The coronavirus pandemic – A critical discussion of a tourism research agenda

Unquestionable, the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is one of the most impactful events of the 21st century and has tremendous effects on tourism. While many tourism researchers worldwide are currently ‘Covid-19 research gap spotting’, we call for more deliberateness and rigor. While we agree that the coronavirus pandemic is unique and relevant to research, we argue that not all effects are worth researching or novel to us. Previous research on crises and disasters do show similar patterns and existing theories can often very well explain the current phenomena. Thus, six illustrative examples are shown how a research agenda could look like. This includes parts where theoretical explanations from tourism are missing, as well as where we think existing knowledge might be subject to a tourism paradigm-shift due to the coronavirus pandemic.     

Beyond the authentic taste: The tourist experience at a food museum restaurant

This study investigates the factors influencing food experiences perceived by food tourists in the context of a food museum and its associated restaurant. A qualitative exploratory approach was employed, using Chinese tourists visiting Hangzhou Cuisine Museum in Zhejiang province. This research finds that food tourists look for knowledge accumulation and gastronomic experiences when visiting a food museum and restaurant complex, and each experience is formed by both tourist and setting factors. The findings highlight the significant and more complex engagement of setting factors in the museum restaurants. The institutionalised characteristics of museums are equally expected within the in-house restaurants, and social trust in the museum along with external factors that verify authentic representation of the museum contributed to the perceived authenticity of the food tourist's dining experience. This paper discusses broad implications for food experience design at food museums and restaurants as emerging tourism attractions.     

Industrial heritage tourism development and city image reconstruction in Chinese traditional industrial cities: a web content analysis

ABSTRACT

Studies on industrial heritage and industrial tourism development at the city level in China are limited. Through a web content analysis of the industrial components in cities’ images and tourism, this paper attempts to explore whether old industrial cities are promoting industrial heritage tourism and rebuilding postindustrial images. A total of 20 traditionally industrial cities were selected as samples for data collection based on the content of their official websites, and this study finds that industrial heritage and industrial tourism are rarely promoted or even mentioned on those websites, indicating that industrial culture is gradually being eroded in China. Traditional Chinese industrial cities tend to look for opportunities to participate in global competition rather than reflecting and preserving their past through the process of urban development. More attention should be paid in the future to integrating industrial culture into Chinese urban development, both in academic research and in practice.     

Event pitching: The role of design and creativity

The purpose of the research is to contribute towards a better understanding of the role of design and creativity in the pitch phase of an event bid. The paper does not seek to re-document the formal proposal process of preparing and bidding for an event but instead will look at an element within event bidding, the pitch to the client. Winning an event pitch is a crucial part of the events industry and is undertaken by most event management companies (EMC) or agencies. It is highly competitive. The material is based on qualitative research with key individuals working in the events industry and presents selective reflections upon the pitch process, the rationale and criteria for pitching and the extent to which they use creative thinking to win. Design and creativity are essential components that help make events memorable experiences, but as the paper demonstrates they also have a significant role in securing the event contract in the first place. In some cases elaborate and extreme design tactics are used to make a successful pitch.     

寻求旅游企业管理理念的新突破

在进入21世纪的今天，中国旅游业面临着诸多挑战，因此旅游企业的管理理念应有着新的调整。回顾上个世纪全球有关管理发展，针对旅游企业服务的个性特征，其中的确有着不少值得重新思考的地方。抛弃一些不切实际的旧口号，使旅游企业管理获得更多的新思维必须提到当前管理研究的日程。     

基于知识共同体的线索追踪法——以温泉旅游研究为例

温泉旅游乃旅游科学的一个分支,目前处于潜学科阶段。对于潜学科而言,因知识分布较为零散,学术力量处于潜在状态,适合以知识共同体替代学术共同体,用线索追踪法这一创新方法来推进研究,以实现对相关知识的挖掘与综合,形成研究力量,发现新知识,最终走进学术化研究阶段。在知识共同体语境下,为推进温泉旅游研究进程,可以地理学的文化转向、社会学的弱势群体、计算科学的数据挖掘等为理论支持。旅游研究需要加强知识变革意识,关注旅游系统中主体的能动性,需要扶持弱势的潜学科,同时,潜学科也要通过自强以夯实自身建设,挖掘潜在的知识能量。关于温泉旅游知识共同体研究,应用线索追踪法涉及线索起点、学术队伍、研究生群体、温泉专业、温泉企业、协会组织、国际联系、知识载体等方面,可依据有关信息建构属于自己的线索型知识关联,以共同建设温泉旅游知识共同体研究范畴。     

Sexual Harassment in the Hospitality Industry: Perceptions of Restaurant Employees

Abstract

With the cost of litigation and the dollar amount of settlements both increasing substantially, it is with a pro-active view to look at the perspective of sexual harassment by restaurant employees. The purpose of this study is to measure female restaurant employees' and male restaurant employees' perceptions and attitudes on sexual harassment in the restaurant industry. By analyzing the responses of the female restaurant employees and male restaurant employees, a better understanding of the similarities and differences among these two distinct employee segments could be obtained. This research paper will try to provide some useful information when it comes to sexual harassment in the restaurant industry and what policies should be implemented.     

Oppression, emancipation, and volunteer tourism: Research Propositions

This paper develops research propositions for volunteer tourism using a combination of critical theory and social movement theory as a foundation. As is often the case with emerging areas of research, a theoretical foundation has been difficult to establish in volunteer tourism. The inherent contradictions of volunteer tourism, particularly concerning the interplay of oppression/emancipation, dependency/resistance and dominant hegemony/agency beg to be deconstructed with a critical theory lens. Social movement theory then in turn offers a tool through which researchers can look to break the hermeneutic circle by examining good practices in volunteer tourism, particularly concerning potential improvements for all stakeholders in self-efficacy, resource networks, and consciousness-raising experiences. The paper culminates with a proposition model based on these theoretical perspectives.     

Human-robot interaction: Conceptualising trust in frontline teams through LEGO® Serious Play®

Due to fast-paced developments in the technological sphere, we witness robots becoming commonplace in hospitality. While research has focused on technical and functional aspects of robots, the ways in which robots could become effective members of human service teams are less understood. By taking a human-robot interaction (HRI) lens, this study investigates the impact of integrating non-human service providers into human teams with a focus on trust. A qualitative focus group approach with the LEGO® Serious Play® method is employed to open novel avenues in tourism research, and to build, visualise and distil what human-robot interaction in hospitality frontline teams could look like. The study's contribution is a conceptual framework that reveals three dominant factors of trust and their sub-dimensions necessary for successful future human-robot interaction in frontline teams in tourism, hospitality and the wider service sector.     

Looking for the Real Me: Locating the Self in Heritage Tourism

This paper considers the relationship between concepts of authenticity and the consumption of heritage attractions. Critiques of the heritage industry have often revolved around the idea that its visitors can only experience a false representation of history. Although valuable in many ways, such an approach does not explore the full complexity of these experiences. This paper seeks to develop an alternative theoretical framework to understand such visits by referring to discussions generated within those fields concerned with touristic experiences, identity and modernity. These argue that the nature of the authenticity at stake in these experiences is not one dimensional but must look to the concept of a subjective authenticity of self, as well as an authenticity that is judged according to objective realities. These concepts are explored in the context of exhibitionary forms and the meanings people invest in collective memories and cultural identities – that is, the strategies of interpretation and mechanisms of display used at heritage attractions.     

European leisure studies at the crossroads? A history of leisure research in Europe

In this contribution, a generalized picture is given of the history of leisure research in Europe. It is based on a comparative study of the history of leisure research in six European countries: Spain, Poland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (Mommaas, Van der Poel, Bramham, & Henry, 1996a). Across Europe, leisure research has been dominated by sociological perspectives and concerns. Sociology has very much acted as a mediator of collective, public concerns, dealing with issues of enlightenment/civilization and cultural participation/welfare. However, from the late 1970s onward, the collective, educational project of free time has lost much of its former significance. On one side, there is now much more academic attention to issues of time, consumption, play, and pleasure. However, at the same time, these issues have become disconnected from former collective concerns of leisure and/or free time. This leads to two interrelated questions: Are leisure studies still in need of a unifying project of leisure? and If so, what should such a project look like?     

PROFILE OF A WINE TOURIST AND THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN DESTINATION AND PREFERRED WINE: A STUDY IN ARAGON,SPAIN

Most of the existing characteristics of wine tourists have been based on the point of view of wineries or have been based on the tourists who have visited wineries. It is therefore necessary to establish a more general profile of wine tourists. In conjunction with this, a more in‐depth look must be taken at the motivations for visiting a destination. These motivations can include the production area of a preferred wine. The correspondence between the production area of a preferred wine and the destination selected by a tourist has been taken as a given in the research performed to date, but it has not been studied in depth. The results obtained show that the profile of a wine tourist can be divided into two groups, thereby considering the variables of gender, income, age, belonging to a wine club, wine consumption habits, and involvement in activities related to wine. Moreover, in the analyzed case there is positive correspondence between the place of origin of a preferred wine and the destination selected when participating in wine tourism.     

何为“表演”?——西方旅游表演转向理论溯源、内涵解析及启示

自20世纪90年代起,西方主流旅游研究中呈现出"表演转向"。历经近30年的发展,这一转向至今仍方兴未艾。"performance"(表演)作为一个具有强有力启发意义的隐喻,为西方旅游体验研究的深入推进提供了一条新路径。但国内学者对这一转向关注甚少,甚至对"表演"的理解还停留在通俗层面上。造成这种现状的根本原因在于英文"performance"一词与中文对应词"表演"在各自语言体系中存在着较大的含义差别。理解英文世界中"表演"隐喻的内涵,还需追根溯源,向西方旅游表演转向的理论基础寻求答案。文章对performance一词进行词源考察,探究不同语言环境中"表演"的含义及人文社科学术领域中"表演"的内涵,并且对西方旅游研究中表演转向的理论基础及发展历程进行了梳理,进而提炼出西方旅游表演转向的核心特点。文章最后指出西方旅游表演转向对未来旅游体验研究所给予的启示:第一,国内学界应该寻找一个替代性词语来表达performance在中文语境中部分失效的含义,以弥合语言体系转换所造成的裂隙。第二,表演转向中的温和模式和激进模式并不是替代关系,旅游体验研究不必在二者中选择其一作为立场。第三,旅游体验研究应面向过程,而不是结果。第四,旅游体验研究应面向关系,而不是元素。第五,旅游体验研究方法需要新的突破和尝试。     

The Influence of Service Quality on the Positioning of Five Star Hotels—The Case of the Lisbon Area

Abstract

Tourism in Portugal has expanded very rapidly over the last decades. At present, it accounts for about 8% of the GDP and directly employs more than 300,000 people. The growing numbers of arrivals in Portugal have also led to a rapid expansion of the hotel industry. However, this expansion has been followed by some worrying drops in the occupancy rates of five star hotels. Fierce competition has then become one of the cornerstones of the Portuguese hotel industry. Research conducted in the field of market positioning has highlighted the importance of understanding the preferences attributed by consumers to a given product (“perception”) and how and why products and services are evaluated and purchased. Based on research conducted recently among tour operators and business companies, this paper will look at the way in which service quality influences the positioning of five star hotels. The analysis and conclusions presented in the paper offer grounds for discussion about the way in which five star hotels located in the Portuguese capital and in the surrounding area may improve their image, attract larger numbers of tourists and, as a result of this, prepare themselves for growing competition that has developed in Lisbon and its outskirts. Some of the findings are applicable to other European capitals.     

Conceptualising networks in sustainable tourism development

This paper contributes to the sustainable tourism research agenda concerning the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a destination level. This paper develops a conceptual framework integrating three theories: stakeholder theory, social network analysis (SNA), and actor-network theory (ANT). Integration reveals a blended approach to enable a reassessment of stakeholder roles to further explore the nature, dynamics and operations of tourism networks as they work to achieve SDGs. Tourismscapes, as a model, is invoked to scaffold data and to provide insight into the nuances of destination networks. This research evaluates this concept and its potential for rethinking tourism research and inspiring a new wave of study. Firmly planted in critical tourism studies, this paper conceptualises tourism stakeholder interactions, specifically those networks pursuing common goals at a destination level, such as SDG 17 that aims to strengthen means of implementation through partnerships.     

旅游开发对语言文化景观的影响效应研究--以西安为例

语言变化是衡量社会文化变迁与旅游开发之间关系的一个重要指标。本文在国内外相关研究进展综述的基础上,以西安为例,从文化地理学的角度,就旅游开发对目的地语言文化景观的影响效应进行了综合分析,并探讨了产生这些效应的原因和空间特征。研究发现。旅游开发导致了目的地当地方言的淡化,外来方言的渗入以及外语产生的影响,具体表现在：①土语景观萎缩,普通话景观扩张,形成新语言占据土语空间和两者并存的现象;②目的地语言景观曼趋多元化,空间上形成了以旅游区为主体的粤方言渗透区;③外语作为一种异质文化,与方言相互交融。形成中外语言景观并存,交互并用的格局。文章最后指出,经济上的巨大落差。构成了文化能量的累积差异。从而产生西方文化、粤文化等经济发达地区文化向旅游目的地的传播和影响。同时,旅游开发对目的地语言文化景观的影响表现出其独特的影响方向和空间特征。     

Origins,evolution and themes of scholarly hospitality sources: 1960–2019

This paper provides an overview and insight into the intellectual foundations and evolution of hospitality scholarship. The authors found that hospitality research has exhibited certain defining and evolving characteristics when an extended period – six decades – is considered. Quantitative methods have predominated with ongoing efforts to reach agreement about the most valid and applicable research methods. Four of the six identified research domains are marketing related, each with its defining characteristics. Some domains are heavily reliant on sources from work originally published in “mainstream” literature such as marketing, though the fast-developing field of online reviews draws sources overwhelmingly from the hospitality and tourism journals. The paper contributes to theory by synthesizing key theoretical concerns over six decades. It also evidences the shift of hospitality scholarship from its pragmatic and operational origins to a stronger theory base offering practitioners an important reference point when confronting unprecedented industry upheavals.     

Tourism and wellbeing

Wellbeing has been a philosophical and sociological concern since the beginning of time, and research has extended over time to disciplines such as psychology, health sciences and economics to name just a few. Tourism studies has also become more focused on wellbeing in the last few decades, both from a theoretical and methodological perspective. After examining the philosophical background of wellbeing from different perspectives, the paper takes a closer look at how these frameworks can inform tourism research and practices. It explores the relationship between diverse terminologies and perspectives as well as the ways in which hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing can be derived through tourism experiences. A spectrum and a model are proposed which outline the relationship between various types of wellbeing, tourism and activities.     

Eudaimonic tourist experiences: the case of flamenco

In recent years, participation in flamenco, as a cultural art form, has gained momentum within Spain and internationally. Engagement in flamenco music and dance workshops in Spain has also become an increasingly significant tourism activity. Despite this trend, little research has looked into the nature of leisure experiences of flamenco. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap by exploring how tourists experience flamenco music and dance courses in the city of Seville. Through a grounded theory research strategy in which in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 participants, the study reveals that four key themes characterise tourists’ experiences of flamenco. These are: the social and physical environment, which refers to physical flamenco spaces in Seville and tourists’ interactions with instructors and peers; secondly, the experience of challenge, characterised by hardship and sacrifice in the pursuit of flamenco; thirdly, activation of the sensual body or a sense of arousal; and lastly, an intrinsic and deep desire for self-discovery. The study demonstrates that the flamenco tourist experience strongly contributes to self-realisation and fulfilment of those who engage in it, or in other words, that the flamenco tourist experience is eudaimonic in character. The interview findings were linked to literature on self-realisation, self-fulfilment, true self, stress-related growth and related eudaimonic themes. Eudaimonia, or a sense of personal expressiveness and self-realisation, has not been previously established in this context. Therefore, the research findings provide a theoretical understanding of what a eudaimonic tourist experience of dance and music may look like.