An application of network analysis on tourist attractions: The case of Xinjiang,China

This study constitutes a novel application of network analysis to explore the underlying mechanisms of tourist attraction network informed by tourist flows. Using survey data collected from a sample of 456 tourists visiting Xinjiang, China, the study applies the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) to test the relationships between region proximity, grade proximity, and tenure proximity, and the attraction network determined by tourists' free choice movements. Results show that while region proximity and tenure proximity among major attractions in a destination were positively related to attraction network, grade proximity was negatively related to the attraction network, indicating that same grade attractions were mostly competing with one another for tourists. The study contributes to the methodological development of social network analysis in tourism and advances understanding of demand-driven network relationships among tourist attractions in a destination. Destination management implications are discussed.     

Disability,social inclusion and the marketing of tourist attractions

The participation of persons with a disability (PWDs) in tourism has received growing academic interest in recent years. This paper contributes to a reflection on how accessible tourism relates to the sustainable development paradigm. To investigate this relationship, it goes beyond the question of PWDs’ access to tourism services, and adopts an inclusiveness perspective. Inclusion is examined in terms of legislation, marketing and imagery, and representations of PWDs as consumers embedded within social units – and families in particular. These dimensions are explored empirically in a study of visitor attractions in Cornwall (England) based on a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of brochures and websites. The study shows that the marketing materials of Cornish visitor attractions mainly focus on access, and the imagery used largely projects quasi invisibility or provides ambiguous messages. Communication with PWDs rarely addresses the family unit, making the family tourism experience intangible in the pre-trip phase. These results point at weaker implementation of inclusiveness, which corroborates previous findings of watered down definitions of rights to tourism under neo-liberal ideologies and economic crises. The paper discusses implications for social inclusion and highlights avenues for future research.     

Understanding the tourist experience of cities

Economic, environmental and social forces have changed the way we are developing our cities. A range of theoretical constructs have been explored to provide direction for contemporary analyses of urban tourism experience. This paper engages with a feminist perspective in our understanding of the way tourists explore and experience cities. It achieves this by expanding current sociological frameworks that assume the tourist is simply a wanderer in the urban environment. Drawing on interactionist and post-structural critique and Wearing and Wearing’s (1996) theoretical framework of the flâneur and choraster, this paper demonstrates how a more feminized conceptualisation of the tourist experience as a creative and interactive process could have a transformative effect on our understanding of tourists’ experiences of cities.     

江苏省乡村旅游地空间分布及其影响因素研究

本文以江苏省657家星级乡村旅游地为研究样本,综合运用最邻近指数、核密度估计、缓冲区分析、地理探测器等多种空间分析与统计方法,探究江苏省乡村旅游地空间分布特征及其影响因素。研究结果表明：（1）江苏省乡村旅游地呈集聚分布,在苏北地区呈单核心空间分布,在苏中、苏南地区连绵呈环状分布格局。（2）江苏省乡村旅游地具有“沿路傍水” “环城近景”的分布特征,100万城镇人口是乡村旅游地集聚发展的门槛,大城市周边更容易形成乡村旅游地聚集区。（3）单因子探测结果发现,江苏省乡村旅游地空间分布受多种因素的综合影响,其中经济因素影响程度最高,其次是自然因素和社会因素。（4）双因子交互探测结果显示,经济、社会、自然因素间的交叉作用显著性突出,空气质量与第一产业是乡村旅游地发展的前提条件,交通运输是基础性保障因素,邻近拥有富裕客源的大城市是促使乡村旅游地集聚发展的根本原因。研究结果可为区域乡村旅游产业的布局优化与可持续发展提供参考。     

Ticket prices and revenue levels of tourist attractions in China: Spatial differentiation between prefectural units

Ticket pricing is a key issue for tourism research in China. Owing to regional differences, a unified nationwide price reduction strategy for tourist attractions would be inappropriate for China. To assist in regional ticket pricing decisions, this study uses ArcGIS spatial analysis methods to analyze the spatial differentiation of ticket prices and revenue levels between prefectural units, using 2017 data from 9450 A-grade tourist attractions. The results reveal prominent characteristics of spatial differentiation in tourist attractions’ average ticket prices, as well as in the proportion of their revenue from ticket sales, between prefectural units. Ticket prices are generally low in north China and high in south China; meanwhile, the proportion of ticket revenue is generally high in east China and low in west China. The factors influencing such spatial differentiation are tourism resources, local socio-economic conditions, and the management of tourist attractions. The findings help stakeholders to make differentiation strategy.     

Bringing the past to life: Co-creating tourism experiences in historic house tourist attractions

This ethnographic study concentrates on the co-creation of experiential value between the tourist and tour guide in a single historic tourism site; Huntingdon Castle, Ireland. Built upon the principles of service dominant logic, the research explores how storytelling acts as an engagement platform and value enhancing strategic resource. In doing so, it impels the value co-creation journey and shapes the tourist's experience. Observation is coupled with qualitative interviews to capture the dual perspective of both guides and tourists. Findings exhibit the co-creation process through the performance of stories; how and when people derive pleasure (value); the influencing aspects of the environment or place; and guide/tourist perspectives on how they feel and think during the experience. The research contributes by taking a practical operational view of how co-creation occurs. It goes beyond the guide's perspective and exhibits the importance of co-creation of lived experience in the story enhanced tourism experience framework.     

Developing creativity in tourist experiences: A solution to the serial reproduction of culture?

As culture is increasingly utilised as a means of social and economic development, the cultural tourism market is being flooded with new attractions, cultural routes and heritage centres. However, many consumers, tired of encountering the serial reproduction of culture in different destinations are searching for alternatives. The rise of skilled consumption, the importance of identity formation and the acquisition of cultural capital in (post)modern society point towards the use of creativity as an alternative to conventional cultural tourism. This paper considers the development of creative spaces, creative spectacles and creative tourism from the perspective of supply and demand. The need for creativity in developing new products and how to address the challenge of serial reproduction are discussed, and examples of creative tourism projects are examined and contrasted to traditional models of cultural tourism.     

Understanding tourist space at a historic site through space syntax analysis: The case of Gulangyu,China

Although tourist development appears to be an effective approach for the further development of historic towns, researchers have often contended that a balance is difficult to maintain between protection and development. This article applies space syntax analysis to provide an understanding of tourist space at historic sites on Gulangyu Island. The relationship between street network integration and the urban fabric as well as tourist preferences collated from data mining are explored and verified. Then, results of the space syntax analysis along with the proposed historic site plan are compared to provide suggestions in plan evaluation. This research provides a visualized and quantitative approach to the field of tourist management via the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) to urban morphological features, tourist preferences and results gathered by way of planning practice. The effectiveness and limitations of this proposed new approach are also debated and substantiated.     

Grant-aided tourism projects and employment creation—experiences of the english tourist board

Employment creation is an important consideration in grant-aiding tourism projects. Drawing on the results of 140 tourism projects that were given English Tourist Board support, this article evaluates their performance by comparing promised employment to jobs actually created and analyses the forecasting errors.     

Attractiveness of cultural activities in European cities: A latent class approach

Cultural tourism behaviour and destination preference was analysed for 19 European capital cities, utilising the level of participation in cultural activities (participation) and the level of enjoyment of those cultural activities (attractiveness). A latent class model with three classes described the association in the data satisfactorily. Class 1 was labeled “low participation and high attractiveness”, Class 2 was labeled “high participation and high attractiveness”, and Class 3 was labeled “high participation and low attractiveness”. The Class 2 respondents with high participation and attractiveness had the highest cultural capital, and could be considered ‘specific cultural tourists’, whereas the Class 3 respondents could be considered ‘general cultural tourists’. Class 1 respondents, with relatively infrequent participation but high enjoyment, are potentially most interesting in marketing terms.     

Factors influencing the co-occurrence of visits to attractions: The case of Madrid,Spain

Large destinations such as cities usually offer multiple and diverse attractions, a selection of which will be visited by tourists during their stay. This study analyses the factors influencing the probability of the co-occurrence of visits to attractions in the city of Madrid (Spain). On the basis of five years (2013–2018) of user-generated data, we built a network formed by the attractions visited by the tourists and fitted it to an exponential random graph model. The results show that a tourist's decision to visit a particular attraction was influenced by its popularity and rating. In addition, homophily in popularity, rating and some attraction categories was detected. In the analysis made of the temporal trend of the attraction network, it was found that homophily in the category of museums and theatres strengthened over the study period. Identifying the forces that connect attractions is crucial for their efficient management, promotion, and preservation.     

An application of the repertory grid method and generalised Procrustes analysis to investigate the motivational factors of tourist food consumption

This study explores the motivational factors and dimensions underlying tourists’ food consumption through a combined repertory grid method (RGM) and generalised Procrustes analysis (GPA) approach. By employing the RGM triadic elicitation technique, a total of 14 motivational factors was yielded (i.e., authentic experience, prestige, cultural knowledge, health concern, assurance, convenience, price and value, novelty, variety, familiarity, eating habit, sensory pleasure, social pleasure, and contextual pleasure). Content analysis and GPA results further categorised the factors into five dimensions (i.e., symbolic, obligatory, contrast, extension, and pleasure). Based on the findings, a conceptual framework was developed to illustrate how tourist food consumption can be differentiated into supporting consumer experience, peak touristic experience (contrast), peak touristic experience (symbolic) and “attractionised” experience.     

Local impression of tourist photographing: A perspective from Iran

The current study discusses the impression of local people towards tourist photographing in three heritage villages of Iran. A qualitative face-to-face interviews were undertaken of 65 respondents through snow-ball sampling technique. Unlike previous tourist photography literature where photos taken by tourists were analyzed (photographers' perspectives), in the current study authors brought up the impression of local residents in tourist photography. The results showed that locals had disgust feeling when they have been photographed without permission. They, moreover, were afraid of photo misuse and called for application of ethical codes in tourist photographing. Locals were not happy of their heritage commodification, although some advocated of earning revenue through tourist photographing. The findings also cleared out that locals felt proud when they appeared in tourist-local shared photos. The study enhances knowledge and understanding of local impression in tourist photography specifically in a part of the world which has been relatively neglected.     

Campsite choice and the camping tourism experience: Investigating decisive campsite attributes using relevance-determinance analysis

Camping tourism represents a growing part of the overall tourism industry. Despite this fact, this form of tourism has so far been rather neglected by tourism and hospitality research. Using a case study of a major campsite operator in the coastal part of Croatia, this study thus aims to contribute to the understanding of this specific tourist segment. In particular, a relevance-determinance analysis is conducted to reveal most decisive attributes for campsite choice, on the one hand, and for the actual campsite experience, on the other hand. Overall, the results provide valuable insight to practitioners, especially for the purposes of campsite marketing and experience management.     

Regional development policies: an assessment of their evolution and effects on the Spanish tourist model

This paper assesses the incidence of regional development policy on the evolution of the Spanish tourist model. Spain's tourist boom took place within the framework of an authoritarian, centralist regime in which no true regional policy existed. Macroeconomic interests prevailed and planning was relaxed in front of the limited economic resources available and the urgent need to earn foreign currency and give coastal areas economic dynamism, all within a favourable context of international demand growth. The country's democratisation process entailed a politico-administrative decentralisation that was more suitable for the development of an effective regional policy.Spain's entry into the European Community increased the economic resources available and largely improved regional policy principles and instruments. While the centralist policy is associated with the sun-and-beach tourist model concentrated on the coast, the new regional policy represents an essential, though sometimes unnoticed, element in the current process of diversification and spatial spread of the Spanish tourist supply.     

A spatial approach for the management of groundwater quality in tourist destinations

Water resources and tourism need to be thought of in an integrated way, in order to provide urban planners and tourism managers with tools to promote water security and water equity. The objective of this paper was to apply an index capable of identify problems at the water-tourism interface, based on a spatial approach in GIS, meant to support the management of groundwater quality in tourist destinations. This index was applied to a tourist destination in northeastern Brazil, which uses groundwater to maintain its tourism infrastructure. The geographic phenomenon analyzed showed a spatial pattern between water use and tourism, with probable influences in hydrochemistry of groundwater. We suggest that the use of the propose index associated to GIS may be part of strategic planning efforts contemplating the interaction between tourism, urban management and water security, thus guaranteeing the infrastructure essential to strengthening the economy of a tourist destination.     

The influence of artistically recreated nature on the image of tourist destinations: Lanzarote's art,cultural and tourism visitor centres and their links to sustainable tourism marketing

Can distinctive natural assets in tourist destinations be artistically recreated and used to improve destination image and attract more visitors? This paper analyses the formation of the tourist image based on artistically recreated local nature icons, and shows how those images can enhance the overall destination image. It focuses on the island of Lanzarote, a destination with its development based on promoting an environmental image founded on the creation of a network of multifunctional, high-quality art, culture and tourism centres exhibiting artistic recreation of its unique environmental assets. The methodology utilizes a questionnaire (n = 453) structural equations modelling approach in which the overall image of the destination is directly dependent on the image of the environmental conditions and indirectly influenced by the image of the artistically recreated centres. Results show that the destination's image is significantly grounded on the image of the art, culture and tourism centres using art based on Lanzarote's natural assets. They suggest that destinations have relevant opportunities to artistically enhance natural assets to improve their tourist image and marketing, that quality multi-functional visitor centres can be important within a sustainable tourism policy, and part of the emerging breadth of approaches taken by sustainable tourism marketing.     

Battlefield sites as dark tourism attractions: an analysis of experience

There has been much discussion by scholars about the efficacy of the term ‘dark tourism’ with a call to move from a theoretical to a more evidence-based approach to research. Recent analyses of dark heritage sites have shown that research has yet to engage fully with the experiences of tourists at dark sites. This paper seeks to meet this challenge by providing more evidence of the actual experiences of tourists at those sites which are conceptually identified as ‘dark’ using the particular example of battlefields in the UK. Based on a wide-ranging survey of battlefield sites the study used a blend of quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the nature of tourist experience. Central to this was a content analysis of visitor comments and vocabulary used to describe the sites. The results showed that visitors had a wide range of experiences but there was no evidence of a considered appreciation of the sites’ ‘darker’ aspects. Visitor experience here is casual and dominated by a lighter set of values. This is affected by the commercial nature of the sites which supports the assertion that thanatopsis is a rare feature of tourist visits.     

The managerial implications of an analysis of tourist profiles and international hotel employee service attitude

Numerous studies indicate that customer satisfaction is closely related to hotel employees’ service attitude, and that distinct segments of a target tourist market require distinct customer service emphases. The enclosed study finds, for example, that Taiwanese tourists generally appreciate friendliness and enthusiasm, Japanese tourists admire courteousness and propriety, and American tourists value immediacy and efficiency. Marketers and personnel managers are therefore well advised to develop training strategies emphasizing empathy, gracious problem solving, and prompt individual attention for Taiwanese, Japanese, and American tourists, respectively. Importance–performance analysis (IPA) can be used to identify crucial aspects of appropriate service and recommend managerial strategies to support their implementation.