An application of network analysis on tourist attractions: The case of Xinjiang,China

This study constitutes a novel application of network analysis to explore the underlying mechanisms of tourist attraction network informed by tourist flows. Using survey data collected from a sample of 456 tourists visiting Xinjiang, China, the study applies the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) to test the relationships between region proximity, grade proximity, and tenure proximity, and the attraction network determined by tourists' free choice movements. Results show that while region proximity and tenure proximity among major attractions in a destination were positively related to attraction network, grade proximity was negatively related to the attraction network, indicating that same grade attractions were mostly competing with one another for tourists. The study contributes to the methodological development of social network analysis in tourism and advances understanding of demand-driven network relationships among tourist attractions in a destination. Destination management implications are discussed.     

Copysites / duplitectures as tourist attractions: An exploratory study on experiences of Chinese tourists at replicas of foreign architectural landmarks in China

This study aims to clarify the position of duplitectures/copysites in the theoretical stream of tourism authenticity. It does so by exploring the meanings assigned by domestic Chinese tourists, based on their socially and culturally held beliefs, while they interact with architectural imitations imported from alien cultures. The primary research method is an emergent qualitative design that involved in-depth interviews of Chinese tourists at the eight copysites considered in this study. The findings reveal three relevant themes. Reconceptualization of authenticity indicates that the concept of imitation has very different connotations in China compared to those in the West. Cultural self-exploration reflects an evolving stage of intercultural maturity manifested by Chinese tourists. De-globalization has led to cultural homogenization of the tourist spaces in China. The findings fill the lacuna in existing theoretical streams of tourism authenticity by clarifying the position of copysites and has practical implications for domestic tourism marketing organizations in China.     

Understanding tourist space at a historic site through space syntax analysis: The case of Gulangyu,China

Although tourist development appears to be an effective approach for the further development of historic towns, researchers have often contended that a balance is difficult to maintain between protection and development. This article applies space syntax analysis to provide an understanding of tourist space at historic sites on Gulangyu Island. The relationship between street network integration and the urban fabric as well as tourist preferences collated from data mining are explored and verified. Then, results of the space syntax analysis along with the proposed historic site plan are compared to provide suggestions in plan evaluation. This research provides a visualized and quantitative approach to the field of tourist management via the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) to urban morphological features, tourist preferences and results gathered by way of planning practice. The effectiveness and limitations of this proposed new approach are also debated and substantiated.     

组织者视角下节庆旅游吸引物的符号化生产——以广府庙会为例

旅游吸引物兼具客观和符号的双重属性。节庆既是一种文化活动,又是重要的旅游吸引物。本文从符号学视角出发,采用扎根理论的质性研究方法,以广州广府庙会为研究对象,探讨组织者视角下的节庆旅游吸引物的符号化生产机制。研究发现,节庆吸引力、节庆的组织管理、节庆的策划理念和节庆场景构成节庆旅游吸引物符号化生产的基础、路径、思路和内容。具体而言,节庆组织者基于对节庆吸引力的理解,通过调动多部门的工作积极性,建立清晰的组织结构,组织和管理符号生产所需的各种资源,秉承弘扬传统文化、注重文化创新、紧跟国家战略、顺应时代潮流等多思路的策划理念,塑造了包含安全保障、节目表演、创意互动、美食小吃、商贸展销、人员服务、辅助设施和节庆氛围所构成的节庆场景,该场景浓缩了节庆文化内涵,其灵活多样、可塑性强,组织者可不断调整以形成节庆文化的独特性,从而增强游客的体验感。     

Residents,their use of a tourist facility and contribution to tourist ambience: Narratives from a film tourism site in Beijing

Any tourist site open to local residents represents a point where residents and tourists become a back drop for the experiences of the other. This paper examines a specific Beijing film tourism attraction, Grand View Gardens, and the manner in which the site is used by local residents, the meanings attributed to it, and residents' role in creating an ambience for tourists. Residents have a daily connection with the site, and form audiences for events held at the Gardens. They often interact with tourists, becoming a source of information for tourists. The paper examines residents' motives for using such attractions, their attitudes towards tourists and suggests they possess a role in the creation of a sense of place that is valued by tourists. The paper fills a gap in an under-researched area, where, in the Chinese context, both residents and visitors form backdrops to each other's experience of place.     

Construction and validation of a scale to measure tourist motivation to consume local food

Although the importance of the role of local food in tourism has begun to form an academic debate in the last decade, little effort has been invested in understanding what tourist motivations influence consumption of local food and beverages in a tourist destination and to develop a measurement scale for those motivations. Thus, this study adopted the comprehensive procedures of measurement scale development recommended by prior studies. The scale development procedure yielded a five factor measurement scale with acceptable levels of reliability and validity. Five underlying motivational dimensions of local food consumption were labelled: cultural experience; interpersonal relation; excitement; sensory appeal; and health concern. The outcomes and applications of the developed scale are discussed both in terms of theoretical and managerial implications.     

Categorization of tourist attractions and the modeling of tourist cities: based on the co-plot method of multivariate analysis

This paper examines the relation between the trip characteristics of tourists and the attractions that they visit. This analysis was made possible by means of a new method of multivariate analysis—co-plot—that enables the simultaneous analysis of observations and variables and the graphic presentation of the interrelations among them. Jerusalem was seen as an “ideal” city for the demonstration of the co-plot method of data analysis due to the heterogeneity of its tourism. The research was conducted between September 1998 and March 1999. The results of the statistical analysis show that Jerusalem's tourist attractions can be categorized into four distinct groups and that there is a tendency of spatial concentration among sights belonging to the same group. Based on these results, a spatial model of tourism consumption in large cities was developed.     

The impact of mega-sport events on tourist arrivals

While a mega-sport event is scheduled at least once every year somewhere in the world, these events are rare occurrences for the host cities and countries. The benefits of such events seem lucrative; the very fact that many countries bid to host these events suggests that the benefits – be they tangible or intangible – more often than not outweigh the costs. Using a standard gravity model of bilateral tourism flows between 200 countries from 1995 to 2006, this paper measures a very direct benefit of such mega-events: the increase in tourist arrivals to the host country. In general, the results suggest that mega-sport events promote tourism but the gain varies depending on the type of mega-event, the participating countries and whether the event is held during the peak season or off-season.     

The dynamic interactions between hotel room rates and international inbound tourists: Evidence from Singapore

Recognizing the possible existence of mutual interactions between hotel room rates and the number of international inbound tourists, this research note investigates the short-run and the long-run dynamic interactions between these two variables for Singapore. It tests for the existence of any cointegrating relationship between them using the bounds testing approach to cointegration. The causal effects between them are tested with Granger causality test. We find no evidence that Singapore's hotel room rates and international inbound tourists are cointegrated. The results also suggest that there is a bi-directional short-run causal relationship between these variables.     

Ticket prices and revenue levels of tourist attractions in China: Spatial differentiation between prefectural units

Ticket pricing is a key issue for tourism research in China. Owing to regional differences, a unified nationwide price reduction strategy for tourist attractions would be inappropriate for China. To assist in regional ticket pricing decisions, this study uses ArcGIS spatial analysis methods to analyze the spatial differentiation of ticket prices and revenue levels between prefectural units, using 2017 data from 9450 A-grade tourist attractions. The results reveal prominent characteristics of spatial differentiation in tourist attractions’ average ticket prices, as well as in the proportion of their revenue from ticket sales, between prefectural units. Ticket prices are generally low in north China and high in south China; meanwhile, the proportion of ticket revenue is generally high in east China and low in west China. The factors influencing such spatial differentiation are tourism resources, local socio-economic conditions, and the management of tourist attractions. The findings help stakeholders to make differentiation strategy.     

Analysis of international tourist arrivals worldwide: The role of world heritage sites

This study examines the impact on inbound tourism caused by the presence of world heritage sites. The statistics are derived from panel data for 66 countries for the period 2006–2009. The results indicate that there exists a positive relationship between having such heritage sites and tourist numbers, and the relationship is stronger for natural rather than for cultural heritage sites. The evidence also indicates the presence of a U-shaped relationship between numbers of world heritage sites in a country and tourist numbers. These relationships are found to be robust even though differences in patterns are found in different regions.     

What is the optimal number of hotel rooms: Spain as a case study

The main contribution of the paper is that it proposes a well-defined model and an empirical estimation technique for determining an optimal targeted number of incoming tourists and for getting as close as possible to this target by controlling variables that are affected by tourism authorities policies. We assume that the planner wishes to minimize the gap between the actual and the optimal number of tourists in order to get as close as possible to the optimally desired number. The actual number of tourists from each country is affected by the cost of travel as well as by exogenous variables. We constructed a system of two simultaneous equations, where the number of tourists and the cost of travel are the endogenous variables. We estimated the system for incoming tourism to Spain from various countries and forecasted the actual number of incoming tourists. Using the forecasted equation we were able to extract the optimal number of rooms needed in order to get as close as we could to the desired number of tourists.After defining several targeted levels for the number of incoming tourists to Spain from Canada, Japan, Belgium, The Netherland, US, Italy, France, Germany and UK, we extracted the optimal number of needed hotel rooms in order to get as close as possible to the targets.This paper is important since it provide a tool for the decision makers to effect the number of incoming tourists by changing the level of variables that are under the control of the decision maker.     

Marketing timeshare in Singapore: An analysis of potential customers and present owners

Timeshare has gained recognition and acceptance in many Asian countries in recent years, but is relatively slow in gaining momentum in Singapore. Timesharing is a type of real estate ownership, which may include hotels, resorts, holiday villas, apartments and more, whereby ownership is split among individuals on the basis of time. This paper presents a study on the attitude of potential consumers on timeshare, and to investigate the current satisfaction level of timeshare owners in Singapore. Two questionnaires were designed to survey the attitude of potential consumers and the timeshare owners. The findings showed that potential consumers’ perception of timeshare is generally negative in Singapore. The main reasons for this negative perception include undesirable sales tactics used in the industry and negative media coverage which tainted the image of the industry. Developers should provide facilities at the resorts to help timeshare owners achieve their desire for rest and relaxation, amongst other reasons.     

The Impacts of Mass Media on Organic Destination Image: A Case Study of Singapore

The shaping of organic destination image received limited investigation though it is an important factor influencing destination image and tourist's intention to travel. This study explores the impacts of mass media on shaping the organic destination image of tourism destinations. The organic destination images of Singapore in the views of Hong Kong residents were explored. This study explores the consumers' subconscious awareness of Singapore, and identifies that organic destination images are the outcome of readers' assimilation of material from newspapers, publications and books. The findings also demonstrate the process underlying the changes of organic destination images due to the information feeding of mass media. The findings indicate the importance for destination marketing organizations to monitor the new reports related to the destination in its main tourist origin countries/regions, and strategically deploy their marketing efforts to leverage the impacts of positive news reports, minimize the negative influence of unfavorable news.     

The impact of tour quality and tourist satisfaction on tourist loyalty: The case of Chinese tourists in Korea

This study examines the causal relationship between tourist expectations, tourist motivations, tour quality, tourist satisfaction, tourist complaints and tourist loyalty of Chinese tourists in the Republic of Korea using path analysis. It was found that tourist expectations have a negative effect on the perceived experiential quality of the tour, yet tourist motivation has a positive effect on the perceived tour quality. In turn, the perceived tour quality has a positive effect on tourist satisfaction. Similarly there is an inverse relationship between satisfaction and tourist complaints, and a positive relationship exists between satisfaction and loyalty. Equally, the higher is the number of complaints, the lower are the loyalty levels. These results will provide potential guidelines for inbound tour agents who plan to attract Chinese tourists to Korea and enable them to formulate appropriate strategies. This study also seeks to contribute to conceptual and policy formation by understanding the determinants of tourist satisfaction and loyalty.     

The origins and creation of the tourist hotel industry in Spain from the end of the 19th century to 1936. Barcelona as a case study

The aim of this paper is to analyse the origins of the hotel industry dedicated to tourism in the city of Barcelona, one of the most important tourist centres in the western Mediterranean. From the 1888 Universal Exposition to the 1929 International Exposition, and even later, we find several initiatives to set in motion an incipient tourist system which was truncated by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936. In this system, we will here focus on the hotel industry based on the fact that at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the majority of hotel establishments were not focused on tourism. It was only with the tourist development experienced by Barcelona during these decades that one can also speak of the birth of one of the most important tourism hotel offerings, both in Spain and Western Europe.     

Factors influencing the co-occurrence of visits to attractions: The case of Madrid,Spain

Large destinations such as cities usually offer multiple and diverse attractions, a selection of which will be visited by tourists during their stay. This study analyses the factors influencing the probability of the co-occurrence of visits to attractions in the city of Madrid (Spain). On the basis of five years (2013–2018) of user-generated data, we built a network formed by the attractions visited by the tourists and fitted it to an exponential random graph model. The results show that a tourist's decision to visit a particular attraction was influenced by its popularity and rating. In addition, homophily in popularity, rating and some attraction categories was detected. In the analysis made of the temporal trend of the attraction network, it was found that homophily in the category of museums and theatres strengthened over the study period. Identifying the forces that connect attractions is crucial for their efficient management, promotion, and preservation.     

The effects of food-related personality traits on tourist food consumption motivations

This study explores the motivational dimensions underlying food consumption in tourism, and to examine the effects of two food-related personality traits, namely food neophobia and variety-seeking, on these motivational dimensions. A tourist food consumption motivational scale was developed and seven motivational dimensions were identified: novelty and variety, authentic experience and prestige, interpersonal and culture, price/value and assurance, health concern, familiarity and eating habit, and sensory and contextual pleasure. Both food neophobia and variety-seeking were found to have significant effects on various motivational dimensions. The implications of the findings for practice and future research are discussed.     

Eudaimonic tourist experiences: the case of flamenco

In recent years, participation in flamenco, as a cultural art form, has gained momentum within Spain and internationally. Engagement in flamenco music and dance workshops in Spain has also become an increasingly significant tourism activity. Despite this trend, little research has looked into the nature of leisure experiences of flamenco. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap by exploring how tourists experience flamenco music and dance courses in the city of Seville. Through a grounded theory research strategy in which in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 participants, the study reveals that four key themes characterise tourists’ experiences of flamenco. These are: the social and physical environment, which refers to physical flamenco spaces in Seville and tourists’ interactions with instructors and peers; secondly, the experience of challenge, characterised by hardship and sacrifice in the pursuit of flamenco; thirdly, activation of the sensual body or a sense of arousal; and lastly, an intrinsic and deep desire for self-discovery. The study demonstrates that the flamenco tourist experience strongly contributes to self-realisation and fulfilment of those who engage in it, or in other words, that the flamenco tourist experience is eudaimonic in character. The interview findings were linked to literature on self-realisation, self-fulfilment, true self, stress-related growth and related eudaimonic themes. Eudaimonia, or a sense of personal expressiveness and self-realisation, has not been previously established in this context. Therefore, the research findings provide a theoretical understanding of what a eudaimonic tourist experience of dance and music may look like.     

Trust-building processes in tourist coopetition: The case of a Polish region

This study examines the role of trust in establishing collaboration between two individual competing tourism firms. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by investigating how various trust-building processes influence dyadic coopetition in five municipalities in Poland. The literature suggests eight different trust-building mechanisms at various levels of analysis and collaborative endeavors. Our results indicate four processes important to start dyadic coopetition, which are based on: calculation, emotional bond, reputation and embeddedness in social networks. Our findings also show that if trust based on calculation is not reported, then even several trust-building processes combined do not lead to coopetition. Moreover, trust does not appear as a homogenous concept, and different trust-building processes do generate different effects. The results show that trust may play both positive and negative roles in coopetition formation.