A customer satisfaction index model for international tourist hotels: Integrating consumption emotions into the American Customer Satisfaction Index

This study integrates consumption emotions into the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model to propose a hotel customer satisfaction index (H-CSI) model that can be applied to estimate customer satisfaction toward international tourist hotels. The H-CSI scale items were designed based on reference to the relevant literature and the suggestions of a focus group. Four-hundred and twelve customers of international tourist hotels were surveyed. The partial least squares method was employed to validate the measurement instruments in the H-CSI model and estimate item weights for the customer satisfaction scales. The H-CSI model is a comprehensive model for the measurement of customer satisfaction that includes most possible antecedents and outcomes. The research results show that the H-CSI model displayed strong explanatory power based on its reliability and validity. Accordingly, if hotel managers apply the H-SCI model instead of a general customer satisfaction survey, they can obtain a robust estimation of customer satisfaction, as well as extra information of post-purchase customer behavior to better manage customer satisfaction and achieve a competitive advantage.     

Influencing factors on restaurant customers’ revisit intention: The roles of emotions and switching barriers

This study was designed to examine the relationships among consumption emotions, customer satisfaction, switching barriers, and revisit intention. Four positive and negative categories of switching barriers (preference, switching costs, relational investment, and lack of alternatives) were identified through a qualitative approach. Using structural equation analysis, the proposed relationships were tested in a full-service restaurant setting. The results showed that multiple components of consumption emotions significantly affected customer satisfaction, and satisfaction mediated the effect of emotion factors on revisit intention. The findings from the tests for metric invariances also indicated that the strength of the relationship between satisfaction and revisit intention was different across high- and low-switching barrier groups. In particular, the satisfaction-revisit intention relationship was stronger in each low-switching barrier group than in each high-switching barrier group.     

The mediating role of consumption emotions

Although the importance of affective reactions has been emphasized in the service industry, there are still relatively few empirical studies which conclusively explain how consumption emotions induce in a consumption situation and how such emotions play a role in customers’ satisfaction judgments in the context of ethnic restaurants. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine how differently positive and negative emotions mediate the influence of two fundamental values of ethnic restaurant consumption on levels of customer satisfaction. Data obtained through an online survey was analyzed by means of structural equation modeling analysis. Results demonstrate that utilitarian value directly and indirectly affects consumption emotions and customer satisfaction, whereas hedonic value only indirectly affects customer satisfaction through positive emotions. The findings suggest that not every perceived hedonic value leads to customer satisfaction unless customer experience positive emotions from such a value. In that regard, this study holds significant implications to ethnic restaurant marketers.     

Converging Services Marketing and Tourism Approaches in Satisfaction and Service Quality Research

ABSTRACT

This paper attempts to converge the utilitarian or provider-based concept of service quality and the experiential or customer-based concept of satisfaction. It presents two empirical projects which examined visitor's service quality and satisfaction judgements by alternative methodological approaches. The first is a quantitative study of visitor's assessment of historic houses, illustrating that quality and satisfaction concepts can be successfully combined into a model of the means-end chain type. The second is a qualitative study of visitor's narrative assessment of successive service experiences, highlighting the various functions of service quality aspects during the entire holiday stay. Finally, the authors argue that these kinds of approaches may contribute to the academic debate on satisfaction and service quality constructs, and will equally open up new opportunities for service and destination marketers in tourism.     

Communicating Tourism Crises Through Destination Websites

SUMMARY

The present paper addresses the issue of communicating tourism crises, with a special focus on the role of the destination marketing organization's Web sites. The risks and impact of the avian flu on the mobility of people, and consequently therefore, on tourism has been addressed. Selected tourism destinations crisis communication strategies were investigated through their Web sites. The findings should (a) bring to the attention of tourism authorities the potential role that destinations' Web sites have in helping to prevent worldwide diseases and to compare different approaches adopted by different types of destinations, and (b) help governments, destinations and other stakeholders to understand the conditions necessary for communicating tourism crises and outbreaks by using their Web sites as effective tools to better share information among them.     

Guest Satisfaction Barometer and Benchmarking

Abstract

An increasing number of companies use customer satisfaction data for improvement programs, strategic decision making, and compensation schemes. Typically, single companies carry out satisfaction measurement for their own purposes. As a consequence, results are not comparable with other companies. Thus, valuable information on competition is not available and benchmarking is not possible. Moreover, in order to use satisfaction data for decision-making, it should be measured continuously and systematically. In practice, however, many firms do not have the required resources or competencies to carry out these research activities on their own. As a result, there is a lack of reliable data. The implementation of a customer satisfaction barometer seems to be a promising approach. It facilitates competitive benchmarking and delivers valuable information for quality improvement. provide participating hotels with information on overall satisfaction, attribute satisfaction, price satisfaction, complaining behavior, loyalty, word-of-mouth, etc.; (3) to identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as improving opportunities; and (4) to provide participating hotels with data for competitive benchmarking. Thirty-seven hotels participated in the pilot phase and data from more than 3,500 guests were collected. In order to illustrate the ideas of the guest satisfaction barometer and the benefits for the participating hotels, the authors first describe the basic ideas and guiding principles of the barometer and report some empirical findings to demonstrate how benchmarks can be used to improve quality and satisfaction. The paper closes with a summary of the experiences and some recommendations for future applications.     

Tourist satisfaction a cognitive-affective model

This study aims to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the consumer psychology of tourism by carrying out an exploration of the cognitive and affective psychological processes which an individual goes through during the pre-experience and post-experience stages. Thus, a model explaining the interrelationships between psychological variables of the tourist is developed. The research was conducted with 807 individuals visiting a destination in Spain. The results show that preconceived image of the destination influences expectations and tourist loyalty. Additionally, there is support for the impact of expectations and emotions on satisfaction, which has a significant influence on behavioral intentions. Finally, several academic and managerial implications are outlined.     

Tourism,tourist learning and sustainability: an exploratory discussion of complexities,problems and opportunities

Learning is often a central element of tourism. Tourists can learn actively, i.e. with a specific purpose, as well as passively through the comparison of values, norms and customs. It has been argued that travel supports active learning that has positive outcomes for sustainability, for instance, in the context of conservation. Yet, the complexity of active and passive learning processes and their outcomes for environmental sustainability and sustainable lifestyles remain insufficiently understood. Against this background, the paper discusses selected learning outcomes for transportation (air travel), accommodation (hotels) and activities (theme park visits). Findings suggest that “desirable” learning (defined as pro-sustainable development learning) in tourism may be very limited, while in particular, passive learning processes which redefine social norms frequently have outcomes that are largely detrimental to sustainable lifestyles. They include forms of moral licensing, the diffusion of responsibilities as well as the attenuation of the negative consequences of travel. Given the economic, social and cultural importance of tourism vís-a-vís its global implications for environmental sustainability, learning outcomes in tourism deserve to be studied in greater detail, while strategies need to be devised to enhance sustainable learning effects.     

Service Fairness,Consumption Emotions,Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions: The Experience of Chinese Heritage Tourists

Drawing on the cognitive appraisal theory and the justice theory from the marketing and tourism literature, this study attempts to illuminate the embedded impact of tourist experience on overall satisfaction and behavioral intentions in a cognitive-affective-behavioral framework. The findings suggest that service fairness is an antecedent of consumption emotions (positive and negative) that, in turn, influence satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the context of Chinese natural heritage tourism. Notably, the results highlight the mediating role of tourists’ consumption emotions. This article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications to heritage tourism researchers and managers.     

旅游公共服务:内涵、特征与分类框架

为适应旅游发展的新形势,加强和完善旅游公共服务已经成为各级旅游管理部门一项紧迫而重要的任务。本文基于公共产品等相关理论,从旅游公共服务的服务对象、特性以及相关概念之间的区别等方面对旅游公共服务的内涵范畴、特征进行界定和探讨。根据旅游公共服务的属性特征、内容构成、存在形态、受益影响范围以及需求差异,笔者对旅游公共服务进行全面、系统的划分与归类,为行政管理部门提供具有理论基础的决策依据,以满足公众日益增长的旅游公共服务需求。     

Satisfaction Measurement of Small Tourism Sector (Museum): Samoa

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of the Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS) museum in Samoa in the measurement of tourist satisfaction. A correlation model was performed to determine the relationship of the satisfaction and attributes of the museum and visitors' intention to recommend the museum. In addition, an analysis of variance was employed to determine any significant differences among different demographic or trip characteristics groups. The results show that the visitor who has a high satisfaction intends to recommend the RLS museum to others. The implications of the study's findings concerned initiatives to expand its market to international tourists, especially Americans and Asians.     

The role of authenticity,experience quality,emotions, and satisfaction in a cultural heritage destination

ABSTRACT

Recent studies have shown the increasing importance of affective and subjective variables, such as experience quality, authenticity, and emotions in the formation of tourist satisfaction. This paper is a pioneer in jointly analysing the influence of authenticity in its double dimension, experience quality, and emotions variables on satisfaction in a cultural context. This study uses the structural equation modelling approach (Partial Least Square) and shows the direct and positive influence of objective and existential authenticity on the quality of the experience, as well as the direct and positive influence of the quality of experience on emotions. It is highly relevant to focus on both cognitive and affective dimensions of authenticity to improve the quality of the tourists’ experience. No previous studies in the literature examine the possible relationships between the different dimensions of authenticity on the quality of the experience and on emotions. The work reveals the importance of such variables in generating greater tourist satisfaction with the visited destination.     

The Role of Airline Travelers’ Pre-Recovery Emotions during the Service Recovery Process

This study examines (1) the relationships between airline travelers’ casual attribution (stability and controllability), pre-recovery emotions, post-recovery emotions, and overall satisfaction; and (2) analyzes the mediating effect of pre-recovery emotions on the relationship between causal attribution and post-recovery emotions. Theoretical hypotheses were derived based on a literature review, and to empirically test the hypotheses, data were collected from 210 airline travelers in Malaysia. These respondents were airline travelers who experienced some service failure and relevant service recovery within the past year. According to the results, the two dimensions of casual attribution both influenced pre-recovery emotions. Pre-recovery emotions were significantly related to positive and negative post-recovery emotions, and post-recovery emotions were significantly related to overall satisfaction. In addition, pre-recovery emotions moderated the relationship between casual attribution and post-recovery emotions. These results have important practical implications.     

Household Expenditure Patterns for Tourism Products and Services

The growing importance of the tourism industry, coupled with demographic, social and economic changes, highlights the need to study consumersÆ expenditure patterns for tourism products. Using 1990 Consumer Expenditure Survey data, this study examined leisure travel expenditure patterns of households, especially food, lodging, transportation, and sightseeing/entertainment expenditures. The results show that demographic and socioeconomic and cultural factors have a varying effect on each of the four expenditure categories. The research findings bear implications for marketing segmentation in various components of tourism industry, and suggest an effective research approach to develop pragmatic segmentation strategies.     

The Relationships Between Positive Emotions,Place Attachment,and Place Satisfaction in Casino Hotels

Tourists’ emotions are seldom studied with respect to their place attachment, particularly in the context of casino hotels. To understand the role played by positive emotions in place attachment and satisfaction, this study attempts to identify the dimensions of positive emotions of casino-hotel visitors, followed by the examination of relationships between positive emotions, place attachment, and satisfaction. The survey results revealed the significant and positive impacts of positive emotions on place attachment, satisfaction, and revisit intention. Particularly, the “light pleasure” emotions were found to have a stronger impact on casino-hotel visitors’ satisfaction than other constructs in the model. The findings also lead to managerial implications and suggestions for future research.     

Examining the Differential Impact of Human Crowding Versus Spatial Crowding on Visitor Satisfaction at a Festival

Human crowding at a festival can affect visitor satisfaction differently to spatial crowding. Festival visitors perceive human crowding as a situation in which the festival is full of people. Spatial crowding, on the other hand, is perceived as restricting movement. We hypothesized that human crowding affects visitor satisfaction in a positive way (by increasing positive affect and decreasing negative affect), whereas spatial crowding affects visitor satisfaction in a negative way (by decreasing positive affect and increasing negative affect). We tested these hypotheses using data collected through an on-site survey at the 2012 Seoul Lantern Festival in South Korea: 423 visitors attending the festival completed the survey. The survey results supported the hypotheses. Managerial implications of the findings are also discussed.     

How Cultural Differences Cause Dimensions of Tourism Satisfaction

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual model of the relationship between different cultural values and how they influence consumer satisfaction in the tourism industry. It is hypothesized that cultural differences manifest themselves in different levels of importance being placed upon different aspects of service, and the differences between the levels of importance and the actual service received cause differences in the levels of satisfaction. These hypotheses are tested using 269 independent samples of levels of importance and 411 independent samples of satisfaction of tourists from four cultural groups (Australian, USA/Canadian, Japanese, Mandarin speakers) who visited Melbourne, Australia in the period May-September, 1996. The analysis develops dimensions of importance and satisfaction separately for each cultural grouping, and uses structural equation modeling (Amos 3.6) to develop the causal model measuring the way in which importance of service dimensions cause dimensions of satisfaction. Conclusions from the analysis show little evidence of a causal relationship between importance of service quality attributes and satisfaction. However, significant differences are found between cultures for different levels of satisfaction resulting indirectly from differences in the importance and actual levels of service received.

The implications for cultural differences affecting tourism satisfaction are discussed.     

Hospitality,Tourism, and Lifestyle Concepts

ABSTRACT

This article provides an overview of the significance of the lifestyle concept for the management of service quality and customer satisfaction in the hospitality and tourism industry. It discusses aspects of its continuing evolution and outlines the contents of articles relevant to this volume, providing a brief summary of the articles collected. It concludes by identifying a number of opportunities for further research into hospitality and tourism lifestyle concepts.     

旅游公共服务多元化供给:政府职能定位与模式选择研究

随着我国旅游业的蓬勃发展,旅游公共服务的广泛社会需求、政府职能转变的内在要求以及旅游公共服务的实践探索,已经对创新旅游公共服务供给模式提出了迫切要求。文章以公共经济学和公共管理学等理论作为主要分析工具,结合旅游公共服务实践,明确政府在旅游公共服务多元化供给过程中职能定位的基础上,探讨旅游公共服务政府、市场、社会共同参与的旅游公共服务供给模式,以保证旅游公共服务在制度框架内有效供给,满足公众日益增长的旅游公共服务需求和实现公共利益。     

Key Success Factors for Tourism Resort Management

Abstract

NEW HORIZONS IN TOURISM: STRANGE EXPERIENCES AND STRANGER PRACTICES. By Tej Vir Singh. CABI Publishing (Nosworthy Way, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8DE UK), ISBN 0-8519-9863-1, 2004, xv + 221-pp. (tables, photographs, bibliography), £49.95 (hardbound). Reviewed By C. Michael Hall

DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANISATIONS. By Steven Pike. Elsevier (The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, United Kingdom), ISBN 0-0804-4306-0, 2004, 231-pp. (bibliography, indices), £59.99 (hardbound). Reviewed By Chris Ryan