Independent travelers’ niche hotel booking motivations: the emergence of a hybrid cultural society

This study attempts to examine travel motivations from a hybrid cultural perspective in the context of Chinese niche hotels. Using an in-depth netnographic methodology, the paper analyzed 659 online reviews on 12 niche hotels from 6 travel websites to identify the motivations of Chinese independent travelers’ hotel selection. The research findings revealed that travelers’ motivations include the following: attractive environment, quality, uniqueness, spiritual well-being, traditional architecture, family togetherness, foreign style offerings and service, luxury amenities, and entertainment. These motivations can be classified into modern Chinese culture oriented motivations, traditional Chinese culture oriented motivations and foreign culture oriented motivations. The study identifies the characteristics of the market segment of Chinese independent travelers and offers valuable insights into the role of this emergent travel group. The theoretical implications suggest a hybridization effect of culturally oriented motivations showing that hotel choice and perhaps domestic tourism destination choice are driven by both Chinese and Western cultures. Management implications are discussed, and marketing suggestions are made to better understand what attracts this growing market segment in China.     

Extreme mobilities: Challenging the concept of ‘travel’

This article explores extreme mobilities by analysing how ‘global nomads’ create their lifestyles. The focus is on power negotiations regarding freedom of movement and the limits of modern-day mobilities. The study is based on in-depth interviews, instant ethnography and virtual ethnography analysed with Foucauldian discourse analysis. Two discourses are examined—the discourse of home and hearth and the discourse of homelessness—that reveal contradictions in society and in global nomads’ lifestyles. While societies tend to be suspicious about sustained mobilities, mostly promoting homebound travel, global nomads are not able to detach themselves from home either. They are opportunists taking advantage of societies’ dominant discourses and practices.     

遗产旅游地意象媒介传播机制——苏州园林与江南古镇的比较研究

旅游地意象既包括旅游者经实地体验形成的复合意象,也包括那些远离旅游地的潜在旅游者借助各类媒介信息所形成的引致意象.在新媒体时代,传媒在旅游地意象传播中所扮演的角色越来越重要,分析和研究旅游地意象媒介传播机制现已成为该领域前沿课题.为探索遗产旅游地意象媒介传播模式,文章结合苏州园林和江南古镇案例,采用焦点组访谈、内容分析、问卷调查等方法获取9365例样本的旅游目的地意象媒介传播数据,在质性分析基础上,通过在遗产旅游地意象属性因素与传播媒介因素之间建立结构方程模型,并根据系列研究假设验证结果,揭示出传统媒体与新媒体在遗产旅游地意象形成中的实际作用机制.结论认为,传统媒体与新媒体在文化遗产旅游地意象传播中存在功能互补,前者的优势在于遗产形态与形象推广,而后者的优势则在于遗产文化与意义诠释;借助传统媒体扣新媒体传播不同类型的遗产旅游地意象信息,能够在激发遗产旅游需求的同时,帮助公众更完整地理解遗产文化价值和精神内涵,从而在潜在旅游者中塑造更优良的遗产旅游地意象.在文化遗产旅游地意象传播中,传统媒体与新媒体的整合使用,代表着文化遗产旅游地意象传播的必然.     

Identifying cultural tourism: a theoretical methodological proposal

This article explores the effectiveness of tourism as a means to heritage conservation in urban areas, focusing on the case study of Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, an inner-city industrial heritage site in Sydney, Australia. The Finger Wharf redevelopment represents a familiar scenario whereby an old industrial site located at a sought after inner-city location has been redeveloped and transformed from a derelict structure into a popular leisure and recreation precinct. The findings of a study of local stakeholder perceptions of the redevelopment are presented and then evaluated according to the goals of sustainable tourism development. The findings highlight the importance of planners and managers of heritage tourism sites thinking beyond the cosmetic conservation of the tangible asset to also consider how best to preserve the non-material value of the site. Through the provision of more effective interpretation heritage, managers can create a visitor experience which is authentic and meaningful to visitors and local stakeholders.     

对世界遗产的旅游价值分析与开发模式研究

本文结合我国世界遗产旅游价值的开发实际,通过对世界遗产旅游及其价值的分析,指出世界遗产有形价值与无形价值的内在联系以及相互的依存关系,并通过提出假设及其理论论证与检验,指出开发世界遗产的无形价值将有助于提高遗产的旅游价值和旅游者的满意度.并在此基础上,根据世界遗产资源的类型与特点,对我国世界遗产的旅游价值开发模式以及相应的实施对策进行了探讨.     

中国遗产旅游业的经营制度选择--兼评四权分离与制衡主张

本文从遗产的价值特性和权属特性以及遗产事业使命出发。讨论遗产旅游业的经营制度选择。本文认为：遗产区的“遗产的旅游展示类服务”事务应由遗产单位进行非营利性经营;遗产区外的“非遗产展示类旅游服务”事务(行、住、食、购、娱等)应交由旅游公司、当地政策、周边社区进行营利性经营;当遗产区内的“非遗产展示类旅游服务”事务规模较大时,可以特许经营方式交由非遗产单位进行营利性经营。本文进而评论了“四权分离与制衡”主张的不合理性,并且认为,中国遗产旅游业经营制度中的“中国特色”应表现在对“贫困地区遗产公益性”、“遗产区门票的价格定位”、“门票优惠”、“遗产区旅游收益的分配”、“让利于地方”等五个方面问题的具体处理上。     

Equity restoration,the Holocaust and tourism of sacred sites

Distressing events perpetrated against specific ethnic and religious groups frequently have implications that stretch well beyond the cessation of violent activities. Many times the victims and their descendants manifest their animosity in the realm of tourism and consumption related activity. This paper, utilizing netnographic data, examines the reactions of some global Jewish citizens in relation to tourism activity surrounding historic Holocaust sites located in Eastern Europe. Related to the emergent themes of equity restoration, controllability, and discounting, this research examines why many tourists decide to avoid tourism to historic heritage sites, leading to an examination of the link between physical location, remembrance and relational work. Additionally, data indicate some Jewish tourists may avoid travel because of the paucity of Jewish life in the areas surrounding sacred sites, thereby creating the perception that anti-Semitism is still present. Our research calls to question the value of visual and physical evidence in relation to maintaining identity and facilitating remembrance.     

Development of intangible cultural heritage as a sustainable tourism resource: the intangible cultural heritage practitioners’ perspectives

ABSTRACT

Authentic intangible cultural heritage (ICH) provides a community with a unique selling point in the globally competitive tourism industry. The process of commodification of ICH, however, has threatened its authenticity and thus sustainable tourism approaches are required to achieve successful transmission and promotion of ICH as a sustainable tourism resource. This paper explores the priorities of ICH practitioners in relation to the development of ICH as a sustainable tourism resource, by utilising South Korea as a case study. The results revealed that from the ICH practitioners’ perspectives, authenticity is a holistic notion integrating the transmitted customs, inherited meanings and the practitioners’ identities. ICH practitioners agree with the potential positive symbiotic relationship between transmission of authentic ICH and promotion of ICH as a tourism resource. To achieve the positive symbiotic relationship, locals’ awareness of ICH, ICH practitioner empowerment and parallel development between tourism development and transmission of ICH are necessary. To date, the practitioner approach to the authenticity of ICH and ICH as a sustainable tourism resource is little explored in the literature, thus this paper makes a valuable addition to the area of sustainable heritage tourism.     

Popular Culture as a Different Type of Heritage: The Making of AC/DC Lane

Cities are increasingly looking to their popular culture connections to contribute to an attractive destination image. In promoting their popular culture, cities are constructing a different view of their heritage. In Melbourne, Australia, AC DC Lane has been created to commemorate the popular hard rock band. In examining the process of its creation, this paper focuses on two issues. First, the debate over its creation illustrates the expectations that are now arising from such developments and the role of the news media in championing some tourism projects. Second, in honouring a notoriously irreverent hard rock band, AC DC Lane presents a different type of heritage, in many ways at odds with the more conventional views of how heritage might contribute to a city’s destination image and identity.