Exploring factors determining the attractiveness of railway tourism

This study explored experts' opinions on the determinants of railway tourism attractiveness (RTA). The results showed the provision of heritage railway attractions, both on-board and off-board, constitutes an essential and important component of railway tourism experience, whereas the smoothness and comfort of a rail journey play a supporting role in enhancing RTA. It is concluded that Taiwan has long history with railroads and the historical values connected to rail infrastructure represent a unique part of railway tourism experience. The integration of those assets would diversify its tourism offerings and enhance its profile as one of Asia's leading tourism destinations.     

The Effects of Korean Pop Culture on Hong Kong Residents' Perceptions of Korea as a Potential Tourist Destination

The goal of this study is to assess the influences that Korean pop culture has on Hong Kong residents' perceptions of Korea as a potential tourist destination. Among the 500 distributed questionnaires, 456 were collected. Finally, 440 usable surveys were used for data analysis after eliminating 16 questionnaires with multiple missing answers that were deemed unusable. Data analyses produced many meaningful results. For example, respondents who were less educated and tended to spend more on Korean cultural products had a higher intention to visit Korea after they tasted Korean food. Expenditures on Korean cultural products were a significant contributor to Hong Kong residents' intention to visit Korea after experiencing the three types of Korean pop culture used in this study. Results of this study confirm those of previous studies, which found that the media had a significant influence on a person's choice of tourist destination.     

The influence of place attachment on the relationship between destination attractiveness and environmentally responsible behavior for island tourism in Penghu,Taiwan

This study examines the causal relationships between place attachment, destination attractiveness and environmentally responsible behavior (ERB), and the mediating effect of place attachment. Four hundred and thirteen tourists were surveyed who had visited the Penghu islands, Taiwan. Structural Equation Modeling was used to determine the relationships among the variables and the mediating effects. Results show that the emotions and feelings (place attachment), which tourists have for Penghu, are positively associated with stronger ERB; the extent of attractiveness of island tourism as perceived by tourists is also positively associated with stronger ERB. A higher level of tourists’ destination attractiveness in regard to island tourism is associated with stronger place attachment; place attachment was found to exert a significant effect in mediating the relationship between destination attractiveness and ERB. The study shows that when island tourists are attracted by and are attached to the destination, they are more likely to exhibit ERB. The study pioneers the integration of all three factors in a sustainable tourism behavior model designed for tourists who stay one night or more at a destination, and tests the hypotheses for the first time in an Asian destination. Management implications and recommendations for the sustainable development of Penghu islands tourism are provided.     

Local arts agency participation in cultural tourism management

The tourism literature does not consider the role of the local arts agency in destination management. This paper explores the extent to which local arts agencies engage in programming and partnerships related to the development of tourism. It proposes that participation in cultural tourism management is determined by both organizational and environmental characteristics. Drawing on a national survey of local arts agencies, the analysis compares survey measures of these characteristics to estimate their influence on the likelihood that agencies are involved in cultural tourism programming. Two-thirds of subject local arts agencies report that their organization is currently working or partnering in programming aimed at cultural tourism. Smaller agencies with a range of programs are more likely to have adopted the innovation. Agencies responsible for management of a cultural facility develop audiences through cultivation of tourists.     

The destination competitiveness of Kinmen's tourism industry: exploring the interrelationships between tourist perceptions,service performance,customer satisfaction and sustainable tourism

Based upon an empirical investigation, the study draws upon the responses of 1623 tourists in Kinmen to explore the notion of destination competitiveness and how it is related to customer satisfaction with tourists’ perceptions, service performance and destination competitiveness. It also considers the question of destination competitiveness and sustainable tourism development. Variables such as tourists’ pre-visit perceptions, post-visit satisfaction toward destination attractions and resources, willingness to recommend and revisit, and competitiveness with foreign destinations are tested. The results of the study suggest that there is no correlation between tourists’ overall satisfaction and destination competitiveness. Implications of the study outcome illustrate that a destination's unique tourism characteristics can be the most important variables for destination competitiveness. In Kinmen's case, battlefields, historic relics, beautiful scenery and travel security gave it a competitive edge, despite high prices. In addition, developing the destination's brand image was found to be critical for tourism marketers and authorities in the context of increasingly global tourism competition.     

Developing an evaluation model for destination attractiveness: sustainable forest recreation tourism in Taiwan

This study explores the opinions of an expert panel on factors affecting the attractiveness of forest recreation tourism in Taiwan. Twenty-three determinants of destination attractiveness were selected by reviewing the relevant literature. The relative importance of these determinants was analyzed by a panel of experts using the Analytical Hierarchy Process method. Results show that the uniqueness of forest landscapes and scenery and special climate phenomena are two of the most important attributes determining the attractiveness of forest recreation tourism. The reliability and convenience of access to forest recreation sites owing to their remote location are also highly evaluated. The provision of high-quality accommodation and cuisine is considered an essential component to enrich visitors’ recreational experience in forest settings. The major implications for both the public and private sectors to achieve long-term sustainability are threefold: ensuring sustainable use of natural environment, enhancing the reliability of access modes to the destination, and improving the quality of lodging facilities and catering services. Together these three requirements can help create socioeconomic sustainability in remote forest communities with limited alternative employment opportunities.     

Impact of clusters on exhibition destination attractiveness: Evidence from Mainland China

Clusters, as concentrations of businesses in particular localities, may explain the spatial distribution of exhibitions, and exhibition destination attractiveness (Rubalcaba-Bermejo & Cuadrado-Roura, 1995). Drawing on Porter’s (1998a) cluster theory in the context of the exhibition industry in Mainland China, this study tests and confirms the validity of this proposition. A mixed method approach was employed that involved in-depth interviews with 32 exhibitors and a survey of 616 exhibitors to 1) establish what constitutes ‘clusters’ in an exhibition context and develop appropriate measurements, and 2) assess to what extent ‘clusters’ contribute to exhibition destination attractiveness. The study developed measures for and confirmed two distinct cluster effects – ‘leadership of the host city in the industry’ and ‘host city as a source of exhibitors.’ Both cluster effects had a significant influence on exhibitors’ perceived destination attractiveness, with other destination factors being less important, in a marked contrast to convention destination attractiveness. Implications of the study results are discussed and directions for future research provided.     

国内有关旅游对接待地社会文化影响的研究述评

旅游对接待地的社会文化影响是近年来旅游学界研究的热点问题之一。本文在回顾国内研究进展的基础上．对旅游对接待地社会文化影响的基础理论和主要内容作了重点而详尽的介绍，并就我国目前研究中存在的问题提出了一些看法。     

The Attractiveness of Portugal as a Tourist Destination: The Perspective of Czech Tour Operators

In this study we investigate the attractiveness of Portugal as a tourist destination from the perspective of Czech tour operators. Tour operators were selected as the target population because they represent an important source of information about a destination and can significantly influence the decision of potential tourists about a holiday destination. One of the important findings of this research is that weak promotion and financial demands are perceived as the main reasons why many Czech tourists do not choose Portugal as their vacation destination. An obvious obstacle in the development of Portugal as a Czech tourism destination is the lack of information about its advantages as a tourist destination. The results also show that Portugal is not considered a key destination for Czech tourists. However, in terms of its attractiveness as a tourist destination Portugal has much potential, which should be utilized in the future.     

Managing the environmental and cultural impacts of tourism and leisure development

It is claimed that the state of development of tourism management as a discipline may be related to the claims of the tourist industry as a pressure group and the lack of adequate academic attention to the economic disbenefits and the environmental and sociocultural costs-benefits of tourism. This article sets out to redress the balance by proposing a social-theory base for tourism.     

Development of intangible cultural heritage as a sustainable tourism resource: the intangible cultural heritage practitioners’ perspectives

ABSTRACT

Authentic intangible cultural heritage (ICH) provides a community with a unique selling point in the globally competitive tourism industry. The process of commodification of ICH, however, has threatened its authenticity and thus sustainable tourism approaches are required to achieve successful transmission and promotion of ICH as a sustainable tourism resource. This paper explores the priorities of ICH practitioners in relation to the development of ICH as a sustainable tourism resource, by utilising South Korea as a case study. The results revealed that from the ICH practitioners’ perspectives, authenticity is a holistic notion integrating the transmitted customs, inherited meanings and the practitioners’ identities. ICH practitioners agree with the potential positive symbiotic relationship between transmission of authentic ICH and promotion of ICH as a tourism resource. To achieve the positive symbiotic relationship, locals’ awareness of ICH, ICH practitioner empowerment and parallel development between tourism development and transmission of ICH are necessary. To date, the practitioner approach to the authenticity of ICH and ICH as a sustainable tourism resource is little explored in the literature, thus this paper makes a valuable addition to the area of sustainable heritage tourism.     

Towards new tourism policies: The importance of environmental and sociocultural factors

Unrestricted tourism growth could lead to the positive economic effects of tourism being outweighed by significant social and environmental disadvantages, which could in turn translate the economic benefits into disadvantages. This process derives not only from tourism effects per se, but also from changes in the social structure. This article calls for not merely economic and technical adjustments in policies, but for a fundamental political transformation in the conception of tourism and recreation.     

Effect of cultural distance on tourism: A study of pleasure visitors in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the effect of cultural distance on pleasure visitors, mainly vacation overnight visitors, in Hong Kong. Secondary data on 10 source markets are extracted from the annual report of visitor profile 2014 published by Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). The data are compared to recognize the influence cultural distance can have on visitor profiles and trip characteristics, including travel patterns, expenditure, and satisfaction levels. Deteriorating effects ascribed to cultural distance are clearly observed in the following three important aspects: repeated visit, length of stay, and expenditure; however, these effects do not extend to all aspects. Therefore, cultural distance may be used to complement physical distance in order to explain the tourist flow, and it should be further studied.     

文化休闲旅游符号的思考——以丽江大研古城和徽州古村落为例

随着恩格尔系数的平稳下降,中国家庭与休闲相关的消费在不断攀升.文章从丽江大研古城沿街店铺经营业务入手,搜索大研古城的文化休闲旅游符号,分析其形成机制:外在动力机制有休闲时代的即将到来、市场需求的拉动;内在动力机制有自然因素、文化因素和政府决策因素.对比丽江大研古城和以宏村、西递为代表的徽州古村落,探讨不同文化背景的遗产旅游地发展过程中出现的两种特征:文化休闲旅游和文化观光旅游.文章认为,在休闲时代到来之际,传统的观光旅游逐渐向休闲度假旅游转变,文化型遗产地应冷静对待,避免盲动,做出适合自身文化本底的正确选择.     

Going for gold as a leisure tourism continuum: clustering motivations for gold panning revisit intention

The way in which people use their spare time differs. Leisure activities and tourism are among the most common of these. Gold panning is a rather unusual niche leisure and tourism activity. Despite some differences, leisure and tourism are generally interrelated in many ways, thus gold panning, is a good example of the leisure tourism continuum. In this study, gold panning is considered as a set of leisure activities within the context of tourism. The aim of the paper is to determine the profile of a gold panner based on their motivations. Therefore, respondents are clustered by means of motivation into two homogenous groups defined as ‘nature seekers’ and ‘true gold panners’. The results suggest that the clusters differ significantly with regards to age, education and marital status, but also in terms of the degree of interest in gold and revisit intention. The originality of the research lies in the fact that gold panning as a leisure activity has seldom been explored under the guise of a leisure and tourist context within existing literature, especially through the means of quantitative research.     

Policy communities,networks and issue cycles in tourism destination systems

This paper demonstrates how concepts derived from policy community, policy network and issues management theories can be used to understand the roles, activities and interactions of government, corporate and pressure group stakeholders engaged in tourism policy, planning and management in destination contexts. It shows the relevance and utility of an “integrated issue lifecycle approach” to trace the evolution of tourism policy, planning and destination management within specific destination contexts. The application of this approach is demonstrated through a case analysis of the tourism policy and planning system that underpins the destination system of Byron Bay, a significant domestic and international destination on the East Coast of Australia. The underlying premise adopted for this study is that the examination of the antecedents of tourism policy and planning processes, within particular destination contexts, can lead to an understanding of the driving values and ideas that have led to contemporary tourism policy issues and problems.     

论旅游文化——文化人类学视野

目前,国内旅游文化研究已进入了瓶颈阶段。尽管有近40部与旅游文化相关的著作和教材以及大量学术论文,但人们在各种意义上使用"旅游文化"这一词汇,旅游文化的内涵与外延仍模糊不定。文章在追溯国内外旅游文化研究成果的基础上,从文化的发生层面来界定和框限旅游文化,并在内涵、特性、功能层面上对旅游文化与一般文化进行比较分析,进而指出未来的旅游文化研究可以运用文化人类学传统民族志方法来获取第一手资料。同时,文章旨在反思国内旅游文化研究的概念误区,并尝试以文化人类学视角来廓清旅游文化的外延,将旅游文化视为文化生产与再生产的结果,为旅游文化内涵的明确化、具体化做抛砖引玉的前期思考。     

Developing sustainable tourism through ecomuseology: a case study in the Rupununi region of Guyana

Sustainability is a concept that continues to evolve and perplex in tourism, one of the world's largest industries. Effective new theories and practices are constantly explored so as to incorporate sustainability into tourism frameworks. Due to their focus on participation processes, integration of resources, and responses to specific needs and contexts, ecomuseum principles can be very useful for the development of sustainable tourism. This paper examines the potential of using the principles of ecomuseology to support sustainable tourism development. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach involving local expert stakeholders at the case study site, the Rupununi region of Guyana, South America. The findings from this research suggest that the principles of ecomuseology possess considerable potential to support sustainable tourism development in the Rupununi and potentially other destinations internationally. In particular, this study illustrates how ecomuseological principles can be used to manage heritage resources and economic development by focusing on, for example, holistic interpretation and information sharing, placing equal attention on heritage resources, and monitoring changes to the region over time.