Important attributes of lodgings to gain repeat business: A comparison between individual travels and group travels

The purpose of this study is to investigate the attributes of the satisfaction that are related to the lodging-guests’ tendency to revisit the lodgings and to compare these attributes among the different travel styles, such as individual travel, travel with friends or as a couple, and travel with family. We examine 6351 guest evaluations from a highly popular travel reservations website. Multinomial logistic regression analyses are performed and they show that the important attributes for lodgings to gain repeat business vary among their guest's travel styles.     

Predicting Intended and Actual Travel Behaviors: An Examination of Chinese Outbound Tourists to Australia

This exploratory study examines the predictive power of psychographic and demographic variables on intended and actual travel behaviors. A pre-tour and after-tour survey on the intended and actual travel behaviors of 397 Chinese ¹ 1. For the specific purposes of this research, “China” refers to Mainland China, excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan due to their historical background. Hence, Chinese tourists refer to tourists from Mainland China. View all notes outbound tourists to Australia was conducted. Four of the five intended travel behaviors (Sightseeing, Culture and Heritage Activity, Shopping and Dining, and Entertainment) and three of the five actual travel behaviors (Sightseeing, Culture and Heritage Activity, and Entertainment) proved to be statistically significant with a combination of psychographic and demographic contributors. The results of this study are discussed and the market implications indicated.     

The repeat travel market for Taiwan: A multi-stage segmentation approach

Despite the importance of market segmentation, the growth of the travel and tourism industry in Taiwan, and the repeat travel phenomenon in tourism, relatively few studies have examined the behavior of repeat travelers in the East Asia region. The present study was designed to fill this gap. This exploratory study applied multistage segmentation in the context of repeat travel behavior to Taiwan. It examined the socio-demographic profile, trip characteristics and expenditures of Taiwan inbound repeat travelers. The results indicated that nationality, income, type of travel arrangements and information search behavior significantly affected repeat travel behavior. In terms of travel expenditures, males spent significantly more than females. Those travelers between 40 and 60 years old tended to spend the most when they visited Taiwan compared to other groups. Chinese travelers were most likely to have traveled to Taiwan more than once among all nationalities compared in this study. Those from Korea and Japan spent the most money among all nationality groups. This study provided several significant implications for the marketers of tourism in Taiwan.     

International Students in Asia: Travel Behaviors and Destination Perceptions

This study investigates the incidence of international student travel in Taiwan. It was found that Chinese, Asian and other international students behave somewhat differently from respondents in prior studies conducted in Western settings. Cultural background influenced the travel behaviors of international students as well as their perceptions of Taiwan as a tourism destination. The visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market induced by Asian respondents offers greater tourism-related potential than the travel activity that students themselves undertake. The contrary was found for non-Asian students where the student-induced VFR market is small and prospectively less attractive than the student market. The Chinese international student travel market and induced VFR market showed less potential than anticipated, perhaps because of the embryonic stage of diplomatic and commercial relations between Taiwan and mainland China.     

Urban air pollution in China: destination image and risk perceptions

Inbound tourist arrivals into China have been declining in recent years, possibly in response to increasing levels of urban air pollution. To examine Westerners’ contemporary views on China as a travel destination, with a particular focus on air pollution, this research surveyed 600 US and Australian residents. An online panel survey collected data on cognitive and affective destination image, cognitive and affective risk perceptions, intention to visit China and key demographic variables. The findings show that, while China's cognitive image attributes were perceived positively, potential travellers expressed negative views about travel risks in China in general and about air quality in particular. Importantly, feelings towards the risk of air quality had a significant negative impact on destination image as well as intention to visit China. The research contributes to theory by highlighting the importance of considering affective risk perceptions in destination image studies. While some market segments seemed less sensitive to air pollution than others, this paper concludes that unless China proactively addresses the problem of air pollution, for example by seeking to stimulate positive feelings, international arrivals may continue to be compromised.     

Consumer behaviour and demand response of tourists to climate change

The influence of climate change on tourism demand patterns will be shaped by the response of tourists to the complexity of mitigation policy and its impacts on transportation systems, the wide range of climate change impacts on destinations, as well as broader impacts on society and economic development. Tourists have the largest adaptive capacity of elements within the tourism system because of their flexibility to substitute the place, timing and type of holiday, even at very short notice. Consequently, understanding tourist perceptions and reactions to the impacts of climate change is essential to anticipating the potential geographic and seasonal shifts in tourism demand, as well as the decline or increase of specific tourism markets. Yet, despite a wide range of publications assessing reactions of tourists to various environmental and climate-related changes, little is actually known about the complexity of demand responses. The paper reviews and discusses existing studies, and provides a framework for a better understanding of perceptions of change, as well as identifying major current uncertainties and research needs.     

Drivers of community participation in heritage tourism planning: an empirical investigation

Despite increased emphasis on community participation in tourism planning, our current knowledge of community attitudes and their motivations to engage in such collaborative governance is limited and fragmented. This paper explores the role of heritage values, tourism and community perceptions held by destination hosts as drivers to willingness to participate in heritage tourism development. Such enquiry aims to enhance our current knowledge of community views and their potential to influence involvement in participatory decision-making in order to inform policy approaches to collaborative heritage tourism strategies. Using a relatively inexperienced destination community (Kastoria, Greece), the study collects quantitative data via an attitudinal survey. Our findings suggest that intentions to participate are mainly driven by community ideals while their positive influence is more evident on community members with high place attachment. Heritage values play a significant role; however, their effects do not always favour participation as they can also act as barriers to involvement. On the other hand, tourism perceptions are found to be mainly insignificant in shaping intentions to participate. Finally, the paper presents and discusses variations between different demographic groups and draws implications for policy.     

The significance of environmental values for destination competitiveness and sustainable tourism strategy making: insights from Australia's Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area

Sustainable destinations must deliver products that perform better than their competitors and at the same time protect key environmental drawcards. This research explores the environmental–economic interface of a major destination, both as a case study in how to approach this complex relationship and as a contribution to the methodology of tackling the need for understanding competitive pressures as part of sustainable tourism strategy creation. Using the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) as an example, the paper assesses 21 key environmental values, including Indigenous culture, against market-based factors, in terms of their importance for visitors as regional drawcards, satisfaction with them and the way in which changes in them might affect trip numbers and duration across different regions. While the natural values of the GBRWHA are found to be the most important drawcards, satisfaction scores were significantly lower than importance scores for a number of these values. Visitors responded more negatively to the prospect of environmental degradation than to the prospect of a 20% increase in local prices: the detailed impact depends, however, on location and visitor mix. Clear ocean, healthy coral reefs, healthy reef fish, and lack of rubbish were the top four most important values.     

Virtual travel community members’ stickiness behaviour: How and when it develops

This paper aims to investigate simultaneously the influence of relational and personal factors on virtual travel community (VTC) members’ stickiness behavior. Thus, this study adds to limited research on the drivers and boundary conditions of VTC members’ stickiness behavior which is crucial for building thriving communities. With the increasingly fierce competition in the online travel market, enhancing VTCs site stickiness becomes timely and more important to avoid consumers switching easily to competitive websites. 431 online survey responses were obtained from the Where Are You Now (WAYN) VTC and analyzed using SEM. Results show trust plays a stronger role than commitment in strengthening members’ site stickiness. Contrary to conventional wisdom, site stickiness is stronger for male travelers and is weaker for high-income travelers but is not affected by age. The results contribute to SOR theory by shedding more light on how VTC members’ stickiness behavior develops and when it is stronger/weaker for a specific travel group. The findings also provide practical insights to assist VTC operators in vitalizing and cultivating members’ site stickiness and in allocating resources adequately.     

A Case for Wanderlust: Travel Behaviors of College Students

A case for wanderlust, or a strong desire to travel, was developed in an elaborate study involving numerous variables. Findings indicate that wanderlust begins with early, and varied, travel experiences and continues and inspires future travel behavior. Overall, college students exhibit a high level of interest in both leisure and business travel. The impact of past experience is dramatic with a strong relationship between travel experiences prior to college, while in college, and expectations after college. A financial commitment to this desire to travel was also found, particularly among females who exhibited a higher level of wanderlust for leisure travel. Overall implications for the travel and tourism industry are discussed.     

Food tourist segmentation: Attitude,behavioral intentions and travel planning behavior based on food involvement and motivation

This study assessed attitudes, intentions, and travel planning behavior for potential food tourists. Using two-step cluster analysis, respondents were segmented into three groups based on food involvement and motivation. These clusters had high, moderate, and low food involvement and motivation levels, respectively. Findings suggest moderate motivation and involvement food tourists are the largest group, but high motivation and involvement food tourists should be pursued by practitioners. They have the most positive attitudes and strongest intentions to consume local cuisine. Further, high motivation and involvement food tourists are most likely to select a destination based on the availability of food-related activities.     

Acquiescence and conflict in exchanges between inbound tour operators and their overseas outbound partners: A case study on Tanzania

Achieving partner acquiescence is critical in interfirm exchanges because it allows the focal firm to achieve its desired outcomes. Using a case study on dyadic relationships between inbound tour operators in Tanzania and their overseas outbound partners, this paper investigates the effect of partner irreplaceability and distributive fairness on acquiescence, and the subsequent effect that acquiescence has on conflict. The case study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling on data collected from 129 dyadic relationships. Results show that partner irreplaceability and distributive fairness are positively associated with acquiescence, which in turn reduces conflict. The effect of distributive fairness on acquiescence was found to be larger than that of irreplaceability. In addition, the direct effect of distributive fairness on conflict, although not hypothesised, was found to be significant. This emphasises the importance of distributive fairness, and its role as a possible buffer to conflict in less acquiescent exchanges.     

A Webometric Analysis of Travel Blogs and Review Hosting: The Case of Catalonia

Today, destination-marketing organizations and researchers are increasingly focusing their attention on travel blogs and reviews due to their potential for projecting the image of a specific destination and for influencing travel behavior and decision making. However, the criteria used to select the Web sites hosting travel blogs and reviews for study are unclear, and very few quantitative or demographic studies about users (bloggers and readers) have been conducted. The aim of this study is to propose a method in which a webometric analysis is used to select the most suitable Web sites for a specific case study and to obtain information about users. The proposed webometric analysis consists of an integrated formula including visibility, popularity, and size metrics. This method was used to rank 11 suitable Web sites for studying the case of Catalonia.     

A Re-examination of the Legalization of Casino Gambling from the Japanese Tourist Perspective: A 10-year Review

With the explosion of casino development in the Asia Pacific as well as the USA, casino gambling has become more culturally embraced as a recreational activity. The purpose of this study was to re-examine the legalization of casino gambling in Hawaii from Japanese-speaking tourists' perspective and compare these results with a previous study completed a decade before. With the continuing decrease of Japanese visitors to Hawaii, and with the importance of the Japanese market to Hawaii's economy, state officials are considering other forms of tourism to help revive the Japanese tourism market and increase Hawaii's global competitiveness. By analyzing the responses of the current Japanese-speaking tourists to Hawaii and comparing these responses with the Japanese tourists surveyed 10 years previously (1996), an attempt can be made to determine whether Japanese tourists in 2006 have changed their perception of the legalization of casino gambling in Hawaii. This research examines a number of challenges to consider concerning the legalization of gaming in an established tourism destination such as of Hawaii. Although the findings of this study indicate that the Japanese-speaking tourists have changed their perspective from past studies on the effects that legalization of casino gambling has in Hawaii, future research should focus on other segments of the tourist market.     

Event segmentation: A review and research agenda

Event academics and practitioners have long recognized the importance of segmenting event attendees. Despite a relatively long level of enquiry into event segmentation, there is little consistency in the methods, data analysis techniques and segmentation variables that are used. A review of 120 event segmentation studies incorporating an attendee-orientated approach was conducted to identify how event attendees are currently segmented. This study will serve as a reference guide to current event segmentation researchers on the segmentation approach/s and data analysis techniques utilized in previous studies. Recommendations for future research are suggested.     

Travel-Related Behavior of Japanese Leisure Tourists: A Review and Discussion

Summary

Japan has emerged as a leading generator of international tourism in the past decade. Given the importance of Japanese tourists to the global tourism industry, understanding of their travel-related behavior has become an essential item in the tourism research agenda. A review of literature revealed that a number of studies related to various aspects of Japanese tourists' behavior was reported. However, these studies did not follow any systematic themes of research and the information generated by these studies has not been well conceptualized. Therefore, this paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the literature which pertains to the travel-related behavior of Japanese leisure tourists and to conceptualize the major behavioral attributes and findings of reported research.     

Domestic migrant workers in China's hotel industry: An exploratory study of their life satisfaction and job burnout

This study investigated job burnout and life satisfaction among domestic migrant workers in economy hotels in China. The results revealed that two dimensions of job burnout, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, have significant influence on domestic migrant workers’ life satisfaction. Life satisfaction between domestic migrant workers and local workers was different. Theoretical discussion and practical implications were presented.     

A Comparison of Ecolodge Patrons' Characteristics and Motivations Based on Price Levels: A Case Study of Belize

Ecolodges are an increasingly popular accommodation form. This study determined the demographic and trip characteristics, as well as the travel motivations of ecolodge patrons at three different price levels: budget, mid-price and upscale. Six ecolodges were studied in the Cayo District of Belize. Of 480 questionnaires distributed at the ecolodges, 331 valid surveys were returned (68.9% response rate). The clients of the Belizean ecolodges had some demographic characteristics similar to those of ecotourists found in other studies: middle-aged, highly educated, and employed with high levels of income. This study found consistency amongst the three groups in the most important travel attraction motives, with tropical forests and wilderness/undisturbed nature ranked highest by all groups. The study also showed consistency amongst the three groups with regards to travel social motives, with learn and explore nature the top-ranked social motive by all groups. The study found significant differences amongst the price levels on many variables, including: age, country of residence, education, employment status, income, party composition, trip length, length of stay at the ecolodge and level of ecolodge experience. There were important differences found in travel motivations and the importance of ecolodge attributes. The mid-price group was the hardest to please; they wanted a lower price, yet desired the quality, services and programmes of the upscale group.     

我国旅游业线上与线下企业的竞合理论构建--基于扎根理论的探索性研究

"互联网+旅游"模式的发展与应用,改变了我国旅游市场的结构、实践方式与营销策略,加大了旅游业线上与线下业务的竞争与合作。本文以在线旅行社(线上)与传统旅行社(线下)的竞争与合作问题为研究对象,运用扎根理论分析方法对在线旅行社和传统旅行社的访谈信息进行挖掘,基于竞合二维模型构建竞合理论模型,从竞合的成因、互动与演化等视角,探索竞合过程的"推、拉、阻"等作用力。研究结果表明,旅游企业的战略需求、资源异质性以及风险分摊等因素推动竞合关系的形成和发展,提供综合服务、旅游信息共享、专业人才发展等因素拉动竞合关系演变,利益分配不均、企业文化差异性以及沟通渠道单一或闭塞等因素阻碍竞合关系的深入。本研究首次厘清了在线旅行社与传统旅行社的竞合机制,对实现线上与线下旅游企业的深度融合与互利共赢具有借鉴意义。     

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Travel Push and Pull Factors

Abstract

Tourism marketers are confronted with the dilemma of whether standardization or the tailoring of services, products and marketing programs for specific markets is more effective and efficient. It remains to be addressed in tourism research whether travelers from varying cultural backgrounds seek different travel benefits and have different preferences for travel products and services, and to what extent they are similar in their travel behaviors. This research study used national household travel surveys conducted by the Canadian Tourism Commission and U.S. Tourism Industries for a cross-cultural comparison of two different countries, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Japan. Results showed that travelers from these two countries had different travel motives and benefit-seeking patterns. From a marketing perspective, the branding and positioning of a destination for U.K. and Japanese long-haul travel markets will be more effective if the destination marketing organization (DMO) projects different images within its advertising campaigns. These images should reflect the different travel motivations and benefits desired by the two groups of travelers.