Exploring Bed & Breakfast Websites

SUMMARY

This exploratory study was designed to evaluate the Websites of Bed & Breakfast(s) (B&B) belonging to the Indiana B&B Association (IBBA). Using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach, four evaluation perspectives were considered: (1) user friendliness, (2) site attractiveness, (3) marketing effectiveness, and (4) technical aspects. A team of trained evaluators rated a random sample of 20 IBBA property Websites. The study found that the major strength of the B&B Websites evaluated was their attractiveness, but improvements were needed in all four categories. The B&B modified BSC instrument used in this research also showed good inter-rater reliability.     

Website Evaluation in Tourism and Hospitality

SUMMARY

Millions of dollars have been invested in Website development, often without much thought of how to evaluate the effectiveness of sites. This paper reports on the past, present, and likely future of one of the recommended approaches for evaluating tourism and hospitality Websites, the modified Balanced Scorecard approach. It traces the use of the approach from its beginning in 1999 to the present time. A thorough review of other approaches to Website evaluation is also provided. The article suggests that Website evaluation approaches can be classified into four groups based upon why and when the evaluation is done (formative vs. summative evaluation) and whether efficiency or effectiveness is being measured. It concludes with a call to action for industry leaders, academics, and consultants to develop a unified procedure for Website evaluation in tourism and hospitality.     

Developing,Operating, and Maintaining a Travel Agency Website

SUMMARY

Travel agencies have increasingly utilized agency Websites on the Internet to enhance their marketing efforts. This exploratory study aims to provide an analysis of the Internet use by travel agencies in the United States. A survey conducted with 102 travel agency professionals collected primary data to examine the perceived value and contribution of a Website to the agency business, purposes for developing and operating a Website, and benefits and challenges faced in operating a travel agency Website. The results of this study not only identified various issues in developing, operating, and maintaining a travel agency Website but also made various suggestions to address those issues. Implications are discussed as to how travel agencies could better understand e-consumer behavior and effectively market their product offerings online.     

Effects of Picture Presentations on Customers' Behavioral Intentions on the Web

SUMMARY

As the Web is becoming a major communication channel to bridge hotels and customers, great marketing efforts have been made to attract new customers and repeat business. A wide variety of studies have been conducted to identify factors that could affect customers' purchase behavior on the Web. Little research, however, has been documented that assessed the effects different pictures presented on the Web had on customers' online purchase behavior. Based on the content analyses with 203 existing hotel Websites, this study examined the potential effects of Website format, Website contents, and Website realism on customers' behavioral intentions. Results indicate that the content and realism of picture presentations are important predictors of customers' attitudes toward the Website. The attitudes appear to be a strong predictor of behavioral intentions on the Web. Suggestions and implications are included for the lodging industry and future research.     

Mapping the constructs of a business tourist service quality scorecard model

Abstract

The researchers sought to conceptualize models related to Service Quality (SQ), Balanced Scorecard (BSC), Customer Satisfaction (CS), and Customer Retention (CR). These models are evident within the tourism industry, but are not confirmed in business tourism. The empirical testing of a Service Quality Scorecard (SQSC) as a comprehensive SQ model, for explaining Business Tourist (BT) retention is proposed. Data was analyzed through a structural equation modeling procedure, resulting in a business tourist service quality scorecard (BT SQSC) causal model for the testing of SQ in the BT industry. Findings provide implications for business tourism practitioners to encourage business tourism performance.     

Maximizing the Success of Balanced Scorecard Implementation in the Hospitality Industry

Abstract

The balanced scorecard (BSC) is increasingly being adopted by firms in the corporate sector, with some studies estimating that more than 40% of the Fortune 100 companies will implement the BSC by 2001. Analogous to the instrument panel of a plane, the BSC provides management with a holistic view of what is happening inside and outside the organization. A well-designed BSC can help management to translate the organization's mission into goals, actions and performance measures, align individual and organizational goals, and measure/guide progress towards goal attainment. However, the BSC is not without its share of pitfalls and problems. This article discusses how hospitality establishments also can reap the benefits from implementing the BSC while avoiding its pitfalls. We provide an overview of the nature of the BSC, and review two case studies from the hospitality industry. Findings from discussions with hotel general managers also are reported. These managers strongly support the potential usefulness of the BSC in their industry. Then we draw on examples and experiences of organizations that have implemented the BSC to provide a comprehensive discussion of the pitfalls to avoid in BSC development and implementation.     

Deployment of Restaurants Websites’ Marketing Features: The Case of Spanish Michelin-Starred Restaurants

ABSTRACT

Websites have become a fundamental marketing tool for tourism businesses and have a special importance for highly rated restaurants. The aim of this article is to propose and apply a model to evaluate the deployment and adoption of website marketing features of restaurants from a specific category. The model is based on the application of an extended model of Internet commerce adoption (eMICA) technique for technical depth, combined with content analysis for breadth. This study analyzes the website features and capabilities for Spanish restaurants in the 2015 Michelin Red Guide. A total of 102 restaurants were analyzed. The results of the website evaluation model suggest that, despite the importance of the restaurant sector in the economy and in the tourism industry, the websites of high-quality restaurants require improvements to adapt to customers’ demands. Results further found that these websites are not tourist-orientated and are established at different stages of development.     

In Search of Competitive Advantage in Caribbean Tourism Websites

Abstract

The intense competitiveness of the global tourism industry increasingly demands the most effective possible marketing for individual destinations. The strategic management literature suggests that competitive advantage can be gained through capitalizing on a destination's unique attributes. In marketing terms, this translates as “competitive positioning.” To what extent do the individual destinations of the Caribbean seek to competitively position themselves as unique attractions among their many competitors? This paper returns to the concept of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) as a practical and straightforward framework for analyzing distinctiveness in tourism marketing. An exploratory analysis of web-based marketing in the Caribbean suggests widespread failure of destinations to market themselves in terms of unique competitive positioning. The analysis also reveals several exemplary models of the USP concept in tourism marketing, suggesting opportunities for greater regional cooperation through stronger individual destination identities.     

Beyond Sun,Sand and Sea: The Emergent Tourism Programme in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Mass tourism began in the Caribbean in the 1960s with the advent of low cost air travel. Jamaica, Barbados, and the Bahamas were among the first places to develop a resort-based tourism programme. Within 20 years, these locations began to experience the problems that are now typically associated with unplanned growth. For emergent tourist destinations, these older islands can serve as a model of what not to do. One location that has taken some lessons to heart is the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) in the lower Bahamian archipelago. While TCI offers itself as a sun, sand and sea destination, tourism officials seek to attract upscale visitors with a long term investment in the islands. The problem they are wrestling with is how to develop an island image based not only on the sea-based amenities but also the local history, natural attractions and expressive culture. In response, a diverse heritage group has begun a dialogue about how to do this. This paper describes the current state of tourism in the TCI within the context of new directions in Caribbean tourism.     

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.     

A Consumer-Based Measurement of Tourism Innovation

SUMMARY

The present paper reviews the innovation literature related to tourism and examines the twin problems of operational definitions and measurement of innovation in the tourism sector. A conceptual model is then proposed by which the most relevant aspects of innovation and the most relevant aspects of the “tourism experience” can be integrated conceptually, and which can guide the development of related operational definitions and measurements and lead to a standardization of, and therefore an ability to aggregate, tourism innovation statistics across products, providers, markets and geopolitical regions. The model first categorizes innovations along two dimensions: an “invention-adoption” continuum and an “impact-on-the-tourism-experience” dimension, which includes accessibility, affective transformation, convenience and value. How the use of these categories can direct attention to important definitional and measurement issues are discussed as is how their use can improve the comparability of tourism innovation data collected from disparate sources. Finally, a third dimension, the economic impact of the innovation, is introduced to the model. The paper concludes with implications and guidelines for future research aimed at validating the model described.     

Tourism research on the Caribbean: An evaluation

Abstract

A content analytical review of a select bibliography of tourism research on the anglophone Caribbean is provided according to time period, territorial focus, subject area, and authorship. Salient features of the literature are described along with their deficiencies. More specifically, questions of theory and method are examined, and certain suggestions are offered where improvement can be made.     

Online tourism destination marketing in Kumasi Ghana

This study develops a conceptual research model to identify and induce local and international tourists to visit historical attractions and facilities in Kumasi the Ashanti region of Ghana. Websites provide valuable information about tourism destination marketing and tourism products to visitors and enhance tourists purchasing intentions. Data from a judgemental sampling technique were used for the research. Full time front desk employees from 36 hotels and 396 customers contributed to the study. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the model measurements. The analytical results indicate that online destination image, online word of mouth, online security vulnerability test significant with tourists’ satisfaction as a mediator. The results also provide reliable reference for tourism administrators and researchers interested in online destination marketing and suggest that tourists perceive online security vulnerability as a menace to society and should be prevented.     

A Causal Relationship Between the Balanced Scorecard Perspectives

Abstract

An increasing number of hotel organizations endeavor to achieve long-term competitive advantages in the marketplace through the implementation of strategic performance measurement systems. These systems are designed to integrate and monitor strategic objectives throughout the business processes. This paper investigates the causal relationships between the strategic performance measures of hotel organizations, using The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework. This comparative study illustrates how hotel organizations plan, improve and monitor their strategic performance targets through the use of comprehensive performance measurement systems. The paper also recommends specific approaches for the implementation of the BSC for hotel organizations.     

Introducing Environmental Management in the Hotel Industry

Summary

The hotel industry in Jamaica, like so many other tropical destinations, markets itself on the “3-Ss”-sea, sun, and sand. Hotels ring the north coast of the island in four main resort areas (i.e., Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Port Antonio). Located in sensitive coastal ecosystems, most of Jamaica's hotels face the challenge of reducing the environmental impact of their operations while meeting the increasing demand of a growing tourism industry.

This article presents a case study of the introduction of environmental management practices and systems in the hotel industry in Jamaica over the past 3 years to provide an answer to the environmentally sustainable tourism challenge. It describes the programmatic approach, the results at both the property and industry level, and the lessons learned in replicating the approach to other tropical tourism destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America.     

Supplanting the Planters

Summary

After briefly examining the plantation-as-hotel model, this contribution focuses the remainder of its attention on the conversion of plantation slavery into entertainment on the Caribbean island of Barbados. First, and by way of contextualization, it is shown that an extensive and well-documented history of plantation life exists, one that is drawn from early accounts of travelers, missionaries and others, as well as later expert commentaries offered by indigenous and extra-regional scholars. Second, it is argued that the tourism industry has largely ignored or been highly selective in borrowing from this rich source of material in its attempt to supply the sort of a-historical diversion which it believes its clientele enjoys. Examples provided include the Open House Programme of the Barbados National Trust, the annual Crop Over Festival and Plantation Spectacular dinner shows. Finally, a few suggestions are advanced in order to try and understand the success of this type of tourism. They include references to postmodernity, nostalgia, dark tourism and varieties of promotion.     

Capital City Tourism

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of capital city tourism with reference to Wellington, the world's southernmost capital. Drawing on visitor survey data, interviews with providers, the analysis of marketing strategies and secondary statistics, the paper seeks to distinguish the ‘capital’ dimension from other aspects of tourism in the city and to consider this from the perspective of the visitors, providers and the destination marketing organization. Reflecting a range of functions-political, economic and symbolic-the ‘capital’ dimensions are shown to be multiple and often indirect. The capital city effect on the overall growth and nature of tourism in Wellington should not be overstated but scope exists to develop this unique selling point further.     

加勒比海邮轮航运网络港口分异与网络结构

邮轮航运网络是特殊的航运网络,除传统航运职能外,还具有旅游休闲职能,这促使航运网络在港口分异、网络结构等方面均发生了一定的变化,港口联系、航线组织等表现出空间聚集性、显著的区域化特征。加勒比海是全球邮轮旅游市场、邮轮航运网络最成熟的航区。本文以加勒比海为例,基于邮轮航运轨迹大数据,采用复杂网络模型识别邮轮港口中心性和划分邮轮港口社区,对区域性邮轮航运网络进行剖析,刻画港口分异格局与网络结构,揭示区域性邮轮航运网络的结构和空间规律。研究发现：（1）加勒比海邮轮港口存在职能分异,划分为大型综合母港、一般母港、一般始发港、核心挂靠港和一般挂靠港5类。邮轮港口空间分布不均,形成了以佛罗里达半岛为核心、东加勒比海为次核心,周围地区为外围的“核心-外围”式空间结构。（2）加勒比海航运网络存在区域化特征,形成了4个港口组团,并形成了两个邮轮航运联系密集的航运通道,构建起加勒比海邮轮航运网络的核心和骨架。（3）这种双核心,多节点的结构有助于航运网络的构建,对中国邮轮旅游的港口建设和航线组织具有借鉴意义。     

Towards constructing the meaning of “aggressive hospitality”

ABSTRACT

“Aggressive hospitality” is an emergent phenomenon that is yet to be understood in the tourism field. This phenomenon involves social interaction between hosts and guests that imitates a hospitable encounter, but at the same time fails to demonstrate some characteristic(s) inherent to hospitable behavior. The underlying forces of the phenomenon are traced back to imperialism, high tourism dependence of the developing regions, staged authenticity, and the mutual gaze. The study focuses on two cruise destinations in the Caribbean region and utilizes over 1200 online reviews to construct the meaning of the phenomenon. Theoretical insights and practical implications are provided based on the findings.