Sustainability communication: The effect of message construals on consumers’ attitudes towards green restaurants

As consumer preferences for environmentally conscious products have intensified in recent years, scholars have begun to more deeply explore the complex relationship between green practices and consumer behavior in the hospitality industry. Recently, this stream of research has been extended to the restaurant industry where consumers have become increasingly concerned about corporate social responsibility in general, and sustainable operations in particular. However, while there is general agreement about the importance of promoting a company’s sustainability message from a consumer marketing standpoint, an essential underlying question remains unanswered: What is it about sustainability messaging that leads to positive consumer attitudes? The purpose of this research is to explore this question via the complementary theoretical perspectives of construal level theory and information processing theory. Data collected from a sample of restaurant consumers in the United States suggest that consumers process information differently according to variations in the construals of a company’s sustainability message. The results indicate that messages congruent with the consumer’s perception of sustainability result in a more positive attitude toward the company.     

Designing for more environmentally friendly tourism

The environmental (un)sustainability of the tourism industry has been debated for many decades. This debate generated ample empirical evidence of the environmental damage caused by tourism-related human activity. It is underpinned, however, by a passive position: one of largely accepting the tourism industry as it is, and lamenting its negative consequences. An alternative, more active approach, is to deliberately design for environmental sustainability. This article provides examples of how the tourism industry can drive a reduction of environmental damage by actively designing brand-owned touchpoints in a way that entice tourists to behave more environmentally friendly. The article concludes with an overview of promising design approaches and a framework to guide the future design of more environmentally friendly tourism services.     

Ken-Air Tours—The volatile tourism market in Singapore

Tourism is a key industry in the economy and it is expected to play a key role in the service industry sector. Because of the growing adoption of information technology in the world, the tourism industry too, has been in utilizing the information highway to redefine and deliver the tourism product to the end consumers.Because of the shift towards information technology, the travel agent's traditional roles as an intermediary has come under severe pressure and is currently challenged to its existence. The demise of Ken-Air Tours, a large player in the travel agency industry in Singapore, is the focus of this report and the impact of the emphasis on technology is investigated and discussed.     

Whale shark tourism at Ningaloo Marine Park: A longitudinal study of wildlife tourism

This article demonstrates the changes that occur due to the maturation of a wildlife tourism industry through the application of a Wildlife Tourism Framework. Specifically, in 2005 survey data was collect from participants of whale shark tourism at Ningaloo Marine Park in Western Australia, facilitating a direct comparison with a study conducted a decade earlier. The results conformed with predictions by the Framework, in particular, a shift in the industry towards the mainstream from the periphery. In comparison with the past, whale shark tourism at Ningaloo now attracts more generalist tourists who place different preferences on the whale shark tourism experience. There is now a greater distribution of age groups; less skilled individuals; a higher tolerance to crowding; and a larger focus on the non-wildlife components of the experience. Furthermore, this article, discusses the pertinent management implications associated with this shift.     

'Staying Within the Fence': Lifestyle Entrepreneurship in Tourism

Lifestyle, non-economic motives have been recognised as significant stimuli for tourism entrepreneurship and growth of the small-business sector. Tourism research, to date, has focused on the conceptualisation of entrepreneurship informed largely by economic analysis. In this context, the long-term survival of lifestyle entrepreneurs in tourism has been addressed as a constraint within regional economic development. Our research of an emerging cohort of lifestyle entrepreneurs in New Zealand tourism, focusing on the motivating values of these entrepreneurs, reveals that their often conscious rejection of economic and business growth opportunities is an expression of their sociopolitical ideology. Coincidentally, this rejection of an overtly profit-driven orientation does not necessarily result in financial suicide or developmental stagnation but rather provides opportunities to engage with 'niche' market consumers informed by values common to themselves within rapidly segmenting markets. Moreover, the research indicates that these lifestyle entrepreneurs are often instrumental in the creation and introduction of innovative products to the wider industry which are not only capable of articulating values common to the sustainability debate with respect to a sense of place and community, but also stimulate regional development and reproduction of niche market products.     

Ecotourism-related products and activities, and the economic sustainability of small and medium island chalets

Environment-related products and activities in the tourism industry are popular among visitors to Malaysia. Such is the case off the coast of East Peninsular Malaysia, where several coral islands offer various ecotourism activities. The present study examines the products and activities offered in the four islands and related issues on the economic sustainability of small and medium island chalets (SMICs). Through the multi-method approach, results show that island hopping and combination tours are the most popular products. Meanwhile, snorkeling, round-island trips, and diving are the most highlighted activities. These ecotourism-related activities are mainly due to the attractiveness of the environment, which has drawn large numbers of tourists to the chalets on these islands. SMICs established their businesses in the late 1990s on the back of growing confidence in the tourism industry in the 1980s. Visitors include almost equal numbers of both local and international tourists. SMICs’ product and activity development are highly correlated with environmental attractions, thus positively contributing to the economic sustainability of SMICs. The present study proposes that the most appropriate business model for SMICs would be that of a small local business community operating in the island. This model would help maintain the sustainability of the island-tourism sector.     

Food,place and authenticity: local food and the sustainable tourism experience

In recent years, attempts to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of both tourism and agriculture have been linked to the development of “alternative” food networks and a renewed enthusiasm for food products that are perceived to be traditional and local. This paper draws on research from two UK regions, the Lake District and Exmoor, to argue that local food can play an important role in the sustainable tourism experience because it appeals to the visitor's desire for authenticity within the holiday experience. Using evidence from qualitative interviews with tourists and food producers, the paper records ways in which local foods are conceptualised as “authentic” products that symbolise the place and culture of the destination. By engaging with debates surrounding the meaning of locality and authenticity, the paper challenges existing understandings of these concepts and offers a new way forward for tourism research by arguing that “local food” has the potential to enhance the visitor experience by connecting consumers to the region and its perceived culture and heritage.     

Nostalgic Tourism

This article presents exploratory research that focuses on a segment of cultural consumers who possess a yearning to connect with their ancestry. The article presents a conceptual framework to better understand the market segments within the cultural tourism industry and argues for the need to better understand and study the segment of consumers who rely on tours to search for their own ancestral roots. A multimethod study conducted over the course of a 23‐day bus tour is presented. Observational, interview, and survey data gathered from tourists of British and Irish descent are used to test the proposed relationships.     

The contribution of social tourism to sustainable tourism: a case study of seasonally adjusted programmes in Spain

Recent policy from the European Union has attempted to justify social tourism initiatives on the basis that they lead to a more sustainable tourism industry. However, the majority of latest research in the field has been focused on the benefits for participants, with the addition of some evidence on the economic impacts of such programmes on destinations, which have pointed towards sustainability outcomes including: a longer tourism season, more even spread of demand, and longer periods of employment for tourism workers. Yet there is a lack of direct evidence linking such programme to these outcomes. This paper aimed to explore this important disconnect between policy assumptions and evidence-based outcomes through an analysis of the deseasonalising effects of the Spanish social tourism programme for older people. The research found that this programme does have an effect on the seasonal nature of employment and economic activity in most regions studied, but that the huge volume of demand from international tourists in the high seasons masks the quantitative effects in the regions with the highest seasonal concentration of international tourists. Recommendations for policy and practice in sustainable tourism are made that are transferable to many countries and regions that adopt social tourism programmes.     

A Quasi-experimental Method for Testing the Effectiveness of Ecolabel Promotion

Despite the existence of tourism ecolabels for more than 10 years, tourists’ decision making is still only marginally influenced by such labels and it appears that sustainability does not feature much in tourists’ general consumption behaviour. However, two recent studies found that tourists’ attitudes towards the Green Globe 21 (GG21) ecolabel in New Zealand were positive and the surveyed tourists appeared to have a high awareness of sustainability issues. Based on these findings, a quasiexperiment was conducted in the Christchurch Visitor Information Centre (CVIC) (main tourist hub of South Island) to investigate whether tourists’ positive attitudes towards ecolabels would result in increased observable interest of GG21 ecolabelled products. The purpose of this paper is to describe the complex quasi-experimental methodology that has been developed in an attempt to get further insight into tourist behaviour related to ecolabelled tourist products. During May and June 2003 the impact of a promotional campaign on tourists’ information search behaviour in the CVIC was tested. Observations of tourists and measurement of brochure up-take showed no increased interest in the ecolabel promotion campaign or the GG21 labelled products in the CVIC. The experimental methodology demonstrated that positive attitudes towards ecolabels are an unreliable predictor of responsible environmental tourist behaviour.     

Sustainability approaches and nature tourism development

This article shows how combinations of different sustainability approaches of tourism entrepreneurs and other actors restrict nature tourism development in a nature park context. Drawing on the literature on nature tourism and sustainable entrepreneurship and a case study of a Danish nature park, we show how different actors' sustainability orientations cannot clearly be assigned specific theoretical sustainability approaches. Instead, they express different degrees of focus on various parameters of sustainability, thereby shaping the actors' ‘sustainability DNA’. The analysis shows how different DNAs are incommensurable and that this limits nature tourism development. The incommensurability arises from underlying ontological beliefs about sustainability, including the reasons for which sustainability is included in organisational strategies. We suggest a root-cause model to help solve conflicts arising from the incommensurability.     

网络旅游消费者参与心理与行为的实证研究

互联网技术在全球的迅猛发展为网络与旅游的结合提供了重要的基础,并为现代旅游业开启了一个崭新的时代。网络旅游作为一种日益兴盛的现代旅游方式,已经成为旅游业信息化发展的重要表现形式之一,同时也是当今世界旅游业发展的重要方向。因此,了解和分析消费者网络旅游参与的心理和行为对旅游企业的营销和管理也变得越来越关键。然而,现有网络旅游研究主要探讨旅游网络消费者参与行为的特征,对旅游网站特性影响作用、网络旅游消费者参与动机、参与过程和参与心理机制的研究深度还不够。为了揭示现阶段我国旅游网站特性对网络旅游消费者参与心理和最终参与行为的影响作用,该研究在充分总结有关研究的基础上,构建了网络旅游消费者参与心理和行为的概念模型,随后对参与到旅游网站中的397名消费者进行调查分析。研究结果发现:旅游网站的熟悉度和服务规范度会有效影响消费者参与心理的自我决定需求,进而对消费者参与旅游网站的感知卷入和信息搜寻行为产生影响作用。研究结论建议,旅游网站吸引消费者参与的同时需要切实提高企业的品牌知名度和服务规范度,这是进一步提高网络旅游消费者对网站忠诚度的重要基础。     

Participant crowding and physical contact rates of whale shark tours on Isla Holbox,Mexico

Whale shark tourism is a growing niche market within the marine wildlife tourism sector. Increased visitation and declining whale shark numbers at some tourism sites worldwide raise questions over the long-term sustainability of this industry. This study examines the social and potential biological impacts of “swim-with” whale shark tourism on Isla Holbox, Mexico. A total of 397 tour participants completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding perceived crowding, reported encounters and encounter norms, as well as self-reported physical contact rates with whale sharks. Relatively high physical contact rates suggest that tourism may cause some harm to sharks. Users who encountered more swimmers than their norm felt significantly more crowded and were more likely to perceive the industry as having a negative impact on the sharks and surrounding environment. However, the results suggest that the number of boats in the whale shark viewing area may have a greater influence on crowding than number of swimmers. Management interventions to improve the sustainability of the industry include improved interpretation and guide intervention, achieving higher compliance with existing guidelines, and limiting the number of boats allowed in the whale shark viewing area.     

When rich pictorial information backfires: The interactive effects of pictures and psychological distance on evaluations of tourism products

Using data from five studies (i.e., a pilot study and four experiments), we examine the interactive effects of pictures and psychological proximity on consumers' evaluation of tourism products. The extant literature has suggested that providing rich pictorial information or construing a psychologically proximal tourism product can independently increase consumers’ generation of mental images and render a positive attitudinal judgment. However, our findings on the effectiveness of these two strategies in combination are mixed. Specifically, we find that if the tourism product is a psychologically distal one, consumers evaluate it more favorably when rich pictorial information is provided than when the information is not available. If the product is a psychologically proximal one, the reverse is true. Our findings, therefore, suggest an important situation that might be intriguing to both tourism product managers and advertisers --when rich pictorial information backfires.     

Tourist holiday options: timeshare versus competition

The timeshare industry's success has been limited by an unenthusiastic reception from consumers, governments, investors, and the media. The everincreasing world population, increasing GDP, and improved communications resulting from the technological revolution, all indicate an expanding tourism market. Although timeshare's market share is currently increasing more rapidly than most other tourism sectors, to achieve its full growth potential the industry must improve its imagemarketing and products must be tailored to the requirements of consumers. Timeshare must demonstrate a significant social and economic contribution in order to obtain publicsector support and government incentives made available to traditional tourism industry.     

Sustainable tourism composite indicators: a dynamic evaluation to manage changes in sustainability

This paper introduces an approach to assessing the sustainability of tourism that takes into account the progress made towards greater sustainability, as well as the current level of sustainability. The Vectorial Dynamic Composite Indicator is based on the goal programming technique. This composite indicator has two components (static and dynamic). The first provides a static assessment of the destination in terms of its strengths and weaknesses. The second allows us to analyse the evolution recorded by the destination from a period taken as a reference to the measurement period. In order to facilitate the use of the vectorial indicator, we define a graphical tool: the Sustainable Tourism Evaluation Chart. The definition of the composite indicator is completed by setting guidelines for its use obtained from a comparative empirical study focused on some of the main European destinations.     

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM: A REVIEW OF PUBLICATIONS FROM 2005 TO 2007

The tourism and hospitality industries have widely adopted information technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and most importantly to improve service quality and customer experience. This article offers a comprehensive review of articles that were published in 57 tourism and hospitality research journals from 2005 to 2007. Grouping the findings into the categories of consumers, technologies, and suppliers, the article sheds light on the evolution of IT applications in the tourism and hospitality industries. The article demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the competitive operations of the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the distribution and marketing of organizations on a global scale.     

The co-creation/place attachment nexus

Co-creation in tourism has investigated a range of ways in which consumers are becoming increasingly involved in defining and creating services and products. These activities, however, constitute only a small portion of the full range of tourism experiences. The current concentration on co-creation of (mostly service-dominated) tourism products needs to be expanded to accommodate elements such as the physical environment and local social and cultural milieus of tourism. This article appropriates concepts and models from the discourse of place attachment to demonstrate an approach to extending the co-creation concept to include experiences of the physical tourism site, not merely as the setting of a service relation, but as a fundamental dimension of the tourism experience. This approach is tested and demonstrated based on an analysis and discussion of the findings of a survey study of tourists to the Historic Center of Macao.     

Cultural sensitivity: Engaging difference in tourism

Cultural sensitivity is highly relevant but inadequately conceptualized in tourism contexts. This article explores and advances understanding of cultural sensitivity in relation to Arctic tourism where local and Indigenous livelihoods and environments are tethered to dynamics of recent tourism growth and decline, climate change, and colonial power relations. Framing cultural sensitivity as a subjective orientation towards otherness, the article illuminates differences between ethnocentric and ethnorelative orientations and discusses the importance of relational tourism processes. By advancing the conceptualization of cultural sensitivity, the article offers a framework for developing tourism services and products, and approaching tourism encounters, in ways that can enhance recognition, respect and reciprocity towards otherness in Arctic tourism and beyond.