Innovation in tourism: Re-conceptualising and measuring the absorptive capacity of the hotel sector

Recent reviews of research on innovation in tourism have highlighted a number of weaknesses in the literature. Among these is the limited theorising and empirical investigation of innovative practices by tourism organisations. This paper responds to these concerns by examining one important dimension of innovation within commercial tourism organisations, namely their ability to acquire, assimilate and utilise external knowledge (absorptive capacity) for competitive advantage. The topic is pertinent because there is evidence to suggest that tourism organisations are particularly dependent on external sources of knowledge when compared with businesses in other sectors. Following a discussion of the conceptual antecedents of absorptive capacity and its dimensions, a validated instrument for its measurement is developed and used to measure the absorptive capacity of the British hotel sector. The results suggest that current conceptions of absorptive capacity have limitations when applied to tourism enterprises. Absorptive capacity is re-conceptualised to overcome these deficiencies. The research and policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Network,knowledge and relationship impacts on innovation in tourism destinations

We combine network structure and firm-level relationship measures to explore the association between innovative behavior, firm position within the network of a destination, and the knowledge and relational trust characteristics of a firm's innovation-oriented relationships. We find current collaboration, shared knowledge and trust are associated with innovative behavior with partner firms, but that betweenness centrality indicates which partners are the most prominent innovators in a population. That is, relationship-level characteristics facilitate innovation partnerships, but network structure characteristics identify the most successful innovative partners. To theory, our findings contribute to efforts in the tourism, innovation and network literature to evaluate the differential effects of knowledge stocks and flows on innovation. For practice, our results suggest that promoters of innovation within a destination should leverage brokerage positions to improve the in-flow of ideas while encouraging the firms that share knowledge and trust to collaborate to apply those ideas.     

Fashioning a destination tourism future: The case of Slovenia

Achieving competitive advantage for any destination in times of rapid global change requires tourism stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the direction of change and its implications for business or destination management. The challenges are particularly acute for emerging destinations such as Slovenia. The paper discusses tools for measuring destination performance with particular focus on Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA). Using IPA the paper develops a priority ordering for Slovenian tourism stakeholders to debate, modify and to adopt actions that can help them prepare for the challenges arising from global trends. The survey instrument used for this study asks respondents to highlight both the important areas that should be addressed by tourism stakeholders in Slovenia and also the performance of Slovenia in respect of the success or otherwise of the strategies that are currently being pursued to enhance destination competitiveness. The findings reveal that there are a number of areas in which the Slovene tourism industry considers itself to be underperforming in the implementation of strategies to eliminate drift. The paper explores some of the implications of the findings for strategic action and implementation, making some concluding comments on destination development strategy while highlighting areas for further research.     

A review of innovation research in tourism

Over the past two decades, there has been increasing focus on the topic of innovation in tourism. This article reviews the research contributions. Various categories of innovation – product, process, managerial, marketing and institutional – are addressed. Important determinants of innovation are acknowledged, including the role of entrepreneurship, technology push and the existence of territorial industry clusters. Representation of knowledge is also identified as a critical factor for both the occurrence and nature of innovations. The review reveals that there is still only limited systematic and comparable empirical evidence of the level of innovative activities and their impacts and wider implications for destinations and national economies. An agenda for future research is emerging, suggesting that there is quest for both formal quantification and for qualitative studies of the foundations, processes, implications and policies of innovation in tourism.     

The response of hotel performance to international tourism development and crisis events

This study uses panel regression tests to examine the response of hotel performance to international tourism development and crisis events in Taiwan. Hotel performance measures are revenue (revenue per available room and occupancy rate), profitability (return on assets and return on equity) and stock performance. The crises were the earthquake on September 21, 1999 (the 9/21 earthquake), the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US (the 9/11 terrorist attacks) and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome on April 22, 2003 (the SARS outbreak). This study makes four major contributions. First, test results confirm that international tourism development (ITD), proxied by the growth of total inbound tourist arrivals, has a more direct influence on hotel sales and profitability than it does on hotel stock performance. Second, this study identifies that the absence of a strong tie between ITD and hotel stock returns that was found in previous studies is due to the time-varying discount rate caused by investors’ changing expectations for the prospect of future cash flows from holding hotel stocks. Third, this study finds new evidence that while the poor performance of hotel stocks caused by the 9/21 earthquake and the 9/11 terrorist attacks was attributed to the loss of hotel sales revenue, the adverse effect of the SARS outbreak on hotel stock returns is attributed not only to decreased hotel sales revenue but also to the increased discount rate. Lastly, this study is the first to investigate whether the response of hotel stock returns to ITD depends on the state of economy and concludes that the response of hotel stock performance to ITD in business cycle contraction is statistically different from that in business cycle expansion. Further, although the influence of ITD on hotel stock performance is still irrelevant during expansion periods, ITD can significantly enhance hotel stock returns during contraction periods.     

The Fuchsia Destination Quality Brand

SUMMARY

Quality has been widely recognised as a source of competitive advantage in tourism (Poon, 1993; Fayos-Sola, 1996; Laws, 2000). Given the shift that has taken place from interfirm competition to interdestination competition (Go and Govers, 2000; Crouch and Ritchie, 1999), a need to focus on the quality management at the destination level has been identified (Laws, 1995 and 2000; Woods, 2003). In an attempt to address this need, a case study of the Fuchsia destination quality brand, West Cork, Ireland, was carried out. The findings revealed that whilst the Fuchsia brand did not appear to function as a powerful signal of quality to the customer, it did provide a support system which fostered an environment conducive to knowledge sharing amongst the tourism service providers applying for brand membership. This was mostly as a result of the policy of compulsory training for brand applicants. The paper reveals the way in which policies and programmes undertaken to overcome reluctance to participate in a destination quality assurance system also helped remove obstacles to knowledge sharing amongst tourism suppliers at the destination.     

The antecedents of behavioral intention regarding rural tourism destination

The main purpose of this study is to build an understanding of the effects of customer experience on trust and behavioral intention. The samples used in this study were 155 local tourists who made a one-time visit only to a village tourism in Sleman Regency, the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the village that is located on the slopes of Mount Merapi, offering recreational activities, entertainment, cultures, and outdoor adventures for tourists. Generalized Structured Component Analysis is used to analyze the correlation between customer experience and trust and behavioral intention. The findings reveal that customer experience has a significant effect on trust. Moreover, it also indicates that customer experience has a significant effect on behavioral intention, and so does trust. The findings of this study suggest that customer experience on trust is the antecedent of behavioral intention.     

Resident intention to invite friends,relatives, and acquaintances: The dynamic process of place identity as a motivator

The effects of destination resource evaluation and place identity, conceptualised as a dynamic process, on destination ambassadorship, expressed in intention to invite friends, relatives and acquaintances, from the resident perspective were examined in this study. The heterogeneity of residents, defined by length of residence, and its moderating effects on the aforementioned relationships were also investigated. Analyses of data from 545 respondents living in the post-industrial city of Newcastle, Australia revealed a partial mediation of place identity process on how resource evaluation affected resident intention to invite friends, relatives and acquaintances to their home city, which varied between residents with different lengths of residence in the city. These findings offer insights into the dynamic process of place identity and related effects on resident destination ambassadorship, as well as destination planning and management in the context of VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) tourism.     

Innovation in the tourism industry: The case of Tourism@

The objective of the paper is to apprehend and capture the evolution of innovative activities in the tourism industry through the empirical analysis of annual Tourism@ events. Tourism@ is an important trade fair in Europe that brings together major actors related to the tourism industry, i.e.: innovative start up companies, high tech small and medium sized enterprises, large multinationals and academics. The event provides significant information on innovation in the tourism industry through a competition for the best projects awarding either new technologies or new uses of ICT applied to tourism. The database of technological innovative projects gathered during the competitions is exploited and examined in a Sectoral System of Innovation and Production framework. Three main attributes of the framework are used for the analysis of the industry: knowledge bases, actors and demand. The paper highlights the intensity of innovation activity in tourism, and gives evidence about the rapid evolution of the tourism industry as well as the substantial impact of ICT on this evolution.     

Improving tourism policy implementation - The use of hybrid MCDM models

Few studies have presented a holistic approach to evaluating complex national tourism policies, successfully quantified the dynamics at play, or proposed an improvement model. The corresponding purpose of this study is to address this problem, using the method of hybrid MCDM (multiple criteria decision-making) to examine the dependent relationships among various dimensions and criteria of tourism policies and, ultimately, to suggest an optimal improvement plan for Taiwan tourism policy. A decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is employed to construct a network relationship map (NRM), which then is used to illustrate the influential network of the tourism policy improvement model. The DEMATEL-based analytic network process (DANP) and VIKOR are adopted to evaluate the weights and the gaps to the aspired level of implementation. The model is useful in identifying both an influential network and a priority sequence of dimensions/criteria related to tourism policies and, thus, is helpful to tourism policy management.     

The tourism effect of President Trump's participation on Twitter

This research analyzes the effect of President Donald J. Trump's participation on Twitter on the performance of the United States as a tourism destination as reflected in the market value of tourism the country's tourism industry. Based on the effects that brand associations have on brand image and brand knowledge, this research proposes a conceptual model whereby a destination's association with a public figure might lead this personality's participation in social media to have an effect—derived from the resulting social media sentiment—on consumers' destination's brand knowledge and, consequently, on the incoming flow of travelers to the destination and on the tourism market value. The empirical application carried out on the tweets that the President of the United States posted over more than 150,000 trading minutes shows that the participation of public personalities in social media can have repercussions on the market value of their country's tourism industry.     

Promoting sustainable event practice: The role of professional associations

International scholarly and industry debates are focussed clearly on the issue of climate change and environmental protection. The tourism industry and its related sectors have weathered much of the criticism for making a large contribution to environmental pollution. With its exponential growth over the past decade or so, the event sector is drawing attention as an increasing contributor to this global problem. Currently, there is a paucity of academic literature which examines the relationship between events and the environment. The event sector, primarily its professional associations and peak bodies are also publishing materials to provide guidance to members as to how to produce events which have minimal impact or reduce their impact on the environment.     

Social media micro-film marketing by Chinese destinations: The case of Shaoxing

Marketing destinations by micro-films via social media is becoming more popular among Chinese destinations. Little has been published about this phenomenon in the tourism literature. Using a netnographic case study from the city of Shaoxing, this research revealed the success factors for micro-film marketing by destinations. The research results showed that during the micro-film diffusion process, destination marketers were continuously and actively engaging with followers and online and offline marketing efforts were well planned and integrated. Attractions without uniqueness were impressive to viewers by being embodied in a romantic theme. Suggestions and implications for destination marketing are given.     

Residents' support for tourism development: The role of residents' place image and perceived tourism impacts

Drawing on the triple bottom line approach for tourism impacts (economic, socio-cultural and environmental) and adopting a non-forced approach for measuring residents' perception of these impacts, this study explores the role of residents' place image in shaping their support for tourism development. The tested model proposes that residents' place image affects their perceptions of tourism impacts and in turn their support for tourism development. The results stress the need for a more flexible and resident-oriented measurement of tourism impacts, revealing that more favorable perceptions of the economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts lead to greater support. Moreover, while residents' place image has been largely neglected by tourism development studies, the findings of this study reveal its significance in shaping residents' perception of tourism impacts as well as their level of support. The practical implications of the findings for tourism planning and development are also discussed.     

Influence of popular culture on special interest tourists' destination image

In this study the role of pop-culture on shaping destination image was derived from focus groups and interviews with 24 fans from different nationalities of the Korean pop star Ahn Jae-wook. Three main theses emerged from the study: 1) the destination image induced by pop-culture was changed in a positive way; 2) the pop-star's event reinforced a positive place image through experiences of the event and travels in South Korea; and 3) the positive image from pop-culture experiences had a strong impact on future behavior. Results of the study suggest that pop-culture as an autonomous agent delivers a more powerful and stronger influence on destination image than previously recognized in the literature. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.     

The antecedents of memorable tourism experiences: The development of a scale to measure the destination attributes associated with memorable experiences

Providing visitors with memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) is important for achieving success in the highly competitive tourism marketplace. To support destination managers, this paper developed a scale instrument that conceptualizes the attributes of destinations associated with MTEs. Following a rigorous scale development procedure, this study identified a 10-dimensional construct that affects MTEs. The data support this dimensional structure of the attributes of destinations affecting MTEs and the internal consistency and the validity (i.e., content, construct, convergent, and discriminant) of the scale. The theoretical and managerial implications of the study's results are discussed.     

The social construction of tourism online destination image: A comparative semiotic analysis of the visual representation of Seoul

This study examines the destination image of Seoul as represented by photographs online, and compares it to the traditional projected image found in printed brochures and guidebooks by replicating a previous study. Using visual semiotics, the social construction of tourism online destination image is investigated in terms of denotative and connotative signs. Using language-specific keyword searches, ‘Seoul travel’ on Naver, Google and Baidu, three demographic perspectives were examined including Korean, international English speaking and, Chinese. It was found that these different online contexts represent Seoul in different ways. Naver represents Seoul in more detail; Google and Baidu represent a mix of other destinations with Seoul connoting differences in perception, or reflecting the constraints of individual or group travel. The major findings suggest that the organic online self-representation of individual travel experiences by travelers, makes tourism as a soft power more effective, by supplementing the projected image of Seoul.     

The role of wellness spa tourism performance in building destination loyalty: the case of Thailand

ABSTRACT

Despite the considerable growth of the wellness spa tourism market, little research has examined the intricate procedure involved in travelers’ loyalty toward Thailand as a wellness spa tourism destination. This research aimed to explore such loyalty formation by investigating the relationships among performances of wellness spa tourism in Thailand, affective experiences, and overall satisfaction. A field survey methodology was used for data collection. Findings of the structural analysis revealed that product performances, affective experiences, and satisfaction were in general significantly associated, and that these variables contributed to a satisfactory prediction for destination loyalty. In addition, the adequacy of the second-order structure of the performances of Thai wellness spa tourism was demonstrated. Moreover, the relative effectiveness of satisfaction in building loyalty was identified. Both affective experiences and satisfaction were also found to have a significant mediating impact. Implications for destination researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Fuzzy Rasch model in TOPSIS: A new approach for generating fuzzy numbers to assess the competitiveness of the tourism industries in Asian countries

This study proposes a novel approach, the Fuzzy Rasch model, which combines Item Response Theory (IRT) and fuzzy set theory. This paper applies the Fuzzy Rasch model in Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to analyse the Tourism Destination Competitiveness (TDC) of nine Asian countries: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. The study was conducted in 2009 using 6 criteria and 15 indices. The results demonstrate the feasibility of applying the Fuzzy Rasch model in TOPSIS to analyse TDC in Asian countries. In addition, the proposed model also provides an effective means of applying the MCDM method to study TDC. Furthermore, in 2009, the Asian countries were ranked from most to least competitive as follows: China, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and the Philippines.     

Knowledge sharing between academic researchers and tourism practitioners: a Japanese study of the practical value of embeddedness,trust and co-creation

Nature-based tourism (NBT) practitioners urgently need to develop more and better quality products through including the findings of tourism and other scientific researchers. However, in many cases, NBT enterprises do not have enough resources to invest in building a sustainable relationship with such researchers. This paper reports on the long-term involvement of university researchers in value co-creation – producing a new value in tourist experiences – jointly with tourism practitioners, encouraging significant and innovative NBT outcomes. It articulates how knowledge sharing was achievable between these parties in their shared practices, focusing on the importance of tacit knowledge sharing. A case study approach was complemented by long-term monitoring from 2011 to 2015; data was collected by interview and participant observation and qualitatively analysed. The results vividly depict that the key factor for effective tacit knowledge sharing and long-term co-creation is largely related to embeddedness, and also to trust, long-term partnerships, and the creation of win-win situations for all sides. Although limited to one set of actors and one socio-cultural context, one Japanese university and one enterprise, this study pioneers empirical research on the relationships between co-creation, knowledge sharing, and embeddedness in sustainable tourism that could be replicated in other situations.