Present whilst absent: Home and the business tourist gaze

This paper reflects on business travel as a contemporary form of mobility and how it relates to family life. Through qualitative research with business travellers, insights are gained into the role digital technology plays in enabling connections to home and family. The paper argues that technology affords a ‘business tourist gaze’, characterised by a focus on ‘home’ rather than ‘away’ as might be the case for leisure tourists. The paper discusses how, through the business tourist gaze, the boundaries between the everyday and the exotic are dissolved and the business traveller is disconnected from the destination, simultaneously absent whilst present both at the destination and at home. Theoretical understandings of the business tourist experience are offered.     

“If I was going to die I should at least be having fun”: Travel blogs,meaning and tourist experience

Travel blogs are an under-utilised resource for researchers of tourism experiences. They can provide rich insights on how tourists express the transformational effects of their experiences for the self. This study of travel blogs by nineteen British bloggers reveals how elements of the narrative relating to self-reflection and emotions are central to the process of transforming their travel experiences into personally meaningful experiences. Bloggers implicitly and explicitly express how travel contributes to self-identity, signalling self-development. The study contributes to knowledge about the lasting impact of long term travel on people, adding meaning symbolic of an evolving self.     

海岛旅游研究新进展对海南国际旅游岛建设的启示

我国海岛旅游已有良好的发展态势,相关研究文献也日益丰富,但海岛旅游研究尚未形成一个比较完整的体系。以国务院44号文件为标志,海南国际旅游岛建设已成为国家发展战略,但关于海南国际旅游岛建设的理论研究在很多方面尚需深入分析。文章通过分析国内外海岛旅游研究新进展,来探讨对海南国际旅游岛建设理论研究和实际工作的启示。     

A Logistic Regression Analysis of Discount Receiving Behavior in the Cruise Industry

Abstract

This exploratory study analyzed the relationships between a number of selected demographic and trip-related variables and cruise vacationers' discount receiving behavior. Cruise vacationers' discount usage was measured as a dichotomous variable (i.e., discount received-discount not received), and hence logistic regression was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Among the ten independent variables, three variables, namely age, prior experience with cruise vacations, and gender were significant predictors of discount usage. Our study results indicate that younger female vacationers are more likely to use discounts compared to older male vacationers. Furthermore, experienced cruise vacationers seem more prone to taking advantage of discount prices than novice cruise vacationers. Findings of this study suggest that cruise marketers might want to focus on younger, experienced female cruise vacationers in their promotional efforts.     

Tourists’ digital footprint: The spatial patterns of tourist flows in Qingdao,China

Spatial patterns of tourist flows represent the movement of tourists and show differences in tourism resources giving advice for promoting balanced and sustainable tourism development. This paper proposes a novel framework for analyzing these patterns based on tourists' digital footprint data collected from online travel diaries. Based on illustrative case study data from Qingdao (China), the framework, combining traditional quantitative and social network analysis, is able to pinpoint: (1) The influence of distance decay and attractions’ popularity on the spatial patterns of tourist flows; (2) The uneven distribution of the core tourist nodes and the existence of the structural hole phenomenon, which form a network pattern with unbalanced power and intense internal competition; (3) The formation of the core area for tourism along the coastline – as is typical for coastal tourism cities. This difference of tourism resources between coastal and inland areas, thus, remains a challenge for future tourism development in Qingdao.     

Marketing Australia overseas—a corporate perspective

The Australian Tourist Commission promotes international tourism to Australia. It undertakes a range of marketing activities including advertising, public relations and tourist trade promotions. It does not sell travel. The tourist industry in Australia contributes 6% to Gross Domestic Product and employment. International tourism in Australia accounts for around 15% of all tourism. Australia is divided into eight states and territories all of which promote tourism within the country and also undertake offshore promotions with the Australian Tourist Commission. The strategy of the Commission for the next 3 years includes an emphasis on conventions and incentives, market research, quality promotions and special interest travel across a broad range of markets.     

A travel demand model for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong

The purpose of the study was to determine what exogenous variables best explained the travel demand for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong. The 12 years (1984–1995) annual time series data of ‘number of Mainland Chinese tourist arrivals’, ‘China disposable income per capita’, ‘consumer price indices in Hong Kong and China’ and ‘exchange rates’ was used to develop a travel demand model. Seven exogenous variables were selected for the model through a literature review. An OLS multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the ‘best’ subset of seven exogenous variables to determine the demand model. The results showed that travel demand for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong could be explained by ‘disposable income per capita’ and ‘relaxation of visa requirements’.     

“Just Trying to Keep the Customer Satisfied”

SUMMARY

The paper compares the predictive validity of six models used in the measurement of satisfaction; it is concerned with their application at destination level, with particular reference to Orlando, Florida. Using factor analysis and multiple regression, the ‘performance only’ model was clearly identified as the best predictor of satisfaction. The incorporation of ‘importance’ and ‘performance’ ratings did not improve the predictive power of the ‘performance only’ solution. From tourists' ‘performance’ ratings, five ‘dimensions’ of Orlando's tourism offering were identified: ‘primary,’ ‘secondary’ and ‘tertiary’ attractions, ‘facilitators’ and ‘transport plus.’ Notwithstanding Orlando's reputation as the world's theme park capital, Orlando's ‘secondary’ attractions (such as shopping and dining opportunities) and ‘facilitators’ (such as accommodation and customer service) were identified as having the most influence on overall tourist satisfaction with Orlando.     

The influence of travel photo editing on tourists’ experiences

Photo editing has become a prevalent practice when people share their travel photos on social media. This study examines this understudied phenomenon by exploring travelers' photo-editing behavior and its impact on tourists' destination experiences. Three pilot interviews and 23 in-depth interviews were conducted using photo-elicitation. The results show that photo editing does not necessarily alter the objective part of the trip memories, but rather reminds tourists of more positive than negative memories. Compliments from the social media audience on the edited photos improve tourists' overall recall of their destination experiences and further enhance their reflection on these experiences. The findings also enrich the understanding of the hermeneutic circle of representation in tourists’ photo editing behavior.     

杭州旅游企业家(经理人)队伍现状研究

创建旅游经济强市(省、区、县)的关键要素之一是培育一批旅游企业家队伍。该文对杭州市的旅游企业家进行了问卷调查,分析了杭州市旅游企业家、旅游经理人队伍的现状,评述了杭州旅游行业的创业环境。     

Dimentions of tourist satisfaction with a destination area

Pizam, Abraham, Yoram Neumann, and Arie Reichel.. “Dimensions of Tourist Satisfaction with a Destination Area,” Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. V, No. 3, July/September 1978, pp. 314–322. This paper empirically identifies eight factors of tourist satisfaction with Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA) as a tourist destination area; and it suggests the means to measure them. By using a factor-analytic approach based on data obtained from a survey of 685 vacationing tourist, the following factors of tourist satisfaction were derived: beach oppurtunities, cost, hospitality, eating and drinking facilities, accommodation facilities, environment, and extent of commercialization.