Does living in the vicinity of heritage tourism sites influence residents’ perceptions and attitudes?

Abstract

This study investigates whether the perceptions and attitudes of residents living within the vicinity of heritage tourism sites differ from those living further afield. It examines residents’ attitudes toward tourism development; community attachment; environment and culture attitudes; economic gain; and involvement, alongside the moderating role of distance from heritage tourism sites. In doing so, it investigates how the aforementioned factors influence residents’ perceptions of tourism development in their city. Data was collected from inhabitants of Kashan and Tabriz, two historic cities couched within Iran’s growing heritage tourism sector, and analyzed using partial least squares - structural equation modeling. The findings demonstrate significant differences between the perceptions of tourism impacts, economic gain, environmental and cultural attitudes, and involvement between residents living within the vicinity of heritage tourism sites and those living further afield. However, these findings contradicted the hypotheses; identifying higher positive perceptions, environmental and cultural attitudes, economic gain, and involvement for residents living far from heritage tourism sites. Further, the findings did not support the moderating role of distance for the effects of influencing factors on residents’ perceptions. Therefore, this study proffers significant theoretical contributions and practical implications with regards to developing sustainable tourism in Iran.     

Understanding Medical Tourists in Korea: Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Medical Tourism among Patients from the USA,Russia, Japan,and China

A cross-cultural approach is adopted to examine factors related to perceptions of and attitudes toward medical tourism by American, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese tourists to Korea. Results from a survey with a sample of 883 tourists show that respondents' overall attitudes significantly differ across the four nations. Russian patients hold most positive attitudes, followed by Chinese and Japanese. Major perceptual factors are found to have different effects on overall attitudes among respondents. While travel-related risks are the most influential factor among Russian, Japanese, and Chinese patients, Americans are influenced mostly by health-related risks. American and Japanese attitudes are also affected by cost factor but not by convenience factor. On the other hand, convenience factor significantly affects Russian and Chinese attitudes. Additionally, post-operative risk, access to information, and availability of procedures have different effects across the four nations. Possible explanations and practical implications are discussed in conjunction with the cultural contexts of the four nations.     

Effects of cognitive age,dispositional time perceptions,and time view manipulations on product attribute evaluations

Researchers manipulate time perceptions in experiments, but the efficacy of such manipulations demands further scrutiny. Two studies test the effects of dispositional time views and time view manipulations on product attribute evaluations, as well as the interaction between cognitive age and manipulated time perceptions and that between dispositional and manipulated time perceptions. The results suggest that time manipulation drives and predicts consumer product evaluations. In addition, cognitive age interacts with time manipulation as a meaningful moderator/predictor, and dispositional time view interacts with time manipulation to influence consumer evaluations. An incongruency effect (i.e., a time manipulation condition that differs from consumers' time perceptions) occurs for hedonic attribute evaluations but not for utilitarian attribute evaluations. The research offers several managerial implications of these findings.     

杭州城市居民对会展效应的感知分析

以杭州城市居民为研究对象,通过"定性分析法"来了解城市居民是如何感知和评定会展对举办地城市发展及居民日常生活的影响。调查结果显示了许多不同领域的观点,其中一个较为普遍的观点是"利益感知的权衡取舍"或者可以解释成"两利相较取其重"。以此观点为前提,城市居民即便了解会展所能带来的负面影响,对经济效应的关注依然超过了对环境影响的关注。     

Residents' Perceptions of the Impact of Cultural Tourism on Urban Development: The Case of Gwangju,Korea

Cultural tourism constitutes an alternative strategy of sustainable urban development for improving quality of life. The main objective of this type of tourism is to transform regions characterized by cultural resources into ideal places for vacation, residence or business. In this study residents' perceptions of cultural tourism were examined in a case study of Gwangju, Korea. It was found that the majority of the respondents were aware of the importance of cultural tourism and that they argued that it could contribute to urban development. The findings also suggest that there is a strong relationship between the respondents' characteristics and their perceptions of the impact of cultural tourism on urban development.     

Boat or airplane? Passengers’ perceptions of transport services to islands. The example of the Greek domestic leisure market

Tourism is often the main economic activity of islands, making transport services vital. Recent research indicates that direct competition between air and sea transport tends to increase for the leisure market segment. This paper looks into the characteristics and perceptions of leisure passengers in an effort to identify the effect they have on modal choice. By examining the Greek Aegean region as a case study, the findings identify differences in passenger perceptions, which can influence modal choice and competition.     

The role of ratio differences in the framing of numerical information

It is well documented that presentation of qualitatively equivalent information in different frames has considerable impacts on consumer preferences and evaluations. In this research, we demonstrate a type of framing effects that targets numerical information of an attribute.In three experiments, we find that the perceived differences between two options loom larger when equivalent attribute information is expressed in a large ratio frame than when it is expressed in a small ratio frame. Moreover, preferences shift toward an option when its superior attribute is presented in a large rather than a small ratio condition. We also show that this framing effect goes beyond the effects of loss aversion and those of numerical anchoring.     

New Zealand freshwater management and agricultural impacts

In New Zealand, it is increasingly recognised, including by government, that water resource allocation and water quality are issues of national importance. Agriculture is frequently portrayed by public media as a major user of water and a major contributor to worsening water quality. We outline the water management systems in New Zealand, and the use of water by agriculture. Official reports on agriculture's impact on New Zealand water availability and quality are summarised. We report how the New Zealand public perceive water, its management, and the roles of agriculture in water issues. Data from a nationwide mail survey were analysed to determine how New Zealanders assess the state of New Zealand lakes, rivers and streams, and aquifers, the performance of three agencies responsible for management of freshwater resources, and willingness to fund stream enhancement. We provide brief explanations for the failures of water resource management in New Zealand and report on options, including community-based responses that might address some of the mounting public, scientific, and government concerns about trends in water quantity and quality. A willingness to pay proposition, concerning riparian areas, included in the nationwide survey provides some evidence that the public are willing to pay for improved waterway management. Relevant non-market valuation studies also indicate that the public places considerable value on preservation values of water in New Zealand.     

Dutch Households’ Perceptions of Economic Growth and Inflation

Summary This paper analysis the results of a survey on qualitative and quantitative perceptions and expectations of past, current and future macroeconomic developments among a representative household panel (DNB Household Survey). Perceptions of economic growth and inflation show a large dispersion. For the median respondents, however, the quantitative perceptions were found to be quite accurate. There is some evidence that the concept of economic growth is a more abstract notion for the general public than inflation. Those who have declared themselves more knowledgeable are also more actively involved in dealing with financial issues. The empirical evidence seems to corroborate that individuals with higher self-assessed knowledge levels are better informed indeed and have more accurate quantitative perceptions of economic growth and inflation. At the individual level there is a strong and robust correlation between expected growth and inflation for the next year and the perceptions of the current situation (rule of thumb behavior). But short-term expectations are also influenced by the views individuals hold on longer-term developments.The authors are grateful to seminar participants at DNB, and to Maria Demertzis, Martin Fase and Stefan Hochguertel for valuable comments. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official positions of De Nederlandsche Bank.