Exploring factors influencing individual participation in community‐based tourism: The case of Kampung relau homestay program,Malaysia

This paper presents the early findings from a qualitative investigation conducted to examine how participation is practiced in a community‐based tourism program which offers homestay experience to tourists in Kedah, Malaysia. The first objective of the study was to determine where on the spectrum of participation (Pretty 1995) does the homestay program fall. The second objective was to explore the variables that may influence the extent of community participation in this program. Findings from the present study indicate that participation in community‐based tourism is influenced by community members’ motivations to participate. An important implication from this finding is that community‐based tourism projects must include awareness programs among its members so as to educate them about the project and to motivate them to participate.     

Leisure co‐participant preferences of the elderly: Age‐homogeneity versus age‐heterogeneity

Abstract

Leisure participation often occurs in the company of others. Therefore, identifying the nature of preferred others is important in understanding antecedent conditions which facilitate the leisure experience. A major characteristic in determining co‐participant preferences of the elderly is the preferred age of others involved in the activity. This study was conducted to determine whether older individuals prefer to interact with age‐peers or with younger individuals when participating in 19 selected leisure activities. Results indicated a preference for age‐heterogeneity in interaction. However, old respondents were more likely to select old co‐participants than were young respondents.     

The familiarity‐preference component of on‐site recreational experiences

Abstract

Four hundred visitors to a bog environment were surveyed to determine the influence of familiarity on preference response to the visual environment, and to determine the degree of familiarity resulting from the on‐site encounter. Influence of familiarity on visitor preference was measured in terms of degree of visitor preference for visual scenes as a result of acquaintance gained through three means of familiarity: on‐site experiences, viewing of photographic materials prior to an on‐site experience, and number of previous visits. Degree of familiarity resulting from the on‐site encounter was measured by determining the degree of visitor recognition for scenes experienced during the on‐site encounter. Four findings resulted from the study: preference increased after the on‐site experience; prior photographic information decreased preference after the oil‐site experience; prior visits were associated with increased preference; and considerable familiarity resulted from the on‐site encounter, due to the on‐site experience rather than prior viewing of photographic information.     

DISTANCE‐SEGMENTED RURAL TOURISTS

This article uses travel distance to segment rural tourists in a tourist destination in the U.S. Midwest. A distance decay pattern was identified, with more than half of the respondents traveling from a location within 200 miles of the destination. The differences in the socio‐demographic, trip‐related characteristics, and destination activities of these tourists were examined across distinct distance segments. Among other findings, the study revealed that tourists from within a 50‐mile radius participated in most of the activities, and those traveling between 200 and 600 miles made up the majority of business travelers. These two segments also had a higher participation rate in the recreational activities than did the other distance segments. The findings of the study show that simple variables such as distance travel remain viable for destinations, particularly those in the rural area, to understand the tourists for segmentation purpose.     

Knowledge mapping of hospitality research − A visual analysis using CiteSpace

Hospitality literature constitutes a considerable accumulation of data for follow-up studies. This study used CiteSpace to analyze investigations published in three top journals of hospitality research: International Journal of Hospitality Management (2008–2014), Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (2008–2014), and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (2009–2014). This application resulted in comprehensive knowledge maps of hospitality research. The study identified major disciplines that provide knowledge and theories for the hospitality discipline as well as contemporary research topics and most influential researchers.     

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF MULTI‐CULTURAL VIEWS ON THE DISNEY‐MCDONALD'S ALLIANCE

This article examines the effects of co‐branding on the brand equity of partner brands and the resultant co‐brand (brand alliance), taking the Disney‐McDonald's alliance as a real life example. The issue is examined from the perspectives of different geographies and cultures by surveying Western, Asia‐Pacific, and Chinese consumers. Findings indicate that co‐branding is not always a win‐win strategy for all partners regardless of how powerful each brand is separately. Results also show that respondents' attitudes toward individual brands also affect their attitudes toward the co‐brand; however, these attitudes vary from one market to another.     

INVESTIGATING DIFFERENCES IN ANTECEDENTS TO VALUE BETWEEN FIRST‐TIME AND REPEAT FESTIVAL‐GOERS

This study aimed to capture the underlying quality dimensions (value antecedents) that distinguish between first‐timers and repeaters and that cultivate festival loyalty. Structural relationships were analyzed across the quality dimensions, value, and loyalty for first‐time and repeat visitors. Structural equation modeling revealed that program and convenient facilities alone were antecedents to value for repeaters, whereas food and souvenir, as well as program and convenient facilities, were value antecedents for first‐timers. Specifically, repeat visitors showed stronger relationships on program value and convenient facility value than did first‐time visitors. On the other hand, first‐time visitors associated more strongly with relationships on food value and souvenir value than did repeat visitors. This distinction resulted in a stronger value‐loyalty relationship for repeat visitors than for first‐time visitors. These findings contribute to the understanding of festival‐attendee behavior and thus, provide researchers and practitioners with insights into how to design a festival in such a way that promotes repeat visitors.     

Gender‐based analysis of leisure constraints

This article develops and tests a conjoint choice model of portfolio choice behavior. It shows how experimental design principles and discrete choice model specifications can be used to model the choice of travel portfolios. Design strategies, model formulations, and estimation methods are discussed and illustrated through use of Dutch tourists’ choices of destination and transportation for short city breaks as an example. Findings support the suggested methodology and indicate that the nested logit model is most appropriate in the tested application.     

Sport and common‐sense racial science

This paper confronts the salience of arguments that identify the racial basis of athletic ability. It is argued that these notions of racial athleticism are developed through the interaction between ideas and ways of thinking about human beings and racial groups, reflecting Gramsci's concept of ‘common sense’ that explores the complex correspondence between the presentation of fact and opinion, science and myth. The paper suggests that the mobilization of objective scientific method and subjective plural multiculturalist values within racial athleticism help reinforce its claims to logical validity and moral legitimacy. In response, it is argued that the presentation of the biological basis of race and integrity of cultural difference and particularity within a scientific, intuitive, and principled framework constitutes racial athleticism as a powerful common‐sense idea that cannot be easily dismantled by the simple counter‐presentation of alternative facts. Rather, it is suggested that a progressive response requires building an ethical critique that does not use the mantra of social constructionism to evade corporeality and understandings of embodied difference. It is asserted that the iniquitous applications and palatable racism that lurk beneath the reasonable façade of racial athleticism can only be uncovered through interrogating its common‐sense configuration and analytical weaknesses.     

EXPLORING EXPENDITURE‐BASED SEGMENTATION FOR RURAL TOURISM: OVERNIGHT STAY VISITORS VERSUS EXCURSIONISTS TO FEE‐FISHING SITES

About three fourths of new small tourism businesses fail within the first few years of operation mainly due to poor identification and lack of knowledge of their markets. While understanding visitor spending pattern is critical for the market to be economically viable and successful, research on rural tourist spending behavior is lacking in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore a visitor segmentation approach based on rural visitor spending behavior. Multiple regression analysis suggested accommodation attribute as the most useful predictor for visitor spending. Two subgroups were developed using accommodation type as a segmentation criterion—overnight stay visitors versus short excursionist. Comparative analyses were done using socio‐demographic variables, trip behavior, recreational motivation, and activity preferences. Overnight stay visitors and short excursion group showed significant differences on several behavioral and motivation variables. Practical suggestions are provided for attracting tourists to rural tourism destinations.     

Centre‐based and expedition‐based (wilderness) adventure experiential learning regarding personal effectiveness: an explorative enquiry

The purpose of this study is to compare a centre‐based adventure programme (CBAP) with an expedition‐based wilderness programme (EBWP) with regard to personal effectiveness. In comparing these two programmes, this study made use of a crossover research design with data collection according to DE Vos. Participants were 28 third‐year students (14 men and 14 women), aged 20 to 23 ( x = 21.6 ± 0.7) from the Northwest University (Potchefstroom Campus) in South Africa. Both interviews and questionnaires (n = 28) were used to gather comprehensive data. Results indicated medium‐(d = 0.5) to‐practically significant (d ≥ 0.8) changes in most of the ROPELOC (Review of Personal Effectiveness and Locus of Control) variables. Each programme offered unique benefits. The EBWP resulted mainly in improvements in terms of the personal aspects of the ROPELOC, whereas the CBAP mainly delivered in terms of its social aspects. Even though both programmes seem to be beneficial for the facilitation of personal effectiveness, each programme should be selected according to the envisaged outcomes and intervention criteria. For the improvement of personal effectiveness, the EBWP seems to be of relatively more value – mainly on account of the impact of the wilderness environment. This translates into unique experiences of solitude, privacy and freedom of choice, spiritual upliftment, and restoration.     

The internet and tourism‐part IV: TravelWeb

Abstract

The sporadic domestic political instability during the last decade, compounded with the ongoing international war on terrorism in Afghanistan and beyond, has created a substantial decline in tourist visits to Nepal. Safety and security are important aspects of travel destination choice and the perceived risk within Nepal and the South Asian region has mired the pace of international tourist arrivals. The objectives of this paper were to examine the state of tourism in Nepal and the negative repercussions of the political instability and international conflict that has thwarted the potential for growth.     

Effectiveness of the hotel websites in Singapore: A perspective from Business‐to‐Business (B2B) organisations

Internet marketing in hotels allows potential users to learn about the hotels, to tour hotel facilities and to compare prices among other benefits without directly interacting with a hotel representative. For some users, Internet is the first and only channel consulted when booking hotel accommodations. In the present age, Internet is increasingly becoming both an opportunity and a challenge for hotel marketers. The opportunity lies in reaching users directly through Internet sites. The challenge is to get the guests’ attention long enough to tell the marketers’ story (Connolly, Olsen and Moore, 1998). It has always been controversial as to how effective Internet marketing can be. Both firms and researchers have indicated that the measuring of effectiveness of Internet marketing is a multidimensional question. This study sought to examine the effectiveness of business‐to‐business Internet marketing in the hotel industry in Singapore through analysing the differences between the travel agents expectations of service and hotels’ understanding of those expectations. A total of 66 hotel websites in Singapore were scanned to give the features analysis. On the basis of the perception scores of 112 inbound travel agents, the study identified the gaps between the users and the website provider (hotel industry).     

The effect of visual and auditory elements on patrons’ liquor-ordering behavior: An empirical study

This study aims to empirically investigate the effect of music and visual congruency with a type of liquor in a bar. Specifically, it examines the effect of atmospheric elements’ congruency with wine on patrons’ liquor-ordering behavior and their expenditures. As most Koreans associate wine with French culture, French auditory and visual cues were used to investigate the effect of congruency. A total of 650 receipts from two different branches of a bar were collected for four weeks. The study found that in the visual congruence condition, the ratio of wine expenditure to the total expenditure of a table and the ratio of liquor expenditure to the total expenditure of a table increased. When the auditory congruence condition was implemented, the probability of ordering wine increased. There was no interaction effect. Implications based on the findings are discussed in the final section of the study.     

What recovery options to offer for loyalty reward program members: Dollars vs. Miles?

Research shows that offering monetary compensation is effective in restoring customers’ equity perceptions following a service failure. However, little is known about loyalty reward program members’ responses to various types of recovery options. This study fills this important void by investigating two types of compensation: a discount coupon (in dollars) and bonus reward points (in miles) in the airline context. This study further investigates the boundary effect of controllability of a service failure. Our findings show that, when the flight delay is perceived as highly controllable by the airline company (i.e., scheduling error by flight crews, repatronage intention was higher in the 50-dollar discount vs. 2500 bonus miles condition. Conversely, repatronage intention did not differ between the two compensation options when the flight delay was perceived as uncontrollable i.e., inclement weather. Our findings help hospitality and tourism firms leverage service recovery initiatives for loyalty reward program members.     

On the need to re‐conceptualise sustainable tourism development

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of a dominant paradigm of sustainable tourism development, one which appears to chart a responsible course, balancing the requirements of tourism development with the protection of the environment. However, this paper argues that the predominant paradigm is too tourism‐centric, parochial and, therefore, inherently flawed, and that it effectively condones planning, management and policy approaches which fail to operationalise sustainable tourism in a manner consistent with the general aims and requirements of sustainable development. In particular, it is suggested that the tourism‐centric paradigm encourages inappropriate and inconsistent consideration of the scope and geographical scale of tourism's resource base, whilst also failing to adequately account for the intersectoral context of tourism development In order to re‐engage sustainable tourism development with its parental concerns (those of sustainable development generally), an alternative, extra‐parochial paradigm is proposed, whereby the remit of sustainable tourism development is re‐conceptualised primarily in terms of tourism's contribution to sustainable development.     

Food and tourism: an effective partnership? A UK-based review

This paper focuses on the role of food tourism in delivering sustainability agendas by examining how the agriculture and tourism sectors have struggled to realise measurable successes because of constraints, conflicting ambitions and low levels of social capital. It focuses on the United Kingdom, which has tasked regional development agencies to adopt food tourism as a means to grow local economies, create jobs and improve natural resources and diversify. In 2009/10, 16 interviews and six workshops were conducted with stakeholders to gauge industry challenges and needs in implementing food tourism. Based on qualitative findings, a model was developed which maps five emergent themes (knowledge exchange, the supply chain, fear of change, regionalisation and marketing) alongside five sustainability principles (strong and just society, good governance, sustainable economy, working within environmental limits and using sound science responsibly). The paper argues that if food tourism is to deliver its purported sustainable benefits, the policy environment must cultivate significant social capital through the cooperation of different industries with varying needs, motivations and challenges through joint marketing schemes, more localised distribution channels and enhanced policy engagement. Scotland and Wales are more successful than England, but overall food and tourism are not yet in effective partnership.     

Conceptualizing inter‐regional partnership for tourism promotion: In case of the East Asia inter‐regional tourism forum (EATOF)

Tourism in East Asia is in transition. One of the most striking movements in international tourism arena in East Asia is the emergence of local initiative toward building a joint network of destination marketing. The East Asia Inter‐Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) which has been embarked in September 2000 is a concrete example of this sort. Even though a regional association is a newly rising trend in tourism, conceptualizing a model of inter‐regional tourism cooperation has been scarcely attempted. The current paper is devoted to fill the academic lacuna by suggesting a systematic framework of inter‐regional association of tourism promotion. Then the case of the EATOF was critically analyzed and evaluated under the framework of the proposed type of networking. It is argued in this paper that the inter‐regional tourism cooperation is neither irrelevant with the regional situation, nor inconsistent with the theoretical logic.