The green globe programme: Developing a greener future for travel and tourism

This paper examines the concept of sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand and its relationship to the Resource Management Act. The paper considers the public sector planning responses towards tourism development issues within the context of New Zealand's Resource Management Act, and the ability of these organisations to respond to tourism issues. It argues that the absence of a national vision for tourism is a major constraint on achieving sustainable tourism options at the regional and local level because the Resource Management Act s principles of sustainable planning are not guided by any national policy or strategy. By using a postal questionnaire, the paper provides the first in-depth analysis of planners responses to tourism and their ability to integrate tourism into the planning process within New Zealand. The paper also expands the arguments initially developed by Dredge &; Moore (1992) on the lack of integration in relation to tourism and planning.     

Airport Niche Marketing

Abstract

Airport marketing is a relatively new strategy employed by airports to try to attract business. A number of different strategies are employed by airports in an attempt to lure airlines to serve their airport. This paper concentrates on the particular strategy taken by Sanford, Florida in attracting international service and the resulting growth this particular strategy afforded the airport and the community it serves. By examining enplanement numbers between 1995-2001 and comparing the growth at Sanford International Airport with that of nearby Orlando International Airport allows for analysis of the marketing strategy. Four shared markets in the United Kingdom are analyzed to discover market-by-market effects of this strategy. What is found is that the airport specialized niche is attracting international charter carriers, especially those from the British Isles.     

从服务质量及机票价格比较传统和廉价航空的优势——以澳门国际机场为例

廉价航空近年成为一种重要的旅游交通方式。本文通过问卷调查和统计分析,检验抵达澳门国际机场的飞机乘客如何对比传统和廉价航空在服务质量、票价及再次和推荐他人搭乘的意向,从而比较两者的优势。同时也检验服务质量及票价是否影响再次和推荐他人搭乘。结果发现,传统航空只在部分类别的服务质量有优势,廉价航空则在机票价格及推荐他人搭乘具有优势。另外,两种航空各有不同的服务质量类别影响再次和推荐他人搭乘。在此基础上,本文分别为两者提出改进建议。     

Travel Agents and Their Survival Thomas

Abstract

The travel agency industry depends upon commissions for a majority of its revenue. When these commissions decrease or stop the industry must change the means in which revenue is made. The Internet has caused a significant reduction in airline ticket sales and therefore has caused travel agencies to change. In addition travel agencies have reduced commissions paid to airlines thus causing more changes. There were four categories of travel agencies discussed in the article along with their adaptation styles. These types include (1) the independent operator of a small travel agency with very limited resources (2) the normal agency with 2 or 3 agents which does a substantial business (3) the larger agency that is high-tech and high touch and depends on automation and the Web to some extent (innovators) (4) agencies that are Web based with very little automation otherwise and who were technologically adaptable and saw opportunity in the Web. The study examines how agencies have adapted and prospered through this transitional period.     

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.     

Consumer Perceptions and Behavior

Abstract

The primary objective of this article is to highlight the importance of consumer perceptions in strategic airline alliance settings. Previous research on strategic alliances, both in the service and manufacturing sector, has mainly focused on issues relating to the organization. Consumer perceptions have generally been ignored-in view of the pivotal role of the consumer in service settings a surprising neglect. The paper focuses on the airline industry, an industry with a high service element, to illustrate how positive results eventuating for partners in a strategic alliance may cover slow shifts in consumer attitudes, and behavior. If not carefully monitored, these shifts may adversely affect performance measures of individual alliance partners in the long-term.     

Investigating the Effectiveness of Repositioning Strategies: The Customers’ Perspective

An effective repositioning means the target customers have developed a positive and favorable perception of the altered product offerings and satisfied with service delivery. Passengers of an Australian carrier were surveyed to determine whether its repositioning strategies have been effective. The findings reveal that passengers define product characteristics differently from industry and academia, resulting in a knowledge discrepancy, which in turn has a significant impact on the formulation of positive and favorable perception and satisfaction. We suggest an effective repositioning lies in managing consumers' knowledge strategically to minimize the knowledge gap.     

Relational content of travel and tourism websites

Developments in information technologies are having a far-reaching impact on the travel and tourism industry. This paper analyses the use of the internet as a relational tool for travel and tourism companies providing air travel and rent-a-car services. The empirical research results show the role the internet plays in increasing sales and how companies use different relational tools to gain consumer trust and commitment.     

Environmental Reporting of Airlines in the Asia Pacific Region

This study investigates environmental reporting in the Asia Pacific airline sector. The findings indicate that only five airlines (all in four developed countries in the region) have published standalone environmental reports. The environmental reports of those five airlines were examined, using the assessment model developed by Adams (1998). Fifteen elements from Adams’ framework plus one additional element were employed to analyse the content of the reports. At least 69% of the 16 elements were mentioned in the reports. Comparisons of environmental policy statements and environmental management systems used by the airlines were also made.     

Initially Testing an Improved Extrapolative Hotel Room Occupancy Rate Forecasting Technique

SUMMARY

The existing time series forecasting models either capture the informationof the last few data in the data series or the entire data series is used for projecting future values. In other words, the time series forecasting models are unable to take advantage of the last trend in the data series, which always have a direct influence on the estimated values. This paper proposes an improved extrapolative time series forecasting technique to compute future hotel occupancy rates. The performance of this new technique was tested with officially published room occupancy rates in Hong Kong. Forecasted room occupancy rates were compared with actual room occupancy rates in several accuracy performance dimensions. Empirical results indicate that the new technique is promising with reasonably good forecasting results.