An examination of factors that discourage slot play in Macau casinos

This research investigates the factors that discourage slot play by Chinese gamblers in Macau, the main source of customers for the region's casinos. The results of focus group discussions indicate that the servicescape (or service environment, including floor layout, cleanliness, lighting, etc.) of the slot areas has little impact on whether Chinese gamblers play slot machines. Customer survey findings reveal that gambling motivation, betting preferences, the culture of Chinese gamblers, game characteristics (especially the size of the jackpot), and service provision are more important factors. Several managerial implications are extracted from a study of players’ responses to possible improvements to slot machines.     

Two ge neral classes of search designs for factor screening experiments with factors at three levels

In this paper, we are presenting general classes of factor screening designs for identifying a few important factors from a list of m (≥ 3) factors each at three levels. A design is a subset of 3^m possible runs. The problem of finding designs with small number of runs is considered here. A main effect plan requires at least (2m + 1) runs for estimating the general mean, linear and quadratic effects of m factors. An orthogonal main effect plan requires, in addition, the number of runs as a multiple of 9. For example, when m=5, a main effect plan requires at least 11 runs and an orthogonal main effect plan requires 18 runs. Two general factor screening designs presented here are nonorthogonal designs with (2m− 1) runs. These designs, called search designs permit us to search for and identify at most two important factors out of m factors under the search linear model introduced in Srivastava (1975). For example, when m=5, the two new plans given in this paper have 9 runs, which is a significant improvement over an orthogonal main effect plan with 18 runs in terms of the number of runs and an improvement over a main effect plan with at least 11 runs. We compare these designs, for 4≤m≤ 10, using arithmetic and geometric means of the determinants, traces, and maximum characteristic roots of certain matrices. Two designs D1 and D2 are identical for m=3 and this design is an optimal design in the class of all search designs under the six criteria discussed above. Designs D1 and D2 are also identical for m=4 under some row and column permutations. Consequently, D1 and D2 are equally good for searching and identifying one important factor out of m factors when m=4. The design D1 is marginally better than the design D2 for searching and identifying one important factor out of m factors when m=5, … , 10. The design D1 is marginally better than the D2 for searching and identifying two important factors out of m factors when m=5, 7, 9. The design D2 is somewhat better than the design D1 for m=6, 8. For m=10, D1 is marginally better than D2 w.r.t. the geometric mean and D2 is marginally better than D1 w.r.t. the arithmetic mean of the maximum characteristic roots.     

Examining the Antecedents of Destination Loyalty in a Forest Setting

Loyalty has become a critical part of leisure research due to increasing competition in the field and the recognition of the importance of loyal visitors. To further develop loyalty research, this study looks at the issue of destination loyalty in a forest setting. It specifically focuses on revealing the formation of attitudinal, conative, and behavioral loyalty and the relationship between destination loyalty and related concepts that influence the strength of loyalty: service quality, satisfaction, and activity involvement. Six hypotheses were tested to represent the relationships among six factors. Forest recreationists who perceive high service quality tend to have high satisfaction and activity involvement that lead to destination loyalty. The findings also substantiated the conceptual framework of loyalty formation.     

Sustaining Tourism Employment

This paper addresses some of the problems that arise out of the special characteristics history and circumstances have given to employment in the tourism sector. Impetus for the paper was provided by field work conducted in Sri Lanka and the Cook Islands as part of a Tourism Master Planning Consultancy, and my own experiences as a working chef during two periods in London. The findings provide a suitable stage for examining the perceived wisdom surrounding the nature of tourism employment. In particular, we emphasise that while tourism jobs provide value-added for both employer and holidaymaker through so-called ‘people skills’, these important skills seem not to be counted when remunerating employees. The role of expatriates in training is looked at, as is the role of government. We conclude with some concrete ideas about ways in which quality of experience at the workplace can be added for tourism employees. Without this, the long-term sustainability of this ‘people industry’ will be vulnerable.     

Green events,value perceptions,and the role of consumer involvement in festival design and performance

This study explores the dimensionality of event attendees’ “green” involvement in festival settings. Given growing interest in environmental issues, it explores relationships between eco-friendly services, and visitor perceptions, intentions, or choices, using the theory of involvement, and involvement–value relationship studies. Special attention is given to comparative advantages attained by events having green policies and practices, and to assessing how much attendees will pay for those practices through event spending. A green involvement scale was developed, tested, validated and refined, before being used at the major Macau Food Festival, obtaining a 406 person data set, which was analyzed by factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results had both theoretical and managerial implications. There is a strong linkage between green involvement and perceived value. To obtain maximum comparative advantage, however, marketing efforts must focus on promoting green initiatives. For example, attendees who take an interest in and feel connected to environmental issues in their life will spend significantly more. Green design and waste management were the most important drivers of perceived green value, followed by green food and green environment and activities. Our findings show that festival attendees will pay 28% more for green food if they perceive the event offers them green values.     

Macau's Tourism Planning Approach and Its Shortcomings: A Case Study

This article examines the responsiveness of Macau's tourism planning approach in coping with the rapid urban changes and economic boom that have mainly resulted from the liberalization of the casino licensing system in 2002 and the implementation of the Individual Visitation Scheme in 2003. The results indicate that Macau's traditional top-down and progrowth driven tourism planning approach is not responsive enough to cope with these fast-changing circumstances. The shortcomings of this approach are identified, such as the lack of a clear vision of the city's position, the overconcentration of planning power in the hands of a few senior government officials, an absence of planning laws and detailed guidelines guiding developments, poor coordination among government departments, and a lack of planning expertise and knowledge. The article provides solutions for a more sustainable tourism planning approach, including diversifying Macau's economy away from its casino industry to avoid one particular economic sector holding too much bargaining power; formulating a comprehensive set of consistent and transparent planning missions, strategies, and detailed planning guidelines; creating a task force to foster coordination among government departments; and empower local citizens to participate in the tourism planning process.     

Work Stress Among Casino Industry Supervisors in Macao Casinos

This study explores mid-level supervisors' perceptions of their sources of work stress and ways of coping with it. It reports the results of in-depth interviews with 40 pit supervisors and managers in Macao casinos. The results reveal that role ambiguity, work overload, and a high level of customer demands and unreasonable complaints are the work stressors that are commonly experienced by casino supervisors and employees in other hospitality sectors alike. Additional work stressors experienced by the casino supervisors are also identified, such as the inability or unwillingness of subordinates to perform, surveillance by senior management, overly harsh company policies, and a punitive atmosphere. Like employees in other hospitality settings, casino supervisors are found often to use their personal resources and social networks to cope with stress. This article recommends active managerial actions as a more long-term and effective means of coping with employees' work stress. Suggestions for managerial measures to prevent and reduce stress problems are offered.     

The Association of Ethical Judgment of Advertising and Selected Advertising Effectiveness Response Variables

This study examines the potential effects of unethically perceived advertising executionson consumer responses to the ad. The study found that the unethical perceptions of the advertisement shown significantly and negatively affected all advertising response variables examined in the study.