Work environment and atmosphere: The role of organizational support in the creativity performance of tourism and hospitality organizations

In this study, we developed and tested a new model of how organizational support affects the organizational work environment and atmosphere that facilitates creativity. A field study of 320 employees showed that organizational support was positively related to the work environment for knowledge sharing, motivation, procedural justice, and promotion. Further, the work environment plays a mediating role between organizational support and employee creativity. These measures of an organization's environment of procedural justice are related to employees’ motivation and knowledge sharing, which predict employees’ promotion.     

The impact of changes in household vacation expenditures on the travel and hospitality industries

Two large tourism industries, travel and hospitality, are strongly affected by changes in household demand for vacations. In recent years, rising income and declining prices per unit of quality have led to changes in patterns of household vacation consumption. To understand the impact of these changes on the travel and hospitality industries, we develop a theoretical model distinguishing between travel and on-site expenditures and apply it to Israeli data. We find that under certain circumstances, the changes in income and prices are responsible for a shift toward multiple, short vacations. This trend can be a boon to the travel industry but a disadvantage for the hospitality industry. Both industries are expected to face a rise in the demand for high-quality products.     

Developing a better understanding of the complexities of visitor loyalty to Karijini National Park,Western Australia

Visitor loyalty is essential for the future of parks; however our knowledge of it is poor and confounded by conceptualisation and measurement issues with loyalty often considered a single construct. Furthermore, previous research has focussed on loyalty to a single destination rather than loyalty to a park system. This paper analyses the loyalty intentions of visitors to Karijini National Park, Western Australia. Relationships between loyalty measures to this park and to parks generally are explored. Rather than a single construct, loyalty was evidenced by three dimensions within an increasing hierarchy of effort – a) visiting another park, b) referring and recommending, and c) advocating, paying, volunteering, and visiting again. Visitors who wanted access to friendly, helpful rangers were more likely to undertake loyalty behaviours requiring greater effort. Further refining loyalty's multiple dimensions is an important focus for future research complemented by recent efforts to match loyalty measures with actual visiting behaviour.     

Evaluating the net effects of ecotourism on the environment: a framework,first assessment and future research

This review examines what outcomes ecotourism has achieved in regard to environmental issues. It proposes an analytic framework distinguishing four types of mechanism: those which can generate positive effects; those which can reduce negative effects; those which can increase negative effects; and contested issues, including scale and mainstreaming. It then discusses the barriers to evaluating ecotourism's environmental record. These include: problems of definition; the use of eco-labels; and the range of inclusion within any analysis. Finally, it outlines a series of future research priorities including: product and enterprise analysis; the value and importance of codes, interpretation and marketing, the potential significance of new community and political mechanisms; and post-trip lifestyle change.     

Seeking roots and tracing lineages: constructing a framework of reference for roots and genealogical tourism

This article examines the role of media in the construction of place within the context of cultural heritage and postmodern flows. Both physical and virtual place involve actors, objects and actions that establish subjectivity, encode time, and frame space. Both environments are dynamic and generate meanings that are relevant to the actor, contextualizing the spaces in which she/he acts. From a post-stucturalist perspective, place can be viewed as a composite of interwoven texts – each discursive, contingent, ambiguous and contested. It is argued that virtual place is constructed through the embodied subjectivity of the actor, grounded by inter-subjective discourse and the texts they form within and beyond the physical dimensions of place.     

Developing a Novel Hybrid Model for Industrial Environment Analysis: A Study of the Gourmet and Tourism Industry in Taiwan

This study applies fuzzy set theory in attempting to evaluate important attributes of the tourism and gourmet business environment in Taiwan. This business environment is composed of various attributes that are difficult to measure. To overcome these challenges, we integrated the fuzzy Delphi method, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method, and the analytic network process to evaluate the business environment. We found that the most significant aspect of the tourism and gourmet business environment is human resources and that the least significant aspect of this industry is market development. The most significant criteria are enhanced industry competitiveness and opportunities to develop the industry.     

Estimating the impact of entertainment on the restaurant revenues of a Las Vegas hotel casino: An exploratory study

Considering the growing presence of non-gaming amenities in a mature casino market such as the Las Vegas Strip, this study examined the indirect contribution of showroom entertainment to casino-operated restaurant business volumes. Using the internal data of a Las Vegas hotel casino, this research found a statistically significant and positive relationship between daily showroom headcounts and food and beverage revenues. For each additional show attendee, daily food and beverage revenue increased $6.96. This finding suggests that casino executives should consider leveraging show traffic with additional revenue-enhancing venues such as restaurants.     

Effects of ownership change on organizational settings and strategies in a Taiwanese hotel chain

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of ownership change on a local-chain hotel in Taiwan: how the new chief executive officer (CEO) planned a blue ocean strategy and how he led all employees to achieve pre-established goals. This study applied qualitative research methodology whereby the data were collected by participant observations in the study field and subsequent in-depth interviews with an application of the QSR NVivo software program. This study implies that, in the assimilation stage of the change, (1) the CEO should use democracy instead of dictatorship; (2) sub-cultures, factions and conflict could be prevented by organizational socialization and equal opportunity treatment; and (3) blue ocean strategies enable a shift of organizational image and identity. This qualitative study supplements the existing literature by showing that organizational politics might be affected by organizational change and how the concept of blue ocean strategy might be implemented in the course of organizational change.     

The impact of the antecedents of relationship development on Thai and Australian resort hotels guests

This study examines the differences in the antecedents of relationship development between Thai and Australian resort guests in Thailand. A modified form of the key mediating variable (KMV) model is used to frame the study. The study found that relationship quality (characterised by trust and commitment) has a strong positive impact on Australian and Thai guests’ loyalty and that both groups rely on similar factors when evaluating their long term loyalty intentions. However, cross cultural variation in the weights attached to each of these factors was evident. Australians value special treatment and social benefits, while Thais place more emphasis on communications and opportunistic behaviour. These theoretical insights can assist resort operators to manage guest relationships and to develop service standards that address the guests’ cultural needs.     

The impact of seasonality on tourism and hospitality operations in the alpine region of New South Wales,Australia

Despite the recognized importance of seasonality for tourism businesses, there has been a distinct lack of studies undertaken in the past that discuss the impact of seasonality on alpine accommodation resorts, and more specifically that focus on an Australian location. The main purpose of this study was to examine whether or not the Australian alpine accommodation providers and ski operations have been significantly impacted by the issue of seasonality and to determine more specifically, had there been industry pressure placed on them to become all season operations? For this study, a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers of hospitality businesses located in the sub-alpine region of Jindabyne, and nearby alpine areas of Perisher and Thredbo in New South Wales, Australia. Study results indicated that the majority of managers acknowledged the fact that there has been an increase in the number of summer visitors each year which has pressured them to make changes to their operations. They conceded that such activity has served to reinforce a ‘stand alone’ mindset which was still prevalent amongst the majority of the managers in the region.     

中国最佳旅游城市标准的理论与实施

在对《中国优秀旅游城市标准体系》实施成就与经验回顾的基础上,本文首先介绍了国家旅游局制定的“优中选优”战略背景,以及其委托世界旅游组织和北京大学专家根据其拟定的“动态评估”原则而共同起草的《中国最佳旅游城市标准》的总体原则、基础标准、专项标准。文章接着对中国最佳旅游城市的创建策略、实施步骤和实施影响进行了阐述。文章有利于从理论和实践两个方面指导全国各大、中、小城市创建以城市为目的地的国际化旅游战略的实施。     

香港外游旅行发票印花管理的调研及其对广东的启迪

文章调研了香港实行外游旅行发票印花管理的实践 ,分析这一管理模式的作用与优势 ,探索了广东旅游市场管理制度借鉴这一模式改革创新的思路 ,并论证了其可行性。     

旅游人类学近1/4世纪研究的新成果 --《主客关系新探:21世纪旅游问题》述评

主客关系问题始终是旅游人类学的主题之一,维莱恩·史密斯和玛丽安·布伦特合编的<主客关系新探21世纪旅游问题>一书,汇集了21世纪开始时旅游人类学研究者的丰硕成果,和第一、二版相比,立场观点、案例选取、编辑特色等方面有了很大变化,值得推荐给旅游专业的学生、教师和研究人员.