Perceived changes in holiday destinations

Small samples of tourists visiting Greece and Morocco were studied intensively to see whether tourists' post-travel images of these countries were different from pre-travel images. An adapted form of Kelly's repertory grid was used to assess the images. It was established that both travelers to Morocco and to Greece changed their images of the visited locations when compared to a control group of non-travelers. In addition, the tourists' country of origin (Britain), and countries similar to the visited destinations, were also seen somewhat differently after the holiday. While these findings apply only to a limited number of tourists of a particular type, this kind of study paves the way for more research on tourists' attitudinal changes.     

Making sense of tourists' complaints

The problem of dealing with tourists' complaints is not fully covered in the tourism literature. This article discusses the quality of the data available on tourists' complaints and it is proposed that two concepts from social psychological research can be used to interpret and understand them; first, the notion of ‘fit’ between tourists and the environments they visit; second, the concept of attribution theory is shown to be useful for understanding the process by which tourists allocate blame and responsibility.     

A tourist's “vision quest” in an African game reserve

This essay deals with the role of guides in the Moremi Wildlife Reserve of Botswana and the frictions that arise between them and visitors to the reserve. The guides' role as “interpreters” is juxtaposed with the tourists' desire for first-hand “communion” with nature, which is here treated as similar to a “vision quest.” The essay analyzes the interactions between the Tswana guides on the one hand and South African tourists on the other, focusing on the relegation of the former by the latter to the (basically menial) role of pathfinders and assistants that most Africans fill in the tourists' home culture. Attention is drawn to a possible crisis brewing in tourist-guide relationships, due to the fact that guides are unsuccessful, or even redundant, mediators in “vision quest” tourism.     

Multicity trip patterns: Tourists to the United States

This study examines international tourists’ multicity trip patterns within the United States. Actual and perceived distance from the country of origin to the destination is assumed to affect the likelihood of multicity tourism behavior. In addition, higher opportunity costs for first-time tourists are expected to lead to increased multicity patterns. An analysis of the trips of international tourists to US metropolitan areas confirmed that multicity patterns differ for groups of tourists with different origins and varying levels of familiarity with the destination. Differences lie in the directionality of flows as well as the extent and nature of multicity tourism behavior.     

Validating the international tourist role scale

This study was designed to validate the international tourist role scale and the three dimensions it revealed. The purpose of this attitudinal scale was to measure the tourist role typology. United States adult outbound tourists flying with 11 major airlines returned useful questionnaires. This study validated the role scale as a reliable one that properly identified three conceptual dimensions of international tourist typology and successfully provided measures of tourists’ novelty-seeking preferences on the three dimensions. The study demonstrated, however, that the scale would measure the novelty-seeking preferences of international tourists more effectively if it were supplemented by other measures.     

PAGES AS STAGES: A Performance Approach to Visitor Books

This article offers a contribution to the fields of tourist performance and language. By exploring a visitor book located at a heritage site in Jerusalem, Israel, it argues that texts produced by tourists can assume the semiotic status of performances. Consequently, tourists’ texts should not be viewed merely as instances of “discourse” or “language”, but also as organic parts of the aesthetic and semiotic aspects of tourism. The article describes four dimensions that establish the visitor book as a particular “stage”, and the texts therein as the tourists’ situated performances. Taken together, these dimensions constitute a model for the analysis of linguistic performance and for the semiotic interrelationship between stage and performance in tourism.     

Tourists’ intention to visit a country: The impact of cultural distance

Culture has long been recognized as a possible reason why people in different countries make different decisions, but research into its impact in tourism contexts has been limited. This study addressed this gap by examining the influence of cultural distance on tourists’ destination choices. Five cultural distance measures were examined. Of the five measures, perceived cultural distance and Clark and Pugh's index were found to be most strongly related to Australian tourists’ intentions to visit a variety of holiday destinations. The perceived cultural distance measure appeared to be a better predictor and offers some advantages to researchers as it allows respondents to include relevant cultural information in tourism research. However, as Clark and Pugh's method provided similar information, cultural differences can be inferred when it is not possible to survey tourists directly.     

Tourist attitudes towards an accommodation tax earmarked for environmental protection: A survey in the Algarve

Tourist taxes have become increasingly popular worldwide in addressing environmental problems associated with tourism. This paper studies tourist attitudes towards an accommodation tax earmarked for environmental protection in the Algarve, the most important Portuguese tourism destination. A Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detecting Algorithm (CHAID) is used to segment tourists according to their willingness to pay. This method allowed us to divide respondents into six segments. The dominant one, labelled “typical sun and beach tourists”, shows a low willingness to pay the earmarked accommodation tax. In contrast, the receptivity to this measure is above average in three segments, termed according to their main characteristics as “environmental steward tourists”, “nature oriented tourists” and “frugal tourists”.     

When east meets west: An exploratory study on Chinese outbound tourists’ travel expectations

The booming Chinese outbound tourism has attracted worldwide attention. This study attempts to examine Chinese tourists’ expectations of outbound travel products. A series of focus groups were conducted in eleven cities in China and various issues, concerns, and problems were identified related to Chinese outbound tourists’ expectations of accommodations, food and restaurants, tour guides and itineraries, entertainment and activities, and transportation. The focus group results showed that, while Chinese outbound tourists share many of the same fundamental needs and desires of all tourists, this group has particular expectations in terms of amenities and service standards. Understanding these expectations may help Western service providers better serve this market.     

The impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions for 2009 H1N1 influenza on travel intentions: A model of goal-directed behavior

Theoretically, in the tourism context this study introduced a new concept of non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) for influenza, and tested the impact of NPI on the behavioral intention of potential international tourists. This study also extended the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB) by incorporating the new concepts of NPI, and the perception of 2009 H1N1. The model found that desire, perceived behavioral control, frequency of past behavior, and non-pharmaceutical interventions predicted tourists’ intention but perceptions of 2009 H1N1 had nil effect on desire and intention. Personal non-pharmaceutical interventions were theorized as adaptive behavior of tourists intending to travel during a pandemic which should be supported by tourism operators on a system-wide basis. Practically, this study dealt with the issue of influenza 2009 H1N1 with the study findings and implications providing government agencies, tourism marketers, policy-makers, transport systems, and hospitality services with important suggestions for NPI and international tourism during pandemics.     

A comparative analysis of international tourists’ satisfaction in Mongolia

The purpose of this study was to examine international tourism development in Mongolia in the last decade and analyze international tourists’ satisfaction of their travel experience with tourist attractions, facilities, services and prices. This study identified the demographic characteristics of international tourists from four regions: Europe, the US, Japan and other Asia/Pacific countries by surveying a sample of 530 visitors by air travel. Satisfaction level of international tourists from these four different regions were analyzed and compared to find regional similarities and differences. Recommendations were made for the Mongolian tourism authority to target efficiently its international tourism markets and improve tourism services in Mongolia.     

A model of destination branding: Integrating the concepts of the branding and destination image

Despite the significance of destination branding in both academia and industry, literature on its conceptual development is limited. The current study aims to develop and test a theoretical model of destination branding, which integrates the concepts of the branding and destination image. The study suggests unique image as a new component of destination brand associations. It is proposed that the overall image of the destination (i.e., brand image) is a mediator between its brand associations (i.e., cognitive, affective, and unique image components) and tourists’ future behaviors (i.e., intentions to revisit and recommend). The results confirmed that overall image is influenced by three types of brand associations and is a critical mediator between brand associations and tourists’ future behaviors. In addition, unique image had the second largest impact on the overall image formation, following the cognitive evaluations.     

VOLUNTEER TOURISM—“INVOLVE ME AND I WILL LEARN”?

Voluntourism or volunteer tourism is increasingly available and popular amongst everyday tourists in different parts of the world. Despite its seeming virtue and it often being positioned as a form of “justice” or “goodwill” tourism, critics in the public media have begun to question and criticize the effectiveness or “real” value of volunteer tourism. However, academic work has not yet critiqued volunteer tourism in the same manner. This paper thus provides a critical and timely review of volunteer tourism, using interviews and participant observation with 11 respondents on a volunteer tourism trip to South Africa. This paper reviews volunteer tourists’ motivations (what prompted their participation); performances of the “self” in volunteer tourism; and the tensions and paradoxes surrounding volunteer tourism.     

Geographical consciousness and tourism experience

Scholars of many persuasions have recognized the experiential features of geography, such as the consciousness arising from the spatial and temporal bonds between people and places. Until recently, however, tourism researchers have largely overlooked those features. In partial response to this omission, this article presents a phenomenological exploration of leisure tourism experience. By describing the lived experiences of Canadian tourists traveling to and within China on two separate package tours, this article discusses if and how geographical consciousness influences the tourists’ experiences. Its main purpose is to provide insights for research and application.     

The implicit measurement of destination image: The application of Implicit Association Tests

The previous studies about destination image measurement mainly focused on measuring tourists’ explicit cognitive processes without measuring their implicit cognitive processes. This study introduces the Implicit Association Test (IAT) into the domain of destination image measurement, and utilizes a traditional questionnaire to measure Chinese tourists’ perceived image of Japan and Hong Kong both at explicit and implicit level. Results show that Chinese tourists’ explicit preference between Japan and Hong Kong is insignificant, but there is significant implicit preference for their perceived image of Hong Kong over that of Japan. This study advances the research on destination image and enriches the method on the measurement of destination image.     

Shopping behavior of Chinese tourists visiting the United States: Letting the shoppers do the talking

Chinese tourists visiting the U.S. were interviewed to explore their shopping behaviours and to understand their shopping experiences. This study revealed that the Chinese tourists were interested in a very large variety of U.S. merchandise, ranging from antique watches and jewellery to health products and running shoes. They perceived the quality of American products to be consistent with prices lower than similar products at home. Male tourists in the study tended to be more satisfied with their shopping experiences than females, but all informants expressed a desire for more Chinese-speaking sales assistants as well as Chinese shopping guides and signage. Informants asked that Chinese credit cards be accepted in the U.S. stores, and would encourage banks of both countries to find ways to cooperate with payment methods to make tourists’ shopping experience more enjoyable and free from inconveniences. Informants had a positive image of shopping in the U.S., especially when compared to some European and Asian destinations. Implications of both the methods and the findings for destination marketing strategies are also discussed in the paper.     

Competitive analysis of cross cultural information search behavior

The aim of this study was to investigate German, French, and British travelers’ information search behavior. This study used the data collected from a series of in-flight surveys on German, British, and French travelers to the US between January and December 1997. To visualize tourists’ information research behavior, a correspondence analysis was employed. The results from correspondence analysis revealed two-dimensional solutions: the first was labeled as business/leisure dimension, and the second was identified as dependent/independent information search behavior. In addition, four distinct market segments based on the information search behavior emerged from the analysis. In conclusion, future study in respect to cross-cultural choice behaviors was advocated.     

The demand for Mi’kmaw cultural tourism: Tourist perspectives

This paper examines survey findings of tourist interest in Mi’kmaw cultural tourism in Nova Scotia. The results indicate a high interest in Mi’kmaw cultural tourism activities even though most tourists had not participated in Aboriginal tourism before. Further results indicate that tourists’ age, education and place of origin influence their level of interest in particular Mi’kmaw cultural tourism activities. Older tourists had lower interest in activities that required more time and physical activity whereas more-educated tourists had higher interest in participating in particular Mi’kmaw cultural tourism activities. Also, international tourists had the greatest interest in Mi’kmaw cultural tourism, especially activities that involved greater contact with the Mi’kmaw hosts.     

Media effects on image: The Case of Tibet

Using media effects research as a theoretical framework, this paper examines empirically the impact of media representations—such as movies, guidebooks, and magazines—on destination image. Past research has focused on either representations or image, but rarely on both. Based on a systematic comparison of the former with the latter, it is argued that the impact of media representations on image falls between a strong and negotiated influence. The analysis is based on data collected from tourists in Lhasa, Tibet. The paper documents tourism issues in a renowned but little studied destination.     

Analyzing tourists’ length of stay at destinations with survival models: A constructive critique based on a case study

The statistical modeling of tourists’ length of stay at destinations is a topic that recently has received much attention from tourism scholars. In this regard, so-called “survival models” have been introduced as a means of studying how a set of independent variables explain variation in the number of days tourists spend at destinations. This paper provides a critical look at these studies. There are two main findings. (1) The various justifications offered for favoring the survival models over the traditional OLS regression do not hold up under closer scrutiny. (2) An empirical study shows that the OLS regression model describes the association between a set of independent variables and length of stay at least as effectively as a battery of survival models. In line with the principle of parsimony it is concluded that future studies on tourists’ length of stay should abandon survival models if they are conducted along similar lines as the ones to date.