Resort Morphology Research: History and Future Perspectives

This paper adopts a geographical perspective to understand the conceptual and theoretical issues of resort morphology. Resort morphology refers to “the forms and associated functions of a destination area and their development”. Resort towns are differentiated from other urban areas in terms of morphology because of their functional emphasis on tourism. The literature reflects the significant interest of European geographers in the morphological study of coastal resort towns. However, limited attention has been given to resort morphology in developing countries, including those in Asia. It is argued that the complex of contextual factors that influence the morphological character of resorts needs to be considered and, furthermore, there is a great need to develop a systematic approach for investigating resort morphology. Although the morphological approach to the study of resorts is transferable, it is likely that Asian morphologies will differ from their western counterparts because of their time, scale and pace of development.     

Big data for big insights: Investigating language-specific drivers of hotel satisfaction with 412,784 user-generated reviews

This study leveraged the advantages of user-generated reviews with the aim of offering new insights into the determinants of hotel customer satisfaction by discriminating among customers by language group. From a collection of 412,784 user-generated reviews on TripAdvisor for 10,149 hotels from five Chinese cities, we found that foreign tourists, who speak diverse languages (English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian), differ substantially in terms of their emphasis on the roles of various hotel attributes (“Rooms,” “Location,” “Cleanliness,” “Service,” and “Value”) in forming their overall satisfaction rating for hotels. Chinese tourists domestically exhibit distinct preferences for room-related hotel attributes when compared to foreign tourists. Major interaction effects are revealed between the attributes “Rooms” and “Service” and between “Value” and “Service”.     

The Impact of Tourism Resources on Tourism Real Estate Value

Leisure and tourism facilities are known to influence property value. Previous studies have found natural resources to have a positive impact on the price of surrounding properties. More recently, scholars have turned their attention to “built” tourism resources, such as resorts and sports facilities. “Tourism real estate” emerged in China in the 1990s. Contrary to traditional housing projects, tourism real estate is characterized by the development of large-scale tourism resources (e.g. resorts and theme parks) along with residential properties, under the assumption that they would increase property value. However, the effects of such “built” tourism resources on housing value have not been empirically examined. This study investigates the determinants of tourism real estate prices, with an emphasis on the impact of theme parks. A hedonic pricing model was built using a sample of 294 real estate transactions in the Overseas Chinese Town area of Shenzhen, China. Findings indicated that while distance to metro and the architectural features of the property itself had significant positive effects on tourism real estate value, distance to theme parks was found to have a negative effect on price. As the constructions of theme parks alongside residential/vacation properties represent a typical model of tourism real estate, findings urge the industry to reconsider the development of theme parks and its impact on the surrounding environment.     

Atlantic City and the resort cycle background to the legalization of gambling

Stansfield, Charles A. Jr. “Atlantic City and the Resort Cycle: Background to the Legalization of Gambling”, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. V, No. 2, April/June 1978, pp. 238–251. Legalization of casino gambling in Atlantic City was politically feasible only following widespread voter recognition of the old resort's economic and social plight. The success of a statewide referendum was attributed to the concept that only a radical change in Atlantic City's crowd-attracting formula would be successful as it had become obsolescent as a resort partly due to changes in transport technology and recreation geography. There is an apparent cycle in the development, expansion, shift in socio-economic base of patronage, and decline of resorts; Atalantic City's century and a quarter existence is used as a case study of this resort cycle.     

Police departments in resort communities: Organizational adjustments to population undulation

The presence of recreational populations in a community imposes special burdens upon municipal service organizations such as the police. Departments must develop techniques for dealing with the problems associated with the presence of large numbers of transients. In this study, police departments in beach resorts are compared with police in similar nonresort communities in order to assess differences in operations and structure between the two types. Generally, resort police tend to have well‐established practices for dealing with summer populations and appear to be more formalized and “bureaucratic” than their counterparts in more stable communities.     

Understanding the reactions of government and gaming concessionaires on COVID-19 through the neo-institutional theory – The case of Macao

This paper looks at how Macao, the world’s most densely populated city, deals with the COVID-19 disease, with a focus on government interventions and responses of the gaming concessionaires who operate integrated resorts. Macao was selected as the case not only because of the background of the authors, but also because Macao has been cited in many media coverage as a “good practice” example when it comes to fighting against this COVID-19 pandemic situation. Since there are already ample of articles on the background, development timeline, and overall commentary, this paper adopts a mixed approach by combining supplementary secondary data on the COVID-19 timeline in Macao (focusing on government interventions that can affect the tourism and hospitality industry) and primary qualitative in-depth interviews with senior management personnel (holding positions of Director or above) from major integrated resorts in Macao to get insights on industry strategic responses and expectation on future. A total of seven interviews were conducted with senior management members of five integrated resorts in May 2020. Four areas of responses were identified. They are 1. Survival; 2. The New Business Norm; 3. Business Rebound Strategies and 4. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The findings indicate a seemingly utopian scenario among the major integrated resorts and gaming concessionaires in Macao towards their compliance and autonomous actions. The mechanism of this utopian-like scenario is explained by adopting the neo-institutional theory.     

An innovative approach to the intellectual property in haute cuisine

The paper investigates the relationship between the culinary innovation process (divided in two stages: idea generation and idea transformation) and the role of creativity protection. The aim is to understand how chefs protect their creativity and their innovation outcomes. The analysis is based on a sample of 132 Italian Michelin-starred chefs. The study sheds light on creativity and innovation domains in the hospitality environment where organizations have to continuously innovate in order to maintain a defensible competitive position. It identifies five “barriers against imitation” by competitors: “listening to clients’ needs”; “chef’s own creativity”, “systematic approach to creativity”; “knowledge based feasibility”; “accumulated professional skills”. The paper represents an initial effort to examine creativity protection concepts in the gastronomy sector, which are still unexplored. It contributes to a better understanding of how to protect the intellectual property in a sector where the applicability of law-based intellectual property systems is very low.     

Domestic tourism and sustainability in an emerging economy: Brazil's littoral pleasure periphery

The littoral pleasure periphery (LPP) is a major and expanding spatial feature of Brazil that is dominated by almost 200 specialised coastal resorts, beachfront metropolises and beachfront cities. It is notable in an emerging economy context for the extent to which domestic forces have influenced its development, including not just favourable geographic features but patterns of historical settlement, modernisation processes, national culture, and geopolitical motivations. Reflecting Brazil's economic and social dualities, the LPP exhibits two distinct models. The southern LPP, like counterparts in the more developed world, is long-established and displays an “organic” growth trajectory. The northern LPP is a hybrid of “organic” and “induced” impulses exhibiting more rapid and largely planned growth manifested in low density development. Despite efforts of a multi-partner regional tourism initiative – the Programa de Desenvolvimento do Turismo (PRODETUR) – to facilitate economic and social equity through targeted tourism investment, the northern LPP resembles classic Third World LPPs where mainly “non-white” local residents are often displaced by coastal development involving “white” investors and tourists. Unsustainable tourism outcomes are therefore indicated in both components of the Brazilian LPP and minimal progression toward an enlightened mass tourism ideal.     

Clubs and Hallmark Events

ABSTRACT

In Australia, clubs have long been viewed by some sections of the hospitality industry as the “poor cousins” of the more glamorous end of the market, such as four- and five-star hotels and resorts. Despite this perception, clubs are continuing to experience growth both in terms of membership and revenues collected and many play significant roles within the communities in which they operate. With regard to special events, much of the economic and social impact work published to date has focused upon the impact of such events in terms of accommodation and restaurant use, as well as visitor numbers and economic multipliers. The club industry in Australia, and in New South Wales (NSW) in particular, is a vibrant and thriving industry, but little work has been carried out to quantify the impact upon clubs of “outside” or external special events. Using in-depth interviews and discussions with marketing staff within two clubs in NSW (one rural and one metropolitan), this article examines their relationships to hallmark events that were conducted within each club's region. Analysis is made of the clubs' involvement with these events and the extent to which they were aggressively proactive in acquiring linkages to the event in question.     

The halo effect: A longitudinal approach

The halo effect is a cognitive bias whereby people form an opinion about a characteristic of an attribute of a product based on their predisposition (positive or negative) toward another attribute. No formal testing of this effect is available in the hospitality and tourism literature. Thus, this study fills this gap by analyzing a sample of 21,338 hotels. Results indicate that: i) the halo effect is supported (the “other” attributes explain nearly 50% of the focal attribute “location”); ii) asymmetric effects exist because negative variations have a stronger influence than positive variations (the halo effect actually becomes a crown of thorns); and iii) varying effects exist over the range of the dependent variable.     

Never on Sunday? Mexican tourists at the beach

This paper examines contemporary middle class Mexican recreational tourism through a micro-ethnographic study of tourist behavior at a small beach resort in the state of Chiapas. Majority behavior represents the inversion of aspects of normal behavior, particularly in the deregulation of meal-times, night and day activities, and the rules for play. It is hypothesized that the particular, and comparatively excessive, behaviors described may stem from both the historically antecendant Spanish and Indian cultures, with their baroque tendencies, and from the recent liberation of the new middle classes from the “Victorian-like” rules of daily behavior. Behavior at the beach resorts resembles earlier types of vacation in the U.S.A. and this suggests there may be an evolution of tourist behaviors characteristic of the historical situation of the national home cultures of the tourists.     

A tale of four futures: Tourism academia and COVID-19

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented “super-shock” for the tourism industry. How tourism academia relates to this unpredictable context is anyhow not yet evident. This study uses a qualitative scenario method to propose four possible futures for tourism academia considering the pandemic and to draw attention to key factors of these future developments. Nine interviews were held with tourism (full/ordinary) professors across Europe, America, Asia, and the Pacific Region to gain expert insights. As a result, four scenarios are proposed for tourism education, industry collaboration, research, and discipline identity. Recovery (“new sustainability” or “revenge-tourism”) for tourism academia if the pandemic impact is short-term, and Adaptancy (“bridging the gap” or “decline”) for tourism academia if the COVID-19 impact is long-lasting. Key factors for the way forward are finally discussed and contributions of our findings are highlighted.     

The impact of tourism on the physical environment

Cohen Erik “The Impact of Tourism on the Physical Environment”, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. V, No. 2, April/June 1978, pp. 215–237. While moderate and well-distributed tourism may help to upkeep attractions and preserve the environment, tourism as a mass industry poses new environmental risks. This paper is a first attempt to assess systematically the environmental impact of tourism and to spell out the principal factors on which this impact depends: the intensity of tourist site-use, the resiliency of the eco-system, the time perspective of the developers and the transformational character of touristic developments. The environmental dynamics of the tourist ecological sub-system are shown to consist of a constant expansion at the margins and intensification at the mature core, leading to the creation of “contrived” attractions both at the core (as “natural” attractions decline) and the margins (to supplement meager “natural” attractions as tourism expands into less attractive regions). Two major types of measures for environmental protection are discussed: those protecting the environment for tourism and those protecting it from tourism. The need for the second type of measures is emphasized, particularly in developing countries, which face greater environmental risks from tourism than the developed ones.     

Travel demand and behavior of university students in Hong Kong

University students represent an emerging market for the travel industry. This paper reports the findings of a study on the travel behavior and travel patterns of Hong Kong university students. Using a questionnaire, a survey was conducted to identify student travel motives, their travel planning process and travel preferences. A total of 264 university students in Hong Kong were interviewed and data analyzed. The results indicate that to “Experience new and different styles”, “Take it easy and relax”, “Go to places I haven't been before” and “Outstanding scenery” were perceived as important motives in students' travel decision-making. Four factors with 24 attributes were identified. These factors were “Social relationships”, “Obtain new experience”, “Relax and enjoy” and “Cost of travel”. Based on the findings of the study, it was suggested that modifications to the existing tourism products and services and new product development were necessary in order to meet the demand of this emerging market.     

Peer-to-peer accommodation experience: A Chinese cultural perspective

With the growing popularity of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation worldwide, this conceptual paper reviews and explores Chinese users’ P2P accommodation experiences from a cultural perspective. The paper conceptually explores the influence of Chinese cultural traditions on the P2P accommodation experience. These cultural traditions include renqing (人情), guanxi (关系), mianzi (面子) and yuan (缘). Renqing was revealed to have an enduring impact on Chinese users’ loyalty. A conceptual yuan-based host-guest relationship framework was established including four stages - “to have yuan” (有缘), “match yuan” (投缘), “cherish yuan” (惜缘) and “continue yuan” (续缘). By revealing the influence of deep-seated values underpinning Chinese hospitality, this research contributes to the globalization of hospitality knowledge by painting a new understanding of Chinese user P2P accommodation experiences.     

The Sanfte Mobilitaet project: achieving reduced car-dependence in European resort areas

“Sanfte Mobilitaet” was a European Union-funded project designed to assess various approaches to reducing car dependence by visitors, applied in a number of resorts and wider locations within the Alpine region. Visitor attitude surveys were also conducted using existing theories of tourism taxonomy so as to identify optimal changes to transport aspects of the tourism product. This note reports on the project, focusing on two of the chosen locations, and analyses the results in the context of strategies designed to change existing ratios in visitor travel mode.     

World Youth Day: Contemporaneous pilgrimage and hospitality

This paper highlights the connection between domestic hospitality and pilgrimage as performances of religion in action, arguing that domestic hosting enhances “liminal” and “communitas” experiences during the contemporary pilgrimage of the World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Domestic hospitality, an under-researched topic, is a significant aspect of this Catholic pilgrimage. Qualitative methods, including participant observation over the 18 months of preparation leading up to and during the event, were used to collect data. This paper discusses host-guest relationships, reasons for hosting strangers at no charge, and the establishment of a communitas set. The findings reveal that through domestic hospitality, pilgrims and their hosts families became closer, sharing similar experiences of reinforced religious identities.     

The role of frequency of patronage and service quality of all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant: A perspective of socio-economic and demographic characteristics of African American consumers

While the sub-cultural group of African American consumers form a large and growing market segment, relatively little study has been done on their attitude and consumption behavior toward the ever popular all-you-can-eat Buffet restaurants. Paper examines the frequency of patronizing all-you-can-eat Buffet restaurants by the African Americans, the criteria that they use to evaluate service quality in those restaurants, as well as, socio-economic and demographic factors that determine their frequency of patronage and service quality evaluation. Results show that “freshness,” “hygiene,” “variety and reliability,” and “value,” are the top four dimensions of service quality most important to this group of consumers. Gender, age, income, and marital status were found to influence their patronage frequency, as well as their service quality evaluation. Managerial implications of findings for targeting and promotional strategies are discussed.     

Online destination image: Comparing national tourism organisation's and tourists' perspectives

This study examines the perceived and projected online destination images (DI) manifested in tourist-generated content (TGC) and national tourism organisation (NTO) generated content. Through visual content analysis and mise en scène analysis of photographic data as well as content analysis and perceptual mapping analysis of textual data, the differences between perceived and projected online DI of Eastern Taiwan were explored. TGC and NTO contents were both found to have similarly represented Eastern Taiwan as a destination abounds with “natural environment”, “infrastructure”, “specific activities”, and “tourist attractions”. However, several important DI dimensions were under-represented in the NTO content, for example, “food and beverages”, “transportation”, “information” and “accommodation”. The findings further reveal that the TGC textual content tended to outperform NTO textual content in reflecting affective DI; and photographic content, in general, was more effective in conveying affective attributes. The findings provide useful insights for practice and future research in DI management.