Extent of hedging in the US lodging industry

This study investigates the extent of hedging in a sample of lodging firms over a five-year period from 2000–2004. The findings document that lodging firms predominantly use interest rate swaps and options to manage interest rate risk exposure. Lodging firms primarily use these instruments as cash flow hedges of their long-term debt liability. The findings indicate that the hedging decision should be modeled separately using a two-step model. The results are robust to alternative specifications and provide evidence to show financial leverage, floating rate debt, information asymmetry, firm size, cash flow volatility and diversification, to be significantly related to the amount of hedging.     

Determinants of recreational boater expenditures on trips

The objective of this study was to investigate the determinants of recreational boater expenditures on trips to help generate strategic insights on marketing for private and public sectors in boating businesses. Tobit analysis was applied to data from the 1998 Michigan boating survey. Boaters’ sociodemographic and geographic characteristics, travel distance, type of destination, and trip patterns were important determinants of total expenditures on boating trip. However, the importance of these factors varied by type of spending: restaurants, groceries, boat fuel, auto gas, and shopping/entertainment. Decomposition of the tobit marginal effects indicated the market participation response was more important than the quantity factor.     

旅游地游客游憩体验与重游意愿作用机制研究——以宜兴为例

游客的重游对成熟旅游目的地的可持续发展有着重要的作用.本文在回顾了国内外重游相关研究的基础上,从宏观旅游流与微观游客行为两个层面上研究重游现象.通过滞后变量回归,发现旅游流增长存在显著滞后影响效应;通过比较宜兴重游游客和首游游客的差异,发现他们在年龄、职业、旅游地花费、旅游地停留时间、出游动机和出游影响因素等方面存在着显著差异.文章比较了不同二值响应模型对重游意愿建模的效果,并使用Logit模型参数估计值进行解释,认为导游满意度、停留时间和入游交通方式对重游意愿具有显著影响,并推导出不同影响因素之间的重游意愿发生比.最后,基于本文的研究成果,对今后宜兴旅游市场的开发提出了建议.     

Low-cost travel and tourism expenditures

Tourists’ perception of saving money with the cheaper air fares offered by low-cost carriers may encourage them to spend more money at their destinations. This paper aims to test the following hypothesis: “Low-cost travel savings from tourists’ place of origin are transferred, at least partially, to higher tourism expenditures at the destination”. A system of simultaneous equations is estimated using the 3SLS method, distinguishing between tourism expenditure at the origin and at the destination. The methodology may be applied to any destination and for different policy assessments. The results for the case of Canary Islands show that the hypothesis holds for most tourist profiles, with savings-transfer ratios that range between 10.3% and 46.1%.     

BENEFIT SEGMENTATION OF VISITORS TO A RURAL COMMUNITY‐BASED FESTIVAL

This study examines the motivation of the attendees of a community‐based festival in the rural Midwest of the United States. Six motivational factors are identified from the visitor data collected at the festival: escape, novelty, nostalgia and patriotism, event excitement, family togetherness, and socialization. Among them, escape was the most dominant motivation. Five clusters are identified, including family travelers, event enthusiasts, loyal festival goers, escapers, and social gathering lovers. The five clusters are distinct in terms of the respondents' perception of the festival and revisit intention. The characteristics of each segment are given, and the practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Tourism on two wheels: Patterns of motorcycle leisure in Wales

The motorcycle leisure sector has evolved from a rebellious culture of the 1950s to a large mainstream market sector today. Motorcycle touring has grown significantly in recent years, with a shift to larger capacity motorcycles and an increase in the average age of motorcyclists. The demographics of this group has meant that, increasingly, motorcycles are used for leisure purposes rather than commuting. Peripheral locations, with a high proportion of the mountain and scenic roads favoured by motorcyclists, have seen a dramatic influx of these recreationists. Despite this significance there has been little academic work on the subject, or concerted efforts to embrace this market sector by destination marketing organisations. This paper discusses the findings of an investigation into the motorcycling leisure and tourism sector in Wales, UK, examining travel patterns of motorcycle tourists, motivations and preferences of this group and the potential economic impact.     

发展我国旅游购物的思考——以\"香港购物节\"为例

近几年,“香港购物节”的举办,成功地把香港的旅游淡季变成了旺季,并全面推动了香港旅游业及整体经济发展水平的提高。本文在分析“香港购物节”成功经验的基础上,重点分析了我国内地发展旅游购物的相应措施。     

The segmentation of canary island tourism markets by expenditure: implications for tourism policy

The Canary Islands have an indisputable comparative and competitive edge within the European Union as regards their tourism products. The present study takes a segmented market approach to study the Canary Islands tourism market, featuring a range of tourism products, each of which satisfies to a greater or lesser extent the needs of one segment of demand. It has two objectives: firstly, to ascertain which segments of demand are currently acquired at destination and secondly, to identify within these segments the niches associated with the highest expenditure. This will enable us to draw up guideliness for a regional policy on product innovation that focuses on these niches and thus generates higher levels of local development.     

企业参与节事旅游活动研究——以上海旅游节为例

本文通过对上海旅游节参与企业的类型、数量、方式、效益的分析,在归纳上海旅游节企业参与活动“四度”（集中度、关联度、自主度和广度）特点基础上,提出促进上海旅游节与企业参与互动发展新举措。     

基于游客视角的生态旅游认证支付意愿实证分析

生态旅游认证产品能否取得商业上的成功取决于旅游消费者对它的接受程度,本文通过对浙江省4个景区的实地调查,分析了旅游消费者对生态旅游认证产品的认知和态度,并运用假设评价方法评估了旅游消费者对生态旅游认证产品的支付意愿.研究结果表明,旅游消费者对生态旅游认证产品的选择意愿受性别、教育程度、月收入、旅游频率、旅游方式、过去一年旅游花费、对生态旅游进行专门的认证并授予生态资格证书的赞同程度,以及未认证生态旅游产品的价格等因素的影响而差别显著;计算所得的支付意原表明,平均而言,旅游消费者愿意支付比未认证的生态旅游产品高35.1%的价格来购买通过认证的生态旅游产品.     

Revenue management strategies under the lunar–solar calendar: Evidence of Chinese restaurant operations

This paper discusses the lunar–solar calendar-driven festivals that affect Chinese restaurant operations. In-depth interviews and a survey were carried out with 50 catering professionals to provide information that was subsequently used to estimate the change of restaurant turnover due to the identified festivals. Four core common lunar–solar calendar-driven festivals that create more demand for dining out across China were identified. They generated extra revenue, which was nearly 10% of total annual business for restaurants. The study also ascertained 21 measures related to revenue management strategies to cope with these demand variations. In addition, a new restaurant revenue management strategy framework was developed. Recommendations based on this study were suggested to multi-functional restaurants and hotel systems.     

Influences of consumer characteristics on fairness perceptions of revenue management pricing in the hotel industry

Fairness perceptions play an important role in customers’ behavior, and this study explores which consumer characteristics influence fairness perceptions of revenue management (RM) pricing in the hotel context. To examine such differentiating characteristics, the study conducts a logit analysis by comparing two groups: one group of customers who consider hotels’ RM practices to be fair and the other group considers the practices to be unfair. The findings provide an opportunity for hotel managers to identify customers’ particular characteristics that affect customer's perceptions of the fairness of hotels’ RM pricing practices.     

Behind the masks: Tourism and community in Sardinia

This paper addresses community-based tourism and raises questions concerning the meaning of the term. Desired results may not be achieved through strict application of the concept in the absence of external inputs in all but a few favoured cases. Tourism, by definition, involves links with the outside world, raising questions concerning the types and extent of inputs that can be accepted without undermining the meaning of ‘community-based’. Through a case study of tourism in Mamoiada, Sardinia, the paper addresses the concept of community and locals’ participation in tourism development. It points out the key role played by local institutions and cosmopolitan locals, who are residents with external exposure, who are able to take initiatives and act as catalysts of development. Tourism planners should carefully evaluate the institutional arrangements, including the presence of cosmopolitan locals and their involvement in the creation of competitive local attractions, for the success of tourism development.