Exploring cultural tourist towns: Does authenticity matter?

This study applies various conceptualisations of authenticity to explore to what extent tourists appreciate the authenticity of cultural tourist towns. Using the visitor-employed photography (VEP) method, this study collected visitor-employed data in two cultural tourist towns in Shanghai, China to analyse tourists' personal enjoyable aesthetic experience. Results show that tourists were not overly concerned about objective authenticity as long as they had a positive and enjoyable experience, and that some tourists experienced and favoured existential and postmodern authenticity in the tourist towns. Results highlight the importance of designing entertainment activities and iconic attractions in a strip shape to engage tourists and enhance their enjoyment. Overall, results suggest that sophisticated design characterised by interaction of four townscape factors – nature setting, emotional design, spatial configuration, and commercialised elements – can shape tourists' enjoyable authentic experience. Findings have implications for tourism and tourist attraction operators in their planning, design, conservation, and promotional efforts.     

Cross‐cultural tourist behavior: An analysis of tourist attitudes towards the environment

In a cross‐cultural tourist behavioral study, skiers from three different countries were surveyed in order to understand their environmental awareness and knowledge. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was also used to discover their willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for environmentally‐friendly skiing products. The results point to a general lack of knowledge and even confusion amongst skiers about environmental issues pertaining to skiing. However, skiers say they will be more likely to visit a resort that is environmentally‐responsible. Use of the CVM indicated a strong correlation between WTP and the cost of the holiday, level of income and level of environmental conscience. The majority of skiers would pay more for a “greener” ski resort, but significant differences in responses were found between the three cultures. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Does market exit of a network airline affect airline prices and frequencies on tourist routes?

This paper examines the influence of network airline bankruptcy (and consequently its market exit) on prices and route frequencies. Specifically, the 2011 case of Spanair is analyzed, using Spanish route data for the period 2006–2013. The study finds that the Spanair bankruptcy led to a reduction in prices on those routes where its services were replaced by low-cost airlines. On the other hand, there was no evidence of any clear reduction in flight frequencies. Given that tourist passengers are particularly sensitive to prices, this paper provide evidence about the positive impact of low-cost airlines on tourism.     

Tourism firm restructuring: Does the attention of individual investor matter?

We examine the power of individual investor attention in increasing tourism firms' restructured performance, the different effects caused by ‘attention heterogeneity’, the moderating effect of media coverage on the relationship between individual investor attention and tourism firms' restructured performance, and the robustness of the effects. The results indicate that 1) individual investor attention has a significant positive effect on tourism firms' restructured performance, 2) individual investor attention via mobile devices influences tourism firms' restructured performance more than attention via computers, 3) the moderating effect of media coverage on this relationship varies with time and media heterogeneity, and 4) the effect of individual investor attention is immediate, while time is needed for the moderating effect of media coverage to appear. The main effect of individual investor attention and the moderating effect of media coverage on tourism firm performance do not depend on the firm size or the proportion of individual shareholders.     

The future of the past: Sustainable management of archaeological tourist sites – The case study of Israel

The objective of this study is to examine the management strategies for archaeological heritage sites and to identify optimal managerial strategies for such sites. The study is primarily qualitative in nature and consists of two main stages: a) development of a conceptual framework based on measures for site evaluation; 2) application of the methodology to four case studies. The findings indicate that in addition to the realms of Environment and Economy, heritage sites have three other significant realms that are relevant to archaeological sites: Values and Culture, Organization and Legislation, and Society and Community. These three realms were found to hold significance for the long-term management of archaeological tourism, although they are currently under-developed in the four case studies investigated. The study also proposes a model called the Sustainability Index for Archaeological Sites (SIAS), which can serve as a basis for operative decisions in the management process.     

Public–private partnerships for nature-based tourist attractions: the failure of Seal Rocks

In 1998, the Seal Rocks Sea Life Centre opened on Phillip Island, Australia. It was a public–private partnership, with a privately funded tourist attraction built on a government-owned protected area. Almost immediately it was beset by problems and court action found in favour of the private developer, who was awarded $A37 million in damages, with ownership of the centre returning to the state. This article fills a gap in the literature examining public–private partnerships by considering this failed venture. It is a qualitative case study, analysing the 2003 appeal court judgement in the case and newspaper accounts from 1995 to 2004. Our findings highlight that deficiencies with the drafting of commercial contracts for public–private partnerships may limit the environmental and economic benefits that are being sought by governments through these arrangements. In this case, the application of a “best efforts” clause was critical, as it required that priority was given to the commercial success of the project over environmental and planning concerns. Furthermore, the development was a centralised decision made by the state government, affording very little input from local parks management and community stakeholders. Such a court finding has important ramifications for future developments of partnership agreements in nature-based tourism.     

‘From the Flames to the Light’: 100 years of the commodification of the dark tourist site around the Verdun battlefield

In order to contribute to research on dark tourism, this article details the process of commodification of a dark site by adopting a supply approach. We empirically apply the dark tourism spectrum (Stone, 2006) to the battlefield of Verdun in France from 1916 to 2016. In doing so, we shed light on the relationship between the temporal distance from the tragic event and potential economic exploitation. Our findings reveal that commodification is possible from the very creation of the site and becomes more complex as temporal distance increases, notably due to the multiplicity of stakeholders and their incompatible interests. Our results contribute to the improvement of the dark spectrum; we add the stakeholders' structure as a new and dynamic attribute.     

How smart is your tourist attraction?: Measuring tourist preferences of smart tourism attractions via a FCEM-AHP and IPA approach

Although smart tourism has gained increasing attention, empirical investigations of smart tourist attraction (STA) from a tourist perspective are still limited. The purpose of this study is to explore a methodological approach of assessing tourist preference of STA, and the strengths and weaknesses of an STA accordingly. First, factor analysis was used to determine tourists' key evaluation items of STA. Next, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method and analytic hierarchy process were applied to the STA evaluation of Hongshan Zoo, a popular tourist attraction in China. Then, importance-performance analysis was conducted to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of Hongshan Zoo's STA construction. Findings suggest that “smart information system”, “intelligent tourism management”, “smart sightseeing”, “e-commerce system”, “smart safety”, “intelligent traffic”, “smart forecasting” and “virtual tourist attractions” are tourists' key evaluation factors of STA. This paper extends previous research on smart tourism, and offers insights into the theoretical investigation and practical development of STA.     

Identifying a destination’s optimal tourist market mix: Does a superior portfolio model exist?

Extant tourism research has used various portfolio model types to determine optimal tourist market mixes which simultaneously maximize total tourist expenditure and minimise the instability of international inbound tourism demand. We analyse the three portfolio models that have been applied in the tourism literature: two varieties of a levels model (that use the level of tourist arrivals, or bed nights to quantify tourist activity) and a growth rates model (that deploys the growth in the level of tourist activity). Applying these models using per capita expenditure in four distinctively different destination countries (Australia, Greece, Japan, and USA), we demonstrate that the Levels Model 1 is superior to the Levels Model 2 and the Growth Rates Model. It produces solutions that provide noticeably higher tourist expenditure with less instability of international tourism demand than the status quo. Theoretical contributions and practical implications for tourism policy makers and destination marketers are discussed.     

Infusing new insights: How do review novelty and inconsistency shape the usefulness of online travel reviews?

Review usefulness represents a vital indicator for evaluating the quality of online reviews in the tourism industry, and various heuristic cues have been recognized as determinants of this indicator. This study constructs a comprehensive conceptual framework based on the heuristic-systematic model to observe how two systematic cues, namely, review novelty and inconsistency, shape the perceived usefulness of reviews. Through an empirical analysis based on 1,744,693 reviews of 62,543 restaurants in the United States, we unveil a positive effect of review novelty on review usefulness but a negative effect of review inconsistency. We also underscore the moderating effects of several heuristic cues in the model, including review valence, reviewer expertise, and restaurant popularity. These results indicate that systematic and heuristic cues simultaneously and interactively determine review usefulness. The findings present theoretical implications to the literature and practical implications to hospitality professionals and designers/managers of review platforms.     

Why do online tourists need sellers' ratings? Exploration of the factors affecting regretful tourist e-satisfaction

Due to increasing online sales of Asian tourism, discussion of the factors influencing Asian online tourist e-satisfaction is an issue of critical importance. The major purpose of the study was to enhance regretful (e.g. high tendency-to-regret) tourist e-satisfaction by providing post-purchase information (sellers' ratings) to reduce post-purchase cognitive dissonance in the high uncertainty avoidance context (e.g. Taiwan). Results obtained from 2 × 2 experimental designs indicated that, the influence of regretful personality on e-satisfaction was fully mediated via post-purchase cognitive dissonance. The effect of valid sellers' ratings on raising regretful tourist e-satisfaction was also confirmed. The current study focused on Taiwanese online tourists, it provided a precise explanation of the relationships among variables and may expand understanding of Asian online regretful tourist post-purchase behaviors in a high uncertainty avoidance context. The current study could provide practitioners with post-purchase e-marketing implications and applications in such a context.     

What makes a destination beautiful? Dimensions of tourist aesthetic judgment

Drawing on the literature in environmental psychology, the current study attempted to reveal dimensions of tourist aesthetic judgment in the context of both nature-based and urban tourist destinations. Two-stage analysis of semi-structured interview data from a theoretical sample of 57 individuals yielded 21 aesthetic dimensions that were categorized into nine themes: Scale, Time, Condition, Sound, Balance, Diversity, Novelty, Shape, and Uniqueness. The identified themes were further conceptualized into a two-dimensional plane along Concrete-Abstract and Subjective-Objective continuums. This research posits that tourism allows a unique “appreciator-object” dyad where individuals are fully immersed in a destination in pursuit of a non-routine and oftentimes novel experience. The beauty of tourism destination is uniquely judged, admired, and appreciated, and the assessment of the beauty goes beyond the visual aspects and engages all senses. The findings make a theoretical contribution to the existing aesthetics literature and bear practical implications for destination planning, branding, and management.     

(Re)constructing the tourist experience? Editing experience and mediating memories of learning to dive

Abstract

Through an analysis of the mediative techniques involved in the production of videographic tourist memorabilia (specifically souvenir DVDs of learning to SCUBA dive), in this paper I seek to render visible the often unconsidered aspects of visual media production that result in not only visual images themselves, but also by extension, the construction of alternate realities of leisure space and tourist performance. A connectionist approach to the study of memory is advocated highlighting that mediatory technologies, whilst acting as stimulants for recollection, actually inform and construct memories rather than transmitting realistic snippets of past experience. In the paper, it is questioned whether ‘authenticity’ is a relevant frame of reference bearing in mind that the ‘post-tourist’ is often perfectly aware of the lack of authenticity in many tourist activities and happy to go along with a pretence. With this in mind, the paper concludes by stating that ‘reality’ is arguably being edited out of memories concerning tourism’s places and practices through the production of commercially driven and produced ‘souvenirs’. For the most part, the paper focuses on the experiences of young tourists between the ages of 18–25, the key demographic attracted to the field site in question.     

Narcissistic CEOs and corporate social responsibility: Does the role of an outside board of directors matter?

During recent years, there has been a growing interest in CEO narcissism across disciplines. Various scholars document that CEO narcissism is an important factor that should not be overlooked when analyzing various organizational outcomes and strategies. Research on CEO narcissism has focused on its negative implications on organization outcomes. However, little attention has been paid to its effect on corporate social responsibility (CSR). This study explores the relationship between CEO narcissism and two distinct facets of CSR (stakeholder management and social issue participation), while taking into account the moderating role of outside board of directors. Using a sample of publicly traded U.S restaurants, the results document that an outside board of directors plays a moderating role on the relationship between CEO narcissism and the two distinct facets of CSR.     

Exploring the impact of personalized management responses on tourists’ satisfaction: A topic matching perspective

As an online reputation management tool, hotel managers increasingly rely on management responses to online reviews to improve the electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Due to the substantial heterogeneity of textual reviews with different topics, it is particularly challenging to personalize the response for customer relationship management. Based on a panel data of 500 hotels in the state of Texas collected from TripAdvisor, this study examines the influence of personalized management responses on rating increase from a topic matching perspective. The empirical results show that (1) a high level of topic matching of management response leads to an increase of hotel online rating; (2) a high valence and a large variation of existing rating weaken the positive influence of such personalized management response; (3) the influence is stronger for economy hotels compared to luxury ones. Lastly, practical implications are provided.     

The impact of local food specialities on the decision to (re)visit a tourist destination: Market-expanding or business-stealing?

This paper studies how local food specialities can affect the attractiveness of tourist destinations, distinguishing between market-expanding and business-stealing effects. We surveyed 1100 Italians in their home about their intention to visit or revisit three popular mountain resorts in Northern Italy (Valtellina, Valle d’Aosta, Trentino), and about their experience, knowledge, and appreciation of five well-known local food products of these places (Pizzoccheri pasta, Bresaola dried beef, Fontina cheese, Melinda apples, Speck smoked ham). We find that product experience positively affects the likelihood of (re)visiting both a product's place of origin and the other mountain destinations (market-expanding effect). Conversely, the correct identification of the product's place of origin may reduce the intention to (re)visit the other destinations (business-stealing effect). Finally, strong appreciation for a local food speciality has a positive effect only on the intention to (re)visit the place of origin.     

Can multi-source heterogeneous data improve the forecasting performance of tourist arrivals amid COVID-19? Mixed-data sampling approach

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has already caused enormous damage to the global economy and various industries worldwide, especially the tourism industry. In the post-pandemic era, accurate tourism demand recovery forecasting is a vital requirement for a thriving tourism industry. Therefore, this study mainly focuses on forecasting tourist arrivals from mainland China to Hong Kong. A new direction in tourism demand recovery forecasting employs multi-source heterogeneous data comprising economy-related variables, search query data, and online news data to motivate the tourism destination forecasting system. The experimental results confirm that incorporating multi-source heterogeneous data can substantially strengthen the forecasting accuracy. Specifically, mixed data sampling (MIDAS) models with different data frequencies outperformed the benchmark models.