Diffusion Patterns and Knowledge Networks: An Inductive Analysis of Intellectual Connections in Multidisciplinary Tourism Studies

This article presents an inductive citation analysis to examine diffusion patterns and knowledge networks in the economic, geographical/environmental, and socio-cultural domains of tourism research. Articles typical of these specializations were selected from the latest issues of Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel Research, and Tourism Management, to begin with the tracking of major sources of knowledge for research in a sub-domain. Citation data collection followed a theoretical sampling approach for a scrutiny of three “generations” of intellectual connections. Analyses and sorting of subjects and coauthorship networks were facilitated by ATLAS.ti. Diffusion patterns are visualized through “pointed and high” versus “thick and flat” tree diagrams for these subdomains. The study also describes knowledge networks typically embedded in the coauthorship patterns of the major sources. While the study lends to discussions on intellectual connections, this set of inductively derived results should be read in caution of the research design, the behavior of citation, and the perspectives of the authors.     

Which Journal Articles are Uncited? The Case of the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research and the Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing

Two main streams of research performance evaluation rely on quantitative measurement of research output and citation count. Although research output counting has achieved a certain degree of success, such an approach cannot assess the impact of a publication on knowledge development. A citation count, in contrast, measures the influence of a publication on subsequent research efforts. Citation count has thus become an important way to represent research performance. This study analyzes the uncited articles published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research and the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing in the period 1996–2005. Findings would be of use to academic researchers in planning for the type of article to write.     

Twenty five years of the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing: a bibliometric ranking

ABSTRACT

The Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing (JTTM) is a leading international journal in “Marketing” and “Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management.” JTTM published its first issue in 1992. In 2017, the journal has celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. For that reason, this study analyzes all the publications in the journal since its creation by using a bibliometric approach. The objective is to provide a complete overview of the main factors that affect the journal. This analysis includes key issues such as the distribution of annual publications and citations, the most cited papers, the h-index, citations per paper, the keywords that are mostly used, the influence on the publishing industry and authors, universities, and the countries that have the most publications. The paper uses the Scopus database to analyze the bibliometric data. Additionally, the paper also uses the visualization of similarities (VOS) viewer software to map graphically the bibliographic material. The graphical analysis uses bibliographic coupling, co-citation, citation, and co-occurrence of keywords. These results indicate that JTTM is one of the leading journals in the areas where the journal is indexed, with publications from a wide range of authors, institutions, and countries around the world.     

ENTER 2005 – The 12th International Conference on Information Technology and Travel & Tourism held in Innsbruck,Austria on January 26–28, 2005

With the attendance of about 400 delegates from over 40 nations in the world, the 12^th International Conference on Information Technology and Travel & Tourism (ENTER 2005) was held on January 26–28, 2005 in Innsbruck of Austria. Interestingly, the Conference was turned to a very noticeable contradiction by showing the latest findings and developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in travel & tourism but in a medieval city. Following the tradition of the previous ENTER conferences, ENTER 2005 has successfully achieved it primary objective of providing a forum for international delegates to exchange and debate various ICT issues that were related to travel and tourism.     

Tourism Destination Image and Motivations: The Spanish Perspective of Mexico

ABSTRACT

The notion that a tourist has about a certain destination is conditioned by his vision of it, and this behavior is the result of his perceptions (Baloglu &; McCleary, 1999 Baloglu, S. and McCleary, K. W. 1999. A model of destination image formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(4): 868–897. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Goodrich, 1978 Goodrich, J. N. 1978. The relationship between preferences for and perceptions of vacation destinations: Application of a choice model. Journal of Travel Research, 17(2): 8–13. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). The outcome of this information assessment process is currently known as destination image (Milman &; Pizam, 1995 Milman, A. and Pizam, A. 1995. The role of awareness and familiarity with a destination: The central Florida case. Journal of Travel Research, 33(3): 21–27. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Based on the model of Baloglu and McCleary (1999 Baloglu, S. and McCleary, K. W. 1999. A model of destination image formation. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(4): 868–897. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) we propose a model which explains the process of destination image formation. For testing this model, we have gathered information from residents in Spain, with Mexico as a destination. For this task, a covariance analysis was estimated by maximum likelihood with EQS.     

Are Visitor Arrivals to China Stationary? An Empirical Note

The tourism industry is one of the earliest industries in China to be opened up to the world, with a more open market and relatively sufficient competition. In this article, we use the panel seemingly unrelated regressions augmented Dickey–Fuller (SURADF) tests advanced by Breuer, McNown, and Wallace [(2001). Misleading inferences from panel unit-root tests with an illustration from purchasing power parity. Review of International Economics, 9(3), 482–493] to investigate whether visitor arrivals to China are stationary for the period 1995–2010. The empirical results from numerous conventional unit root tests indicate that tourist arrivals from 18 countries studied are non-stationary; however, when Breuer et al.'s (2001) panel SURADF tests are conducted, evidence of a unit root in visitor arrivals is found in only 13 countries. From these results, one particularly important policy implication for China emerges.     

Forecasting US Air Travelers to Europe,Caribbean and Asia

Travel and tourism are among the most important economic contributors to most, if not all, countries. According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the number of international arrivals showed remarkable growth, from 25 million international arrivals in 1950 to 699 million in 2000. This indicates an average annual growth rate of 7%. In the same period, tourism receipts recorded an average annual growth rate of 11%. In 2002, international tourism generated worldwide receipts of US$474 billion, corresponding to US$1.3 billion a day or US$675 per tourist arrival. In view of the important role that international tourism plays in the global economy, this research applied four time-series forecasting techniques to project the trend of US air travelers, a major source market, to Europe, Caribbean and Asia, the three leading outbound markets (second to Canada and Mexico) from the US in the period 2003–2005. Experimental outcomes reveal declining trends. This paper discusses the underlying factors for such trends. Lastly, this paper ends with a detailed discussion on policy implications.     

The classification of heritage tourists: a case of Hue City,Vietnam

Heritage, especially with World Heritage status, is increasingly becoming the main attraction of many tourist destinations. Heritage tourism is also the major tourism product in Hue city, Vietnam. Hitherto, there are almost no official statistics and research pertaining to heritage tourism as well as heritage tourists in Hue. This study aims at providing a preliminary profile of heritage tourists to Hue city and identifying different categories of heritage tourists, with a special focus on package tourists. The international heritage tourists' profile seems to be similar to official statistics of international arrivals, indicating almost no difference in socio-demographic profile between heritage tourists and general tourists in the context of Hue. Various significant differences were found between international and domestic tourists in terms of tourist characteristics, trip profile and the perception of Hue. Adopting McKercher's [(2002) Towards a classification of cultural tourists. International Journal of Tourism Research, 4, 29–38] cultural tourist classification, five categories of heritage tourists were identified, including purposeful heritage tourists, sightseeing heritage tourists, casual heritage tourists, incidental heritage tourists and serendipitous heritage tourists. Among these, sightseeing heritage tourists and purposeful heritage tourists were dominant.     

Modelling international monthly arrivals using seasonal univariate long-memory processes

Seasonal long memory has become an alternative credible way when modelling the seasonal component in many time series. In this paper, a procedure is employed that permits consideration of unit and fractional orders of integration at seasonal frequencies in a raw time series. This method is applied to the international monthly arrivals in the US, using both aggregated and disaggregated data. The results show that the total number of arrivals in the US can be specified in terms of a seasonal I(d) model with d higher than zero but smaller than one, implying long memory and mean reverting behaviour. Attempting to summarize the conclusions for the individual locations, leaves the impression that Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe and Oceania present the smallest degrees of integration. On the other hand, Africa and the Caribbean provide the highest values, implying for these two locations a strong degree of persistence to the US as a destination. Finally, another application, based on a longer dataset, is also employed to examine the forecasting properties of this type of model.     

Overtourism,optimisation, and destination performance indicators: a case study of activities in Fjord Norway

Abstract

Many global tourist destinations have experienced growth in arrivals. This has triggered various conflicts in destinations and sparked debates as to how to deal with what is increasingly referred to as ‘overtourism’. Most Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) pursue strategies to stimulate arrivals even further. Pro-growth discourses are reinforced by lead bodies such as the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). However, maximisation strategies based on higher numbers of tourists increasingly cause conflicts with local residents, whereas simultaneously undermining climate change mitigation pledges as negotiated in the Paris Agreement. New approaches to destination management based on optimisation are therefore warranted. Drawing on a survey of international tourists (n?=?5,249) in south-western Norway, this article discusses whether ‘activities’, i.e. the development of local, small-scale and ideally more sustainable experiences, can contribute to economic growth without necessarily increasing numbers of arrivals. Results confirm that destinations should seek to better understand their markets, including length of stay, spending, and/or activity intention, to identify profitable markets. Ultimately, such knowledge may help addressing overtourism conflicts while building tourism systems that are more economically, socially, and environmentally resilient.     

The Determinants of the Travel Demand on International Tourist Arrivals to Thailand

The purpose of this study is to develop a travel demand model of international tourist arrivals to Thailand and to assess the impact of crisis incidents on Thailand's tourism industry. A 20-year (1987–2006) annual time series data of “number of international tourist arrivals”, “exchange rate”, “promotion budget”, and dummy variables of “Asia financial crisis”, “special promotional campaigns”, “SARS” and “tsunami” were used to develop the travel demand model by performing a multiple regression analysis. The results showed that travel demand of international tourist arrivals to Thailand could be explained by “exchange rate”, “promotion budget”, “Asia financial crisis” and “SARS”.     

Resource Investments and Loyalty to Recreational Sport Tourism Event

ABSTRACT

Sport tourism events have a marketing possibility in the Japanese tourism industry. The ultramarathon is a very popular recreational sport event in the world. This type of sport tourism event has shared with completive and enjoyment factors in relation to participant's motivation. Loyalty is a very important factor with attendance to recreational sport events. Generally, as many researchers indicated, that participants' loyalty will lead to repeat attendance or purchase. However, there is no consensus as to how loyalty develops. In the files of recreational sport tourism event research, the process leading to participants' loyalty with a specific event is not evident.

The purpose of this article is to test a conceptual framework of the development of loyalty (Morais et al., 2004 Morais, D. B., Dorsch, M. J. and Backman, S. J. 2004. Can tourism providers buy their customers' loyalty? Examining the influence of customer-provider investments on loyalty. Journal of Travel Research, 42(3): 235–243. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) that is grounded in resource theory. According to the proposed model, when participants and organizers invest specific profiles of resources in each other, the participants tend to develop a bond with the customer and become dedicated to maintaining a stable relationship. The model is used to discuss the mixed results of current loyalty from recreational sport event tourists to organizers and to outline future research efforts.     

Foreign travel and tourism prices and demand

Sunday, Alexander A., “Foreign Travel and Tourism Prices and Demand,” Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. V, No. 2, April/June 1978, pp. 268–273. Using regression analysis and panel data this study estimates the parameter effect of prices on American demand for foreign travel and tourism. Findings suggest that higher air fares generate fewer tourists but greater expenditure per tourist visit.     

Terrorism,Seasonality, and International Air Tourist Arrivals in Central Florida

The Orlando International Airport (OIA) is growing in its importance in the regional tourism of Central Florida. This study provides some explanation for the fast growth of the OIA international passenger traffic by developing a multiple regression model. Five variables are identified as significantly related to the passenger arrivals at the OIA. The positive relationship between the economic performance of other industrialized countries and the OIA international arrivals is consistence with the hypothesis that income is positive determinant in travel decision. The increasing hijacking incidents in Europe and the Middle East is found to have a destination substitution effect between Orlando and European/Middle East. Hijacking may have encouraged Canadian and European tourist to switch from European/Middle East destinations to the United States in general, and to Orlando in particular. The composite tourism supply variable, represented by the number of Orlando hotel/model rooms, is found to be positively related to the OIA international arrivals. The two dummy variables of seasonality represent the natural component of the tourism supply of Orlando, its pleasant winter and early spring sunshine. The model indicates that this natural factor contributes significantly to the international passenger arrivals.     

Publishing in the primary leisure journals: Insight into the structure and boundaries of our research

Abstract

This study is a systematic empirical analysis of the structure and boundaries of leisure research as reflected by 2,628 citations used in six volumes of Journal of Leisure Research and Leisure Sciences. Four indicators were used to describe the structure of leisure research: the contributions from other fields, the type of citations used, the number of leisure sub‐topical areas, and the age of the citations. Leisure research has extensive ties with at least six fields and intensive attachments to three fields. As a result, citations are diversified by field and by many leisure research specialty areas. Journals and books constitute the majority of citation types, and the accumulation of recreation/leisure literature has shown substantial growth since the late 1950s. The proportion of sources originating in the recreation and parks field is growing but is still at relatively low levels in comparison with other fields of inquiry.     

Recent Research in Asia Pacific: The Case of a Professionally Affliated Journal

This review paper aims to unveil the recent research trends in the journal Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research. A systematic review of 130 articles published in the journal from 2011 to the third issue of 2014 was conducted, followed by a content analysis of various aspects of the articles, including research foci, research contexts, research methods, number of authors, and contributions by institutions and countries. The findings indicate that marketing research predominates in the articles whilst tourism and attraction are the major research contexts. An increasing rigor in the research methods applied has been observed. Finally, implications for tourism researchers are discussed.     

Technical efficiency of African hotels

This paper uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the technical efficiency of 12 hotels in Luanda, Angola. The study uses a balanced data set with 84 observations over the years 2000–2006. In a second stage, this paper uses a bootstrapping method (rather than a Tobit regression) developed by Simar and Wilson [(2007). Estimation and inference in two stage, semi-parametric models of productive efficiency. Journal of Econometrics, 136, 31–64] to estimate the economic drivers behind the technical efficiency. They find that efficiency has risen over the studied period, but at a decreasing rate. Secondly, they find that a hotel's membership in a group increases efficiency. Greater market share as measured by a Herfindahl index, increases efficiency and finally, hotels with an international strategy have higher efficiencies.     

Quality and Pricing in the Hotel Industry

Abstract

Quality is a price determinant in most products. However, establishment of a quality evaluation for the consumer is not an easy proposition. In the hospitality industry, fortunately, room quality evaluation and price information are readily available for consumers from published consumer guides. The Mobil Travel Guide is one of the more popular sources of hotel information available to consumers. The Mobil Travel Guide awards “stars” based on the level of quality their investigators deem appropriate. To investigate the relationship between quality and price in the hospitality industry, this study analyzes hotel managements' pricing behavior before and after a quality rating change by the Mobil Travel Guide. Data is gleaned from the Guide in several provinces and states in Canada and the United States from the relatively stable economic growth period of 1991 through 1999. The results reveal that hotel organizations raised prices before gaining a “star” and lowered prices before losing a “star.” The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of this pricing pattern.     

A Comparative Study of the Motivations,Activities, Overall Satisfaction,and Post-Trip Behaviors of International Tourists in Macau: Mainland Chinese,Hongkongese, Taiwanese,and Westerners

Cross-cultural differences are a vital issue in international tourism; the success of international tourism marketing strategies depends upon understanding tourists from different cultures and regions. To understand the diverse and lively Macau international tourism market, this study explored the cross-cultural differences in push and pull motivations, participating activities, and overall satisfaction level of traveling to Macau for four international tourist groups: Mainland Chinese, Hongkongese, Taiwanese, and Western. Using exploratory factor analysis, this study identified three push (knowledge and fun, relaxation and escape, and shopping and nightlife) and four pull motivation factors (exciting and relaxing atmosphere, local and cultural resources, gambling and entertainment, and famous destination). The results indicated that significant differences among the four tourist groups were found in the characteristics, motivations, activities, overall satisfaction, and post-trip behaviors. These findings will assist the development of promotional strategies and better communication that acknowledge cultural differences.