Examining Tourists’ Push and Pull Travel Motivations and Behavioral Intentions: The Case of British Outbound Tourists to Phuket,Thailand

This research aimed specifically to (1) determine the socio-demographic characteristics and travel patterns of British tourists visiting Phuket; (2) identify the main “push” and “pull” travel motivations of British tourists visiting Phuket; and (3) examine the relationship between British tourists’ main “push/pull” motivations and future travel intention to Phuket. Findings revealed that British tourists’ main push motivations were: “to have fun,” “to rest and relax,” and “to escape from daily routine and environment”; while the main pull motivations were: “natural sceneries and landscapes,” “beaches,” and “hospitality and friendliness of the people.” There was also a relationship found between “push/pull” motivations and future travel intention to Phuket.     

Beyond Better Wine: The Impact of Experiential and Monetary Value on Wine Tourists’ Loyalty Intentions

Research on the experiential aspects of wine tourism has been advocated but the evolution of this approach in this field is still in its infancy. This exploratory study proposes a behavioral model to simultaneously examine the role of hedonic and utilitarian shopping value as well as monetary value perceptions in predicting cellar door visitors’ overall satisfaction and loyalty intentions. The application of partial least squares path modeling indicates that cellar door visitors are oriented toward the experiential aspects of the visit itself as much as to pragmatic considerations in purchasing wine. The insights are, therefore, directed toward the creation of a total cellar door experience. These findings contribute to the understanding of a cellar door visitors’ decision-making process, providing managers and researchers with insights into how to effectively accommodate cellar door visitors’ needs.     

Effects of Service Fairness and Service Quality on Tourists’ Behavioral Intentions and Subjective Well-Being

This study examined the effects of service fairness and service quality on tourists’ behavioral intentions and subjective well-being (SWB) with the mediation of satisfaction. It conceptualizes SWB as a sociopsychological benefit that people receive from tourism activities in parallel with behavioral intentions to visit the destination treated as economic benefit. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in Xiamen city of Fujian Province, China, and a valid sample of 541 tourists was used for data analysis. Findings show that service fairness has more of an effect on behavioral intentions and SWB than service quality; and such differentiated effects can be partly attributed to the mediating role of satisfaction between the antecedent constructs (i.e, service fairness and service quality) and consequence constructs (i.e, behavioral intentions and tourist SWB). The results suggest that tourism service providers should deliver services in a fairer way and tourist SWB should be attended to by both governments and academics.     

The Role of Touristsʼ Value Perceptions in Behavioral Intentions: The Moderating Effect of Gender

ABSTRACT

In this study, the effect of tourists? perception of value on behavioral intentions, as well as the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between value perceptions and behavioral intentions was examined. A multidimensional value structure was used to investigate not only the functional components of value perceptions but also the hedonic value components, such as social value and emotional value. According to the findings, the most effective value dimension of revisit intentions of tourists is emotional value, whereas the most effective dimension of their recommendation intentions is social value. Moreover, it was found that the effect of behavioral price value perceptions on revisit intention was more of a determinant for males, whereas the effect of quality value perceptions on revisit intention was more of a determinant for females.     

The Potential Impact of Mega Sport Media on the Travel Decision‐Making Process and Destination Choice—The Case of Portugal and Euro 2004

The paper is concerned with exploring how the media coverage of mega sport events influences the travel decision‐making process and destination choice of potential travellers. The decision was made to use Euro 2004 and Portugal as a case study in order to discover the conceptual factors relevant to this phenomenon. The methodology consisted of a comprehensive literature review and in‐depth interviews with potential travellers. The data suggest that Euro 2004 did not do much to induce travel to Portugal among the informants, and this raised questions regarding the effectiveness of this type of promotion for destination marketing. It suggests that most destinations using this technique may have to employ strategic leveraging techniques if any tourism benefits are to be derived. If this is not done, the tourism marketing potential may fail miserably and result in a loss of the investment made by the government and public bodies that invest in these events for tourism purposes.     

Understanding the Impact of Ecotourism Resort Experiences on Tourists’ Environmental Attitudes and Behavioural Intentions

This study explored the conservation benefits of environmental management practices and nature experiences provided at a major Australian ecotourism resort. To achieve this purpose the study investigated changes in tourists’ environmental knowledge, awareness, attitudes and behavioural intentions between pre-visit and post-visit stages. Overall, there were few statistically significant differences between the pre-visit and post-visit samples. This study found, however, significant effects of (1) visitor awareness of, and (2) involvement in, the environmental management practices, and (3) participation in nature tour activities on environmental attitudes and behaviours. It is suggested that awareness of in-resort environmental practices and satisfying experiences in ecotourism accommodation may lead to reinforcing visitors’ favourable environmental attitudes, thus increasing their interest in further ecotourism experiences. Through these cumulative effects, ecotourism accommodation could achieve its educative goal.     

The Effect of Uganda’s Official Tourism Website on Travel Motivations and Constraints

Destination marketers increasingly rely on the official tourism website as an early point of contact with potential tourists. This research examined the effect of Uganda’s official tourism website on interest in traveling to Uganda, travel motivations, and travel constraints. Novelty preference and gender were included as moderators. A two-group randomized experimental design was used (N = 278) with exposure to Uganda’s official tourism website as the intervention (n = 139). Pre-test results show that interest in traveling to Uganda was greatest among novelty seekers. Gender had no influence. Pre-test motivations were learning, culture, novelty, and an interest in travel. Pre-test constraints were perceptions that Uganda is not safe and unfamiliar. Post-test results show that exposure to the website significantly increased interest in traveling to Uganda among all groups. Furthermore, this occurred by mitigating travel constraints rather than by stimulating travel motivations. Generalized implications for destination marketing are discussed.     

Exploring Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) in The Consumer Purchase Decision-Making Process: The Case of Online Holidays – Evidence from United Kingdom (UK) Consumers

This study explores the role of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the consumer decision-making process when purchasing a holiday. Using an ethnographic approach, it explores the role of eWOM on consumers’ attitudes toward online reviews (eReviews) and their subsequent behavior. Across the consumer decision-making processes – information search, evaluation, and purchase – the study develops a conceptual framework with three eWOM dimensions: (1) motivation, (2) source, and (3) content. Findings explore the variations of eWOM’s influence across the decision-making stages with implications for theory and practice. The study further highlights implications for segmentation practices in the tourism industry.     

The Effect of Healthy Food Knowledge on Perceived Healthy Foods’ Value,Degree of Satisfaction,and Behavioral Intention: The Moderating Effect of Gender

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to determine how knowledge about healthy food impacts its perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intention among college students to access healthy foods, and to investigate the moderating effect of gender on the formulated relationships. The results show that knowledge about healthy food positively influences perceived value and behavioral intentions, and perceived value is a significant predictor of satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward healthy foods. In addition, knowledge about healthy food does not significantly influence on satisfaction in this study. The results regarding the moderating effects of gender show that gender only moderates the relationship between satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward healthy foods. These results offer useful information for foodservice companies and educational institutions; more specifically, for gaining a better understanding of college students’ behaviors and perceptions toward healthy foods and developing marketing strategies accordingly.     

Negotiated exchanges in the online hospitality market: Hoteliers and hotel managers’ perceptions of Booking.com

Social exchange theory and online business-to-business (B2B) relational exchanges have been scarcely examined in the hospitality sector. Taking into consideration this research gap and the expansion of online travel agencies (OTAs), this exploratory study aims at examining hoteliers and hotel managers’ perceptions of their negotiated exchanges with Booking.com. Twenty two in-depth interviews were conducted with hoteliers and hotel managers from two Regions of Northern Greece. The results revealed that the informants considered their negotiated exchanges with Booking.com to be characterized by assurance rather than trust and admitted being dependent on it in financial and advertising terms. The hoteliers and hotel managers felt satisfied with their economic exchanges but required stronger social interactions. Additionally, hotel reputation was considered among the most important intangible outcomes of this partnership. Based on these findings relevant managerial implications are provided to improve social exchanges between Booking.com and accommodation providers.     

Place Familiarity and Attachment: Moderators of The Relationship Between Readers’ Credibility Assessment of A Travel Blog and Review Acceptance

This study examines how the readers’ credibility assessment of a travel blog article written about a destination relates to the following: intention to adopt the opinions expressed in the article; intention to recommend the article to others; intention to visit that destination; and place familiarity with and attachment to that destination. Partial least squares analysis revealed that past experience with the destination is needed for readers to use their credibility assessment of the article to recommend it to others. Place identity negatively moderates between blog’s credibility and review acceptance. Past experience is needed for place familiarity to be a moderator.     

Same but Different: Chinese-American and Mainland Chinese Consumers’ Perceptions of and Behavior in a Service Failure Situation

Going beyond the traditional East/West consumer differentiation in studying service failure, this article examined the impact of acculturation, together with ethnicity of service staff and origin of a hotel brand on consumers’ perceptions and behavioral responses. The research drew on four focus groups conducted in Beijing with 34 participants, followed by an experiment for which data were collected from 451 Chinese-Americans and 464 Mainland Chinese. Results showed significant differences in perceptions and behavioral responses following a service failure between Chinese-Americans and Mainland Chinese, and among Chinese-Americans with different acculturation strategies. Implications of study findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

The influence of restaurant co-workers’ perceived warmth and competence on employees’ turnover intentions: The mediating role of job attitudes

The current study examines the influence of co-workers’ perceived warmth and competence on employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions in a casual dining restaurant setting. The warmth and competence dimensions represent two fundamental social dimensions that people often use to evaluate other individuals or groups. The current findings determined that co-workers’ perceived warmth and competence had significant effects on employees’ job satisfaction, which in turn improved their organizational commitment.Furthermore, job satisfaction and organizational commitment mediated the relationships between co-workers’ perceived warmth and competence and employees’ turnover intentions. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

The influence of service brand orientation on hotel employees’ attitude and behaviors in China

As foreign hotel brands continue to roll out their investment in China, the competitive landscape intensifies. Central to the success of these hotel brands is their ability to offer the unique features of their service offering, as reflected in the brand, in which employees play a key role. However, in the Chinese market, where the introduction of foreign hotel brands is in its initial stages, employee brand knowledge may be limited resulting in service behaviors that are inconsistent with the brand. Therefore, the adoption of a service brand orientation to guide employee attitudes and behavior is considered to be necessary. In an effort to realize productive service employees, this study examines the consequences of adopting a service brand orientation. Results suggest that a service brand orientation is imperative for positive employee brand-oriented behaviors as well as customer-oriented behaviors that are a consequence of an employee customer orientation.     

Hotel customers’ environmentally responsible behavioral intention: Impact of key constructs on decision in green consumerism

Since rapidly growing numbers of customers prefer environmentally responsible products, efforts to “green” hotel operations are becoming increasingly important. The study reported here was designed to investigate guests’ intention formation when selecting an environmentally responsible hotel. The intention was to extend the Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB) by integrating several essential variables (environmental awareness, perceived effectiveness, and eco-friendly behavior and reputation) in explicating customers’ eco-friendly behavior. Findings from the measurement model indicated that study variables included a satisfactory level of reliability and validity. Results from the structural modeling revealed that the proposed theoretical framework had a strong ability to anticipate intention; incorporated constructs that played a vital role in hotel guests’ decision formation; and identified attitudes and desires that acted as mediators. The role of established variables in the original MGB was redefined. Our model had superior prediction power over the MGB, accounting for guests’ environmentally friendly buying behavior accurately.     

Motivations behind Consumers’ Organic Menu Choices: The Role of Environmental Concern,Social Value,and Health Consciousness

This study aimed to examine underlying motivations of consumers’ intention to visit a restaurant featuring organic menu items and willingness to pay (WTP) for organic menu items. In particular, this study incorporated environmental concerns, social value, and health consciousness as key motivators. An online survey was conducted with a self-administered questionnaire, and a total of 473 responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that environmental concern was the strongest predictor of WTP, followed by social value and health consciousness, whereas health consciousness was the most influential factor on intention to visit, followed by social value and environmental concern.     

The impact of perceived benefits and risks on current and desired levels of outsourcing: Hotel managers’ perspective

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the interactions between perceived benefits and risks of outsourcing and outsourcing adoption from the hoteliers’ perspective. Data were collected from 123 hotels in Egypt using a list of 32 hotel activities. Results revealed that managers’ perceived benefits of outsourcing had a direct positive effect on the current level of outsourcing, while indirect effects on the desired level of outsourcing. Interestingly, results confirmed the mediating role of current outsourcing between managers’ perceived benefits and the desired outsourcing. However, the perceived risks of outsourcing had a nonsignificant moderating effect. The findings provide implications for both theory and practice.     

Making an Album: Rap Performance and a ‘CD Track Listing’ as Performance Writing in The Beat of Boyle Street Music Programme

Abstract

This paper uses performance as a means of conceptualizing and writing leisure research. This research reports on a three‐year arts‐based ethnographic study of a music‐making programme conducted with Aboriginal young people in Edmonton, Canada, and explores young people's rap music performances. I especially make note of how the research narrative may be represented as a kind of performance text – in this case, as a CD track listing. I contend that this type of representational performance writing offers an accessible and compelling way of retelling the stories of the people involved in the research. Performance writing additionally calls attention to issues of what leisure researchers choose to include in written representations of our studies, how we listen, and how we respond to the performances voiced through research practices.     

Saturdays of leisure and memories … : The Mexican market ‘La Pulga’ in the San Joaquin Valley (California)

This research note aims to explore the links between food, memory, nostalgia and leisure through a series of weekly visits to an itinerant Mexican market in the United States. Taking an ethnographic approach to the market of La Pulga held in the city of Merced in California’s San Joaquin Valley, we consider how, in the Mexican–American transnational context, this market provides an opportunity for Mexican migrants to interact with other Mexican people, recreating similar social dynamics displayed in traditional food markets in Mexico. We argue that as well as being a food supply centre, this market may be viewed as a space in which Mexican migrants seek to recreate their homeland and to enjoy an alternative leisure experience. Thus, the visit to the market may be observed as a complex activity in which the senses, the social interactions between Mexican migrants and the consumption of food in a festive setting play a central role in enabling these migrants to break with their everyday lives. Likewise, we suggest that the visit to the market every Saturday not only constitutes a leisure activity, but also serves to construct the ethnic and collective migratory identity that links Mexican migrants with their homeland.