Industry professionals’ perceptions of sustainability in meeting and event education

ABSTRACT

The size of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events/Exhibitions (MICE) industry, and its popularity as a career choice are growing, along with the number of MICE college programs. Although the industry has begun to recognize its impact on sustainability, and is increasing efforts to improve sustainability-related practices, there is a lack of research on MICE education about sustainability. This study examines MICE professionals’ perceptions about sustainability in meeting and event education in order to help MICE educators equip students with the knowledge that is pertinent to their future. In-depth interviews with 10 MICE professionals show that they think students should learn about sustainability not only as a general concept but also as a business case for meeting and events. Measuring and tracking impacts were also important. The interviewees had mixed views about the industry’s current sustainability practices. Several practical recommendations for MICE educators, and future research topics are discussed.     

Luxury hotels going green – the antecedents and consequences of consumer hesitation

Abstract

Luxury hotels might hesitate to operate in a more environmentally friendly way because they worry such practices will harm their performance. However, hotels can have a significant impact on the natural environment. Building on protection motivation theory, this study examines consumers’ evaluations of luxury hotels that are becoming more environmentally friendly by investigating the influences of perceived risks (i.e. functional, financial, hedonic, and self-image risks) on consumers’ hesitation and subsequent purchase intentions. Additionally, the moderating effect of consumers’ green hotel knowledge on the influences of perceived risks on hesitation is examined. Questionnaires were completed by 548 participants from Taiwan and revealed that perceived risks can significantly influence hesitation, which can in turn affect purchase intentions. Furthermore, green hotel knowledge moderates the influence of perceived functional and hedonic risks on hesitation. This study’s contributions to the luxury product consumption literature and sustainable tourism studies are discussed.     

Exploring determinants of meeting planners’ commitment to the business relationships with destination management companies

Although there is a demand for research on a business-to-business relationship between meeting planners and destination management companies, the current hospitality and tourism literature is insufficient in its attempt to understand the dynamics of this unique relationship. Recently, in the meeting industry, destination management companies have been recognized to experience a more challenging business environment due to the abundance of online vendor information which activates meeting planners’ disintermediation of destination management company services. To provide more practical implications for these key meeting players, this study urges that the key factor that encourages meeting planners to continue using destination management companies is trust. Therefore, this study examines determinants of the trust–commitment relationship as a means for meeting planners to achieve a more sustainable relationship with destination management companies. Applying and extending social exchange theory, this study also explores the determinants of the future relationship (commitment or termination). Findings of this research will provide the industry with suggestions for their relationship development.     

Association meeting planners’ loyalty to hotel chains

Many associations alternate the location of their annual convention. Hotel chains can have a significant advantage over independent hotels in that respect due to their network of properties across the country and the consequent potential for cross selling. This study explores the relationship between association meeting planners and hotel chains, with a particular focus on loyalty issues. It investigates meeting planners’ reasons for being loyal to a specific hotel chain and their future intentions. Hotel practices, features, and benefits that planners regard as important in developing loyalty to a chain are identified. Performance ratings for these attributes are then established, and contrasted with importance ratings, highlighting opportunities for hotel chains to improve relations with loyal planners.     

The influence of exploitative leadership on hospitality employees’ green innovative behavior: A moderated mediation model

Growing awareness of environmental sustainability in the hospitality sector has made employee green innovative behavior an important element of their establishment’s performance. Drawing from ego depletion theory, this paper aims to study how and when exploitative leadership influences hospitality employees’ green innovative behavior. We collected data from 467 full-time hospitality employees and their direct leaders in 96 teams, and examined a cross-level moderated mediation model employing multilevel path analysis. The results showed that exploitative leadership in the hospitality sector negatively associates with hospitality employees’ green innovative behavior, mediated by their emotional exhaustion. The results further showed that perceived organizational support moderates the influence of exploitative leadership on emotional exhaustion and subsequent green innovative behavior. Implications for theory and practice in the hospitality sector are discussed.     

Millennials’ willingness to pay for green restaurants

The hospitality industry is currently witnessing an increase in the number of restaurant companies with sustainable business models. This research explores the determinant factors of millennials’ willingness to pay (WTP) by looking at the qualitative decision of whether to pay more and the quantitative decision of how much extra to pay. While literature has investigated the factors that lead people to choose green restaurants, no analysis that simultaneously considers the qualitative and quantitative decisions has been conducted for the millennial generation. This study fills this gap by estimating the Heckit model, which (1) allows us to simultaneously model both decisions and detect their determinants—“green consumerism,” “health consciousness,” “income,” and two psychographics (“green restaurant preference” and “predisposition to make an effort in terms of time and distance”)—and (2) permits the control of sample selections bias, which turns out to be a critical issue in this research.     

Are lodging customers ready to go green? An examination of attitudes,demographics, and eco-friendly intentions

This study attempted to answer the following research questions: (1) Do eco-friendly attitudes affect hotel customers’ environmentally friendly intentions to visit a green hotel, to spread word-of-mouth about a green hotel, and to pay more for a green hotel?; (2) If so, which facet of attitudes has the greatest impact?; (3) How do their expressed intentions differ across gender, age, education, and household income?; (4) How do such expressed intentions differ based on the existence of previous experience staying at a green hotel? A total of 422 cases were used to answer the research questions. Findings indicate that customers’ green attitudes are, in general, significantly associated with their expressed intentions to visit a green hotel, to spread word-of-mouth about a green hotel, and to pay more for it. Gender differences in such intentions were found, and the intentions were affected by their previous experiences with a green hotel. However, the eco-friendly intentions did not significantly differ across age, education, and household income.     

Stakeholders’ views of travelers’ choice of Airbnb

This study investigated the views of travelers’ choices of informal accommodations, Airbnb in Hong Kong from the perspectives of three stakeholders. A qualitative approach was applied, both interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. A total of 69 participants shared their views on why users choose Airbnb over traditional hotels. The findings highlighted that hoteliers and Airbnb users presented different rankings on the determinants of accommodation choice. The implications of the destination image and the population density were discussed. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for any city/country where has a similar cultural background and population density.     

The legacy of European Capitals of Culture to the “smartness” of cities: The case of Guimarães 2012

The objective of the paper is to examine the extent to which the legacy of European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) increases the “smartness” of cities. A qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews and desk research was used to assess the impact on the smart city's dimensions hypothesized by Giffinger et al. (2007 Giffinger, R., Fertner, C., Kramar, H., Kalasek, R., Pichler-Milanovic, N., &; Meijers, E. (2007). Smart cities—Ranking of European medium-sized cities (Report). Vienna University of Technology Retrieved November 25, 2015, from http://www.smart-cities.eu/download/smart_cities_final_report.pdf [Google Scholar]). The research revealed that this kind of mega-event reinforces the smartness of the city in which it is hosted in terms of attributes such as living, economy, people and environment. No significant legacy is observed with respect to the mobility dimension.     

Present State and Trend of Development of the World's Tourism

The World Tourism Organization has tecently announced a survey on the golbe's tourism in the past 30years     

On the Occasion of the Publication of the 20th Volume of “Tourism Tribune”

This issue of “Tourism Tribune” in the hands of our readers is the first issue of the 20th Volune since its publication. In the past nineteen years, “Tourism Tribune”has witnessed great development thanks to the sincere trust from our readers and unremitting contributions from our writers.     

The Determinants of Honeymoon Destination Choice—The Case of Taiwan

The purposes of this study were to identify the attributes that determine the attractiveness of a honeymoon destination and to determine the influential variables that affect the destination choice of honeymooners. The results indicated that “safety,” “excellent quality of accommodation,” and “reasonable travel cost” were the three most important attributes determining the attractiveness of a honeymoon destination. Significant differences in perceptions of destination attributes exist across groups of different sociodemographic and traveling characteristics of potential honeymooners. Two sociodemographic variables (i.e., age, monthly income), two traveling characteristics (i.e., length of trip, travel budget), and three destination attributes (i.e., “excellent quality of accommodation,” “nightlife entertainment,” “good place for shopping”) are the significant determinants for classifying Taiwanese potential honeymooners by their destination choices. The findings of this study provide useful information for destination marketers in their efforts to segment the target market precisely and develop promotion campaigns effectively.     

Application of Perception-Promotion Matrix Model—The Case of Kaohsiung City

While a substantial amount of destination image research has been performed, few researchers have explored image perception gaps between tourists and government promotions. This study examines the perception gap between blogs and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) promotions by introducing a four-quadrant diagnostic tool: the Perception-Promotion Matrix (PPM). This case study collected data from 168 domestic and 64 international blogs, and 70 Chinese and 36 English official Kaohsiung City promotional websites to investigate image gap. The findings revealed significant “Tourist Infrastructure” image perception gaps, both from domestic and international traveler perspectives. The PPM suggests Kaohsiung City DMOs successfully promote an image of culture by hosting events and festivals. However, analysis indicates failure on the part of these DMOs to promote an image of Kaohsiung as an Ocean capital. Recommendations resulting from this study are provided for Kaohsiung City DMO consideration.     

Does ECO certification deliver benefits? An empirical investigation of visitors’ perceptions of the importance of ECO certification's attributes and of operators’ performance

Certification is highlighted as a key sustainable tourism management tool. Yet, very little is known about visitors’ perceptions of such schemes. This is an important gap: the success of certification schemes depends on consumers’ confidence in the quality of products and services that the schemes endorse. This paper surveyed 610 visitors to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and surrounds in Queensland, Australia about (1) the perceived importance of various attributes of the ECO certification scheme; and (2) the perceived performance of operators based on those attributes. Data analysis identified aspects of ECO certification and of operator performance that may need improvement. It found that importance of attributes varied across products and visitor groups; at accommodations, most attributes were perceived to be important, Nature (as an aesthetic experience) and Marketing being more important than others, while at attractions and on tours, visitors were indifferent. Younger visitors rated Environment and Conservation more highly than their older counterparts and females rated Conservation more highly than males. Visitors – notably at accommodations – considered that ECO certified operators were performing “better” than non-ECO certified operators on many attributes. How these visitor perceptions translate into reality remains an important topic for future research.     

The production of spaces of the ‘good life’ – the case of lifestyle migrants in Spain

In search for the ‘good life’, the current generation of European retirees is striving to materialise a self-determined way of life by moving to locations that provide a higher quality of life, such as the Mediterranean coast. Migrants’ leisure practises and distinct spatial features, e.g. leisure infrastructures, hereby frame a production of desirable spaces.

The contribution is theoretically informed by Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space that suggests space to be a social product emerging from congruities and contradictions in a triad of practices, representations and localities. It is discussed how everyday leisure practices reproduce collectively or individually imagined representations of spaces of the ‘good life’ and how such spaces are contested.

The presented case study is mainly based on qualitative interviews depicting narratives associated with the realm of leisure. Empirical data were collected among German retirees, who relocated to a small municipality at the Costa del Sol (Southern Spain).

The analysis of empirical data reveals mostly consistencies within the realms representations, practices and localities, but depicts contestations of spaces of the ‘good life’ with regard to ongoing ageing processes. Lifestyle migrants ascribe meaning to practices of leisure in order to fulfil the desire for consuming tourist; sights that frequently represent highly symbolic places. Constructing notions of sociability with friends and acquaintances through leisure, the migrants hold meaningful social ties, which provide security through reliable networks. Nevertheless, this article points out that spaces of the ‘good life’ are deconstructed through age-related mobility constraints.     

Students’ perceptions of the educational usage of a Facebook group

ABSTRACT

The arrival of digital native students and the omnipresence of Internet access and mobile devices have motivated professors to reflect on their teaching practices. The educational usage of Facebook includes communication, collaboration, and sharing. Different research designs and the lack of baseline data made it difficult to compare research findings and conclude students’ perceptions of the educational usage of a Facebook group. The findings from this research showed even more positive attitudes towards the educational usage of a Facebook group after the experience. Specifically, positive significant differences were found in “improves communication between teacher and students”, “provides rich multimedia resources and media support to improve the educational experience”; and a negative significant change in “encourages the creation of academic groups (communities) of people with the same interest and needs”.     

An in-depth exploration of residents’ perceived impacts of transient vacation rentals

ABSTRACT

The recent explosion of transient vacation rental (TVR) accommodations has been aided by websites like AirBnB, Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO), and HomeAway and this segment continues to grow in popularity. Many communities have enacted bans on TVRs with little empirical data to support decisions. This study explores TVR-related impacts as perceived by residents, and why those particular impacts are perceived. A series of 12 semi-structured, in-depth interviews of key resident stakeholders on Oahu, Hawai’i, United States (US) were conducted. Thematic analysis revealed residents perceived both positive and negative impacts in the economic, environmental, and sociocultural realms. Extended quotes from interviewees reveal the connection of perceived impacts to the presence of TVRs in residential zoned areas and the lack of a proprietor to manage the property and tourists like a traditional bed and breakfast (B&B). Findings provide a baseline for future research examining the unique impacts of this area of rapid tourism growth. Marketing implications are discussed.     

Resident perceptions of social–ecological resilience and the sustainability of community-based tourism development in the Commonwealth of Dominica

Despite major investments in community-based tourism to diversify economies, reduce poverty and improve life quality in the Caribbean, little is known about what conditions lead to resilience and sustainability. Sustainability from a resilience theory perspective is the likelihood an existing system of resource use will persist indefinitely without a decline in social and natural resource bases. Undertaking activities to enhance resilience and sustainability improves a system's ability to persevere, adapt and learn to meet challenges from unanticipated economic, political or natural events. This study investigated six communities in the Commonwealth of Dominica, all part of a seven-year community tourism program, and examined residents' perceptions of the social, institutional, economic and ecological resilience of their community, and therefore the resilience and sustainability of community tourism development. It used a new scale using eight steps suggested by Devellis' scale development methodology. Data indicated moderate to low resilience in all four domains across the communities. This suggests that communities should invest in strengthening social bonds, developing capacity in local institutions, in diversifying the tourism product and controlling infrastructure development. Indicators measuring trust, networks, local control, flexible governance, leakage prevention and controlled infrastructure development emerged as important in assessing social–ecological resilience and sustainability.     

Examination of tourism undergraduates’ industry commitment,in the context of China

Grounded in the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study developed a comprehensive research framework that encapsulated both personal and contextual factors in terms of tourism undergraduates’ commitment to career choice in the context of China’s social and vocational contexts. Applying structural equation modeling (SEM) to the data collected from 446 undergraduate students studying tourism in China, this study shows that “self-interest,” “others’ support,” “social status,” “outcome expectation” and “nature of work” exert significant effects on students’ commitment to career choice. Implications of the findings include suggested interventions in attracting tourism students to persist in their career path.     

What caused the rise of Airbnb? An examination of key macroeconomic factors

The social and economic implications of the Airbnb phenomenon have been the subject of much research. Yet, the academic literature on Airbnb is nascent. Specifically, the issue of whether major macroeconomic conditions affect the supply of Airbnb has not been investigated. To address this gap, we propose a conceptual model that explains the determinants of Airbnb supply and examine the extent to which major macroeconomic factors affect the supply of Airbnb. Specifically, we analyze the effects of hotel room rates (ADR), hotel demand, tourism demand, house prices, gross domestic product (GDP), wages and unemployment on the supply of Airbnb in 50 U.S. states. Results show that increases in hotel ADR, house prices, and GDP have contributed to an increase in the supply of Airbnb, whereas increases in unemployment rates and wages have adverse effects on Airbnb supply. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed within realms of macroeconomic theory.