Travel writers and the nature of self: Essentialism,transformation and (online) construction

A lacuna of academic research exists that explores contemporary travel writers’ lived experience, particularly how they perceive their s​ense of self through their work as a forum for self-discovery and self-transformation. Using the essentialist self and socially constructed selves as theoretical frameworks, this research extends the concept of multiple selves to these writers and new forms of online media. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 47 travel writers and data were analysed using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Findings suggest that many travel writers (co)construct an online self and use their writing to transform themselves. The cathartic process of writing, interaction with their readership and the importance of establishing a social identity online emerged as influences on the nature of self.     

The future of travel writing: Interactivity,personal branding and power

Changes in technology and media in the twenty-first-century have had significant implications for the travel writing profession. In the social media era, where information about travel is readily accessible for many audiences online, both travel writers and publishers are altering the way that they function to succeed in this new environment. This phenomenological qualitative study, based on interviews with 47 travel writers, explores their experiences in the digital age. Findings resulted in three new conceptual models illustrating the different experiences of contemporary travel writers: (1) The Interaction Model, (2) The Personal Branding Model, and (3) The Power Model. The models reflect the fact that the online environment has facilitated interactivity with readers and personal branding, created a change in power dynamics, and given some writers a sense of communitas with their peers. These experiences have implications for the profession and the depth of travel writing and writers' travelling experiences.     

Sustainable travel writing? Exploring the ethical dilemmas of twenty-first-century travel writers

There is a paucity of academic literature on travel writing that examines travel writers and their perceived influence on sustainability. This article addresses this lacuna by exploring how travel writers understand their responsibilities and reflects on ethics in their profession, particularly in how foreign destinations and cultures are portrayed. This is significant because some travel writers have been accused of contributing to what interviewees called the “Lonely Planet Syndrome”, the notion that writing about a place will introduce and encourage mass tourism, changing the original state of the place for the worse. In this qualitative, phenomenological study, data were collected from 23 in-depth interviews with twenty-first-century travel writers and analysed using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Findings suggest that while some interviewees expressed anxiety about their perceived accountability to mediate foreign cultures responsibly, others embraced their role as a cultural mediator. They cared about local cultures and wanted to write in responsible ways by supporting more sustainable outcomes, reflected in the themes of cross-cultural understanding, socio-cultural and environmental advocacy and promoting benefits of tourism to communities. Future studies could include exploring the role of travel editors, travel writers’ professional knowledge and the growing role of travel blogs.     

The search for the truest of authenticities: Online travel stories and their depiction of the authentic in the platform economy

This paper is an exploration of how authenticity of tourist experiences is shaped in online non-fiction travel writing through an analysis of Passion Passport, an online editorial collective. In a context of wide information access and increased competition in online publication, Passion Passport's stories emphasise personal differentiation as an important signifier of authenticity. However, the particular infrastructure of large online platforms in which Passion Passport's stories are written problematises this search for personal differentiation. Examining the construction and communication of authentic experiences within online travel writing opens up new avenues for tourism research by integrating platform studies.     

To buy or not to buy? The effect of time scarcity and travel experience on tourists' impulse buying

By its very nature, tourism is a temporary experience. But how time scarcity makes an impact on tourists' impulse buying is still unclear. By looking into the role played by travel experience and overconfidence, this study explores the mechanism behind the influence of time scarcity on tourist impulse buying of local products through an integrated series of experiments together with a post-trip survey. The results show that the interaction between time scarcity and travel experience affects impulse buying. For tourists with rich travel experience, time scarcity increases their impulse buying, while for tourists with less travel experience, time scarcity decreases it. Overconfidence plays a mediating role in the effect of time scarcity and travel experience on tourists' impulse buying.     

论我国体育旅游专业人才培养模式

体育旅游作为旅游市场的一种新产品 ,是以体育资源为基础 ,通过各种体育活动来规划、设计、组合引起人的消费欲望与需求 ,进而感受参与体育活动与大自然情趣的一种旅游形式。体育旅游不仅仅是旅游的一种简单形式 ,而是旅游产业与体育产业交叉渗透产生的一类新领域。本文运用科学方法 (如问卷调查法 ;深度访谈法 ;焦点访谈法 ;观察法 ;文献资料法 ;统计法 ;比较法 )就我国体育旅游市场人才需求状况进行分析 ,论述了体育旅游人才培养模式 ,构建了培养体育旅游人才的课程体系。为高校设置体育旅游专业或专业方向提供理论基础 ,也为 2 0 0 8年奥运会体育旅游人才培养提供可操作方案。     

国外度假旅游的双轨现象及其对我国的启示

本文通过对国外度假旅游实践的考察,剖析了度假旅游的"双轨现象",即度假旅游在长短线上的分异以及由此产生的在客源、交通、旅游产品、目的地等各方面差异的现象.笔者具体研究了这一现象的产品表现特征和形成原因,分析了这一现象对我国度假旅游发展的启示.     

Tourism,seasonality and social change

This paper examines various aspects of seasonality in recreational travel and tourism. There is an institutionalized and a natural seasonality which both affect tourism. Since tourist seasonality is subject to change and the appraisal of climatic resources for recreation varies from culture to culture, a historical and cross-cultural perspective is necessary. In advanced western societies a swift change of place and season is possible, so that travel agencies are able to offer particular seasonal environments, which could also be understood on a global scale as ‘space-time packages’. Seasonality is usually a problem for a regional tourist service system. An economically-oriented policy stresses a more evenly-spread tourist seasonality. This may also be beneficial for the social environment and ecological base of a tourist region.     

导游与游客交互质量对游客感知的影响——以游客感知风险作为中介变量的模型

导游服务质量一直是旅游服务领域中争议的焦点。文章通过构建以导游与游客交互质量的3个维度（行为、专业技能和问题解决）为前置变量、游客个人风险和非个人风险感知为中介变量、游客感知价值和满意度为结果变量的结构方程模型,尝试研究了导游人员与游客的交互质量与游客感知之间的作用机制。以530名使用过旅行社导游服务的旅游者作为样本,研究发现,通过提升导游人员的行为、专业技能和问题解决能力能够显著降低游客的个人风险感知,从而提高游客感知价值和满意度,但导游人员与游客的交互质量对游客非个人风险感知及游客非个人风险感知对游客感知价值和满意度的影响作用则相对复杂。     

Travel risk dimensions,personal-related factors,and intention to visit a destination: a study of young educated German adults

The study examines travel risk dimensions and their relationships with tourist role, past visit experience, gender and intention to visit Thailand among young educated German adults. Using an online survey of 323 German university students, six dimensions of travel risk perception and their relationships with tourist role and past travel experience were revealed. Over-commercialisation risk was found to be the most concerned risk and produce different relationships with tourist role and travel experience from other types of risks. Although political risk was of least concern, it was confirmed as the only risk having a negative influence on travel intention.     

The xenophobic tourist

Addressing the global rise of xenophobia, the authors provide the first investigation of tourist xenophobia (TXO) and its role in shaping tourist behavior. Drawing on research from evolutionary and social psychology, they define TXO as a tourist’s perceptual discomfort and anxiety associated with strangers encountered at foreign destinations. The authors develop a reliable, valid and parsimonious TXO scale, and document its importance empirically. The results show that TXO is an important driver behind many, often neglected, behavioral phenomena, such as tourists’ preference for travel-related vaccination, willingness to try local food, preference for group travel, travel insurance and agency-booked travel, willingness to travel and actual travel behavior. The authors conclude by discussing implications of the findings for research, practice and policy.     

Positive psychology and tourist well-being: A systematic literature review

This paper examines the current state of research on well-being from tourism from the lens of positive psychology. A systematic review of 82 peer-reviewed articles published in English-language tourism journals indicate that tourist well-being is predominantly examined as a consequence of travel, rather than linked to tourism marketing and management. This study presents a conceptual framework of the antecedents, episodes and consequences of tourist well-being. Practically, results suggest strategies on how well-being can be used to generate better outcomes for tourism marketers and managers. By mapping what is known in the intersection between positive psychology and tourist well-being, this study identifies existing gaps and opportunities for future research in this area.     

高速铁路影响下的全国旅游景点可达性研究

世界旅游强国离不开良好交通的支持,而作为交通中非常重要的高速铁路的快速发展,必将有力地促进区域旅游的发展。文章探讨了2020年全国高铁网络影响下旅游景点可达性空间格局及其变化,分析旅游目的地与客源地市场空间格局变化特征,在全国尺度下定量分析高速铁路建设对旅游客源地与目的地可达性的影响。测度2020年规划高铁通车前后旅游可达性空间格局与变化。结果显示:高铁开通后,高铁沿线城市可达景点数量显著增加;尤其是"日"字形高铁沿线城市与景点的增加值最高,将成为我国重要旅游经济带,高铁沿线城市与景点是高铁网络效应的主要受益者,高铁服务带来了时空压缩效应,即高铁的开通不仅缩短旅游客源地和目的地之间的时间距离、加强了两地之间的联系,也实现了旅游者跨区域的快速外部交通,而这种快捷效应的延续同样离不开城市内部交通网络的优化,缩短中心城市到旅游景区的时间,将会进一步增强景区的吸引力。     

京沪高铁对主要站点旅游流时空分布影响

交通是影响旅游流时空分布的最主要因素之一。文章以京沪高铁线为例,运用旅游场理论和社会网络分析方法,比较京沪高铁开通前后9个主要高铁站点的旅游流时空分布变化特征。研究表明:高铁开通强化了北京、上海和南京等重要旅游客源地和目的地的领先地位,呈现出高铁旅游流的"马太效应";高铁促使靠近重要旅游目的地的竞争处于劣势的旅游地旅游流呈现"过道效应";高铁促使空间距离临近的两个城市的旅游流呈现"同城效应";高铁提升原本缺乏区位优势的旅游资源型站点的可进入性,同时对区域核心城市的交通依赖程度明显下降;高铁的时空压缩效应缩短旅途时间,可实现小长假的远程旅游,双休日的中程旅游,一定程度上避免了中远程旅游对黄金周的依赖,从而缓解出游时间的集中性,提高了旅游质量。     

基于游客视角的生态旅游认证支付意愿实证分析

生态旅游认证产品能否取得商业上的成功取决于旅游消费者对它的接受程度,本文通过对浙江省4个景区的实地调查,分析了旅游消费者对生态旅游认证产品的认知和态度,并运用假设评价方法评估了旅游消费者对生态旅游认证产品的支付意愿.研究结果表明,旅游消费者对生态旅游认证产品的选择意愿受性别、教育程度、月收入、旅游频率、旅游方式、过去一年旅游花费、对生态旅游进行专门的认证并授予生态资格证书的赞同程度,以及未认证生态旅游产品的价格等因素的影响而差别显著;计算所得的支付意原表明,平均而言,旅游消费者愿意支付比未认证的生态旅游产品高35.1%的价格来购买通过认证的生态旅游产品.     

Factors influencing Chinese tourist flow in Japan – a grounded theory approach

This study examined the factors influencing Chinese tourist flow in Japan. The study used a grounded theory to obtain insight into the tourist flow through text analysis of 96 online travel diaries and used these data to propose a model of factors. The model constitutes five categories: tourist condition (travel purpose, time budget, travel companion, prior visit experience, and opinions of others), destination characteristic (destination resource and distribution of destinations), transportation characteristic (transportation expense and transportation network), macro environment (visa policy and political relationship), and unforeseen circumstance (weather condition and fortuitous event). The study established a model for comprehensive understanding factors influencing tourist flow at inter-destination level.     

A voyage from religiousness to secularity and back: a glimpse into ‘Haredi’ tourists

Ultra-orthodox Jews (known as ‘Haredim’) in Israel are increasing their travel demands and their use of existing tourism infrastructure in Israel more than ever before. This exploratory study investigates the question of whether the travel behavior of this group is a reflection of religious tourism or, rather, the tourist behavior of a unique group of religious tourists. Data were collected through three focus groups and face-to-face interviews with some participants of the focus groups. The findings show that the main motivators and determinants of the Haredi travel behavior stem from their daily routine and ultra-religious lifestyle. The study also revealed that minimal, experienced and expected travel attributes are differentiated according to their mode of travel – either as families or as couples.     

A Conditioned Attitude Model of Individual Discriminatory Behavior—A Rejoinder

Abstract

This article examines tourist travel patterns at the meso level of a destination region. The destination region used for the study was Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A number of hypotheses were examined regarding the summer travel patterns in this relatively closed destination region. These included an assessment of the distance decay concept, as applied to the tourist volumes associated with increasing distance from the principal gateways, and an examination of area familiarity as an explanation of the distortion between reported and actual travel behavior. The actual travel patterns were subsequently used to create a probability matrix of future trip behavior for island visitors. The revealed travel patterns and the probability matrix are used to suggest some future tourism development and planning strategies for Vancouver Island.     

TouRes: Scale development and validation of a tourist resilience scale

Resilience in a tourist context describes the capacity for individuals to use psychological and social resources to adapt and bounce back from adversity. We theorize tourist resilience as a multi-dimensional construct consisting of four dimensions – preparedness, adaptiveness, social support, and risk reduction – and describe the development and validation of a behavioural measure of tourist resilience (TouRes). In study 1 (n = 260), exploratory factor analysis supports the four-dimensional structure of TouRes. In study 2 (n = 284), confirmatory factor analysis substantiates the scale's factor structure, and its convergent and discriminant validity. Data from study 2 and study 3 (n = 386) were also used to ascertain nomological and predictive validity of TouRes against various measures. Developed in the general context of unexpected changes to travel and destination experiences, TouRes can also be used to assess tourist resilience relative to travel plans disrupted by disasters and pandemics. Theoretical and managerial implications are offered.     

The impact of using non-media information sources on the future use of mass media information sources: The mediating role of expectations fulfillment

An empirical study of 350 tourists reveals that using non-media information sources for planning tourist trips influences expectations fulfillment. The use of non-media information sources also has a direct impact on the future use of mass media information sources for future tourist trip planning, as well as an indirect impact through expectations fulfillment. More specifically, the main determinants of expectations fulfillment of local infrastructure are commercial brochures, travel agents and internet; expectations fulfillment of entertainment structures is affected by institutional brochures, travel agents and the internet; future use of mass media sources is influenced by expectations fulfillment of local infrastructure and entertainment structures; this factor is also influenced by past use of institutional brochures and the internet. Discussion centers on the implications of this model to theory and managerial development of tourism and services strategies. Directions for future research are also presented.