Examination of Taiwan's travel and tourism market cycle through a two-period Markov regime-switching model

This study analyzes the Taiwan travel and tourism (T&T) market cycle. According to data of the weighted Taiwan tourism stock index from January 1997 to August 2015, the two-period Markov regime-switching model identifies two distinct regimes of the T&T cycle and incorporates a specific set of mean and variance parameters for each period to control for the structural changes in Taiwan's T&T market. The effect of China visitor arrivals to Taiwan on the T&T market is also verified. The empirical findings offer essential information and policy implications for Taiwan's government tourism policymakers and business managers.     

Indigenous tourism from a visitor's perspective: an empirical examination of Valene L. Smith's 4Hs at a Sámi festival in Norway

Over the past three decades, indigenous tourism has received a growing amount of attention from both the tourist market and tourism academics. The research conducted regarding indigenous people has often treated the subject from a conflict perspective. In this study, a symbiotic perspective is employed in that visitors' attractions built upon indigenous resources may positively contribute to indigenous hosts. Nevertheless, to do so is dependent upon acquiring an understanding of visitors' preferences in an indigenous tourism context. To empirically ascertain visitors' preferences, a framework proposed by Valene L. Smith has been adopted. This framework operationalises the indigenous tourism product as consisting of four primary components: habitat, handicrafts, heritage, and history. This study first identifies these four components, and then examines the magnitude of their effect on visitors' experiences and perceptions at a Sámi festival in Northern Norway. The findings indicate that habitat is clearly the most salient component of this particular indigenous event in that it positively influences the visitors' satisfaction with the festival, their willingness to recommend the festival to others, and their willingness to pay to attend the festival. Further details of the findings as well as the study's implications are also provided.     

Valuing Residents’ Perceptions of Sport Tourism Development in Taiwan's North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area

This study aimed to reveal local residents’ perceptions of the impacts of sport tourism development (STD) in Taiwan's North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area (NCGNSA) and estimated both the monetary values of STD's positive benefits and its negative impact costs to serve as references for Taiwan's government in developing sport tourism policies. Based on the theory of the triple bottom line, the contingent valuation method was employed to ask residents about what prices they were willing to pay to possess and develop the resources of sport tourism and then a Tobit regression was used to implement parameter estimation and value calculation. The results indicated that the estimated total positive benefits for STD in the NCGNSA were approximately US$87.47?million per year and its negative impact costs were approximately US$24.47?million per year.     

The influence of recreation experience and environmental attitude on the environmentally responsible behavior of community-based tourists in Taiwan

This study examines the relationships between recreation experience, environmental attitude, and the general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior of tourists at Taomi and Smangus in Taiwan. The first is an agriculturally based community and the second home to one of Taiwan's ethnic minorities. A total of 862 usable questionnaires (432 for Taomi and 430 for Smangus) were collected in this study. The empirical results indicate that recreation experience is positively and significantly related to environmental attitudes among tourists. Environmental attitudes are also positively and significantly related to general and site-specific tourist behaviors and mediate the relationship between recreation experience and environmentally responsible behavior. The paper contributes to the literature by examining the structural linear relationships between recreation experience, environmental attitudes, and environmentally responsible behavior. This study suggests that tourism destination providers should provide pro-environmental activities, ecotourism experiences, and interpretations of environmental issues to enhance tourists' environmental attitude and general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior, thereby potentially reducing the adverse environmental effect produced by tourists during daily life and at tourism destinations. Reducing the adverse environmental effect of tourism destinations will benefit the development of sustainable community-based tourism.     

培育节庆活动 营销西部旅游目的地

随着旅游业的发展，旅游目的地竞争越来越激烈，目的地形象的塑和推广成为竞争的重要手段。节庆活动既是目的地形象的载体，又是形象传播最有效的方式之一，对西部旅游目的地营销有着特殊重要的意义。西部旅游目的地要从实际出发，培育有西部特色的节庆活动，同时要注意以下问题：节庆活动规模和参与度；节庆活动的形式和内容；国际体育旅游活动的开发；提高服务水平。     

Festival attributes and perceptions: A meta-analysis of relationships with satisfaction and loyalty

Festivals provide economic, social and cultural benefits to the communities in which they occur, and contribute to event tourism and destination marketing. This research reports a meta-analysis of the festival literature to evaluate the factors that contribute to festival satisfaction and loyalty. Attributes were classified into six categories: activities, authenticity/uniqueness, concessions, environment, escape and socialization. The analysis revealed that festival activities (program, entertainment, thematic activities) and environment (atmosphere, convenience, facilities) are the most important determinants of satisfaction and loyalty. Two perceptions were evaluated: cost/value and service quality. The analysis revealed that cost/value is important for both satisfaction and loyalty, whereas service quality is relatively unimportant. Satisfaction with the festival is strongly related to loyalty. The findings suggest that festival planners should focus on providing an enjoyable program in a comfortable environment at a reasonable price. This strategy will cultivate repeat attendance and stimulate future visits to the festival destination.     

Promotional Strategies and Travelerss' Satisfaction During the Asian Financial Crisis

Abstract

This paper describes the marketing strategies of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in boosting tourism through segmentation of the special interest groups represented by tourists to Thailand after the implementation of the 'Amazing Thailand Years' campaigns. This study also evaluates the marketing promotion strategies of the 'Amazing Thailand Years' campaign in creating travelerss' satisfaction and intention to revisit and recommend Thailand to friends and relatives. A content analysis of collateral material including brochures and booklets about the 'Amazing Thailand Years' campaign and the Tourism Authority of Thailand's marketing plans from 1980 to 2000 was used in analyzing the promotional programs and the market segmentation. Observations of seminars sponsored by the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), Chulalongkorn University, and Prince of Songkla University about Thailand's tourism were conducted from 1997 to 1998. Unstructured interviews with staff of the Tourism Authority of Thailand were undertaken in 1998. Finally, a cross sectional survey was given to 590 randomly selected travelers who visited Thailand in 2000. It was found that the Tourism Authority of Thailand has effectively created travelers' satisfaction and intention to revisit Thailand with the use of the 'Amazing Thailand Years' campaign.     

旅游节庆节目编排质量的探索研究与实例验证

文章以游客体验、利益相关者关系和项目管理为理论支撑,归纳提出了旅游节庆活动节目编排质量的理论模型,并通过调查问卷结构方程模型分析对这一模型进行了实证检验。经修改后,该模型的正确性得到确认,其中,各变量之间的假设关系也都成立。该研究在一定程度上填补了目前对旅游节庆活动节目编排质量理论探讨的空白,并就在节庆活动的规划和组织实践中更好地做好节目编排工作提出了建议。     

Producing Extreme Metal festivals: An analysis from Lacan's gaze

By employing Lacan's theoretical framework of gaze, this study provides a narrative analysis to examine the managerial experiences of the producers for Extreme Metal festivals. Specifically, it explores meanings and struggles of tourism festival making that connects individual subjectivities and politics of culture production. As such, it offers a broad conceptual framework merging the Lacanian gaze into tourism research and MacCannell's theory. The findings reveal that festival producers are constantly dealing with various contested roles and voices, revealing in-depth psychological complexities situated within managerial experiences. Meanwhile, the process of festival management must be seen as significantly influenced by the mechanism of cultural offering that the producers attempt to assert and define through the festival space. Finally, implications related to the greater realms of psychoanalytic insights and their potential connections with tourism management are discussed.     

基于灰色关联的节事活动游客参与体验研究——以华侨城文化旅游节为例

企业节事活动作为一种特殊的文化旅游形式,对旅游市场具有显著的带动作用。文章以华侨城文化旅游节为例,从游客参与感知视角,测评华侨城文化旅游节的节事效应,探究企业节事活动中游客体验评价的具体表现。研究设计并构建了节事活动游客参与体验评价指标体系,然后应用灰色关联分析测度游客参与体验。研究结果显示:文化旅游节带来的效率价值、功能价值具有竞争优势,可进一步强化;基于认知价值的游客参与体验评价亟需提升。在之后组织节事活动的过程中,要进一步增强创新性和特色性。     

What Facilitates a Festival Tourist? Investigating Tourists’ Experiences at a Local Community Festival

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of festival attributes and tourism facilitators on tourist satisfaction. The results of this study show that festival attributes has a positive and significant effect on tourists' satisfaction. Data analysis also revealed a positive and a significant effect of intrapersonal facilitators and structural facilitators on tourists' satisfaction. However, interpersonal facilitators do not allow a significant impact on tourists' satisfaction in the festival context. One of the most important findings is that festival commercialization is the strongest predictor of tourists' satisfaction. Structural facilitators are regarded as of primary importance in determining the satisfaction of festival tourists. Future research is needed to investigate other important antecedents of tourists' satisfaction across other festivals or locations, and to identify the complex nature of festival tourists' satisfaction. Finally, a longitudinal approach will better elucidate the relationships between measurement variables and their antecedents.     

Historical and geographical context in festival tourism development

Festivals have increasingly become a significant tool for economic development through both tourism and the re-imaging and re-branding of cities and regions as modern cultural centers. To understand the issues and challenges of festival tourism events, it is important to know the historical and geographical context in which they occur. Conceptually, the historical context can be viewed through the degree to which an event has a vernacular indigenous origin or is newly created. The geographical context, on the other hand, reflects the degree to which a festival is defined by the place in which it occurs or is more global in its thematic orientation. A contextual framework for festival tourism that takes these two factors into account results in four types of festival events: Local Heritage Festivals, Local Contemporary Festivals, National Heritage Festivals, and Global Contemporary Festivals. These four festival types face issues related to their local identity, uniqueness, liminality, and authenticity. The contextual framework for festival tourism is applied to the current situation of rapid festival development in China, with recommendations that Chinese event managers need to focus more on historically and geographically meaningful themes developed in partnership with local populations if they want to ensure an event's long-term success.     

Festival Tourism: A Contributor to Sustainable Local Economic Development?

Towns, villages and cities are increasingly keen to share their culture, environment and spending opportunities with visitors by the promotion of festivals. The fact that income can be generated by such festivals is clear but the true value of visitor spend is more complex to calculate with accuracy. This paper considers the contribution of festival tourism to sustainable local economic development. A festival typology is created that broadly identifies three festival types termed 'home-grown', 'tourist-tempter' and 'big-bang'. Here three festivals matching the typology are analysed against the model of sustainable local economic development activity created by the environment charity Forum for the Future. Results suggest that although festivals may have the potential to provide opportunities for sustainable local economic development such opportunities frequently remain unexploited. Nevertheless, some festival scenarios do indicate a closer match to the model of sustainable local economic development activity than others. This paper analyses why this should be and suggests ways in which festival tourism's contribution to local economies might begin to be better understood, and consequently, improved.     

The Image of Taiwan as a Travel Destination: Perspectives from Mainland China

This study presents the perceived and projected image of Taiwan as a travel destination from perspectives from Mainland China. The perceived image of Taiwan was examined by interviewing 28 Mainland Chinese; the projected image of Taiwan was investigated by analyzing articles in China's most popular travel magazines. The different types of images of Taiwan among visitors, nonvisitors, and travel magazines were compared. The projected image changed notably after the opening of Taiwan's tourism to travelers from Mainland China. The results of this study could help destination marketing organizations to assess their marketing strategies for the Mainland Chinese travel market.     

Effect of Health and Wellness Values on Festival Visit Motivation

Understanding the motivation to visit particular tourist destinations and festivals is important for building effective tourism marketing strategies. This paper explores the effect of existing health and wellness values on the motivation to visit a festival using a field survey at the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival, a typical Australian festival which uses the natural environment, traditions and local produce to provide 21 events during the festival. The study focused on establishing the relationship between health and wellness values and festival attendees' motivation. Qualitative research with random sampling was selected to collect the data. The results revealed high levels of health and wellness values among the participants as well as social interaction, family togetherness, cultural exploration, novelty, natural environment, relaxation, previous food festival experience and food as motivations. Findings of this paper can contribute to festival tourism marketing especially to demonstrate that health-related interests can be significant catalysts for attracting festival attendees.     

The role of family decision makers in festival tourism

This study assessed the role of family decision makers in participating in a festival according to five stages of festival participation. A survey process was conducted using two sampling groups: the sample for families with children and the sample for families without children. According to the results of the study, a number of marketing implications were generated. For example, the husband was revealed to more actively join transportation-related activities including driving, deciding travel routes, automobile safety checks, and filling up with gasoline. The wife was a strong decision maker in selecting restaurants or menus in the festival tourism management process. Likewise, the role of the wife is very significant, from suggesting the festival participation at the first stage to determining a revisit to the festival at the last stage. However, the children or joint decision-making patterns were not distinctive as they are said to be in other tourism literature. Findings of the study are expected to offer valuable insights for all festival stakeholders including festival vendors, local government, local residents, and festival organizers.     

Memorable tourism experiences and their consequences: An interaction ritual (IR) theory approach

Tourism experiences, memories thereof, and their consequences tend to be analysed separately, often focusing on the individual's perspective. This paper introduces Collins' (2004) interaction ritual (IR) theory to develop a micro-sociological interpretation of these phenomena as interconnected elements of IR chains. A longitudinal qualitative study of a multi-cultural festival held in Italy, the Mondiali Antirazzisti (Anti-racist World Cup), is used to show how emotional experiences and patterns of collective action are reproduced by the returning attendees in their home communities through the trans-local appropriation of the event's format. Findings lead to a revised model of IR chains to explain the trans-local dimension of transformational event tourism. The implications for wider application of IR theory within tourism are discussed.     

Spiritual attitudes and visitor motivations at the Beltane Fire Festival,Edinburgh

Outside the peak season for tourism to Edinburgh, Scotland, during the evening of April 30th, visitors attend a festival with ancient Celtic overtones. Frequently, the evening is cold and windy. Our objectives are to: identify motivations for attending the festival; trial questionnaire items on spiritual attitude; and assess whether spirituality might be relevant in assessing visitor intentions. The method of investigation involved exploration and confirmation phases to test structures in distinct subsamples. Further, a strict approach was applied to identify factors that had theoretical value. Spirituality attitude is found to be a factor, as well as the motivations of cultural adventure and escape. Given the nature of the event, the time of year and composition of the audience, encouraging repeat visitation and using this to develop and manage Edinburgh's tourism strategy has potential. Recommendations are made to management.     

Is sustainable tourism an obstacle to the economic performance of the tourism industry? Evidence from an international empirical study

Sustainability has become an important strategic objective for tourism destinations worldwide. All analytical tourism competitiveness models make direct or indirect positive references to sustainability. It is accepted that sustainable tourism can reduce resource costs and help create market differentiation. Nevertheless, it has traditionally been considered that, short term, sustainability measures can reduce profitability and compromise competitiveness. Debates on the progress, implications, and practicality of sustainable tourism remain open. The relationship between economic sustainability, and environmental and sociocultural sustainability, is a central but largely unresearched area for tourism scholars, especially at the macro level. This study explores that difficult but essential area, using the World Economic Forum's empirical evidence from 128 countries, backed by the economic data search tool of the World Travel & Tourism Council. It demonstrates that progress in tourism sustainability does not affect a country's main economic tourism indicators in the short term, and does not constrain profitability and competitiveness. It also finds that sustainable tourism is not a luxury that only rich countries can afford, nor should it prevent development and perpetuate poverty in developing countries. An effective marketing and communication program about sustainable tourism is, however, found to be essential for economic success.     

Sustainability indicators for festival tourism: A multi-stakeholder perspective

To assist the assessment of sustainable festival tourism, this study develops sustainability indictors for festival tourism by including perspectives from four stakeholders: tourists, local residents, business owners, and government agencies. Using the Delphi technique, a panel of 15 tourism experts identified evaluation indicators from the literature. The experts reached consensus on 20 indicators: tourists (four indicators), local residents (four indicators), government agencies (six indicators), and business owners (six indicators). An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was conducted to calculate the relative weight of each indicator. Experts placed the greatest importance on tourists (0.4015) then on local residents (0.3275) followed by governmental agencies (0.1605) and business owners (0.1105) in order.