptions and attitudes towards destinations. Such data can also be useful in examining how tourists behave, where, when, with whom and why. Many researchers favour the qualitative analysis of such data, which requires the use either of relatively small numbers of photographs or a considerable expense of researcher time and effort to undertake. Much of this process is speculative, in that it involves working with variables which may or may not prove to be significant in addressing the hypotheses chosen for the research. This paper recommends the use of a preliminary phase of research in which a quantitative approach is used to reduce the number of variables needing to be coded. Canonical variate analysis is suggested as an appropriate tool for achieving this. Case study results are presented to demonstrate the utility of this approach.     

The relationship between female snow-sport tourists' travel behaviors and well-being

Positive psychology provides an approach to understand different aspects of tourist's well-being. This study investigated the wellbeing associated with snow-sport tourism among women. As part of a larger mixed-methods study, the utility of the PERMA framework (positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment) as a tool for measuring well-being in the context of active sport tourism was assessed. Subsequently, PERMA was applied to investigate the well-being of female snow-sport participants in relation to their sport-related travel. Principle Component Analysis revealed only one dimension for well-being instead of the previously suggested five PERMA domains. One-way ANCOVA indicated that women who travelled to participate in snow-sports had a higher sense of well-being than those who participated locally. Hierarchical Multiple Regression showed a positive relationship between shorter frequent trips and higher well-being. Recommendations for encouraging participation in snow-sport tourism, focusing on well-being are made.     

Predicting tourists' health risk preventative behaviour and travelling satisfaction in Tibet: Combining the theory of planned behaviour and health belief model

Both the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the health belief model (HBM) are important theories to analyse health-related behaviours; however, few studies have combined these theories to explore health risk issues in the tourism context. This paper explores the relationships underlying travelers' health beliefs, attitudes, self-efficacy, preventative behaviours, and travelling satisfaction during trips to high-altitude destinations. Tibet in China was chosen as the case and the data are analysed by Mplus 7.4 with the WLSMV estimator. The results show that perceived susceptibility and perceived benefit can be regarded as important antecedent beliefs in attitudes toward preventative behaviours; health beliefs and self-efficacy positively influence preventative behaviours; and there are significant indirect relationships from health beliefs to preventative behaviour. Moreover, risk preventative behaviour is found to be a positive determinant of travelling satisfaction during a trip. Findings also revealed that TPB can be supported and extended by combining constructs of HBM.     

Influence of popular culture on special interest tourists' destination image

In this study the role of pop-culture on shaping destination image was derived from focus groups and interviews with 24 fans from different nationalities of the Korean pop star Ahn Jae-wook. Three main theses emerged from the study: 1) the destination image induced by pop-culture was changed in a positive way; 2) the pop-star's event reinforced a positive place image through experiences of the event and travels in South Korea; and 3) the positive image from pop-culture experiences had a strong impact on future behavior. Results of the study suggest that pop-culture as an autonomous agent delivers a more powerful and stronger influence on destination image than previously recognized in the literature. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.     

Predicting Muslim medical tourists' satisfaction with Malaysian Islamic friendly hospitals

This paper examines the factors affecting the Muslim medical tourists' satisfaction, and the role of their attitudes in shaping their clinical experience based on the expectation-disconfirmation paradigm. Data from a survey of 243 Muslim medical tourists who had received treatment from Malaysian Islamic friendly hospitals were analysed using the partial least squares technique. The findings provide evidence that Muslim medical tourists' satisfaction is dependent on the doctors' and hospitals' roles; whilst, the nurse's halal practice is not associated with it. The study also demonstrates that Muslim medical tourists' attitudes only play a mediator role between the hospital's halal practice and Muslim medical tourists' satisfaction. The research result provides useful information in understanding the critical halal practices and, more particularly, aims at helping Islamic hospitals offer quality healthcare services that suit the Muslim medical tourists' needs and, consequently, attracts the Islamic medical tourists.     

Online destination image: Comparing national tourism organisation's and tourists' perspectives

This study examines the perceived and projected online destination images (DI) manifested in tourist-generated content (TGC) and national tourism organisation (NTO) generated content. Through visual content analysis and mise en scène analysis of photographic data as well as content analysis and perceptual mapping analysis of textual data, the differences between perceived and projected online DI of Eastern Taiwan were explored. TGC and NTO contents were both found to have similarly represented Eastern Taiwan as a destination abounds with “natural environment”, “infrastructure”, “specific activities”, and “tourist attractions”. However, several important DI dimensions were under-represented in the NTO content, for example, “food and beverages”, “transportation”, “information” and “accommodation”. The findings further reveal that the TGC textual content tended to outperform NTO textual content in reflecting affective DI; and photographic content, in general, was more effective in conveying affective attributes. The findings provide useful insights for practice and future research in DI management.     

Impacts of COVID-19 on tourists' destination preferences: Evidence from China

Using data of online ticket sales for attractions in the seven provinces of South Central China, this study focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on tourists' destination preferences after the end of lockdown. Empirical results reveal that tourists' destination preferences have changed significantly, which holds under a number of robustness checks. Specifically, we find that tourists avoid traveling to destinations with more confirmed cases of COVID-19 relative to their places of origin, especially Hubei Province, and prefer destinations close to home, especially local attractions. The empirical findings have significant implications for managers and policymakers in tourism and we provide potential mechanisms for these findings based on signaling, risk perception, and prospect theory.     

Motivation and involvement in adventure tourism activities: a Chinese tourists' perspective

ABSTRACT

This research aims to explore Chinese tourists' motivations and involvement in adventure tourism activities, as well as if and how personality and location affect their motivation and involvement. Using a survey that collected 252 responses, this research suggests that stimulus-avoidance and intelligence seeking are the two most important motivational forces. Results indicate that respondents would prefer overseas locations for these activities due to perceptions of greater safety and security, better service, and higher-quality facilities. Respondents who rated themselves as “open” or “closed” in personality differ regarding motivations and involvement. Practical implications are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.