Urban vs. rural destinations: Residents’ perceptions,community participation and support for tourism development

This paper investigates and compares the effects of residents' perceptions of the impacts of tourism on community participation and support for tourism development across urban and rural world heritage sites (WHSs). Partial least squares – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), has been employed to perform the analysis. The results reveal significant differences between the effects of residents' perceptions and community participation on support for tourism development in urban and rural destinations. However, the findings did not support any differences between the effects of positive perceptions on community participation, and the indirect effects of negative perceptions on support for tourism development. This study makes a significant theoretical contribution to the urban and rural tourism and residents’ perceptions literature by comparing rural and urban WHSs residents. Furthermore, this study has a number of practical implications for the local authorities of rural and urban WHSs.     

Business characteristics and efficiency of rural tourism enterprises: an empirical study from China

The booming rural tourism (RT) has broadened ways for rural revitalization and poverty alleviation strategy in China. Rural tourism enterprises (RTEs), as the core operator and a hinge delivering its benefits to rural communities, play a critical role in the achievement of RT expectation on rural revitalization. To address the research gap in business characteristics and efficiency of RTEs, and make the theoretical contribution to rural business and tourism management, this study collected and analyzed the business data with investors or managers of 60 national-class RTEs in Jiangsu Province, north Yangtze River Delta of China. The results showed that business characteristics of RTEs varied with their property, business strategy, and rural industrial base. Flexible and sustainable business operation and comprehensive regional development have a profound influence on business efficiency that presented multi spatial disparity from inter-regional and intra-regional views, respectively. In addition, the political and practical implications on rural business and RTEs for research and practice were also discussed.     

Factors influencing social capital in rural tourism communities in South Korea

This study aimed to identify the factors influencing social capital as it affects community conflict management for community residents in rural tourism villages. An on-site survey consisting of self-administered questionnaires was conducted with residents of rural tourism communities. These self-administered surveys were obtained from 380 community residents in the study area. A factor-clustering method identified distinct segments: high social capital (52%) and low social capital (47.7%). The estimation of a binary logistic regression model determined the characteristics of community residents who were most likely to be associated with each type of social capital. Results indicated that fruit, vegetable and rice farmers who also operated farm-stay businesses and rural activity programmes for tourists had the most social. We suggest that certain types of government policy programmes are helpful for increasing social capital and managing community conflicts by means of involvement in the tourism business.     

A cross-cultural validation of the perceived destination restorative qualities scale: the Chinese perspective

Leisure travel entails a necessary tourist–environment exchange, understanding of which becomes critical when considering the role of tourism in providing rest and relaxation. The aim of this study was to understand the restorative functions of tourism destinations in the Chinese context. We attempted to confirm the cross-cultural stability of the measurement scale of perceived destination restorative qualities (PDRQ) and the relation to its nomological network including destination setting, overall sense of recovery, and satisfaction. The construct dimensionality was confirmed; however, contrary to the Western literature, the effects of destination restorativeness on recovery and satisfaction were more pronounced in urban rather than nature-based vacations for Chinese travelers.     

中国旅游电子商务发展中的一些问题与对策研究

旅游电子商务是旅游业发展的一个主要方向,是旅游业参与国际市场竞争的重要手段.由于我国旅游电子商务建设还处在起步阶段,信息服务和在线支付能力有限,网络营销还仅仅是一种时尚,消费者的培育、旅游电子商务环境的成熟和政策法规的建设等等都还是亟待在发展中解决的问题.这就迫切需要营造一个有利于旅游电子商务健康发展的大环境,以赶上信息时代的大潮.旅游企业与旅游网站应借鉴国外的先进管理方式,积极探索适合我国国情的旅游电子商务的现代经营方式与科学管理方法.     

Sustainable urban tourism success factors and the economic performance of small tourism enterprises

The aim of this study is to introduce the relationship between sustainable urban tourism success factors and the economic performance of small tourism enterprises (STEs). The related data was obtained from 330 STEs business owners/managers in Eskisehir (Turkey). To determine the dimensions Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed and Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used for verifying these dimensions. Structural Equation Modelling was applied in order to introduce the relation which is foreseen. As a result of the analysis, seven dimensions of urban tourism success factors and two dimensions of the economic performance of STEs have been determined and a significant relation was found between them. These findings provide an insight to literature and new directions and suggestions for local governments, regional marketing organizations and business managers on how tourism development and sustainability can be achieved in urban areas.     

Reliving self-presentational concerns in rural tourism

Tourists are known to behave differently from their home environment, a phenomenon that has been well interpreted by sociologists in early conceptual works. By investigating tourists’ self-presentational concerns, this study attempts to provide a psychological explanation of this phenomenon, as well as empirical evidence to test it in the context of rural tourism. Through a mixed-design questionnaire survey, the study shows that destination environment may function as the back stage for tourists to do away with the social constraints at home and relieve their daily self-presentational concerns. Specifically, rural destinations perform better than urban destinations in reducing urban residents’ self-presentational concerns but this advantage becomes weaker as tourists stay longer at the destinations.     

乡村旅游发展中的城乡要素流动过程与机制

乡村旅游是促进城乡市场连接的途径之一。厘清乡村旅游发展带来的城乡要素流动过程及其机制,既是乡村旅游衔接乡村振兴战略、推动城乡融合发展的重要议题,也是促进乡村旅游高质量发展的题中之义。本文遵循“过程—特征—机制”的研究思路,分析乡村旅游发展的城乡流动要素类型,总结要素流动过程中的规律与特征,进而阐释要素流动机制。研究表明：乡村旅游带来的要素流动,既涵盖了人、资金、物资等基础要素,也涵盖了生态、文化等核心要素及技术、信息等创新要素。在乡村旅游的萌芽和启动、设计和建设以及运营和转型等发展阶段中,城乡之间的流动要素类型不断增加,要素流向从单向逐步转变为双向,生态和文化是关键要素类型。“需求牵引—价值耦合—市场推动—政策促进”是乡村旅游发展的要素流动机制,合理的流动能促进城乡要素互动以及乡村要素价值增值、类型增多、数量增长,进而推动乡村振兴和城乡融合发展。     

Characteristics and goals of family and owner-operated businesses in the rural tourism and hospitality sectors

This research examines goals pertaining to start-up, operations, the family, and ultimate disposition of the enterprise by family and owner-operated businesses in the rural tourism and hospitality sectors. The sample is from a survey in rural Western Australia. A large majority of respondents were from middle-aged couples, new to the business, with strong motivation to live and work in the countryside. Lifestyle and family-related goals were predominant, but there was also recognition that the business had to be profitable. Most respondents were uncertain about the ultimate disposition of their business; only about one-third had definite succession plans to involve children or other family members. Implications are drawn for business and destination development.     

Marketing decisions,customer reviews,and business performance: The use of the Toprural website by Spanish rural lodging establishments

Modern travelers often rely on reviews provided by other consumers online, or electronic word of mouth (eWOM), to choose their accommodations. This study considers the effects of marketing decisions by rural lodging establishment owners (i.e., price and advertising expenditures) on eWOM (i.e., ratings and number of reviews), as well as the effects of eWOM on business performance. The results rely on marketing data and customer reviews obtained from a leading rural tourism infomediary website, related to 202 Spanish rural lodging establishments. A complementary survey also provided information about the lodging establishments' performance. The study thus reveals that price and advertising expenditures affect eWOM; in turn, eWOM affects business performance. Moreover, owners' experience with the infomediary slightly moderates the link between eWOM and performance.     

Successful managerial behaviour for farm-based tourism: A functional approach

Despite the overall growth of rural tourism, not all have benefited equally. This study reports research designed to improve managerial performance in the rural tourism sector in Korea. Six areas are identified as being important: product/service development, business planning and evaluation, promotions, human resource management, networking, and cost reduction. It was found managers in farm-based tourism have primarily concentrated on product/service development, human resource management, and cost reduction. Of these areas, only product/service development and promotions have exhibited a statistically significant effect on real profits and on positive subjective evaluations of financial results. Based on these results, this study suggests that continuous investment in product/service development and promotions should have positive effects on operations and result in increased competitiveness and viability in the Korean farm tourism sector.     

Residents' Perceptions of the Impact of Cultural Tourism on Urban Development: The Case of Gwangju,Korea

Cultural tourism constitutes an alternative strategy of sustainable urban development for improving quality of life. The main objective of this type of tourism is to transform regions characterized by cultural resources into ideal places for vacation, residence or business. In this study residents' perceptions of cultural tourism were examined in a case study of Gwangju, Korea. It was found that the majority of the respondents were aware of the importance of cultural tourism and that they argued that it could contribute to urban development. The findings also suggest that there is a strong relationship between the respondents' characteristics and their perceptions of the impact of cultural tourism on urban development.     

Sustainable tourism: development,decline and de-growth. Management issues from the Isle of Man

The concept of sustainable tourism emerged as a reaction to the impacts of tourism development. This paper shows the relevance of sustainable tourism to tourism decline and the rising interest in de-growth. Mixed-methods research in the Isle of Man, UK, was carried out by analysing 355 postal questionnaires sent to randomly selected island households, and conducting 32 in-depth personal interviews. The research revealed a series of negative environmental and social consequences of tourism decline in a small island. Such consequences are found to occur despite successful local diversification into other industries, notably offshore finance. Consequences of decline are revealed as tangible, e.g. facilities closure, and as less tangible, e.g. a sense of rejection by off-islanders, and have led to an increasing sense amongst residents of isolation and loss of local attractiveness. Results suggest tourism decline, de-growth and economic replacement require sustainable management in order to facilitate change. Measures such as urban and rural landscape protection, may reduce adverse effects of decline. A re-assessment of the application of the principles of sustainable tourism in the context of decline, rather than development, is needed.     

‘What’s the Story in Balamory?’: The Impacts of a Children’s TV Programme on Small Tourism Enterprises on the Isle of Mull,Scotland

Film- and television-induced tourism effects have been witnessed in a number of locations world-wide, creating a range of positive and negative impacts for host communities and environments. The children’s television programme Balamory, filmed on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, has created a new tourism phenomenon for the island, leading to concern that Mull’s reputation as a green destination for the discerning might be displaced by a less desirable form of tourism. Through a questionnaire survey of tourism businesses on Mull, this paper explores the perceptions of television-induced tourism and the effect of Balamory on business activity during the 2003 season, exploring customer numbers, spending, turnover and profitability, along with attitudes to the new visitors. The research also explores the implications for sustainable tourism development, particularly recognising the limited life-span of film- and television-induced tourism and issues relating to displacement of traditional markets, with an emphasis on sustaining tourism as a means of generating revenue to support a rural island community.     

城市商务旅游竞争力:评价体系及方法的创新研究

目前,商务旅游竞争力的研究相对较少,而已有的旅游竞争力评价体系研究方法又存在亟须改进之处。为此,本文创新性地通过专家访谈及商务游客调查确定城市商务旅游特征,并以商务游客认知趋势这一客观信息为基础,借助因子分析法构建了城市商务旅游竞争力评价的量化模型。随后,以香港、澳门、上海、广州4个城市的商务旅游竞争力为例,对该模型的普适性及准确性进行了检验。通过检验得知,该评价体系的构建过程体现了一定的客观性,在具体使用方面拥有较高的准确性及可行性,具有较好的应用价值。由于本研究的抽样调查仅在澳门进行,如能在更广泛的区域内对商务旅客取样,则所构建的评价指标体系会更为完善。     

国内乡村旅游研究:蓬勃发展而有待深入

从现有的研究资料看，我国目前的乡村旅游研究主要集中在以下五个方面：乡村旅游概念；乡村旅游开发意义、条件和模式；乡村旅游规划与设计；乡村旅游存在问题和发展策略；国外和台湾乡村旅游发展的经验借鉴。虽然我国乡村旅游研究近年来发展迅速，也取得了不少有价值的研究成果，但整体上研究水平不高，许多方面都有待深入。     

乡村旅游利益主体研究--以成都市三圣乡红砂村观光旅游为例

乡村旅游的兴起和发展,对我国改变农村二元结构,推动城乡一体化战略产生了积极的推动作用.但是,我们应当注意到,乡村旅游的利益主体复杂,随着乡村旅游数量和规模的不断发展,不同利益主体之间的矛盾也日渐显现.因此,只有从战略的眼光审视、规划和管理乡村旅游,加强利益主体的协调与合作,寻求利益主体更多、更广泛的利益共同点,走旅游可持续发展的道路,我国乡村旅游才可能深入持久发展,城乡一体化、构建和谐社会的战略目标才能实现.     

Mediating urban transition through rural tourism

This study examines China’s urban–rural transition in the process of development and change. Regarding tourism as a discourse of difference, it focuses on a rural ethnic community, Jiabang, in Southwest China. It aims to highlight the role of tourism in providing a stimulus for the creation of a local group identity that subverts wider discourses of rural areas. With the goal of understanding how toured places are imagined, presented and consumed, this study utilises mixed data sources collected from tourism promotional materials and ethnographic fieldwork. The findings suggest that the forces behind the touristic place creation and consumption are both integral to and the result of the changing attitudes and perceptions of people and places in contemporary China.     

Heritage Tourism in Rural Areas: Challenges for Improving Socio-economic Impacts

Many developing countries seek to utilize cultural heritage sites as resources for socio-economic development through heritage tourism. When rural area is the context of heritage tourism, effort is needed to establish linkages between tourism and the local economy by addressing the following issues: lack of skilled human resources, capital, access to credits, and other assistance; leakages; and dominance of urban players. This paper examines the impacts of heritage tourism on rural livelihoods using Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia, as the case study. Further, it proposes rural industry promotion as one of the ways to establishing better linkages to tourism.     

Female empowerment and tourism: a focus on businesses in a Fijian village

Women’s participation in business is gaining momentum amongst communities in the South Pacific, yet very few studies have explored this area in the context of tourism in Fiji. Based on ethnographic research, this study focuses on the gender dimension of community-based tourism development in Vatuolalai village, along with the Coral Coast of Fiji. In particular, this study seeks to extend our understanding of the links between female empowerment, tourism and business in this indigenous Fijian community. The paper discusses how indigenous Fijian women, through their involvement in tourism, have adapted to becoming successful business operators and influential drivers of socio-political change affecting established gender relations within an indigenous Fijian setting. Therefore, the current study argues that through tourism-based entrepreneurship, local women have attained not only economic but also psychological, social and political empowerment. Given the literature, this is not a mainstream result, particularly in patriarchal and embedded indigenous communities.