Improved Understanding of Tourists' Needs

ABSTRACT

Data-driven segmentation has become standard practice in strategic marketing. Typically, however, respondents are grouped only once, implicitly assuming deterministic nature of the segmentation methods applied. Once the segments are derived, background variables are used to test the significance of the difference between clusters indicating external validity of the market segments. High external validity implies a high level of trustworthiness of the solution and thus manageri-ally useful market segments to choose from. However, single runs of explorative analysis remain only a weak basis for good long-term managerial decisions. In this study a different approach is suggested to im-prove the quality of the market structure insight for decision-making: two data-driven segmentation solutions are constructed independently. Association between them is used as an additional internal validity indicator.

Benefit and behavioural segmentation bases are used to illustrate the concept: surfers provided information regarding the importance of aspects of proposed surf destinations and destinations they had previously visited. Segments resulting from both bases are profiled: they notably differ in background information. Significant association between these solutions supports the validity and managerial usefulness for target segment choice for the following targeted marketing action.

Using this procedure results in the identification of stable consumer groups, which in turn leads to an improved understanding of customer segments; and thus enables the industry to improve the quality by customizing the product.     

Segmenting networking orientation in the hospitality industry: An empirical research on service bundling

This paper focuses on the topic of collaboration in tourism destinations. Collaboration is key to overcome the fragmentation of the tourism industry and to better satisfy the more and more experience-centric tourist. Tourism operators are increasingly involved in various types of collaborative partnerships. One among them is service bundling, which is the creation and the supply of tourism packages. The study analyses the drivers of the development of service bundling and provides a segmentation of the hospitality industry according to operators’ networking orientation. A sample of 164 hoteliers from a tourism-based region in Italy was surveyed. Four clusters of hoteliers were identified and profiled: the Relational/Socials, the Opportunists, the Innovators, and the Marketers. Each shows a specific approach to collaboration and reveals different motivations to be engaged in a partnership. Some managerial implications and directions for policy makers are also provided.     

Implementing integrated rural tourism: An event-based approach

In the past two decades, community involvement in local policy-making has gained increasing attention as an alternative approach to rural development in the European Union (EU), particularly in the context of the complementary sectors of agriculture such as tourism. Although there is a wide range of integrated approaches to tourism development in rural areas identified in the literature, the event-based approach has not been at the centre of attention so far. This paper aims to fill this gap and reports on the collaborative capacity building of the LEADER¹ Local Action Groups (LAGs) for rural tourism promotion in the context of an innovative, national-level event, the ‘Hungarian Rural Tourism Days’. A mixed-method approach was applied to explore and compare the supply-side views on the successes and failures of the event planning and organisation process and to derive key success factors of the event-based approach to Integrated Rural Tourism (IRT). The results provided evidence on the consequences of the failure to integrate local concerns into the event organisation process and highlighted the critical role of the intermediary management in establishing trust relationships with the rural service providers. Furthermore, it is argued that the major challenge of the event-based approach to IRT rests in the capacity of the stakeholders to collectively plan and implement a marketing strategy at the local level.     

The effects of acculturation,social distinctiveness,and social presence in a service failure situation

Going beyond the traditional East/West consumer differentiation in studying service failure, this article examined the effect of acculturation, both independently and together with social distinctiveness and social presence, on the perceptions and behavioral responses of Chinese–Australian consumers. The research employed a 3 × 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design in which data were collected from 224 Chinese–Australians. Results showed that the different acculturation levels of these consumers did not affect their perceptions and behavior in a service failure situation. Instead, where and with whom a service failure was experienced had pronounced effects on consumer behavior depending on the extent to which the consumers acculturated to the culture of their host country. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are also discussed.     

The effects of acculturation and uncertainty avoidance on foreign resident choice for Korean foods

This study attempts to identify dining-out patterns among foreign residents in South Korea, examining the differences in foreign residents’ attitudes toward Korean foods and behavioral intentions to patronize Korean restaurants based on their acculturation and uncertainty avoidance levels. The results show that foreign residents in South Korea dine out frequently and intend to revisit Korean restaurants. However, the high acculturation group has a more positive attitude toward, better understanding of, and more preference for Korean foods than the low acculturation group. Satisfaction, revisiting, and recommendation intentions for Korean restaurants are higher among the high acculturation group than the low. The low uncertainty avoidance group spends more money for dining out than the high uncertainty avoidance group, who perceive Korean foods as expensive. Attitudes toward, understanding of, and preference for Korean foods, do not differ significantly between the two uncertainty avoidance groups; nor do satisfaction and behavioral intentions to Korean restaurants.     

Forecasting Chinese cruise tourism demand with big data: An optimized machine learning approach

After more than ten years of exponential development, the growth rate of cruise tourist in China is slowing down. There is increasingly financial risk of investing in homeports, cruise ships and promotional activities. Therefore, forecasting Chinese cruise tourism demand is a prerequisite for investment decision-making and planning. In order to enhance forecasting performance, a least squares support vector regression model with gravitational search algorithm (LSSVR-GSA) is proposed for forecasting cruise tourism demand with big data, which are search query data (SQD) from Baidu and economic indexes. In the proposed model, hyper-parameters of the LSSVR model are optimized with GSA. By comparing these models with various settings, we find that LSSVR-GSA with selected mobile keywords and economic indexes can achieve the highest forecasting performance. The results indicate the proposed framework of the methodology is effective and big data can be helpful predictors for forecasting Chinese cruise tourism demand.     

Tourism research on the Caribbean: An evaluation

Abstract

A content analytical review of a select bibliography of tourism research on the anglophone Caribbean is provided according to time period, territorial focus, subject area, and authorship. Salient features of the literature are described along with their deficiencies. More specifically, questions of theory and method are examined, and certain suggestions are offered where improvement can be made.     

Segmentation by visitor motivation in three Kenyan national reserves

This study addresses the needs of three national reserves in north central Kenya for developing a tourism strategy aimed at enhancing tourist opportunities at the reserves. In order to adequately address visitor needs, the reserve managers must first understand the motivations for different types of visitors. A factor-cluster approach was employed to identify visitor segment profiles based on their motivations for visiting the reserves. A principal components analysis of motivations revealed eight motivation factors, and three distinct visitor segments were identified using an ipsative clustering method. These segments included Escapists, Learners and Spiritualists. Understanding the differences in these visitor segments will help managers of the reserves better provide alternative activities and services to tourists. Management recommendations include providing scenic and expansive landscape viewing opportunities and developing a more competent and knowledgeable ranger corps capable of visitor education and outreach initiatives.     

An empirical study of inbound tourism demand in China: a copula-GARCH approach

This paper proposes new models for analyzing the volatility and dependence of monthly tourist arrivals to China applying a copula-GARCH approach. A desegregation of the top six origins of China inbound tourists from the period January 1994 to December 2013 is used in this study. The empirical results show that there is a strong seasonal effect in all cases and ?????? some habit persistence on monthly tourist arrival growth rate for South Korea, Russia, the United States (US), and Malaysia. Second, the volatilities of arrival growth rates to China are impacted significantly by their own short- and long-run effects, except for Russia and South Korea. Only short-run shock affects Russian arrivals while only long-run shocks are affecting South Korea arrivals. Third, the conditional dependence among different source countries is found to be positive and significant, but the conditional dependence for all considered pairs is low. Moreover, there is extreme co-movement (tail dependence) between the six major tourism source countries, suggesting the pairwise of international tourist arrivals shows a related increasing or decreasing pattern during extreme events. Implications are discussed and recommendations provided.     

Chaos, crises and disasters: a strategic approach to crisis management in the tourism industry

This paper outlines and discusses a strategic and holistic approach to crisis management for the tourism industry. It notes the growing importance of crisis and disaster management for the tourism industry before exploring the definitions and nature of crises and disasters. The paper then proposes a strategic approach to their management from proactive pre-crisis planning through strategic implementation and finally evaluation and feedback. A discussion of crisis and disaster management literature and studies conducted in the tourism field are also introduced. It notes that although crises and disasters cannot be stopped their impacts can be limited by both public and private sector managers. The paper concludes that the understanding and subsequent management of such incidents can be vastly improved through the extension and application of crisis and disaster management theory and concepts from other disciplines, coupled with the development of specific tourism crisis management research and frameworks.     

Exploring Tourist Perceived Value: An Investigation of Asian Cruise Tourists' Travel Experience

The present study explores Asian cruise travelers' perceived value of the travel experience and the effect of perceived value on satisfaction and behavioral intention. To measure Asian travelers' multi-dimensional perceived value, a cognitive-affective perceived value model was utilized. Survey items were adapted from cruise travel attribute items and SERV-PERVAL scales. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify travelers' cognitive and affective perceived value. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted in order for researchers to examine how tourists' multi-dimensional perceived value construct affected travelers' satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Statistical results showed that Asian cruise travelers have four sub-dimensions of cognitive perceived value: “facility,” “food & beverage (F&B),” “entertainment,” and “staff.” Affective perceived value was measured by emotional response measurement items. The current study indicated travelers' perceived value of the cruise experience affects travel satisfaction and travelers' behavioral intention.     

Geopolitical encounters of tourism: A conceptual approach

This article presents a conceptual framework for examining the tourism encounter as a geopolitical encounter. In establishing this framework, we identify the theoretical intersection of tourism, geopolitics, and encounter in order to conceptualize how experience reflects and shapes power relations at national, regional, and global scales. We examine three dimensions—long central to tourism analysis—of the geopolitical tourism encounter: temporal encounters, bodily encounters and identity encounters. In doing so, we demonstrate the significance of tourism in the everyday dimensions of geopolitical discourse and practice. This article offers a critical lens through which scholars can theorize the geopolitical drivers and implications of the tourism encounter.     

Determinants of Airbnb prices in European cities: A spatial econometrics approach

We examine the determinants of Airbnb prices in 10 major EU cities, focusing on the role of location. The results confirm that attributes related to size, quality, and location are all significant drivers of Airbnb rates. Novel indices based on TripAdvisor data are used to measure the attractiveness of neighbourhoods, and the results show a more robust impact on price than standard location variables based on selected points of interest. The analysis confirms that Airbnb prices are spatially dependent, requiring the implementation of spatial regression models. Following recent studies on spatial econometrics, we examine various spatial models, including specifications with multiple sources of spatial dependence. The results show significant differences between the coefficients estimated with OLS and the various spatial models, especially in the case of location-specific variables. As well as having managerial and policy implications, our study contributes to the hedonic price literature by providing a methodological guide on spatial regression models.     

20 years of research on virtual reality and augmented reality in tourism context: A text-mining approach

Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have undergone technical evolutions over the last few decades including improvements in immersion and the feeling of telepresence. Several examples of the applications of such techniques can be found in stores, tourism, hotel, restaurants, and destinations. Yet, a comprehensive analysis of studies employing such techniques in tourism-related studies is difficult to find. The current study uses citation network analysis and text-mining techniques to conduct a full-text analysis of 56 journal papers and 325 conference proceedings related to VR and AR in the tourism context. This paper intends to (i) provide an overview of the VR and AR-related tourism studies network and discuss them over time, (ii) present the most important topics and studies emerging from this literature, (iii) suggest avenues for further research. Findings reveal 10 core topics in journal papers and 11 core topics in conference proceedings, which are presented together with an overview of the published studies and the main authors.     

Vandalism and tourism settings: An integrative review

Although wide agreement exists in the literature concerning the presence of vandalism in tourism, very little attention has been given to studying the phenomenon. This paper reviews published literature that addresses vandalism, its manifestation in tourism and its prevention. The review provides a comprehensive analysis of empirical research on the motivations for vandalism, deviant visitor behaviour and intervention strategies to manage such behaviours in tourism settings. The paper reviews the micro-level and macro level forces influencing vandalism and provides a definition, thematic analysis of current literature on motivation of vandalism and common themes in vandalism prevention. The analysis demonstrates a range of intervention strategies to curb vandalism. An evolution towards the use of more refined proactive techniques is apparent in recent work. The review provides a foundation for further work by theorists and practitioners.     

From sad to happy to happier: Emotion regulation strategies used during a vacation

Emotion regulation is a psychological intervention tourists use to maximize the positive outcomes of their travel experiences. Tourists either down-regulate negative emotions (e.g., from sad to happy) or up-regulate positive emotions (e.g., from happy to happier). The construct of emotion regulation was used as a guiding framework to uncover which emotion regulation strategies tourists used during their vacations. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Study findings revealed tourists used three phases of emotion regulation strategies—interpersonal, situational, and intrapersonal—during their vacations. These findings not only contribute to tourism research by documenting the transient, dynamic and variable nature of emotions, but also provide a glimpse into how tourism and hospitality professionals should modify programs/experiences in response to tourists' emotions.     

Successful managerial behaviour for farm-based tourism: A functional approach

Despite the overall growth of rural tourism, not all have benefited equally. This study reports research designed to improve managerial performance in the rural tourism sector in Korea. Six areas are identified as being important: product/service development, business planning and evaluation, promotions, human resource management, networking, and cost reduction. It was found managers in farm-based tourism have primarily concentrated on product/service development, human resource management, and cost reduction. Of these areas, only product/service development and promotions have exhibited a statistically significant effect on real profits and on positive subjective evaluations of financial results. Based on these results, this study suggests that continuous investment in product/service development and promotions should have positive effects on operations and result in increased competitiveness and viability in the Korean farm tourism sector.     

Tourism destination competitiveness: a quantitative approach

Recently, researchers have suggested an approach to tourism destination competitiveness that goes beyond conventional destination attributes to include, in addition, generic business factors of competitiveness. Despite its apparent promise, there appears to have been little applied research building on this combined approach. This paper is designed to address this gap. Factors pertaining to the competitiveness of both the destination's attractions and its tourism industry were used to construct an instrument that was used to survey tourism practitioners in Hong Kong. Respondents were asked to rate the factors for both importance and relative competitiveness, in a method consistent with importance performance analysis (IPA). The results were analysed and discussed by reference to the IPA Grid. The paper concludes that the study has developed a promising research methodology that offers a quantitative, theoretically informed empirical analysis that will be able to provide a basis for managerial and policy decisions in the tourism industry.     

The economic importance of meetings and conferences: A satellite account approach

Meetings and conventions (MICE) visitation is often considered an important element of the travel economy, and destinations target such activities to encourage their growth. It has hitherto been difficult to measure the economic significance of such activity at any spatial scale. Latterly, the development and codification of tourism satellite account (TSA) approaches to the economic measurement of tourism offers an opportunity to develop a parallel approach to understanding the MICE economy. This paper presents an estimate of the direct economic impact of MICE activity in the UK in 2011, following TSA approaches. The potential to extend the core Meetings Satellite Account, to estimate indirect economic impact and sub-national economic impacts, is also assessed.