VFR travel: It is underestimated

Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel is a substantial form of tourism worldwide. In Australia, official data measure VFR in one of two ways - purpose of visit or type of accommodation. However, this is only a measurement of those factors; it is not a measure of the size by volume of VFR travel. Yet tourism practitioners often mistakenly use these data to state the size of VFR travel in their destination. Based on quantitative research undertaken in three contrasting destinations in Australia, estimates for the size of VFR travel in those destinations is provided. These results highlight that using official data for measuring VFR travel will underestimate this segment in any Australian destination. Using the VFR definitional model as a conceptual model, this research has estimated that VFR travel represents 48% of Australia’s total overnight tourism market.     

旅游专业本科生择业标准及其对旅行社的就业认知

旅游专业学生在本行业就业率低的问题一直困扰着旅游学术界、教育界和旅游行业,不少学者从不同角度研究并试图解决这一问题,但却很少从学生择业标准的角度去考虑.文章运用并检验里查得森(Richardson)择业影响因素量表,测量旅游专业本科生的择业标准及其对旅行社的就业认知,结果表明:学生认为旅行社不具备其择业时最看重的因素(“融洽的同事关系”、“喜欢的工作”、“良好的晋升机会”);并且学生认为旅行社具备的主要就业因素是其择业时最不看重的(“出国旅行的机会”、“专业对口”、“职业流动性”);学生认为旅行社存在超工作时间、超工作量、晋升机制不合理、起薪不理想等行业不规范现状,但学生也认为旅行社具有锻造高技能、有责任感人才的就业优势.根据学生择业标准与旅行社的就业认知IPA分析结果,文章提出了相应的对策来改善旅游本科生行业就业率低的问题.     

Visiting friends or relatives?

Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) contributes significantly to tourism activity and revenues, accounting for about 48 percent of domestic travel in Australia. Implicit in most discussions of VFR travel is that it represents one homogeneous market. This paper examines this assumption and demonstrates – based on data from 67,024 domestic and international tourists to Australia – that this is not the case. The profile of people visiting friends (VFs) differs significantly from that of people visiting relatives (VRs). This finding has major implications for tourism marketing which need to target VFs or VRs in distinctly different ways, rather than generically marketing to VFR travellers.     

Transnational migrant home visits as identity practice: The case of African migrants in South Africa

Focussing on the temporary journeys of transnational migrants in South Africa to their home countries on the continent, this paper explores the motivations, subjective experiences and perceived significance of these home visits for the migrants’ sense of identity and belonging. Based on a qualitative interpretive research approach, the study finds that memories and comparisons invariably underpin the experience of the home country, the encounter with the home and engagement with social relations. This induces new insights and sometimes ‘small epiphanies’ (Pearce, 2012), which can lead to self-reflection, self-transformative experiences and shifts in consciousness, affecting the migrant’s sense of belonging.     

Propensity to Shop: Identifying Who Shops Til They Drop

Tourist shopping expenditure is a vital ingredient which contributes significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation. Past research has stressed the importance of specific demographic variables related to shopping behavior; however, it has not included interactions between or configurations among demographic variables, shopping related psychographics, and shopping destinations. This study seeks to address that gap. The data was collected from a large representative sample of 26,686 Australian domestic short-stay visitors. Binary logistic regression found that demographic variables and their specific interactions were significantly related to tourist shopping behaviors as well as psychographics, trip motivation, and their shopping destination propensity, when tested simultaneously. The findings assist destination marketing managers to identify and target specific domestic short-stay tourist shoppers.     

北京市民反向旅游现象研究

越是城里人越喜欢到乡下旅游,越是文化人越对自然风光一往情深,旅游也遵循利益极大化规律.文章以反向旅游理论为指导,以北京市民调查结果为依据,系统论证了"城→乡"、"文化→自然"反向旅游现象的普遍性,考察了不同群体之间的细微差别.反向旅游普遍存在,但年龄较大、心理保守的人,反向旅游意向不如年轻、心理开放的人强烈.影响人们旅游意向的因素是多方面的,除了追求新奇以外,还要考虑经济、交通等因素.掌握反向旅游规律可以有效避免旅游景区建设的很多误区,如景区现代化、接待设施家庭化等.     

我国旅游保险业发展探析

本文在分析旅游保险特点及其根源的基础上,结合我国旅游业发展的实际得出了如下结论:①法定保险商业经营导致了我国的旅游保险不保险;②旅行社无法承担旅游保险销售的重任;③利益问题使我国的旅游保险陷入了困境;④旅游保险产品与服务体系亟需建立.同时认为,我国旅游保险业的健康持续发展,其根本措施在于旅游保险体系的创新.     

旅行社与汽车俱乐部经营自驾车旅游的比较研究

在国内自驾车旅游快速发展的今天,旅行社和汽车俱乐部作为该领域中两大类主要经营实体,在组织自驾车旅游时,凭借着各自的优势正在发挥着越来越大的作用.但是,由于它们所属行业特点等原因,二者在许多方面尚存在问题.本文从不同角度,将旅行社与汽车俱乐部所经营的自驾车旅游进行了比较研究,因此对相关企业、行业乃至政府相关部门的决策都是十分有意义的.     

Restaurant servers’ perceptions of customer tipping intentions

Customer reactions to service encounters have been studied with surprisingly little emphasis on how servers’ perceive customers. If tips are an incentive to reward service then beliefs about consumers’ tipping habits may impact service delivery. An extensive survey of restaurant servers revealed that regular patrons and males were thought to be the best tippers; teenagers the worst. Females perceived males, African-Americans and foreign customers to be better tippers than did males; self reported tip income for males was greater than for females. Server ethnicity was not a factor. Systematic monitoring of these server perceptions may ensure more homogeneous service delivery.     

Beyond Adoption of Travel Technology: Its Application to Unplanned Travel Behaviors

The ultimate goal of information distribution for a destination marketer is to stimulate travelers to make a purchase decision. Today, travel information can be obtained by travel technology, which enables travelers to exploit on-the-move information. Navigation services for travel technology are being more broadly used across the globe by providing a wide range of en route information. This study evaluates the effects of travel information disseminated by navigation services on unplanned behaviors during trips. The results of the study illustrate that travelers who use navigation during trips are more likely to be involved in unplanned activities and, hence, will have an increase in unplanned travel expenditures. Destination marketers can partner with travel technology providers to encourage better travel experiences for tourists and generate more travel revenues for the tourism industry.