Tourists and troglodytes: Negotiating for Sustainability

This paper contributes to the continuing discussion concerning the paradox that tourism destroys the object of its desire. An analysis is made of tourism relations and hospitality in a Turkish village, and it is argued that in their close interactions with tourists traveling independently of organized tour groups, local people are in a position to negotiate both their own “traditional” identity in the presence of tourists and the latter's quests and experiences in themselves. A dynamic notion of sustainability in cultural tourism is developed, by challenging the assumptions that tourist localities must remain authentically “traditional” to meet with the expectations of tourists.     

From drifter to gap year tourist: Mainstreaming Backpacker Travel

Long-haul, long-term independent travel—here backpacking—has become increasingly common over the last few decades. Once considered a marginal activity undertaken by society’s drop-outs, it has gradually entered the tourism mainstream. Based on interview and internet material and ethnographic field research, this article considers where this growth in interest has come from, and how transformations in the perception of backpacking have taken place. Focusing on the travel imagination, it examines socioeconomic and cultural “incitements to travel”. As backpacking has become more mainstream its “alternative” standing has diminished, but it continues to be a potentially status-enhancing activity.     

Recreation vehicles : A perspective

The growth and popularity of recreation vehicles in the United States and other countries has implications for the travel and tourism industry. Owners of these vehicles require no separate lodging facilities while traveling and rarely patronize hotels or motels. They often perceive that they spend less for their vacations by staying at travel parks and campgrounds, but survey results and comparative cost analysis reveal that they spend more than automobile travelers when total fixed and variable costs are taken into account. Recreation vehicle (RV) preferences by income category suggest alternative modes of recreation travel and a vacation life style which has considerable appeal. This “RV life style” is characterized by a strong desire to experience the outdoors and socialize with other campers while still retaining the comforts and conveniences of a familiar domicile. Limiting characteristics include the provincial nature of recreation vehicle travel and the impact of mandatory fuel conservation measures.     

Evaluating tourist risks from fuzzy perspectives

Since little effort has been devoted to measuring tourist risk from epistemology perspectives, this study develops a scientific framework for its evaluation. Tourist risk is defined as what is perceived by the tourists during the process of a group package tour. This in turn depends on the traveling service conditions experienced during the process and at the destination. The study uses an Analytic Hierarchy Process method to determine the weighting of various risk evaluation criteria. It further considers the possibility of “fuzzy logic” in making subjective judgments, and applies a Fuzzy Multiple Criteria Decision-Making method to conduct the evaluation of tourist risk.     

VOLUNTEER TOURISM—“INVOLVE ME AND I WILL LEARN”?

Voluntourism or volunteer tourism is increasingly available and popular amongst everyday tourists in different parts of the world. Despite its seeming virtue and it often being positioned as a form of “justice” or “goodwill” tourism, critics in the public media have begun to question and criticize the effectiveness or “real” value of volunteer tourism. However, academic work has not yet critiqued volunteer tourism in the same manner. This paper thus provides a critical and timely review of volunteer tourism, using interviews and participant observation with 11 respondents on a volunteer tourism trip to South Africa. This paper reviews volunteer tourists’ motivations (what prompted their participation); performances of the “self” in volunteer tourism; and the tensions and paradoxes surrounding volunteer tourism.     

Rosanzerusu is Los Angeles an anthropological inquiry of Japanese tourists

The popularity of Los Angeles with Japanese tourists prompts the anthropologist to ask what they are seeking there. An ethnography of that tourism discloses a number of “must see” sights for first time tourists. Subsequent tourists may seek more esoteric sites, as disclosed by an examination of tourist guide texts. Tourists progress from “mass” to “elite” status. Against a theoretical perspective of life as “sacred journey”, and of pilgrimage, tourism is seen as a ritual of modernity, amenable to semiotic analysis in the manner of Barthes. Los Angeles' ecumenical tourism reflects the mythology of the movies. Japanese tourists select sites drawn from this mythology which also reflect Japanese preferences (e.g., the Hollywood Bowl). They also emphasize sites where they may purchase souvenir or “marker” goods (e.g., UCLA). They thus attach importance to some sites thought to be quite minor by Angelenos.     

More than an “industry”: The forgotten power of tourism as a social force

This paper argues that in the current neo-liberal era, the discourse of tourism as an “industry” has overshadowed other conceptualisations of the tourism phenomenon. An argument is developed that this discourse serves the needs and agendas of leaders in the tourism business sector. However, the author desires to revive an earlier understanding of tourism that predates the neoliberal era. Tourism is in fact a powerful social force that can achieve many important ends when its capacities are unfettered from the market fundamentalism of neoliberalism and instead are harnessed to meet human development imperatives and the wider public good. Examining the human rights aspects of tourism, investigating phenomena such as “social tourism”, exploring a few “non-western” perspectives of tourism and outlining some of the tantalising promise that tourism holds, this paper attempts to revive and reinforce a wider vision of tourism's role in societies and the global community. It is argued that it is critical for tourism academics, planners and leaders to support such a vision if tourism is to avoid facing increasing opposition and criticism in a likely future of insecurity and scarcity.     

An international travel Demand model US Travel to Western Europe

This paper examines international travel demand between the United States and Western Europe. A complete system of demand equations is estimated to obtain expenditure and price elasticities of the demand for travel. The results allow the classification of regions of Western Europe as substitutes or complements according to the preferences of travelers. It is found that Americans view Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal as “luxury destinations” that might expect to receive an increasing share of the traveler's budget. The price elasticities are relatively low for France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. France and the U.K eexhibited high price substitution effects as did France and Germany. Travel to most other countries might be classified as complementary with respect to travel to France and substitutes with respect to the U.K.     

A simultaneous equations model of the hotel room supply and demand in Hong Kong

The purpose of the study is to identify the important factors that influence the hotel room supply and demand, and their overall impact on the Hong Kong hotel industry. Nineteen years of time series data are used and a simultaneous equations econometric model is employed. The overall goodness-of-fit of both demand and supply models is very high, suggesting high predictive power. Empirical results indicate that “hotel room price” and “tourist arrivals” are significant factors driving the demand for hotel rooms. In addition, “1990–91 recession” and “the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis” had a significant negative impact on the demand for hotel rooms in Hong Kong. At the same time, “hotel room quantity demanded”, “room occupancy rate”, “last period's room price”, “labor cost”, “last period's average price of Grade A private offices”, and “the Asian financial crisis” all have a significant impact on room price in the short run.     

Toward a critical analysis of tourism representations

This paper advances a “critical analysis of tourism representations” through examination of photographic postcards of African Americans from the South during the period 1893 to 1917. Analysis of these photographic images reveals that specific iconographic strategies were employed by postcard photographers to culturally inscribe black bodies with “Otherness”. Analysis of the postcard senders' messages reveals that these texts were often interpreted by tourists as interchangeable images of the mythic Old South or as attempts at humor. These images positioned black subjects in a racist regime of representation that constructed subjectivities for those depicted and identities for their viewers.     

Global strategies in the international hotel industry

A two stage qualitative research methodology is used to evaluate the forces driving the adoption of global strategies in the hotel industry and the strategic response of international hotel chains to those “drivers”. Information gathered from industry experts is used to develop a set of hypotheses which are then tested against evidence provided by interviews with senior executives and other data.The results indicate that global strategy is most influenced by market factors, other drivers having much less influence. Cost drivers are constrained by limited economies of scale and standardization opportunities. Globalization is most marked in the thrust for a broad geographic presence in key overseas markets, the pursuit of global branding, positioning and uniform service standards. At the same time, customers expect “responsive” policies in areas such as facilities and services provided. Opportunities for greater integration and concentration of “back-office” functions, where information-based systems allow for cost economies and enhanced coordination, often remain relatively unexploited, primarily due to institutionalized management practice and control constraints.     

The travel career ladder: An Appraisal

This paper examines the state of the “travel career ladder” concept. It is argued that the research findings thought to support this concept are contradictory. In a sample of UK holidaymakers, it was found that while motives for taking vacations were consistent among all of the sample, those who had had a history of past tourism experience in a destination, or of similar types of holidays elsewhere, indicated a better match between wants and an ability to meet those desires. It seems that it is not a case of changing psychological needs resulting from past tourism experience as proposed by the “travel career ladder” model but rather a case of better meeting needs.

Résumé

L'échelle des expériences du tourisme: une évaluation. Cet article examine le concept de l'échelle des expériences. On affirme que les conclusions des recherches à l'appui de ce concept sont contradictoires. D'après une enquête parmi des vacanciers du Royaume-Uni, on a trouvé que, bein que les motivations des vacances soient stables pour tout le sondage, ceux qui avaient déjà voyagé à une destination ou qui avaient eu ailleurs des vacances similaires ont indiqué une meilleure correspondence entre leurs désirs et la satisfaction de ces désirs. Ce n'est pas un cas, semble-t-il, de changer les besoins psychologiques selon les expe riences du passé comme on le suggère avec le modèle de «l'échelle des expériences du tourisme» sinon un cas de mieux satisfaire aux besoins.     

The impact of customer-to-customer interaction and customer homogeneity on customer satisfaction in tourism service—The service encounter prospective

Customer satisfaction has been an important topic in tourism service management. Many researchers have argued that customer-to-customer interaction may affect customers’ evaluation of the service experience. Consequently, the objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between customer-to-customer interaction, customer homogeneity and customer satisfaction. This research adopted questionnaires to investigate tourists traveling to foreign areas from Taiwan. In conclusion, the perception of customer-to-customer interaction incidents could be extracted into six factors, including protocol and sociable incidents, violent incidents, grungy incidents, malcontent incidents, crude incidents, and inconsiderate incidents. The results of the analysis indicate that “protocol and sociable incidents” have a significantly positive impact on the “evaluation of fellow customers”. However, “malcontent incidents” have a significantly negative impact on customer satisfaction. “Marital homogeneity” has a positive influence on the “evaluation of fellow customers”. Finally, “evaluation of fellow customers” has a positive influence on customer satisfaction. Some suggestions for practitioners to manage customer compatibility and enhance customer satisfaction are proposed.     

PAGES AS STAGES: A Performance Approach to Visitor Books

This article offers a contribution to the fields of tourist performance and language. By exploring a visitor book located at a heritage site in Jerusalem, Israel, it argues that texts produced by tourists can assume the semiotic status of performances. Consequently, tourists’ texts should not be viewed merely as instances of “discourse” or “language”, but also as organic parts of the aesthetic and semiotic aspects of tourism. The article describes four dimensions that establish the visitor book as a particular “stage”, and the texts therein as the tourists’ situated performances. Taken together, these dimensions constitute a model for the analysis of linguistic performance and for the semiotic interrelationship between stage and performance in tourism.     

In search of lost leisure: the impact of caregiving on leisure travel

One of the fastest growing market segments of the tourism industry over the last two decades is made up of consumers 55 years of age and older. As we enter the new millennium, over 50 million of these “mature adults” will find themselves on the edge of retirement, equipped with the freedom and financial means to travel, but restricted by a loved one who may become ill or disabled. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of caregiving on the leisure travel behaviors of family caregivers and their care-recipients. Qualitative data collection and analysis methods were employed. In addition to identifying impediments (physical, social, emotional) to pursuing or maintaining leisure travel for caregivers of older adults, the qualitative analysis yielded other emergent themes such as changes in patterns and types of leisure travel, entitlement, resentment, and anger. Implications and recommendations for researchers and practitioners are included.     

Wives' involvement in tourism decision processes

This study segments tourism decision-making tasks into 17 categories. Wives were asked to assign a score to their level of involvement in each task. A marginal involvement in tasks related to the “financing aspects” of the trip was observed whereas involvement was high in tasks such as “shopping”, “selecting restaurants”, “collecting information”, and “preparing luggage”. Two hypotheses were tested: the socioeconomic characteristics of wives and trip characteristics have a positive effect on the level of involvement in the tourism decisions; and levels of task involvement are consistent for the 17 tasks (stability in tasks involvement). Marketing implications and recommendations for future research were also discussed.

Résumé

La participation des épouses aux décisions de voyages. Cette étude segmente les décisions et taches des voyages en dix-sept catégories. On a demandé aux épouses d'attribuer une valeur numérique selon leur niveau de participation dans chaquetâche. On a observé peu de participation aux “aspects financiers” tandis que la participation était élevée pour le “shopping”, le “choix des restaurants”, la “collecte d'information”, et la “préparation des bagages”. On a vérifié deux hypothèses: que les caractéristiques socio-économiques des épouses ainsi que certaines caractéristiques du voyage ont un effet positif sur la participation des épouses aux décisions du tourisme, et que les niveaux de participation pour les dix-sept tâches sont stables. On discute aussi des implications de marketing et des recommandations pour la recherche future.     

Integrated rural tourism:: Concepts and Practice

A model of integrated rural tourism, which took account of the various resources (cultural, social, environmental, economic), their use, and the role of pertinent stakeholders, was developed to explore effective methods of promoting tourism as part of a rural development strategy. “Strategic fit” was used to assess the effectiveness of the model in adding value locally in the context of an established tourism area in western Ireland. The model reveals considerable robustness in identifying features that promote the adding of value in a holistic way and in identifying the pertinent stakeholders and issues that require attention to meet objectives more effectively.     

Human resource managers’ perceptions of the applications and merit of the balanced scorecard in hotels

The extent to which performance measures that align with the “learning and growth” dimension of the balanced scorecard (BSC) are applied in the hotel industry has been examined by conducting interviews with 14 hotel human resource (HR) managers. Minimal appreciation of the BSC concept was in evidence. When an explanation of the BSC framework was provided, the interviewees unanimously held the view that the term “learning and growth” did not adequately encompass the HR oriented performance measures that they seek to apply. Further, it was found that most hotels were using a single measure of employee satisfaction to represent “learning and growth”, which does not enable examination of the five separate dimensions of “learning and growth” represented in the BSC model. These findings suggest a significant schism between BSC theory and the application of HR oriented measures in the hotel industry.     

Tourism dance performances authenticity and creativity

Despite shifts in scale and context, dance performance in tourism settings, unlike some other artistic expressions, remains “authentic” and creative. Possible explanations for this include the manner in which “authentic” and “creative” are defined, the unique properties of dance as expressive behavior, and the particular politico-economic situation of different settings. The data used for this study are cross-cultural, assessing Native American, Oceanic, Caribbean, and African studies of dance performance, primarily those collected during fieldwork in Haiti and Cuba. The analysis is interpretive, based on cultural framing and examination of dance behavior and its affect.     

A New Paradigm in Guiding: The Madrich as a Role Model

The “role model” guides encountered in the counselors of Israel Experience youth study tours, contrast traditional concepts of pathfinder and mentor. This model type is proposed as more appropriate for tours providing informal education and quest for identity. Not drawing authority from official recognition but from a personal guide–tourist relationship, madrichs rated characteristics essential to guides leading these trips. A multi-dimensional analysis uncovered the structure of these characteristics to create a structure of an “excellent” Israel Experience madrich. This structural analysis confirms an earlier typology and helps to uncover another kind of approach towards youth guiding.