Tiers or Tears?

ABSTRACT

The convention and meetings business worldwide has grown to become a significant economic, political, and social phenomenon. Convention centers aggressively compete for the right to become the destinations for conventions, which increasingly can be held anywhere in the world. More recently, first-tier convention centers have begun to use digital marketing by developing sites on the World Wide Web. However, very little research to date has focused on these convention center Web sites. This study examined the Web sites of 10 major convention centers in the U.S.-each with 500,000 square feet or more of exhibit space-in terms of technical, marketing, internal, and customer critical success factors (CSFs). It was concluded that these Web sites should be further developed and improved, particularly in their marketing and customer-related aspects. The Web sites were evaluated once in 2000 and again in 2001, and a slight improvement in performance was noted.     

Visiting friends or relatives?

Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) contributes significantly to tourism activity and revenues, accounting for about 48 percent of domestic travel in Australia. Implicit in most discussions of VFR travel is that it represents one homogeneous market. This paper examines this assumption and demonstrates – based on data from 67,024 domestic and international tourists to Australia – that this is not the case. The profile of people visiting friends (VFs) differs significantly from that of people visiting relatives (VRs). This finding has major implications for tourism marketing which need to target VFs or VRs in distinctly different ways, rather than generically marketing to VFR travellers.     

Are tourists rational or irrational consumers?

The purpose of the study is to identify whether applying assumptions of consumer behavior in economics or marketing in the tourism context is validated. Therefore, this study investigated whether tourists, as subjects of consumption at a tourism destination, are rational. Also, additional work was performed to identify the determinants in rationality of tourists. Survey research through the three steps of instrument development has been conducted for those who visited the Jeju Island, South Korea. The adequate sample size of 280 pairs was employed for statistical analyses such as a multiple regression analysis. As a result, the study concluded that an application of the assumptions of consumer behavior in economics or marketing to decision-making of tourists’ consumption was inappropriate because the propensity of tourist expenditure at a tourism destination was evidenced as both rational and irrational. More discussion and implications were provided.     

Taxing tourism: enhancing or reducing welfare?

Using a modified simple general equilibrium model of international trade, the theoretical construct proposed by this research note shows that taxing tourism may increase or decrease economic benefit depending on the destination's market power. Yet, from a social point of view, taxing tourism can be welfare-enhancing, as externalities of rapid tourism growth should be internalized. Therefore, a social rather than a private optimum should be pursued via taxing tourism in order to guarantee sustainable tourism. From political economy perspectives, however, the actual taxation policies may not be welfare-enhancing, as they heavily depend on the political system and power relations in the destination.     

Olympians or lemmings? the postmodernist fun run

The phenomenon of mass fun running in Britain dates from the early 1980s and displays much of the ideology of the ‘Sport For All’ campaign. While running as an activity can be viewed as a natural pastime, the notion of mass jogging, as exemplified by the Great North Run and the London Marathon, is more difficult to comprehend and requires further analysis. This paper argues that the mass fun run is an example of the ‘Society of Spectacle’: a commercial creature which is heavily reliant on media coverage and sponsorship and which serves as an endorsement and symbol of postmodern society. The media stresses the ‘tradition’ of such events and uses them as images of human decency and national unity. Yet the relationship between audience, participant and spectacle remains fragile and dependent upon commercial considerations.     

Paradoxes in planning Tourism Elitism or Brutalism?

While the rhetorics of environment, sustainability and ethics are prominent in academic discussions on tourism planning, they remained somewhat remote in the case of Eritrea. The debate about how the poorest countries should proceed with tourism remains polarized and confused. To help analyze this, a continuum is proposed upon which various types of planning advice may be placed. The two poles are represented by Tourism First (in which developing the industry is the focus of planning) and Development First (where planning is framed by national development needs) The terms of reference which are the key planning guide for tourism consulting firms conducting planning, are identified as being particularly inadequate.     

Dirty work or working dirty? Deceiving cruise tourists

Evidence suggests that some cruise ship employees engage in work that aligns to the poor working conditions, servile roles, or stigmatized positions of ‘dirty workers’. Accordingly, we adopt Routine Activity Theory from criminology to generate insights into research into employee misbehavior, the interactions of tourists and service workers, and the dirty work of cruise ship personnel. We begin with a review of contemporary research into crime, deception, and tourism before outlining existing insights into cruise ship work. After outlining our research approach, we present the result of a study into the convergence of likely offenders, potential targets, and opportunities to deceive passengers in the context of cruise ships. We conclude with a series of implications of theory and practice.     

Push or pull? Identifying rock climbing tourists' motivations

The aims of this research are to clarify the motivations of rock climbing tourists by using a push and pull framework and to investigate the relationship between tourist motivation and overall satisfaction. In a survey of 473 rock climbing tourists in the Geyikbayırı region in Antalya, Turkey, the most important push motivations were identified as ‘physical setting’ and ‘challenge’, while ‘climbing novelty seeking’ and ‘climbing tourism infrastructure’ were the most important pull motivations. Furthermore, the findings of this study indicated that overall satisfaction of rock climbers can be determined by their push and pull motivations. The results also showed that motivations of rock climbers differ according to their experience levels. The paper ends with theoretical contributions of the study and its managerial implications.     

Thailand wine tourism: a dream or a reality?

Conventionally, wine tourism is mainly popular in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Europe regions. Interestingly, Thailand, despite being a young wine-producing country, has emerged as a potential wine tourism provider within the Southeast Asia regions. This research aimed to evaluate the competitiveness of Thailand wine tourism’s within its regional growth. Porter’s Four Diamond Model was used as a tool to assess this industry competitiveness. Three wineries in Thailand were visited and qualitative approaches comprising interview and observation were utilized as the means of data collection. Triangulation was used to analyze the reliability of the data gathered. The finding showed that wine tourism in Thailand was still an infant industry as most tourists and tourism operators were still not aware of the product offered. However, the wineries themselves had already owned the competency to serve the market.     

Attending a tattoo convention: to seek or escape?

Utilizing Iso-Ahola’s (S. E. Iso-Ahola. The Social Psychology of Leisure and Recreation. Dubuque, IA: WC Brown Co. Publishers, 1980) seek and escape theory and social identity theory in the context of tattoo conventions, this study examines whether individual and group identity influences personal and interpersonal seeking and escaping motivations and whether these motivations influence an attendee’s self-enhancement and subsequent revisit intention. Based on an online survey (n = 350), structural equation modeling revealed that individual identity influenced personal seeking and escaping motivations, group identity influenced interpersonal seeking and escaping motivations, and personal seeking and interpersonal seeking and escaping motivations increased self-enhancement and ultimately revisit intention. Implications are provided for tattoo event managers based on findings.     

Wine tasting: To charge or not to charge?

In Australia there is an inconsistency of practice between cellar door operators as to whether they charge for a wine tasting or not. The liquor licensing legislation in each State permits cellar door operators to charge for a wine tasting. Some charge for tastings but deduct this from any purchase made, some provide food to accompany the tasting and others provide a free tasting. This paper considers the practice from a consumer’s (wine tourist’s) viewpoint. A survey was conducted of wine tourists who have attended a cellar door wine tasting to gauge their attitude about charges for wine tastings and probable impacts on their purchasing decisions. The majority expressed a preference for free tastings and stated they would not stay if there was a charge for tastings. However, some tourists were willing to pay in a range of circumstances, depending on the services provided and overall experience.     

Delightful tourism experiences: A cognitive or affective matter?

There are many times that we, as tourist consumers, have been more than satisfied. We have been delighted with the product or service received. However, do we know the factors which affect our delight as customers? Are they affective or cognitive factors? The objective of this article is to empirically identify delighted consumers and the factors associated with these memorable tourist experiences when the threshold of satisfaction is exceeded. To this end, the authors used structural equation modelling to test a model based on a sample of 400 tourists obtained through a survey.The findings revealed that a consumer's positive affective state of delight seems to be affected largely by cognitive-affective antecedents. Specifically, the cognitive dimension encompasses three main factors of the tourist service: the customer-service interaction, the staff and the availability of the service. However, the tourist's happiness, as the main affective dimension, is also emphasised.     

International Business Tourism: Destination Dublin or Destination Ireland?

Abstract

The Republic of Ireland has been running the same basic brand proposition in its various marketing campaigns for some decades (Morgan, Pritchard and Pride, 2002). However, it is unclear whether the destination brand construct that has served Ireland's general tourism market so well can apply equally when attracting business tourism to Dublin, the nation's capital city. This research primarily applies repertory grid analysis and on-line focus groups to understand the brand of Dublin, the capital of Ireland, and explores the way the marketing of a national capital city for business tourism both influences, and is influenced by, the marketing of the nation itself.     

Why do customers switch? More satiated or less satisfied

This study investigated whether restaurant customers switch to other restaurants due to satiation or diminished satisfaction. To achieve its objectives, this study extended well-known relationships among perceived quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions by including satiation and further examined the role of satiation on switching intentions. The results of this study showed that satiation was negatively associated with satisfaction but differed from diminished satisfaction. Further, the study results endorsed that satiation significantly influenced switching intentions, whereas satisfaction did not. This supports that customers switch to other restaurants not because they are less satisfied but because they are satiated. Regarding the relationship between perceived quality and satiation, service quality and food quality considerably reduced satiation levels, whereas physical surroundings were associated with an increase in satiation. In addition, satiation fully mediated the relationship between perceived quality and switching intentions, which emphasizes the importance of satiation in customer switching intentions. Findings and implications are provided in the main body of this paper.     

Is it art or science? Chef's competencies for success

One of the most challenging professions in the hospitality industry, comprised of both scientific mastery and artistic innovation, is the Chef. It is imperative that these positions are occupied by individuals who possess the appropriate set of skills allowing them to perform with equal success in both culinary, as well as managerial competence. Thus, this research sets out to investigate, from “the Chef's” perspective, competencies required for a successful career in the field as well as the level to which these competencies have been developed (acquired) on-the-job. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 27 competency items was administered to Chef professionals working in Cyprus. The findings revealed that technical (culinary-specific) competencies were considered as most important, followed by leadership-management competencies. In contrast, conceptual (creative-adaptive) competencies were ranked low by the respondents. In addition, numerous significant differences were revealed based on demographics and other industry-related factors.     

Optimizing or maximizing growth? A challenge for sustainable tourism

Virtually all destinations seek to increase tourist numbers, pursuing economic maximization strategies. Considerably less attention is paid to optimizing existing tourist systems to create more profitable, stable, resilient and potentially more sustainable entities. While aspects of tourist expenditure, average length of stay and seasonality as three key destination management variables have received considerable attention in the literature, focus has usually been on the identification of “profitable” tourism markets by considering observed patterns of spending, length of stay and vacation timing. Building on such earlier studies, this paper focuses on flexibilities in these parameters: could tourists have spent more, stayed longer or visited during a different season? Perceptions of destination expensiveness as a potential deterrent to visitation were also addressed. Based on a sample (n = 1914) of domestic and international tourists in the Swedish cities of Kalmar and Stockholm, data were collected in face-to-face interviews using questionnaires. Results indicate considerable potential to optimize the Swedish tourism system with regard to all variables studied, while also providing new insights for destination management in the context of economic resilience. Results also indicate the need for researchers everywhere to have detailed market knowledge if they are to persuade the industry to change its sustainability behavior.     

To Ban or not to ban rate parity,that is the question… or not?

Considering the heated debate in the hotel industry about the rate parity clause and the appropriateness of its ban to give rise to rate disparity, this article analyzes the hotel performance that has resulted from the rate parity prohibition established in some European countries, by looking into the market value of the hotels involved. The empirical analysis conducted on a sample of hotel companies trading on the stock exchange in Germany and France shows that the approval of the rate parity ban generates positive abnormal returns. However, an increase in risk is detected. It seems that, while the prospects of greater autonomy to set prices in the hotel industry and stronger competition in the online distribution industry are looked at positively, the hotels will have to deal with a customer’s potential higher perception of price unfairness, less control over its own brand and a greater likelihood of price wars.     

Self-discipline or self-interest? The antecedents of hotel employees' pro-environmental behaviours

Abstract

Motivating employees to engage in pro-environmental behaviours is an essential topic in the tourism and hotel fields. This paper advances this research direction by integrating the mechanisms of cognition and incentives from the externalities/spillovers perspective. This paper argues that we can view the environmental and financial benefits received by hotels and natural environment as positive spillovers from employees' voluntary pro-environmental behaviours. Accordingly, internalization (the subject of positive spillovers cognitively perceives oneness with beneficiaries like hotels and physical environment) and compensation (beneficiaries offer incentives for positive spillovers' subject) are two leading solutions to the positive spillovers issue, which can improve employees' engagement in pro-environmental behaviours. Hence, this paper explores the impact of employees' cognitive internalization (work ethic) and positive incentives from the organization and nature (hotel's environmental benefit sharing and health rewards rooted in employees' ecological embeddedness) on employees' pro-environmental behaviours in the hotel industry. The empirical analysis of a sample of 324 employees working in Chinese luxury hotels suggests that employees' work ethic, hotel's environmental benefit sharing and employees' ecological embeddedness are significantly positively related to employees' pro-environmental behaviours and that the interplay of employees' work ethic and ecological embeddedness significantly and negatively affects employees' pro-environmental behaviours.