Reconciling unsatisfying tourism experiences: Message type effectiveness and the role of counterfactual thinking

While attracting new tourists is an important issue in destination marketing, it is also imperative to manage tourists' experience post-trip, particularly in cases of unsatisfying experiences. Yet, the questions of how to rectify unsatisfying tourism experiences received little attention in tourism scholarship. In the present research, we investigated the effectiveness of different forms of marketing messages and the role of counterfactual thinking in the ability of a marketing message to improve tourists' attitudes towards the destination and intentions to recommend, when a tourism experience was not up to tourists' satisfaction. A scenario-based experiment was conducted with 480 respondents. The results showed that user-generated messages and the messages employing emotional appeal were more impactful than destination-generated or rational messages. Respondents who engaged in downward counterfactual thinking, that is imagining the situation in which their experience could have been worse, was shown to have a greater positive effect on unsatisfied tourists.     

Tourist self-presentation and diet regulations

This study examines tourists' dietary behavioral changes associated with how they are concerned with self-presentation. A within-subject mediation analysis reveals that tourists' self-presentational concerns can influence their diet regulations. Such concerns tend to be lower in the destination environment than in the familiar home setting. Thus, tourists at their destinations engage less frequently in diet regulations for self-presentational purposes. Key findings suggest that, although the effects of tourism on health are multifaceted, the products and services offered by hospitality organizations and businesses in the tourism system may negatively affect tourists' health owing to the relief of diet regulation and other health-related self-presentational concerns that are strongly present at home.     

Tourists' perceptions of environmentally responsible innovations at tourism businesses

This paper investigates tourists' perceptions of environmentally responsible practices by tourism businesses by analyzing the attitudes of tourists toward “green” innovations in tourist places. It was hypothesized that tourists who were more strongly motivated by nature-oriented experiences would perceive environmentally responsible practices as more valuable than tourists less motivated by nature-oriented experiences. The study is based on a survey of individuals who visited the Arizona Welcome Center in northeastern Arizona and the Chamber of Commerce offices in Holbrook and Springerville, Arizona. As expected, visitors with a stronger nature orientation had more positive views of environmentally responsible practices by tourism businesses than tourists not nature-oriented. They felt such innovations are important and valuable.     

Exploring the influence of tourists’ happiness on revisit intention in the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine cultural tourism

Based on how tourists interpret the destination experience and on attachment theory, this study investigates the influencing mechanism of tourists' happiness on revisit intention for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) cultural tourism destinations. Three tourist samples confirm the three dimensions of tourists' happiness: positive emotions, engagement, and meaning. Two surveys were conducted to test the direct and indirect influence of tourists' happiness on revisit intention and the moderating role of tourists' health consciousness. The results show that tourists' happiness promotes memorable tourism experience and place attachment, in turn stimulating revisit intention. The results also support health consciousness as a significant moderator between happiness, place attachment, and revisit intention. The findings enrich theoretical understanding of tourists’ happiness and provide marketing and management advice for TCM cultural tourism destinations.     

Exploring tourists' perceptions of tourism impacts

Unlike how tourism is viewed by residents, little is known about how tourists feel about tourism in the destination. Nevertheless, studies have shown that tourists' emotional bonds with the destination positively affect their perceptions of and reactions to tourism in the destination. Such emotional bonds often vary based on tourists' previous experience in the destination. Thus, this study explored how tourists' emotional solidarity with residents influences their perceptions of tourism and how first-timers and repeat tourists differ in their views. To this end, 404 responses from South Korean sport tourists were analyzed. Though differences were not evident between first-timers and repeat tourists in their emotional solidarity or attitudes toward tourism, a positive relationship was confirmed between emotional solidarity and perceptions of tourism. The findings suggest that attitudes toward tourism is no longer a construct exclusive to residents and destination managers should also consider tourists' views.     

Investigating the motivation–experience relationship in a dark tourism space: A case study of the Beichuan earthquake relics,China

This study identifies implications of dark tourism and describes how tourists and destinations, which are principal collateral cores, define what constitutes “dark” travel. The study also examines the dimensions of dark tourism motivation and experience and finds that the former partly affects the latter. The exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis aimed to examine why tourists approach and engage with disaster sites and how such experiences may affect tourists motivation and emotional reaction. It is the first paper that applies structural equation modelling to dark tourism research. We focus on the causal relationships between dimensions of motivation and experience, and the relationship that the emotional reactions effect on tourist experiences. We find that the curious visitors are likely to engage cognitively by learning about the incident or related issues and tourists' emotional reaction to the “dark” space influence more heavily emotional tourist experiences than cognitive experiences do.     

Shopping experiences: International tourists in Beijing's Silk Market

This study examines international tourists' experiences in Beijing's Silk Market, one of the China's most well-known tourist markets. Tourists' spontaneous reviews on TripAdvisor were analyzed through Leximancer, a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software. The study confirms that markets can be major tourism attractions and can provide important experiences for international tourists. Most international tourists were impressed with their Silk Market trip. The dominant narratives of their experiences were the “price” of the items they “bought”, the “fun” of “bargaining”, and the “fake” quality of the products. Further analyses show that different satisfaction groups used somewhat different narratives to represent their shopping experiences and that male international tourists enjoyed the Silk Market experiences more than their female counterparts.     

Ancient poetry in contemporary Chinese tourism

Classical poetry is an important part of Chinese culture. This study explores its roles in contemporary Chinese tourism based on participant observation of tourist destinations in the Three Gorges and surrounding area along the Yangtze River and content analysis of tourism guidebooks. Classical poetry is used to guide Chinese tourists in terms of what to gaze at and how to gaze. Specifically, first, poets and their poems create historical and cultural value for a place, which forms an essential foundation for its attractiveness as an object for Chinese tourists gaze. Second, poems may be used to enhance tourists' aesthetic appreciation of a landscape along the spatial and temporal dimensions, creating transcending poetic experiences. Such influence of classical poetry exemplifies the cultural continuity in China that should be well understood and considered in contemporary tourism. Implications in tourism development and marketing, aesthetic experience creation, environmental interpretation, and literary tourism are discussed.     

Attributes that influence the evaluation of travel dining experience: When East meets West

Many destination marketers have utilized gastronomy as a source of new products and activities to attract tourists. Despite the substantial rise in the Chinese outbound market, very little is known about how Chinese tourists evaluate their travel dining experiences. By using narrative analysis, this study examines attributes that may affect Chinese tourists' evaluation of their travel dining experiences. On-site participant observation and focus group interviews were conducted, respectively, with Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong group tourists, while they were on holiday in Australia. A total of 15 attributes were identified, which were classified under the following six categories: tourists' own food culture, the contextual factor of the dining experience, variety and diversity of food, perception of the destination, service encounter, and tour guide's performance. The respective implications of the attributes on travel dining experience are also discussed.     

Residents' Perceptions Toward the “Chinese Tourists' Wave” in Hong Kong: An Exploratory Study

Mainland China experienced an extraordinary progress in its economy in the past two decades which directly stimulates more outbound travels. Considering the geographical proximity and political ties between Hong Kong and Mainland China, the share of inbound tourists to Hong Kong has been, and will continuously be, largely occupied by Mainland Chinese tourists on an uprising basis. The phenomenon of the “Chinese tourists' wave”, operationalizing as the influx of tourists from Mainland China, has brought tremendous change on Hong Kong's tourism industry, economy and local community. It is, thus, of necessity to understand the perceptions and response toward this phenomenon from local residents' perspective as they are the stakeholders of local tourism. Drawing on the findings from three focus group interviews with 18 Hong Kong residents, three conventional dimensions, namely “Economic”, “Social-cultural” and “Environmental” were identified and discussed to demonstrate the local residents' perceptions toward the impact of “Chinese tourists' wave” phenomenon. Generally, residents tend to recognize the positive economic impacts as well as negative social–cultural and environmental impacts generated from this tourism phenomenon. The recommendations suggested in this study also serve as a reference for tourism authorities concerned to redress the existing problems.     

A taxonomy of creative tourists in creative tourism

This study aims to characterize creative tourists and their perceptions of creative experiences at tourism sites. Creative tourists are active co-creators of their experiences; hence, they should be treated as a heterogeneous group of co-producers who have subjective opinions and feelings toward their creative experiences. The existing literature suggests that a creative experience is constructed by ‘inner reflections’, which include not only ‘consciousness/awareness’, ‘needs/motivations’ and ‘creativity’, but also ‘outer interactions’ which refer to ‘environment’, ‘people’ and ‘activity’ (Tan, Kung, & Luh, 2013). However, how a particular mix of factors interact and define an individual's perceptions of a creative experience may vary among different types of creative tourists. Q methodology was used to reveal the tourists' inherent subjectivity of creative experiences with regard to the constructions of personal meaning. Five distinct groups of creative tourists were identified: novelty-seekers, knowledge and skills learners, those who are aware of their travel partners' growth, those who are aware of green issues, and the relax and leisure type. Each consists of a different composition of factors which can provide new insights into how different creative tourists construct their personal creative experiences at these sites.     

The influence of recreation experience and environmental attitude on the environmentally responsible behavior of community-based tourists in Taiwan

This study examines the relationships between recreation experience, environmental attitude, and the general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior of tourists at Taomi and Smangus in Taiwan. The first is an agriculturally based community and the second home to one of Taiwan's ethnic minorities. A total of 862 usable questionnaires (432 for Taomi and 430 for Smangus) were collected in this study. The empirical results indicate that recreation experience is positively and significantly related to environmental attitudes among tourists. Environmental attitudes are also positively and significantly related to general and site-specific tourist behaviors and mediate the relationship between recreation experience and environmentally responsible behavior. The paper contributes to the literature by examining the structural linear relationships between recreation experience, environmental attitudes, and environmentally responsible behavior. This study suggests that tourism destination providers should provide pro-environmental activities, ecotourism experiences, and interpretations of environmental issues to enhance tourists' environmental attitude and general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior, thereby potentially reducing the adverse environmental effect produced by tourists during daily life and at tourism destinations. Reducing the adverse environmental effect of tourism destinations will benefit the development of sustainable community-based tourism.     

Commercial hospitality in destination experiences: McDonald's and tourists' consumption of space

This paper examines the multiple roles that globalised, branded spaces of hospitality can play in tourists' experiences in destinations. It is argued that previous studies have not considered adequately how such commercial hospitality services and spaces interact with and influence tourists' experiences of places. Drawing on a netnographic analysis of online discussions of McDonald's, this study explores how tourists perceive these hospitality venues, and how they use them to engage with foreign destinations and negotiate the ‘work of tourism’. The data show how tourists (re)construct their identities through reflections on consuming McDonald's. The data also demonstrate that tourists critically evaluate discourses of authenticity and the (in)authenticity of consuming McDonald's. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for the marketing and management of McDonald's and similar branded commercial hospitality venues, the marketing and management of destinations, and it outlines avenues for further research.     

Tourists’ cultural competence: A cosmopolitan perspective among Asian tourists

Cultural tourism has received increasing attention. Tourists play a crucial role in constructing rewarding intercultural experiences and cultural understanding. The current study explored the concept of tourists' cultural competence from a cosmopolitan perspective and proposed a framework for understanding the mechanism of tourists' interactions with cultural experience environment. A total of 33 participants were interviewed and data were analyzed using grounded theory. Cultural openness, understanding, consciousness, and participation were identified as elements of tourists' cultural competence, which can facilitate positive cultural behavior. This research contributes to the literature of cosmopolitanism and tourists’ cultural behavior. Managerial implications for tourist management and education are also discussed.     

Sustainable Mi'kmaw cultural tourism development in Nova Scotia,Canada: examining cultural tourist and Mi'kmaw perspectives

This study assessed tourists' motivations and satisfaction in participating in authentic Mi'kmaw tourism activities in Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as the ideas, perceptions and components of sustainable cultural tourism development from the Mi'kmaw perspective. To solicit the tourists' perspective, surveys were administered to tourists visiting the existing Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites in Nova Scotia, while the Mi'kmaw perspective was obtained through key informant interviews. The results of the survey suggest that tourists visiting the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites were highly educated and deeply interested in learning about culture and participating in authentic cultural experiences. Tourists were also highly satisfied with their experience and were interested in participating in aboriginal tourism again. Findings regarding the Mi'kmaw perspective indicate a focus on cultural tourism's ability to educate both tourists and the Mi'kmaw people on the Mi'kmaw culture as well as provide economic opportunities for Mi'kmaw communities. Of greater importance to the Mi'kmaw people is the preservation and protection of the Mi'kmaw culture. Conclusions drawn from the research include recommendations for the future success and sustainability of the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sector. This study's findings may also inform other Canadian aboriginal communities seeking to develop robust and sustainable cultural tourism in their own settings.     

Marine angling tourist behavior,non-compliance,and implications for natural resource management

Wild living marine resources are a common pool resource in Norway, and successful development of marine angling tourism (MAT) – a form of consumptive wildlife tourism is dependent on healthy fish stocks. This article examines foreign tourists' non-compliance with Norway's 15 kg export quota, and the effects of the non-compliance on community wellbeing. Analyses of 528 responses to a 63-question questionnaire compare tourists' pro-environmental behavior at home, with behavior on holiday, and opinions on more stringent management regulations. No statistically significant correlations were found between pro-environmental behavior at home and support for more stringent regulations. Strengthening regulations would likely have a negative impact on both willingness to return and recommend. Findings suggest that the majority of tourists do not view fish as a resource that should be more tightly controlled, if their holiday fishing experience would be negatively affected. Results are compared against studies investigating management strategies for non-consumptive forms of wildlife tourism. Management solutions are identified which might mitigate non-compliance, positively influence environmentally responsible behavior, and address community wellbeing.     

Drivers of experience co-creation in food-and-wine tourism: An exploratory quantitative analysis

This paper aims to investigate the underlying drivers of co-creation in food-and-wine tourism experiences and, consequently, to explore how they might influence the level of tourists' active participation in related activities. An online survey was developed and sent to platforms specialised in food-and-wine related tourism experiences. A total of 243 valid responses were obtained. The hypotheses were tested using multivariate statistical analysis. The research results reveal that experience co-creation, the interaction between tourists and local residents, the interaction between tourists and frontline tourism employees, operant resources, and satisfaction influence the level of active participation in food-and-wine tourism experiences. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing and testing a model that explores the drivers of co-creation in food-and-wine settings. The theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed.     

Assessing Destination Image Through Combining Tourist Cognitive Perceptions with Destination Resources

The primary objective of the study is to assess tourist destination image through (1) measuring Xiamen tourists' cognitive image of Kinmen Island, and (2) analyzing main and subordinate resources of Kinmen. The major findings show that Kinmen Island is “a pleasant place for tour” and “a mystic place” for the mainland Chinese tourists. It also implies that tourists' curiosity, not the substantial resources about the destination, could be one of the reasons for their choices. The results of this study suggest tourism industry on the Island cannot merely depend on tourists' curiosity or the mysteriousness of the destination. It is essential to provide a product with integrity for the planning of the tourism industry of Kinmen.