Social media marketing in wine tourism: winery owners’ perceptions

This paper examines winery owners’ attitudes and perceptions regarding the use of social media in marketing and promoting wine tourism online. Empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 20 winery owners in the North Italian region of Langhe, who have engaged to a greater or lesser extent in social media. The findings show that while the majority of winery owners recognise the social, economic and emotional benefits of social media, they are far from exploiting its full potential, partially due to barriers such as their agricultural mentality and the time-consuming nature of social media.     

Wine tourism: Motivating visitors through core and supplementary services

Wine tourism is a relatively fledgling industry sector facing a number of important economic development issues. One such issue is the industry's ability to foster a sustainable revenue base for small and medium wineries. Winery visitation is a significant concern and in this paper is defined as the visitor's intention to pay a first or return visit to a winery. The purpose of this exploratory study is to compare specific factors that may influence wine tourists' intentions to visit or revisit a winery or wine region in North Carolina. A theoretical model of core and supplementary services is examined to see which of a number of factors are most influential in decisions to visit a winery and to determine the role of winescape and tourism services in promoting wine tourism. The importance of customer service was found to be the primary predictor of intentions for repeat visitation.     

Second-home owners' intention to purchase nature-based tourism activity products – A Norwegian case study

Tourism is acknowledged to be an important business sector in rural areas. This paper argues that second-home owners constitute an important market segment for businesses that offer nature-based tourism activities. Previous research has shown that a number of factors influence tourist behaviour. This study examined how motivation and demographic variables affect second-home owners' intention to purchase three different types of activity products: learning, adventure, and hunting products. We found substantial variations in the purchase intentions for these products among second-home owners. These intentions were influenced by push and pull motivations, age, income and educational level. Second-home owners with a high intention of purchasing nature-based tourism activity products tend to be young, high-income, and socially oriented risk takers. Businesses offering nature-based tourism activity products should use a combination of demographic and psychographic variables when they segment the second-home market.     

The Place Identity - Performance relationship among tourism entrepreneurs: A structural equation modelling analysis

Drawing on the literature on tourism, entrepreneurship, environmental psychology, and corporate philanthropy, this research examines how place identity, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and support for community influence the entrepreneurial performance of small and medium tourism enterprise (SMTE) owners. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling are used to analyse the responses from 301 tourism entrepreneurs operating in regional South Australia. The data supports a model suggesting that the place identity of tourism entrepreneurs has a significant, positive effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and support for the community. Findings also suggest that the place identity of tourism entrepreneurs has a positive, indirect effect on entrepreneurial performance: a tourism entrepreneur’s sense of identity with the place in which his/her business operates contributes toward entrepreneurial success.     

Segmentation by motivation for rural tourism activities in The Gambia

In The Gambia, as in many other African countries, rural areas rarely profit from the turnover earned in the country's tourism sector. In academic and political literature, however, rural tourism is frequently identified as a diversification strategy that may trigger local economic development in remote communities. To promote rural tourism development, further knowledge is required to understand why tourists are motivated to engage in distinct tourism market segments. In this study, survey data was collected from 450 tourists in The Gambia using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was constructed to identify the key characteristics and motivations of tourists so that the significant market segments could be categorized and the (latent) tourist demand for rural tourism activities could be gauged. This study identified four distinct segments of tourists in The Gambia: heritage & nature seekers, multi-experiences seekers, multi-experiences & beach seekers, and sun & beach seekers. Drawing on our key findings, we conclude by identifying a development path that could diversify Gambia's tourism sector. The development path would also include event-based rural tourism initiatives that align with the motivations of the identified market segments and may additionally benefit rural communities by reducing economic leakage rates.     

Operating small tourism firms in rural destinations: A social representations approach to examining how small tourism firms cope with non-tourism induced changes

This study explores the representation that owners and managers of small tourism firms ascribe to their rural destination and how non-tourism induced changes interfere with this representation and motivate coping as guided by social representations theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-four owners and/or managers of at least one small accommodation property in Gloucester, New South Wales, Australia. The informants became involved in the area's accommodation sector primarily driven by the lifestyle goals embedded in their representation of Gloucester. The perception that mining-induced changes might transform Gloucester into a mining town as opposed to its current representation as a town with a mine has motivated many informants to cope. However, coping is impeded by feelings of powerlessness, perceived uncertainties, and distrust in both government and industry. The findings provide preliminary insight into why and how small tourism firm owners/managers cope when faced with change from the perspective of social representations.     

Lifestyle Market Segmentation,Small Business Entrepreneurs,and the New Zealand Wine Tourism Industry

ABSTRACT

Wine tourism is an important niche activity for which participant needs and motivations have been somewhat under-researched. This paper describes a case study investigation to evaluate the nature of buyer/seller relationships that evolve in a wine tourism setting. Visitors to three small New Zealand wineries were interviewed to gather data relating to their lifestyle behaviors and their attitudes towards the wine tourism experience, and factor analysis used to categorize these visitors in terms of the List of Values typology of lifestyle characteristics. Results indicate that the 'achiever' and 'funlover' segments are well represented amongst winery visitors, but that there is an appreciably lower incidence of 'belonger' personalities. Implications of these findings for the wine tourism industry are considered.     

Developing Mauritianness: National Identity,Cultural Heritage Values and Tourism

Mauritius is a nation of immigrants who have harmoniously come together, working to make their new homeland an economic success story. To continue this unprecedented economic growth Mauritius is consciously aware of the need for diversification in all its industries, including tourism. Known for being a quintessential beach vacation destination, Mauritius desires to expand the tourism sector to include aspects of cultural heritage tourism. To accomplish this task several questions must be answered about the meaning of Mauritianness and its relationship to tourism. Here it is argued that in order to further develop cultural heritage tourism in Mauritius, the understanding of Mauritian national identity must also be advanced.     

The Role of Food Tourism in Sustaining Regional Identity: A Case Study of Cornwall,South West England

This exploratory paper examines the role of food tourism in developing and sustaining regional identities within the context of rural regeneration, agricultural diversification and the creation of closer relationships between production and consumption in the countryside. It focuses on Cornwall, South West England, an area with rural development issues, increasing tourism impacts and contested issues of regional identity. A literature and policy analysis, and in-depth interviews with 12 restaurateurs, were undertaken in four popular tourist locations. Correlation was found between increased levels of food tourism interest and the retention and development of regional identity, the enhancement of environmental awareness and sustainability, an increase in social and cultural benefits celebrating the production of local food and the conservation of traditional heritage, skills and ways of life. The paper draws attention to three issues: the role of food tourism in increasing tourist spending, the potential role of food tourism in extending the tourist season, and the re-examination of food tourist typologies within a sustainability framework.     

多元化类型与旅游企业价值关系研究

文章以2003~2010年17家旅游上市公司为研究对象,采用关联比例作为多元化类型的代理变量衡量相关多元化程度,以资产收益率衡量企业价值,运用面板数据回归和二阶段最小二乘法,探讨哪种多元化类型更有利于促进旅游企业价值,以及哪些因素影响旅游企业多元化类型的决策选择。实证表明:股权集中度、企业价值对旅游企业相关多元化具有显著正向影响,国有股比例、资源可转移性、公司规模和公司年龄对旅游企业相关多元化具有显著负向影响;在外生性视角下,相关多元化对旅游企业价值具有正向影响,存在2.6%的相关多元化溢价效应;在内生性视角下,相关多元化对旅游企业价值的正向促进作用进一步提升,相关多元化溢价效应为9.7%。     

ENGAGING TIMESHARE OWNERS IN TOURISM DESTINATION MANAGEMENT: TOURISM PLANNING AND TOURISM MARKETING IMPLICATIONS

It is important to understand tourists' willingness to participate in tourism planning and the factors influencing their willingness because they are an integral part of the destination and ultimately one of the main buyers of the product. Timeshare owners are a special group of tourists who have additional connections with the tourism destination through their timeshare. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among timeshare owners' perceptions of tourism planning, civic engagement, sense of place, and willingness to participate in tourism planning.

This study was based on a questionnaire survey of U.S. timeshare owners. The total sample size was 302. A two‐stage structural equation modeling approach was applied in data analysis. Results from the measurement model suggested that the model fit the data quite well. Results from the structural model suggested that timeshare owners' perceptions of tourism planning, their past history of civic participation, and their sense of place significantly impact their willingness to participate in tourism planning, while timeshare owners' past experience in political participation did not significantly affect their willingness to participate in tourism planning. Implications of the findings in tourism planning and tourism destination marketing are presented.     

Land,Settler identity,and tourism memories

This paper draws on theoretical insights associated with settler colonial studies and a collective memory work methodology to illuminate the multiple and contested meanings of land conveyed in tourism memory narratives of Settler Canadians. As part of a multi-day nature-based tourism experience in June 2019, 16 Settler co-participants wrote, and collectively analyzed, memory texts associated with travel experiences that they felt expressed genuinely Canadian and Indigenous qualities. Thematic analysis of memory narratives and co-participant discussions show how land meanings—specifically, land as organizer, educator, connector, and sustainer—relate to the dynamics of Settler identity. The paper thus builds upon emerging scholarship on tourism and settler colonialism and contributes pathways for decolonizing Settler-Indigenous relations in tourism and tourism research.     

Cultural sustainability – a framework for Aboriginal tourism in British Columbia

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a framework to assess the cultural sustainability of Aboriginal tourism in British Columbia, which meets must take into account the protection of human rights, good self-governance, identity, control of land, the tourism product’s authenticity, and a market-ready tourism product. These criteria are specified by two indicators each. The cultural sustainability framework was generated by triangulating qualitative research methods like experts’ interviews, secondary research, and participant and non-participant observations. This paper is thus conceptual in nature and inductive in its approach. It partly leverages a collaborative approach, as it includes interviewees in an iterative research loop. Furthermore, the paper shows why cultural sustainability is a determinant of the success of Aboriginal tourism.     

Boundary-work and sustainability in tourism enclaves

Tourists, workers, and business owners from diverse cultural backgrounds and social positions meet at tourism enclaves. Yet, the spatial layout of most enclaves encourages segregation instead of celebrating and benefiting from this diversity. This paper examines the genesis of enclave tourism boundaries. It proposes boundary-work as a sustainability practice to work out segregating propensities, and transform exclusionary boundaries or make them more permeable. Life story interviews in a Mexican Caribbean enclave revealed segregation's appalling consequences for workers, implicit costs for business owners, and the personal involvement of tourism actors in historical struggles over boundaries. This analysis constitutes a first step to untangle exclusionary propensities and render tourism boundaries more workable from a sustainability governance perspective. The paper explains the need for sustainable tourism research that identifies opportunities to: (1) address traumatic experiences born of discriminatory practices, (2) turn adversarial emotions between workers and business owners into productive collaborations across boundaries, and (3) challenge power asymmetries by providing tourism actors with knowledge about the physical, symbolic, and imaginary dimensions of boundaries. It concludes that the influence of any individual agent is profoundly limited; the transformation of long-standing boundaries demands a deliberate reformulation of sustainable tourism as a multi-dimensional decolonizing force.     

Holiday Home Owners,a Route to Sustainable Tourism Development? An Economic Analysis of Tourist Expenditure Data

Although sustainable tourism comprises economic, social and environmental aspects, economic analysis has been less evident in the literature. This paper takes an economic perspective to evaluate the contribution of holiday home owners to a local economy. Tourism destinations which are at the mature stages of the tourism lifecycle wish to maximise revenue from tourism while minimising costs such as overcrowding. A prime objective has to be to attract the more economically valuable tourists. In this paper an analysis of North Wexford in Ireland poses questions such as: How does the holiday home owners’ expenditure in the local area compare to that of traditional tourists? Do they purchase different types of goods? What levels of local expenditure do holiday home owners engage in for the upkeep or development of their second properties? What are the implications of these findings? The results show that there are clear economic benefits for an area that people deem attractive enough to build or purchase a holiday home in. This type of tourist has a high annual spend relative to other tourists and much of this expenditure seems to be concentrated in the local area. These findings need to be incorporated into the broader debate regarding the advantages and disadvantages of holiday home owners and the possibility of them comprising a route to sustainable development for local tourist areas.     

The sustainability behaviour of small firms in tourism: the role of self-efficacy and contextual constraints

This article presents a grounded theory to explain why some small businesses in tourism adopt sustainable business practices while others do not, even when they share environmental and wider sustainability concerns. It does so based on research undertaken among business owners in Crete. The paper starts by considering studies on sustainability awareness, knowledge and the mechanisms for accepting responsibility. Secondly, it summarises the influence of task difficulty and effort on sustainability self-efficacy. Thirdly, it focuses on social comparisons and vicarious experiences, as a way of learning what is important. Finally, it examines powerlessness due to perceived situational constraints. In so doing, the study finds that self-efficacy helps to explain sustainable attitude formation and the attitude-behaviour gap; it partly shifts the locus of responsibility for an inability to act sustainably away from the individual and towards their context. The paper contributes to the theoretical literature on small businesses and sustainability, and leads to new avenues for policy interventions.     

Differences in Tourism Marketing Strategies Between Wineries Based on Size or Location

While the number of United States wineries has doubled and wine production tripled, only three states represent the majority of wineries and wine production. Yet, small wineries must contend with similar production issues that larger wineries face: cultivation of grapes, fermentation of juice, and finally bottling of the product.By comparison small wineries face an even tougher challenge—attracting consumers' attention to their products, much of which must be sold directly to consumers at the winery. These cellar door sales account for substantial dollar and case volume and are particularly lucrative.This study examined the relationship in off‐site and on‐site marketing strategies based upon winery size and location. The results indicated differences in tourism marketing strategies particularly with wine education at rural wineries and food/wine pairing techniques at larger wineries.     

Government intervention in investment by Chinese listed companies that have diversified into tourism

This paper presents the outcome of empirical research into the influences of government intervention on tourism investment using a sample of Chinese listed companies that have diversified into the tourism sector. Government intervention is measured on the basis of the CEO’s political connections, the relationship between the government and the market, and the degree of financial market development. The results show that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with strong political connections are likely to diversify into the tourism industry, especially in the area in which the government intervenes in the market excessively and the financial market is well-developed, although the tourism businesses of these firms tend to operate poorly after diversification. Amongst non-SOEs, in contrast, government intervention factors are not found to facilitate diversification into the tourism sector to any significant degree. Less government intervention is found to be beneficial for these firms, allowing them to improve their performance in the tourism sector. It is thus concluded that greater local government awareness of policy implementation is necessary to avoid unfair competition between SOEs and non-SOEs and to target the long-term positive development of the Chinese tourism sector.     

Island residents' identities and their support for tourism: an integration of two theories

Most studies that examine tourism impacts and community attitudes have been carried out from the perspective of industrialized economies, making the findings less valid for small islands. This paper discusses some pertinent issues in relation to tourism development and community attitudes in small islands, and it develops and presents a conceptual framework based on social exchange theory and identity theory. The different facets of identity relevant to small-island communities that are likely to influence attitudes and support for tourism are incorporated in the framework and discussed. These include occupational identity, environmental identity and gender identity. Based on these, five propositions are developed. The study concludes that inclusion of identity variables in behavioral models could increase their predictive power in explaining attitudes to tourism and consequent support for the industry.     

Equity restoration,the Holocaust and tourism of sacred sites

Distressing events perpetrated against specific ethnic and religious groups frequently have implications that stretch well beyond the cessation of violent activities. Many times the victims and their descendants manifest their animosity in the realm of tourism and consumption related activity. This paper, utilizing netnographic data, examines the reactions of some global Jewish citizens in relation to tourism activity surrounding historic Holocaust sites located in Eastern Europe. Related to the emergent themes of equity restoration, controllability, and discounting, this research examines why many tourists decide to avoid tourism to historic heritage sites, leading to an examination of the link between physical location, remembrance and relational work. Additionally, data indicate some Jewish tourists may avoid travel because of the paucity of Jewish life in the areas surrounding sacred sites, thereby creating the perception that anti-Semitism is still present. Our research calls to question the value of visual and physical evidence in relation to maintaining identity and facilitating remembrance.