The future of the past: Sustainable management of archaeological tourist sites – The case study of Israel

The objective of this study is to examine the management strategies for archaeological heritage sites and to identify optimal managerial strategies for such sites. The study is primarily qualitative in nature and consists of two main stages: a) development of a conceptual framework based on measures for site evaluation; 2) application of the methodology to four case studies. The findings indicate that in addition to the realms of Environment and Economy, heritage sites have three other significant realms that are relevant to archaeological sites: Values and Culture, Organization and Legislation, and Society and Community. These three realms were found to hold significance for the long-term management of archaeological tourism, although they are currently under-developed in the four case studies investigated. The study also proposes a model called the Sustainability Index for Archaeological Sites (SIAS), which can serve as a basis for operative decisions in the management process.     

Cross‐cultural tourist behavior: An analysis of tourist attitudes towards the environment

In a cross‐cultural tourist behavioral study, skiers from three different countries were surveyed in order to understand their environmental awareness and knowledge. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was also used to discover their willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for environmentally‐friendly skiing products. The results point to a general lack of knowledge and even confusion amongst skiers about environmental issues pertaining to skiing. However, skiers say they will be more likely to visit a resort that is environmentally‐responsible. Use of the CVM indicated a strong correlation between WTP and the cost of the holiday, level of income and level of environmental conscience. The majority of skiers would pay more for a “greener” ski resort, but significant differences in responses were found between the three cultures. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Summer olympic tourist market — learning from the past

Despite their potential for raising a host city's tourism profile and contributing to a general increase in tourism receipts, the recent summer Olympic Games have proved largely financially unsuccessful for the cities concerned. In this article, the authors discuss the results of the study of Olympic tourist behaviour at the last six Games. After examining the factors that both encouraged and discouraged visitors, and looking at their preferences once arrived, they draw some general conclusions about the way future Olympic Games should be marketed.     

Beyond psychographics — values as determinants of tourist behavior

To analyze the relationship between subjects' values (both general and ‘object-specific’) and their travel behavior, 60 undergraduate students were administered a set of 6 general value scales and an ‘object-specific’ vacation value scale that was intentionally developed for this purpose. The subjects' last year's travel behavior was measured on an 8-variable ordinal scale. The results indicate that the combined general values and object-specific values successfully predicted anywhere between 41 and 81% of travel behavior.     

“Crisis management in the hospitality sector SMEs in Pakistan during COVID-19″

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered one of the worst economic shocks in modern history and the hospitality sector has been severely affected. Since small businesses from the hospitality sector are known to be relatively more susceptible to the economic complications arising from a crisis, we explore the underlying factors and management practices that influence their continuity of operations as they continue to struggle with the on-going COVID-19 crisis in Pakistan. Using a phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews were conducted to comprehend the experiences of owners-managers. The findings show that government support, cordial relationships with stakeholders, self-determination of entrepreneurs and formal planning are the most crucial factors that shaped the immediate adjustments of operational activities in response to COVID-19. These resilient practices are hygiene concerns, increased promotion through social media, innovative marketing practices (e.g., revised offerings), operational cost-cutting and employee training to comply with changing standard operating procedures from the government and industry. The practical and theoretical implications are also discussed.     

‘From the Flames to the Light’: 100 years of the commodification of the dark tourist site around the Verdun battlefield

In order to contribute to research on dark tourism, this article details the process of commodification of a dark site by adopting a supply approach. We empirically apply the dark tourism spectrum (Stone, 2006) to the battlefield of Verdun in France from 1916 to 2016. In doing so, we shed light on the relationship between the temporal distance from the tragic event and potential economic exploitation. Our findings reveal that commodification is possible from the very creation of the site and becomes more complex as temporal distance increases, notably due to the multiplicity of stakeholders and their incompatible interests. Our results contribute to the improvement of the dark spectrum; we add the stakeholders' structure as a new and dynamic attribute.     

Public–private partnerships for nature-based tourist attractions: the failure of Seal Rocks

In 1998, the Seal Rocks Sea Life Centre opened on Phillip Island, Australia. It was a public–private partnership, with a privately funded tourist attraction built on a government-owned protected area. Almost immediately it was beset by problems and court action found in favour of the private developer, who was awarded $A37 million in damages, with ownership of the centre returning to the state. This article fills a gap in the literature examining public–private partnerships by considering this failed venture. It is a qualitative case study, analysing the 2003 appeal court judgement in the case and newspaper accounts from 1995 to 2004. Our findings highlight that deficiencies with the drafting of commercial contracts for public–private partnerships may limit the environmental and economic benefits that are being sought by governments through these arrangements. In this case, the application of a “best efforts” clause was critical, as it required that priority was given to the commercial success of the project over environmental and planning concerns. Furthermore, the development was a centralised decision made by the state government, affording very little input from local parks management and community stakeholders. Such a court finding has important ramifications for future developments of partnership agreements in nature-based tourism.     

Automated topic modeling of tourist reviews: Does the Anna Karenina principle apply?

Automated content analysis of online travel reviews allows identification of topics of travelers' satisfaction, yet its domain is not well researched. We suggest that the Anna Karenina principle positing a greater variability of the factors leading to business failure as opposed to those leading to success can be applied to the domain of visitors’ reviews of historic and cultural attractions. The larger variability of issues in reviews of dissatisfied visitors is likely to result in limitations for automated topic modeling. We confirm our proposition using TripAdvisor reviews of the Terracotta Army museum in China, and validate the outcome with two additional sites. The study strongly suggests that application of unsupervised topic mining algorithms to negative reviews may be problematic and the results should be treated with caution. The main themes of dissatisfaction of visitors to all three sites are reported and practical implications for management of the attractions are discussed.     

Government management of tourism — a Thai case study

This article examines the relationship between government and the tourism industry and the problems of that relationship as both strive for more effective management to meet the challenge and changes of the 1980s. Attention is focused on the role of government and the political input, the tourism management agency, the government administrative system, the industry, and the response of these various groups to demands on the tourism sector. The article concentrates on Thailand but many problems experienced are common to most countries and arise from the nature and role of government and the tourism industry and their relationship.     

Culture as a tourist resource — a theoretical consideration

This article considers the potential of opera as a tourist attraction. Existing work is reviewed and the case stated for deriving a model of opera tourism from a consideration of motivation. Data on those who attend opera and those who become tourists are examined, together with existing literature explaining why people attend opera and become tourists, in order to determine common characteristics. The two activities may theoretically be consumed in a combined product. A number of routes to opera tourism are proposed as a framework for further analysis of the phenomenon. These routes are derived from a consideration of the definition of ‘holiday’.     

Does tourism affect the informal sector?

The effect of tourism on economic growth has largely been investigated in the literature. However, it is still poorly understood about how the impact of tourism on the size of the informal economy. The present study attempts to fill the research gaps in this field, and thus applies panel regression techniques to examine the relationship between tourism development and the size of the underground economy across 96 countries over the period 2000–2007. The estimation results show that tourism exhibits a U-shaped relation with informality. Specifically, the share of informal sector first decreases in the early stages of tourism development and then increases as tourism continues. Some policy implications, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.     

The new tourist — turning point for leisure and travel

People are motivated to travel by the desire to escape from the monotony of the daily routine, and the actual destination is to some extent irrelevant. Jost Krippendorf, of the University of Bern Tourism Research Institute, explains why he believes that present changes of attitudes towards work and leisure will eventually produce a new type of tourist having more consideration for, and a more informed understanding of, the host population and environment.     

Why do online tourists need sellers' ratings? Exploration of the factors affecting regretful tourist e-satisfaction

Due to increasing online sales of Asian tourism, discussion of the factors influencing Asian online tourist e-satisfaction is an issue of critical importance. The major purpose of the study was to enhance regretful (e.g. high tendency-to-regret) tourist e-satisfaction by providing post-purchase information (sellers' ratings) to reduce post-purchase cognitive dissonance in the high uncertainty avoidance context (e.g. Taiwan). Results obtained from 2 × 2 experimental designs indicated that, the influence of regretful personality on e-satisfaction was fully mediated via post-purchase cognitive dissonance. The effect of valid sellers' ratings on raising regretful tourist e-satisfaction was also confirmed. The current study focused on Taiwanese online tourists, it provided a precise explanation of the relationships among variables and may expand understanding of Asian online regretful tourist post-purchase behaviors in a high uncertainty avoidance context. The current study could provide practitioners with post-purchase e-marketing implications and applications in such a context.     

Digital free tourism – An exploratory study of tourist motivations

The problem of technology overuse - and related mental health and addiction issues – has spilled over into the tourism context. Recent literature has also suggested that heavy use of technology while travelling could potentially have negative impacts on the overall tourist experience; and that tourists might search for “disconnection” while travelling. As a result, this study focuses on the recently emerged and scarcely understood phenomenon of “digital free tourism” (DFT), exploring participants' motivations for voluntarily abstaining from, or limiting their use of, technology on their travels. The findings aid relevant theory by identifying four main factors that motivate tourists to participate in DFT – escape, personal growth, health and well-being, relationships – and highlight several exploratory subthemes underlying these motivators. Considering DFT not as an inconvenience but a travel choice, this study can finally aid practitioners to better promote DFT as a tourism product; maximizing the participants’ related benefits and positive experiences.     

(Re)constructing the tourist experience? Editing experience and mediating memories of learning to dive

Abstract

Through an analysis of the mediative techniques involved in the production of videographic tourist memorabilia (specifically souvenir DVDs of learning to SCUBA dive), in this paper I seek to render visible the often unconsidered aspects of visual media production that result in not only visual images themselves, but also by extension, the construction of alternate realities of leisure space and tourist performance. A connectionist approach to the study of memory is advocated highlighting that mediatory technologies, whilst acting as stimulants for recollection, actually inform and construct memories rather than transmitting realistic snippets of past experience. In the paper, it is questioned whether ‘authenticity’ is a relevant frame of reference bearing in mind that the ‘post-tourist’ is often perfectly aware of the lack of authenticity in many tourist activities and happy to go along with a pretence. With this in mind, the paper concludes by stating that ‘reality’ is arguably being edited out of memories concerning tourism’s places and practices through the production of commercially driven and produced ‘souvenirs’. For the most part, the paper focuses on the experiences of young tourists between the ages of 18–25, the key demographic attracted to the field site in question.