Creating memorable experiences in a reuse heritage site

This study identified hypothetical relationships amongst motivation, nostalgia, and memorable tourism experiences in a restaurant reconstructed from an old railway station. We administered a face-to-face questionnaire survey and collected 615 valid questionnaires at the South Tainan Railway Station in Taiwan. The results showed significantly positive relationships between culinary attraction and cultural inheritance and nostalgia, as well as a correlation between nostalgia and memorable tourism experiences. Structural equation modelling analysis verified that nostalgia mediated the effect of personal emotion on memorable tourism experiences. This paper provides suggestions for enhancing memorable experiences and guidance regarding reused buildings at heritage sites.     

Psychological factors affecting memorable tourism experiences

This study tries to explore psychological components of memorable tourist experience (MTE) that are most likely to recall tourists’ memories. Urban residents from three representative cities in China were selected as research samples, and totally 301 usable questionnaires were used for data analysis. The results showed that the recollection of MTE was positively affected by novelty, involvement and social interaction. It was also suggested that hedonism and novelty had positive effects on the vividness of MTEs significantly. Additionally, in the context of Chinese culture, two new psychological factors, social interaction and perceived serendipity, resulted in different effects on the MTE.     

The antecedents of memorable tourism experiences: The development of a scale to measure the destination attributes associated with memorable experiences

Providing visitors with memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) is important for achieving success in the highly competitive tourism marketplace. To support destination managers, this paper developed a scale instrument that conceptualizes the attributes of destinations associated with MTEs. Following a rigorous scale development procedure, this study identified a 10-dimensional construct that affects MTEs. The data support this dimensional structure of the attributes of destinations affecting MTEs and the internal consistency and the validity (i.e., content, construct, convergent, and discriminant) of the scale. The theoretical and managerial implications of the study's results are discussed.     

The creation of memorable dining experiences: formative index construction

Memorable experiences in restaurant settings are not well understood, and little is known about what they represent and how they should be measured. This study filled this knowledge gap by developing a formative index to assess and measure memorable dining experiences (MDE). Drawing upon strategic experiential modules, MDE was conceptualized as a second-order formative construct consisting of five first-order dimensions including sensory, affect, behavioral, social, and intellectual. This study adopted a mixed methods approach combining in-depth interviews and an online survey to determine and evaluate the underlying structure of MDE. Using PLS-PM as the analytical technique, the results of the data supported that MDE was a second-order formative construct, with 37 items capturing the five first-order dimensions. The study provided a comprehensive conceptualization of the MDE and a measurement scale with strong psychometric properties to help hospitality managers create and measure such experiences to gain a competitive advantage in the market. Detailed implications for academics and practitioners are provided.     

Creating tourist experiences by interpreting places using digital guides

This article investigates the relationship between technology and narrative in digital guides for tourists in Sweden. The main finding shows that narratives in the guides are based on a naïve view of history. In several instances, content is based on odd stories and speculation. Recent social trends have led to the erosion of grand narratives and the emergence of multiple views of history. New digital guides must address these challenges in order to develop tourism products that are relevant to different market segments.     

Creating family-friendly pub experiences: A composite data study

Pubs have traditionally been important social and community spaces, hosting multiple consumer segments. Successful pubs have broadened their appeal, for example by expanding their food provision and targeting family segments. However, little is known about the features and practices that make pubs appealing to families. Drawing on a ‘composite’ data set, consisting of 40 qualitative interviews and 387 responses to a directed online discussion thread, this paper examines what contributes to making pubs family-friendly. Data show how parental consumption intersects with parenting work, highlighting how physical and symbolic design features, tailored services, social interactions, and socio-material practices of the food offerings can shape consumption experiences positively and negatively. The paper thus contributes to practical knowledge by identifying how pubs can create family-friendly experiences. It also contributes to theoretical knowledge by conceptualising how ‘framing’ processes or effects, shaped by personal, situational and socio-cultural ‘imperatives’, influence consumer perceptions, behaviours and experiences.     

Creating joint experiences - Families engaging with a heritage site

Interactions between family members constitutes an important element of engagement with tourism sites, leading to enhanced value creation. Yet we know little about how these engagement practices lead to experience outcomes. Studies of visitor engagement have explored C2C value co-creation contexts, adding to our understanding of social practices as a source of value outcomes. This study adds to this literature through a focus on the intimate social context of families’ collective engagement practices, viewing the family unit as constituting a complex amalgam of individual, relational and collective resources (Epp & Price, 2008). Adopting a multi-stage and multi-method qualitative research design, we identify seven practices through which families engage with attractions, including: absorbing, interacting, information sharing, explaining, constructing meaning, competing and deviating. Families associate these practices with experience outcomes: bonding, creating memories, entertainment, and learning. The findings inform the design of effective engagement platforms and resource deployment to facilitate group experiences.     

Integrating the tourist gaze with the social servicescape: Implications for creating memorable theme park experiences

This research examines how the social servicescape-directed gaze (i.e., perceptions of similarity, appearance, and behavior of other customers) influences theme park visitors’ affective states and experiences. A quantitative, survey-based research design was adopted with a total of 561 theme park patrons participating in the study. Results of structural equation modeling analyses reveal that similarity and behavior positively affect visitors’ feelings of arousal and curiosity, which in turn contribute to memorable theme park experiences. Other visitors’ appearances, however, are not a significant predictor of affect/experience. From a theory standpoint, this research represents a first attempt to study the tourist gaze at theme parks and makes a unique contribution by integrating the three dimensions of the social servicescape with the theoretical lens of the tourist gaze. Practically, this research provides suggestions for theme park management to create more memorable experiences by leveraging the social servicescape-directed gaze among visitors.     

The memorable souvenir-shopping experience: antecedents and outcomes

This study examines the relationship among authenticity, satisfaction, co-creation, memorable souvenir-shopping experiences, and place attachment. A post-holiday web-based survey was conducted among tourists to Rovaniemi, Finland, and a valid sample of 301 tourists was used for data analysis. The survey results show that satisfaction and co-creation during onsite souvenir shopping at a tourism destination create memorable souvenir shopping experiences, and that such memories enhance tourists’ feelings of attachment to the destination. The implications for retail management are that souvenir vendors should offer a large assortment of souvenirs to suit tourists’ individual tastes. Souvenir retailers can enhance customer satisfaction through taking such steps as training personnel on customer shopping satisfaction, extending operating hours, broadening the accepted means of payment, and improving the quality and display of products as well as the external appearance of their shops. Additionally, souvenir retailers should interact with customers and engage in onsite co-creation to arouse interest and attention.     

A typology of memorable experience at Nelson Mandela heritage sites

This study examines cultural heritage tourism by identifying and segmenting heritage site visitors according to the aspects they define as necessary for a memorable heritage site experience. The research focusses on visitors to Nelson Mandela Heritage Sites and emphasises that the links between the attributes of a site and the visitors themselves are essential to understanding tourists’ willingness to pay to visit the mentioned sites. A typology of visitors that the authors labelled ‘auxiliary experience seekers, convenience experience seekers and comprehensive experience seekers’ (ACC) was used. The results revealed comprehensive experience seekers as the most critical market segment regarding the much significantly higher amount they are willing to pay when visiting Nelson Mandela Heritage Sites. This leads to a better understanding of aspects contributing towards a memorable heritage site experience as well as to visitors’ willingness to pay for such experiences. This study also provides further insight into cultural heritage tourism in general. Moreover, such segmentation was found as a useful research tool for producing a distinct visitor profile as well as how a memorable experiencing can be generated by suggesting diversified pricing at such sites.     

Creating and curating tourism knowledge

This article examines the factors that lead to the creation of quality research and those that enable that research to be robustly yet fairly curated through the journal system. It approaches this problem mainly as an autoethnography presented as a critical professional reflection. This is enriched by triangulation with other experts in the field. The issues are significant since the canon of tourism is advanced at the very place where the creation of knowledge comes up against its curation. Its original contribution is to reveal and to make explicit norms and processes which have often been tacit or hidden or taken for granted and uninspected. Further its findings are translated into a series of practical tips and recommendations.     

Creating a Virtual Learning Community

Abstract

Global learning is critical to world-class hospitality and tourism programs. However, involvement in truly global learning communities has not until recently been available to most learners. The Internet has been the vehicle that has supported the creation of global learning communities. UW-Stout has maximized distance technologies to create learning opportunities for students around the world. This article summarizes the evolution of the Master's program, presents key aspects of the curriculum development, discusses technologies utilized to support the learning environment, and shares evaluation information. Lessons learned will also be shared to assist those beginning their journey into on-line learning in a global environment.     

Audience involvement and film tourism experiences: Emotional places, emotional experiences

This study attempted to investigate the extent to which audience involvement or engagement with a serialised TV drama affects their actual on-site film tourism experiences at its former filmed locations. As an empirical study, an on-site survey was conducted at Daejanggeum Theme Park, the main filmed location of Jewel in the Palace, known in Korean as Daejanggeum, in Yangjoo, South Korea. The results indicated that audience’s emotional and behavioural involvement was the main driver that positively affected their on-site film tourism experiences. Cognitively oriented audience involvement including cognitive interaction and critical reflection, however, was not considered as one of the major vehicles to construct and influence audience viewing experiences and their subsequent on-site film tourism experiences. The results also identified that the more emotional involvement audience develops through viewing the TV drama, the greater the likelihood of them visiting film tourism locations.     

Recent experiences in project appraisal

The author examines the nature of the tourism industry and, within this context, defines what is meant by project appraisal and examines its composition. There is a variety of approaches to project appraisal depending on the varying objectives of the different forms of organization involved in tourism development. The underlying rationales of these approaches are considered and the strengths and weaknesses of each appraised to develop one that is objective and acceptable.     

Creating a scale for assessing socially sustainable tourism

As destinations absorb ever increasing number of visitors, destination managers become progressively more concerned about the longer term viability of tourism from a resident's perspective. However, few studies have examined the application of real-time social sustainability within tourism, particularly how to measure impacts on social sustainability. This study outlines the development of a valid and reliable scale – the Scale of Social Sustainability (SSS) – for tourism that provides an assessment of social sustainability in destination settings. A 10-step procedure was developed drawing upon the related literature. A telephone poll-based survey generated 1839 valid responses from Hong Kong residents. Hong Kong's growing popularity as a destination provides a rich array of host–guest conflict situations. Dimensionality was identified using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Construct validity, reliability, and stability were assessed, and found good, showing that the scale could be used by other destinations worldwide. The theoretical and managerial implications of the scale are discussed, including options for annual surveys giving policy-makers alerts before situations worsen. Detailed host resident viewpoints and the large scale of the survey can help local residents be informed about tourism development and better involved in the policy formation process.