Understanding the Cultural Differences in Tourist Motivation Between Anglo-American and Japanese Tourists

Summary

There is considerable evidence to suggest that differences in cultural characteristics exist across the world. Among them, individualistic societies emphasize “I” consciousness, autonomy, emotional independence, pleasure seeking and universalism. On the other hand, col-lectivistic societies stress “we” consciousness, collective identity, group solidarity, sharing, and particularism. A comparative research on the motivation of tourists from different cultures may challenge current tourism research, which mainly focuses on individualism and rationalism. These values of individualism and rationalism result in underestimation of the influence of groups, norms, culture, and emotion or impulse on tourist behavior. There have been few studies which attempt to directly measure cultural characteristics and identity across culture, and to explain how these cultural characteristics play a role in creating distinctive differences in tourist motivation. Thus, this study explores (1) cultural differences underlying individualism-collectivism between Anglo-American and Japanese tourists; (2) examines the relationship of two cultural dimensions to tourist motivation, and (3) suggests management implications facing tourism industry.     

Tourist Motives and Destination Competitiveness: A Gap Analysis Perspective

This study explores the use of gap analysis in examining the demand-side and supply-side perceptions of international tourists’ motives for visiting Botswana, along with Botswana’s competitiveness as a tourist destination. Statistically significant negative gaps between tourists and tourism providers’ perceptions mean that further understanding of tourists by providers is necessary to enhance the destination’s competitiveness. The analysis of findings was based on 14 “pull” motivations adapted from Kozak (2002) and 104 destination competitiveness measures, some of which were adapted from Omerzel (2006). Factor analysis, reliability analysis, and a series of independent t-tests were used to analyze the data. Study results indicate that tourists visit Botswana mainly for pleasure seeking rather than culture. The study further reveals that Botswana’s competitiveness as a destination is average. Furthermore, the study found statistically significant differences between tourists and tourism providers on all of the “push” factors and nine of the 15 destination competitiveness factors. In order for Botswana to be globally competitive, there is need for further improvement with a view to match international tourists’ expectations. Particular attention should be directed at improving the way the destination is managed. Further developments should be made on created resources, safety, demand conditions, historical and cultural heritage resources, organized excursions, and cleanliness.     

Tourist expertise and pre-travel value co-creation: Task-related processes and beyond

Our knowledge of how tourists could co-create value in the pre-travel stage is limited. This should be particularly worrying for tourism providers, as they could gain competitive advantage by improving their understanding of these processes and responding accordingly. Based on service-dominant logic, this study explores this gap in research by identifying three value co-creation processes that occur before a trip (travel organization, information seeking, and mental time travel) and examining the contribution of tourist expertise on each of these processes. Although previous studies tend to assimilate co-creation with “tasks,” this study focuses on mental time travel, which is the only pre-travel value co-creation process that contributes value to the consumer without involving costs. An empirical study with 984 French and Spanish tourists was conducted, the results of which corroborate the particular salience of expertise predicted by service-dominant logic.     

Mature vs. youth travelers: The Korean market

An important consideration in understanding and predicting tourist behavior concerns the underlying motivation governing the choice of tourist destinations, and the tourists” evaluation and level of satisfaction with the actual experiences (Pearce, 1991). Motivation is a fundamental element in helping to explain tourist behavior. Unfortunately, the research on motivation has only received moderate attention, both conceptually and empirically. A new theoretical framework employed in sociology and social psychology has recently been proposed by Pearce to explain tourism motivation. It is known as the “Travel Career Ladder” (TCL). This paper attempts to reveal comprehensive information on the travel motivations of Korean tourists with regards to overseas trips by employing the concepts predicated in the TCL model. The implications of this research are discussed in terms of the potential of the TCL model, and to what end it can be used to predict tourist behavior and improve the level of cross‐cultural understanding of international tourists.     

基于地方情感的旅游目的地选择模型建构研究

旅游目的地选择模型建构的研究多数以微观经济学、认知心理学与市场营销学等为基础理论,较少从个体与地方感情连结的视角探讨游客旅游目的地选择决策行为。文章以旅游目的地选择为研究主轴概念,结合地方情感概念中的旅游目的地意象和地方依恋,根据研究文献梳理结果、基础理论界定模型建构的路径变量与逻辑框架,进而提出基于地方情感的旅游目的地选择模型及模型过程步骤。文章建构模型表明,游客旅游目的地选择始于旅游目的地意象的形成,随着整体认知意象的深化,游客对旅游目的地将产生地方认同感,再通过选择决策行为选择意向的旅游目的地从事旅游活动,通过对旅游目的地旅游体验的功能满足产生依赖感,最终形成对旅游目的地的地方依恋感。研究成果对于旅游目的地选择具有交叉研究的创新价值,对于旅游目的地市场战略规划实践活动而言具有参照价值。     

Understanding the Relationship of Service Fairness,Emotions, Trust,and Tourist Behavioral Intentions at a City Destination in China

This study presents a cognitive appraisal model that identifies consumption emotions and trust as key mediators in the relationship between perceived service fairness and behavioral intentions (i.e., revisit intentions and word-of-mouth (WOM) referrals). The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed to examine empirically a conceptual tourist behavior model using questionnaires answered by 541 tourists in Xiamen, a “garden city” in China. The findings confirmed the mediating role of emotions and trust, which imply that the travel behavioral intentions formation process is both an emotional experience process and a relationship building process between tourists and the destination service providers. By understanding the relationship and linkages between perceived service fairness and behavioral intentions, city managers, urban tourism managers, and service providers can formulate more effective marketing strategies to strengthen tourists’ loyalty, revisit and WOM referral intentions.     

Social and Cultural Factors Influencing Tourists' Souvenir-Purchasing Behavior: A Comparative Study on Japanese “Omiyage” and Korean “Sunmul”

Summary

One of the major parts of tourist shopping is the purchasing of souvenirs as presents for people. There are many motives for souvenir purchasing that seem to be influenced by the culture and customs of a society. This study attempts to bring light to the various social and cultural factors influencing the purchasing of souvenirs by tourists in Japan and Korea, to make predictions about tourists' souvenir-purchasing behavior in the future, and present keys to the sales promotion of souvenir goods. The results of the analysis show, as a common point, both Japanese and Korean tourists use souvenirs as a means of supporting a relationship with others, although some differences may exist in “what,” and “how” souvenirs should be given.     

Photograph's role in tourism : Some unexplored relationships

Chalfen, Richard M., “Photography's Role in Tourism: Some Unexplored Relationships,” Annals of Tourism Research,” October/December 1979, VI(4):435–447. While photography is one of the most common attributes of tourist behavior, its role in tourism has never been studied. Tourist photography is understood as both photographs made by tourists and photographs made available to tourists by members of the host community. This paper draws attention to three unexamined topics: the relationship between certain tourist types and patterns of photographic behavior and/or content of photographs; the culturally variable standards of appropriate subject matter and camera use in different parts of the world; and the variety of responses exhibited by host communities to being photographed. Examples are given of host sensitivities and camera related disturbances. A trend is noticed in which host communities specify which images are appropriate and inappropriate for tourist photography.     

If you,tourist, behave irrationally,I’ll find you!

When departures from rational behavior can potentially be expected, modeling should allow for their identification and their quantification. In this regard, prices in tourism might have effects that may not be as apparent as economic theory predicts. This article incorporates the sticker shock formulation into the mixed logit model without imposing consistency with consumer theory to accommodate any possible positive or negative price effects. By allowing the parameters of “price” and “sticker shock term” to take any value – negative or positive – we detect abnormal behaviors in the tourist demand: not only is the negative relationship between price and demand inverted for some people but also some tourists might be willing to accept higher-than-expected prices. The “non-well-behaved” groups' shares are estimated.     

Changes in tourist personal values: impact of experiencing tourism products and services

This study examines how tourist personal value networks are constructed, and examines whether the structure of such networks differs if experience or consumption of tourism products or services influences the importance of these personal values. Through laddering and implication matrix, the abstraction score of each value can be computed and its position within the value structure identified for constructing a personal values network. By comparing the structure of the personal values network before and after traveling experience, the researchers found that tourists may hold identical values but assign them different degrees of importance, changing the value network structure. Thus, marketers targeting before-the-trip tourists should emphasize that their products or services meet tourist desires for “imaginative” and “an exciting life” and can help tourists achieve a feeling of “freedom.” If marketers targeting tourists who have just come back from a trip, they should emphasize the “cheerful” feelings of the trip and project an image of “happiness” and “freedom” to attract tourists and satisfy their desire for “inner harmony.” This finding not only provides marketers with information regarding tourist cognitions, but also helps marketers to effectively formulate marketing strategies.     

Transitional domestic tourist gaze in a post-war destination: A case study of Jaffna,Sri Lanka

The constantly changing “tourist gaze” needs much scholarly attention for globalizing, especially in the areas of “domestic tourist gaze” and “transitional tourist gaze”. The present study attempts to fill these gaps by identifying transitional domestic tourist gaze in post-war Sri Lanka. This qualitative study employs previous literature and reviews from TripAdvisor.com to identify how the domestic tourist gaze is transforming in post-war zones of Sri Lanka. The thematic analysis method was employed to analyze tourists' reviews using NVivo 11 (QSR International) software. The study identifies that tourist gaze is changing from a “dark tourist gaze” to an “environmental gaze” and a “cultural gaze” through a strategic government mediation to reinstate conciliation in post-war Sri Lanka. The study offers implications to enhance tourists gaze in a post-war destination.     

Interrelationships between tourist involvement,tourist experience,and environmentally responsible behavior: a case study of Nansha Wetland Park,China

ABSTRACT

This study examines a model linking three facets of tourist involvement (“importance & pleasure,” “sign value,” and “risk probability & consequence”) with tourist experience (TE) and environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire in a convenient sampling approach from tourists visiting Nansha Wetland Park, China. In total, 308 valid questionnaires were obtained. The structural equation modeling technique was applied to data analyses. Of three tourist involvement (TI) facets, “importance & pleasure” was found to be the most salient predictor of TE, which in turn led to ERB. “Risk probability & consequence” was shown as a potent predictor of both TE and ERB. “Sign value” did not have any effect on either TE or ERB. Basically, TE served as a full mediator between “importance & pleasure” and ERB, and a partial mediator between “risk probability & consequence” and ERB. Contributions, managerial implications, and future research directions are discussed.     

Place branding performances in tourist local food shops

This article adopts a performative approach to analysing encounters between tourists, retailers, objects, architectures, detailing the communication devices inherent in bringing “to life” a thematic selection of a place’s multiple identities to promote tourism. It draws on integrated interpretations of performative approaches, illustrating them relative to the place branding enacted at local food & wine shops to address tourists visiting Verucchio, Italy. The study contributes to the literature on tourism by proposing the concept of performative place branding, enabling a more creative, hybrid, and open-ended consideration of the relationship between tourist places and place branding. This contrasts with the “top-down” logic employed in previous studies and policies for promoting tourist destinations.     

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.     

旅游者安全行为：研究源起与国内近十年研究述评

旅游者安全行为研究已成为旅游安全研究的重要领域。文章阐述了旅游者安全行为研究的理论源起,并以2001～2011年的文献为基础,对国内旅游者安全行为的研究进行了系统的梳理,从概念界定、表现特征、影响因素、安全行为管理、不同视角下的安全行为研究等方面阐述了国内旅游者安全行为的研究进展。研究归纳了国内旅游者安全行为研究表现出的理论结构,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

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.     

The Determinants of the Travel Demand on International Tourist Arrivals to Thailand

The purpose of this study is to develop a travel demand model of international tourist arrivals to Thailand and to assess the impact of crisis incidents on Thailand's tourism industry. A 20-year (1987–2006) annual time series data of “number of international tourist arrivals”, “exchange rate”, “promotion budget”, and dummy variables of “Asia financial crisis”, “special promotional campaigns”, “SARS” and “tsunami” were used to develop the travel demand model by performing a multiple regression analysis. The results showed that travel demand of international tourist arrivals to Thailand could be explained by “exchange rate”, “promotion budget”, “Asia financial crisis” and “SARS”.     

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.     

旅游行为中的性别差异研究

了解性别与旅游行为之间的关系,对于旅游产品开发与营销有很强的借鉴意义.本文以黄山市国内游客的问卷调查数据为基础,通过统计检验,分析了性别与旅游者行为之间的关系.本文所分析的旅游者行为涉及到游前、游中、游后三个阶段,研究发现:(1)女性游客比男性游客平均搜集更多的信息类型,并更倾向于搜集旅行费用、食宿状况、线路安排这三种旅游信息;(2)女性游客比男性游客更倾向于通过人际交流的方式获取旅游信息;(3)对于游览民居和购买旅游纪念品两种旅游活动,女性游客比男性游客具有更强的偏好.