Travel queries on cities in the United States: Implications for search engine marketing for tourist destinations

Given the growing importance of search in online travel planning, marketers need to better understand the behavioural aspect of search engines use. Built upon a number of previous studies, the goal of this research is to identify patterns in online travel queries across tourist destinations. Utilizing transaction log files from a number of search engines, the analysis shows important patterns in the way travel queries are constructed as well as the commonalities and differences in travel queries about different cities in the United States. The ratio of travel queries among all queries about a specific city seems to associate with the “touristic” level of that city. Also, keywords in travelers' queries reflect their knowledge about the city and its competitors. This paper offers insights into the way tourism destinations are searched online as well as implications for search engine marketing for destinations.     

The role of perceived behavioural control in the constraint-negotiation process: the case of solo travel

This study extends the leisure constraint-effects-mitigation model to the perceived behavioural control (PBC)- constraint-negotiation model by adding PBC. Three competing models were tested to determine which model best fits the data. Results suggested that PBC mediates the relationship between motivation and negotiation, and there is a direct path from motivation to participation. Findings contribute to deepening and broadening the theory of leisure constraint negotiation because the new variable was successfully added to the original model and the model was extended to new settings (i.e. solo travel and non-Western).     

The Effects of Travel Agent Characteristics on the Development of Trust: A Contingency View

Abstract

Trust is a key factor in the establishment of long-term relationships between travel agents and their customers. Prior research across service industries has documented that both “person-related” (e.g., empathy, politeness, and customer/service representative similarity) and “offer-related” (e.g., customization, competence, reliability, and promptness) service representative characteristics have an impact upon trust. However, the relative importance of these characteristics, and in some cases the direction of their relationships with trust has varied across studies. In this paper, we posit a contingency model of trust, suggesting that within the travel agency industry, the effects of the above variables on trust will be moderated by length of customer/service provider relationship. Our model is tested in a business-to-business context by means of a mail survey involving 487 small business owners. The small business owners provided data about their relationships with their travel industry service providers (i.e., agents). Our results demonstrate how corporate travel agencies can work toward the establishment of trust with their clients under varying market conditions.     

Spatial Pattern of Tourist Flows Among the Asia-Pacific Countries: An Examination over a Decade

The spatial dimension of tourism provides insights about travel demands and travel flows and helps destinations in planning, development and management. The last decade has witnessed a steady and rapid growth in the Asia-Pacific region's tourism industry, in terms of both inbound and outbound travel. This particular study aimed to: (a) provide information and explore the changes on the nature of travel flows as measured by the tourist arrivals among the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) member countries for the years of 1995 and 2004; (b) assess general propensity to travel among PATA countries using the concepts of Country Potential Generation Index and Gross Travel Propensity; and (c) examine the shift in the past decade in terms of the relative tourism generation power of PATA countries by comparing and contrasting the 1995 and 2004 indices. The results of the study provide an overview of the spatial patterns of travel flows and travel propensity in Pacific Asia region over a 10-year period. The study demonstrates that the functions of travel flows and indices are complementary and provide an informative picture of spatial travel behavior and demand.     

An Investigation of Gen-Y's Online Hotel Information Search: The Case of Hong Kong

The Internet has made searching for hotel room information and making online reservations common practices among hotel guests. Despite constantly changing consumer behavior and widespread application of online hotel information sources, limited studies have been conducted to examine the online sources used frequently by customers and the related attributes of such sources. As such, drawing from an online questionnaire survey with 205 respondents, findings in this study indicate that there are no socio-demographic effects on future purchase intention of Generation (Gen) Y travelers. Moreover, websites of suppliers (e.g. official websites of hotels), travel intermediaries (e.g. Hotels.com), and social media (e.g. TripAdvisor) are the three major types of websites used by Gen Y hotel guests. Travel intermediary websites are often used to search for hotel information, whereas social media websites are used to make reservations. Based on these findings, implications for hotel managers are discussed.     

Impacts of the entry of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation on its tourism industry: An exploratory study

In an unique political scenario, Crimea was integrated into the Russian Federation in 2014, making the legal, political, and economic environment in which the tourism and hospitality industries in Crimea very different from what it had been. In this research, we surveyed the managers of 60 hotels and 31 travel agencies in Crimea to learn about how their businesses were impacted by the Crimea's entry into the Russian Federation and how they have responded to the changes in the macroenvironment. The findings indicate that travel agencies and hoteliers have responded differently to the crisis and have very different concerns regarding the way in which this political event has impacted upon their industries.     

徐霞客:中国古代的旅游圣人

本文从圣人的概念界定切入,参照徐霞客对中国旅游文学的独特贡献,提出他是中国古代的旅游圣人,是把毕生献给中国古代旅游事业的第一人。进而从徐霞客的旅途生活,论述了他最可贵的三种精神,即吃苦精神、探险精神和乐观精神。     

The perceived benefits of agritourism: The provider’s perspective

This study examines the perceived benefits of agritourism by examining the importance of this activity in accomplishing 16 goals of farmers receiving visitors for recreation on their farms. This study also examines several farm household and business attributes associated with the accomplishment of four goal dimensions driving agritourism development. Data were derived from a survey conducted among 164 agritourism farms in Missouri. Results showed that agritourism mostly serves to capture new farm customers, educate the public about agriculture and enhance the quality of life for the farm family, which represents both, economic and non-economic benefits. Organized by goal dimensions, findings showed that agritourism is perceived as most important for market related goals, suggesting that the economic role of agritourism should not only be measured in terms of increased profits but also as a marketing tool. Four significant regression models showed that several farm business and household attributes are associated to the perceived agritourism benefits within four goal dimensions, suggesting opportunities for tailored promotional messages and policy considerations for the entrepreneurial development of agritourism.     

Tourism forecasting and the policymaker: Criteria of usefulness

This article is a sequel to one by the author in the September 1982 Issue of Tourism Management in which the question of what futures research could contribute to tourism policy was raised. Here the subject is explored further and a comparison of various forecasting techniques is used to investigate how far forecasting is and could be useful in supporting tourism policies.     

Domestic tourism expenditures: The non-linear effects of length of stay and travel party size

The independent variables length of stay and travel party size are recurrent determinants of expenditures in micro level tourism studies. In most of this research it has been tacitly assumed that these variables have linear effects on tourism spending. This study, situated in a Norwegian setting, questions this approach by explicitly scrutinizing the possible non-linearities in the relationships between tourism expenditures on the one hand and length of stay and travel party size on the other. The empirical results suggest a positive but diminishing relationship between length of stay and tourism expenditures and a convex (i.e. U) relationship between travel party size and tourism expenditures. The study also considers how a number of other key independent variables affect tourism expenditures. Finally, some managerial and scholarly implications are discussed.     

Role of constraints in Chinese calligraphic landscape experience: An extension of a leisure constraints model

The study of constraints in the leisure and tourism context has been a growing research theme during the past four decades. This article focused on participants' constraints that inhibit an experience of Chinese calligraphic landscapes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether three types of constraints existed in the context of a calligraphic landscape experience. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the fitness of the collected data for the hierarchical constraints model. This study also extended this hierarchical model to prove that some constraint dimensions do influence tourists' preference, participation and satisfaction. This research concluded that intrapersonal constraints had a negative influence on preference, while neither interpersonal nor structural dimension influenced tourists' participation or satisfaction.     

The impact of using non-media information sources on the future use of mass media information sources: The mediating role of expectations fulfillment

An empirical study of 350 tourists reveals that using non-media information sources for planning tourist trips influences expectations fulfillment. The use of non-media information sources also has a direct impact on the future use of mass media information sources for future tourist trip planning, as well as an indirect impact through expectations fulfillment. More specifically, the main determinants of expectations fulfillment of local infrastructure are commercial brochures, travel agents and internet; expectations fulfillment of entertainment structures is affected by institutional brochures, travel agents and the internet; future use of mass media sources is influenced by expectations fulfillment of local infrastructure and entertainment structures; this factor is also influenced by past use of institutional brochures and the internet. Discussion centers on the implications of this model to theory and managerial development of tourism and services strategies. Directions for future research are also presented.     

The effect of airport atmospherics on satisfaction and behavioral intentions: testing the moderating role of perceived safety

International airports have been notable spaces due to their reinforced roles and the increase in the number of users. Nevertheless, there are not many studies on the relationships among the physical environment of the airport, perception of airport safety, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. To fill this gap, this study has attempted to (1) examine the relationships among the physical environment of the airport, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions; (2) discover which element of physical circumstances has an influence on satisfaction; and (3) ascertain perceived airport safety as a moderator between satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The data were collected through wireless channels, using the snowball method. The findings disclosed that facility aesthetics is the strongest component of the physical surroundings of the airport in eliciting satisfaction, and satisfaction has a major impact on behavioral intentions. Despite the invalid moderation effect of perceived airport safety, safety was clarified as a direct driver of satisfaction through additional analysis.     

A cross-cultural validation of the perceived destination restorative qualities scale: the Chinese perspective

Leisure travel entails a necessary tourist–environment exchange, understanding of which becomes critical when considering the role of tourism in providing rest and relaxation. The aim of this study was to understand the restorative functions of tourism destinations in the Chinese context. We attempted to confirm the cross-cultural stability of the measurement scale of perceived destination restorative qualities (PDRQ) and the relation to its nomological network including destination setting, overall sense of recovery, and satisfaction. The construct dimensionality was confirmed; however, contrary to the Western literature, the effects of destination restorativeness on recovery and satisfaction were more pronounced in urban rather than nature-based vacations for Chinese travelers.     

过程理论视角的留学生在华旅游动机变化研究——基于自我民族志方法

传统旅游动机研究多着眼于群体的时间断面,对个体旅游动机动态变化的揭示及其背后的理论建构关注较少。留学生在华旅游的空间、时间和文化特征均介于入境旅游和国内旅游之间,具有一定的独特性和典型性。本研究以留学生身份的“我”为研究对象,从过程理论视角,通过自我民族志方法对留学生在华旅游动机变化过程进行分析。基于完整的自我叙事以及对旅游动机的过程反思,从文化接触期、初步适应期、深化适应期和生活倦怠期等几个阶段,分析在华留学生追求新奇、自我发展、建立声望、逃离惯常、健康放松和社会交往等旅游动机的变化过程,并建立留学生在华旅游动机变化模型。同时,也提出了留学生在华旅游所特有的距离错位动机和文化适应动机。本研究试图阐明留学生旅游动机在跨文化适应过程中的自我探寻与变化逻辑,结论对入境旅游、国内旅游的市场开发也有一定裨益。     

An analysis on perceived crowding level reported by domestic visitors of South Korean National Parks: a multilevel ordered logit approach

Perceived Crowding Level (PCL) is an indicator of the social carrying capacity of recreational sites such as National Parks. Using a sample of national-level visitor survey data across 21 National Parks in South Korea, this paper aims to apply a multilevel ordered logit model as a method in testing for statistical relationships between the PCL and the covariates, accounting for site- and individual-specific heterogeneity. The results hint that levels of perceived crowding in South Korean National Parks are related to factors such as the behaviour of other users and the quality of park facilities such as comfort in accommodation. The measured level of heterogeneity can provide useful information about the level (nation-wide or park-specific) of intervention policies and management strategies.     

Consumers’ responses to ambivalent online hotel reviews: The role of perceived source credibility and pre-decisional disposition

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is prevalent in today's lodging market and has potential to influence consumers’ decision making. This study investigated how the presence of online reviewers’ personal identifying information (PII) may affect consumers’ processing of ambivalent online hotel reviews and hotel booking intentions. The results of an experiment with a sample of 274 undergraduate students indicate that the presence of PII positively affects the perceived credibility of the online reviews. When coupled with ambivalent online reviews, the presence of PII significantly lowers consumers’ hotel booking intentions.     

The impact of advertising on patrons’ emotional responses,perceived value,and behavioral intentions in the chain restaurant industry: The moderating role of advertising-induced arousal

The purpose of this study was twofold: to investigate the structural relationships between patrons’ emotional responses induced by advertising, their perceived value, and their behavioral intentions in the chain restaurant industry; and to investigate which attributes of advertising bear the strongest impact on behavioral intentions. Based on the literature review, six evaluative dimensions of advertising were derived: relevant news, brand reinforcement, stimulation, empathy, familiarity, and confusion. Theoretical relationships between these six evaluative dimensions and patrons’ emotional responses, perceived value, and behavioral intentions were derived based on the literature review. Following the collection and analysis of data obtained from chain restaurant patrons, it was found that four dimensions of advertising in particular (relevant news, stimulation, empathy, and familiarity) have a significant impact on inducing emotional responses in patrons. Among the four dimensions, stimulation was found to bear the most significant effect on patrons’ emotional responses. It can thus be stated that advertising-induced emotional responses positively influence patrons’ perceived value. During this study, it was found that the level of arousal induced by advertising plays a moderating function in the relationship between patrons’ emotional responses and hedonic value. The possible interpretations of these findings and their managerial implications are discussed in the latter part of this article.     

The effect of Facebook users’ arousal and valence on intention to go to the festival: Applying an extension of the technology acceptance model

The rapid development of social media has challenged event managers to rethink how this trend will shape traditional marketing practices. Given the rise of these technologies, the current breed of special event “fan” has started to take advantage of and venture into this social space for possible benefits. For event managers, the fundamental issue becomes how to uncover the process through which special event consumers come to accept social media marketing. This paper reviews social media marketing literature, the characteristics of event marketing, and highlights the emotional aspect of social media applications. An extended TAM (technology acceptance model) is adopted to explain the mechanism by which social media marketing influences attitudes toward Facebook event pages. The authors find that users’ emotions exhibited on the Facebook event page do have a significant impact on the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived enjoyment of such social media marketing. However, only the last construct significantly influences users’ attitudes and intentions toward an event. Implications and insights were provided to event practitioners and were discussed accordingly.     

The Nature of Hotel Chains: An Integrative Framework

Despite extensive research in the field of hotel chains, a general conceptual model of hotel chains does not yet exist. Therefore, this article aims to fill this gap by analyzing the nature of hotel chains from three different perspectives (resource-based, value chain, and stakeholder network perspectives), which are the sources of their competitive advantage. For all perspectives, we develop partial models of a hotel chain, which are then combined into one integrated model that can be used in the strategic analysis of hotel chains. Managerial implications and limitations of the integrated model and the three partial models are discussed.