In search of lost leisure: the impact of caregiving on leisure travel

One of the fastest growing market segments of the tourism industry over the last two decades is made up of consumers 55 years of age and older. As we enter the new millennium, over 50 million of these “mature adults” will find themselves on the edge of retirement, equipped with the freedom and financial means to travel, but restricted by a loved one who may become ill or disabled. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of caregiving on the leisure travel behaviors of family caregivers and their care-recipients. Qualitative data collection and analysis methods were employed. In addition to identifying impediments (physical, social, emotional) to pursuing or maintaining leisure travel for caregivers of older adults, the qualitative analysis yielded other emergent themes such as changes in patterns and types of leisure travel, entitlement, resentment, and anger. Implications and recommendations for researchers and practitioners are included.     

Assessing Alternative Techniques for Scaling the Family Leisure Activity Profile: Recommendations for Future Family Leisure Measurement

Psychometric properties of the Family Leisure Activity Profile (FLAP) were evaluated using family leisure and family functioning ratings from 884 parents and children residing in the United Kingdom. Review and critique of the FLAP resulted in identification and evaluation of three alternative scaling techniques. Scaling Technique 1 was current practice, Technique 2 focused on family leisure environments rather than family leisure activities, and Technique 3 involved generating an estimate of duration of participation in family leisure in natural units of time. Inter-rater agreement and reliability were strong for all three scaling techniques. Technique 3 yielded the best model fit. Empirical relations with family functioning variables were consistent with predictions, yet none of the scaling techniques resolved a longstanding problem regarding specific relations among core and balance patterns of participation, family cohesion, and family adaptability. Suggestions for improving the FLAP are provided.     

Exploring the meaning of work within the sharing economy: A case of food-delivery workers

This study aims to investigate how the sharing economy has redefined the meaning of work in the food delivery sector. We conducted in-depth interviews with 50 food delivery workers in the sharing economy to identify their work goals and then performed an empirical investigation into the mechanism between the meaning of work, work engagement, and career commitment. Seven work goals were empirically found to fit a bidimensional conceptualization of work goals of intrinsic and extrinsic orientations. Using an instrument developed via qualitative analysis, we found that the relationship between the meaning of work and career commitment varies across dimensions of the meaning of work. Intrinsic orientation was found to generate work engagement and career commitment effectively. The obligation norm appeared to carry unique meaning in the sharing economy. These findings theoretically expand the current understanding of sharing economy employment and provide practical implications for hospitality businesses and the legal sector.     

Exploring the business feasibility of childcare provision in hotels

In light of continuous growth of family tourism hotels should consider providing childcare to family guests. Very few hotels have however embraced this market opportunity and the determinants of childcare provision in hotels remain poorly understood. This paper contributes to knowledge by exploring the business feasibility of providing childcare in hotels. Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, i.e. family guests (n = 20) and managers (n = 9), in UK hotels establish the numerous benefits of childcare provision. They also reveal such barriers of implementation as increased operational costs, lack of adequate staffing, children’s safety considerations and seasonality of family tourism demand. To enhance feasibility of childcare provision, hotels should collaborate with each other, but also with local nurseries, to resolve the issues of fluctuated demand and staffing. Hotels should further consider extending childcare provision to their own employees and local residents. Policy interventions can facilitate this by offering dedicated financial and training support.     

Three generations on a holiday: Exploring the influence of Neo-Confucian values on Korean Multigenerational Family vacation decision making

Despite being recognised as a lucrative segment by the industry, multigenerational family vacation remains an under-researched area. This study explores Korean multigenerational family vacation decision making (FVDM). Using a neo-Confucian epistemology, this study contributes to the existing family tourism literature, which has mainly researched Western nuclear family holidays, by investigating how Korean multigenerational families resolve conflicts during the FVDM process. Data were collected from 14 Korean multigenerational families using focus groups, interviews and visual methods. The study reveals the influence of neo-Confucianism on FVDM communication and the conflict resolution strategies. The vertical communication across generations was guided by filial piety while the horizontal communication within the second generation demonstrates seniority- and male- oriented values. Given the communication patterns, each generation adopted conflict resolution strategies to maintain family harmony, which is a core value of neo-Confucianism. Recommendations are provided to tourism practitioners to develop tourism products and marketing strategies.     

Spiritual Functions of Leisure and Spiritual Well-Being: Coping with Time Pressure

The purpose of this study was to develop a model of leisure style and spiritual well-being relationships, and the processes (spiritual functions of leisure) by which leisure can influence spiritual well-being. Also, the role of leisure in ameliorating the effects of time pressure on spiritual well-being was examined. Structural equation modeling using AMOS was employed to test direct and indirect effects models of the relationships among components of leisure style (leisure activity participation, leisure motivation, and leisure time), spiritual functions of leisure (sacrilization, repression avoidance, sense of place) and spiritual well-being (both behavioral and subjective). The model developed suggests that some components of people's leisure styles lead to certain behaviors and experiences (spiritual functions of leisure) that maintain or enhance spiritual well-being. These spiritual functions of leisure may also serve as coping strategies to ameliorate the negative influence of time pressure on spiritual well-being.     

Tourism in difficult areas revisited: the case of Bradford

Bradford was the first city in a “difficult area” in the UK to try to capitalise on tourism. This concept was introduced by Buckley and Witt in the 1980s using Bradford as an example. The article looks at how Bradford and its tourism policies have changed since their initial success in the 1980s. Support for tourism from Local Government has fluctuated because of funding crises, uncertainty about the benefits of tourism and changing political priorities in the City. In the late 1990s, Bradford launched a new strategy to attract leisure tourists, using support from the private sector and funds from Europe. Finally, we attempt to evaluate Bradford's success in tourism over the period and relate this to the original study of difficult areas     

Leisure,Stress, and Coping: An Evolving Area of Inquiry

Stress and coping are prevalent and ubiquitous in our everyday lives. The degree and manner in which we experience stress, and ways in which we cope with stress, strongly influence our daily choices and their outcomes, including those related to leisure. Research on leisure, stress, and coping is important within a broad spectrum of leisure research since it can be potentially integrated with leisure research on constraints and negotiations, lifespan development, diversity, and lifestyle. Such integration works to bridge the gap in the leisure research community that is often characterized as isolated entities. One important tangible benefit of such integration is that stress and coping have the potential to be a common language for many researchers with diverse interests, and it thus leads to opportunities for enhanced communication and understanding, as well as for possible collaborations. We hope that this special issue, presenting a diverse collection of papers focused on leisure, stress, and coping, may instill such ambitious, but important, desire. The role of this issue is threefold: (1) to better identify relationships among leisure, stress, and coping, (2) to introduce new theoretical and methodological approaches for such research, and (3) to encourage increased attention to and collaborations related to leisure, stress, and coping research.     

Multi-dimensional price elasticity for leisure and business destinations in the low-cost air transport market: Evidence from easyJet

This study investigates the price elasticity of demand in the European low-cost carrier (LCC) industry by analysing Internet fares for all easyJet flights departing from the Amsterdam Schiphol airport towards 21 European destinations between March and September 2015. Results suggest that the price elasticity of demand greatly varies across different dimensions, ranging from −0.535 for the business-oriented route of Hamburg to −1.915 for the leisure-oriented route of Split. Price elasticity is also found to be higher for reservations made more days in advance, for reservations and departures occurring on weekends, and for flights taking off during lunchtime and in the summer period. All results are consistent with the different behaviours of leisure and business passengers and the ongoing increase in the business component of the LCC passenger mix.     

Leisure constraints and the psychological continuum model: a study among recreational mountain skiers

Studying the factors that contribute to the development of skiing loyalty holds particular interest for ski resort managers and marketers, since it has been reported that recreational skiers’ dropout rates are considerably high. This study examines how intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural constraints, influence the development of skiers’ stage-based attitudinal loyalty (Attraction, Attachment and Allegiance stages), as conceptualised by the psychological continuum model, and further tests if constraints can be used for classifying skiers into the three stages of the model (Attraction, Attachment and Allegiance). Two hundred and thirty (N = 230) recreational skiers from one ski resort in North Greece participated in the study. The results indicated that the intensity of perceived constraints decreased from the lowest (attraction) to the highest (Allegiance) stage of the model. However, the hierarchical influence of constraints was not entirely confirmed, since all three types of constraints contributed to the stage classification of recreational skiers. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed.     

Entrepreneurial motives and characteristics: An analysis of small restaurant owners

The purpose of this study was to gain information about the characteristics of small restaurant owners in China. The data for the study were hand-collected by survey questionnaires in four cities across three provinces in China. We found three main results. First, small restaurant entrepreneurs were characterized by one of three distinct motives in that they were autonomy seekers, family protectors, or profit seekers. Second, their funding sources were predominantly private rather than institutional. And third, the entrepreneurial business was the main source of the family's income. These findings have implications for development programs, financing, and education in developing China's restaurant industry. This study appears to be the first to investigate empirically entrepreneurial activity among small business owners in the Chinese restaurant industry.     

An Examination of Park Preferences and Behaviors Among Urban Residents: The Role of Residential Location,Race, and Age

We examined the relationship between age, race and residential location with respect to four issues salient to public park agencies, (a) citizens' perceived need for additional park land; (b) preferences for the desired function of that park land (e.g., conservation vs. recreation); (c) preferences for the style of recreation (e.g., developed vs. naturebased recreation); and, (d) level of existing visitation to local parks. Data for this study was drawn from a general population of urbanites residing within a seven-mile radius of Cleveland Metroparks' newly opened Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation. Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) was used to collect data from respondents during an 8- to 10-minute interview. Eight hundred telephone interviews were completed in December, 2000, representing an overall response rate of 77% and an overall sampling error of - 3.5 %. Four logistic regression models were generated to test the relationships of interest. Results of the study suggested that while all three variables (race, age, and residential location) contributed significantly to the models, age was the strongest predictor of support/nonsupport for additional park land. Examination of park preferences revealed that older adults and Blacks were more likely to prefer recreation to conservation than younger adults and Whites. Race, however, was the strongest of these characteristics in terms of predictive power. Race had the strongest influence on the preference for type of recreation activity. When examining park visitation, older adults and Blacks were more likely to be nonvisitors.     

The uniqueness of entrepreneurship in the sharing accommodation sector: Developing a scale of entrepreneurial capital

Hosts on sharing lodging platforms are viewed as an emerging form of entrepreneurs. This study aims to define entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial capitals and generate a multidimensional scale of entrepreneurial capitals for sharing accommodations (ECSA). A rigid procedure with three steps was followed to develop and validate this scale. An initial pool of items was provided through content analysis of 59 written surveys and literature review in Step 1. In Step 2 exploratory factor analysis (n = 150) was applied to further purify and refine this preliminary item pool. The 17-item ECSA scale was validated using confirmatory factor analysis (n = 328) in Step 3. Results support ECSA which covers four perspectives (i.e., financial, social, intellectual, and human capitals). The ECSA scale enriches the research body of entrepreneurship by examining an emerging business phenomenon. And it prepares practitioners for becoming micro-entrepreneurs on sharing lodging platforms.     

Effect of customer orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on innovativeness: Evidence from the hotel industry in Switzerland

While researchers have explored the relationship between customer orientation, entrepreneurship and innovativeness with business performance in different organizations, few such studies exist on the hotel industry. This current work investigates the potential influences of these variables on hotel industry performance. Data for this study was collected through personal questionnaires collected from 156 hotel managers and owners from German and French speaking cantons located in Switzerland in order to examine the interrelation between innovativeness, customer orientation, entrepreneurship and service business performance dimensions (i.e., profit goal achievement, sales goal achievement and ROI achievement). The findings support aspects of prior research, but also provide some new insights by exploring customer orientation and innovativeness simultaneously and revealing how these factors impact upon the performance of the Swiss hotel industry. In the light of existing literature, limitations and future research directions are subsequently addressed.     

Information Needs and Search Behaviors: A Comparative Study of Ethnic Groups in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests,California

The current ethnic population coupled with higher birth rates and immigration will dramatically affect participation in outdoor recreation. Recreation area managers must be able to decipher current and potential visitors' needs and motivations for visiting. This article examines various aspects of information use and search behaviors among National Forest visitors, notably among various ethnic groups and types of users. Uses and gratifications (U&G) theory was used as the basis for identification of relevant uses of Forest Service Information. Consistent with previous studies, Whites generally reported using all available information sources to a greater extent than Hispanics or Other Minority Groups. Hispanics were least likely to approach rangers or employees for information, and Other Minority Groups were least likely to pay attention to bulletin boards. Flyers and brochures were among the most frequently used information sources for all ethnic groups. Whites were more likely to seek out information for orientation and educational purposes, while Hispanics attributed more importance to instrumental uses, like seeking information about parking facilities, permits and operating hours. An attempt was made to adapt communication theories to the field of outdoor recreation. Future research should expand upon the U&G theory due to its importance and applicability in the field of outdoor recreation.     

The redefining of later life through leisure: music and dance groups in Brazil

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed at understanding the meanings that older adults attribute to two group leisure activities: dance classes and music get-togethers. The research question was: What are the meanings that older adults construct through group leisure activities? The study used ethnographic methods, specifically participant observation and in-depth one on one interviews. Two groups were selected in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In total, 32 in-depth interviews were conducted, 16 in each group. Data analysis included the development of categories, and entailed constant comparison between the two cases, which were then interpreted in terms of Consumer Culture Theory due to its relevance to leisure in contemporary societies. Six categories of meanings were identified in each group. Of these, five were common to both groups (well-being, hedonism, social connectedness, identity construction, and learning) and one category in each group was activity-specific: rediscovery of the body (dance) and nostalgia (music). The results of the study show how ageing becomes an asset to the individual rather than a liability, leading to a redefinition of what later life can be. In particular, we provide a novel perspective on leisure in later life by focusing on Brazil – an emerging country with a relational culture and high social inequality.     

A review of entrepreneurship research published in the hospitality and tourism management journals

This research evaluates the entrepreneurship research in field of the Hospitality and Tourism Management to obtain a better understanding of its progress and potential. The study examines entrepreneurship articles published in seven leading hospitality and tourism management journals from 1986 to 2006. Findings indicate that Tourism Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management are the top three journals that publish entrepreneurship research. However, the amount of entrepreneurship research in the leading hospitality and tourism management journals appears less than expected. Publication of empirical work has not increased over time over the past 21 years, and theoretical work remains at a consistently low level. Even for empirical studies, there is a lack of methodological sophistication of analytical and statistical tools. The results suggest a concern that entrepreneurship research remains under studied; therefore, more theoretical work is needed to map a course of study and to develop a framework unique to the entrepreneurship domain of hospitality and tourism research. The good news is that there are abundant opportunities for scholars in hospitality and tourism management to explore the field of entrepreneurship as a viable research paradigm.     

Farming and tourism enterprise: Experiential authenticity in the diversification of independent small-scale family farming

This article examines the business choices made by independent farming families, when confronting the need to diversify away from traditional agricultural activities by starting farm-based tourism businesses. Based on interviews with farm family members who have set up tourism attractions on their farms, and drawing upon the concept of experiential authenticity, the article explores their self-conceptions of their family identities. In so doing, it addresses the choices and dilemmas facing farm families who attempt diversification through the tourism attraction route, and considers how this affects their attitudes towards more traditional farming activities. Using qualitative case study data, an empirically grounded framework is proposed that expresses the choices and challenges facing tourism entrepreneurial family farm members in the UK, through the conceptual lens of experiential authenticity.     

Reframing informal tourism entrepreneurial practices: Capital and field relations structuring the informal tourism economy of Chiang Mai

This article examines the types of capitals possessed by informal tourism entrepreneurs and locates their value within the field relations that orders their contribution to the tourism system. Bourdieu’s theory on fields and capitals was applied to ethnographic narrative accounts of stakeholders in tourism in Chiang Mai, Thailand to assess these roles. Informal entrepreneurs have limited access to resources and their perspectives are excluded from academic debates and policy initiatives. The paper identifies the dynamism, positive social capital, flexibility, and symbolic capital of informal entrepreneurs. These are related to the field conditions that determine and structure their contribution to tourism destinations. The analysis reveals the importance of collaboration between informal entrepreneurs and other stakeholders, concluding with recommendations for policy makers.     

Marital Satisfaction: An Examination of Its Relationship to Spouse Support and Congruence of Commitment Among Runners

Role-identity theory supports the position that marital satisfaction is influenced by shared identities to a salient recreation role and by role support provided by a spouse for a salient recreation role identity for her or his partner. In addition, some previous studies have suggested that these effects are more prominent among women, but other research indicates that the effect is stronger among men. This study examined the relationship among the congruence of spouse's commitment to running, perceived role support, and gender to marital satisfaction among a population of married adult runners. Participants were 85 married runners and 75 of their spouses sampled from a list of participants in an annual marathon in a western U.S. city. Questionnaires were administered to runners and their spouses that measured commitment to running, role support, marital satisfaction, and the type of recreation participation within the marriage. A significant main effect for role support was found in the regression analysis, indicating that as the runner's perceived role support decreased, marital satisfaction also decreased. No significant interaction effects involving gender or level of congruence in commitment to running were identified. In an exploratory analysis, it was found that participation in shared activities, or commitment to the same activities, was not essential to marital satisfaction if the spouses perceived that their partners supported their recreational choices.