Recreational benefits from a marine protected area: A travel cost analysis of Lundy

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been proposed in many countries as a means of conserving parts of the marine environment. In some cases, MPAs may also confer recreational benefits. In this paper, a travel cost model is used to estimate the non-market recreational benefits arising from the Lundy Island Marine Nature Reserve (MNR). The estimated mean consumer surplus for visiting Lundy was found to range from £359 to £574 per trip. The designation of No Take Zone (NTZ) has also contributed to higher consumer surplus values. This result provides a strong economic justification for the designation of MPAs for recreational as well as conservation purposes.     

The Wildlife Tourism Market to Kenya (2002–2003)

An understanding of the wildlife tourism market is fundamental for the development of a competitive and sustainable tourism industry. It is imperative to product development and segmentation, especially with regard to understanding trends in the market place. This study was undertaken to understand better the demographic preferences of wildlife tourists and to determine their preferences, expectations, and choices. Various personal and trip attributes of the visitors were considered. A linear structural relationship (LISREL) approach was applied in order to estimate the structural equation systems by using its maximum likelihood estimator. Using data from 1,566 tourists who had completed their holidays in Kenya, it was found that various forms of travel based on packaging do not significantly affect the preferences of tourists. However, tourists' characteristics and their trip attributes have significant effects on these variables. Advanced age, higher socio-economic status, larger group size, and shorter length of stay are associated with higher preference for wildlife viewing.     

Modeling International Travel Arrangements for Taiwanese Travelers: Potential Fits

Abstract

This paper presents a choice model of international travel arrangements for potential Taiwanese FIT (Foreign Independent Travel) travelers. Previous studies were based mostly on package vacations, with little attention given to FIT travelers. Recent years have indicated a transition toward FIT. Since this transition is likely to continue, it is important for travel and tourism organizations and for marketers to understand FIT individuals. This study distinguishes potential FIT travelers from non-FIT travelers, identifies variables useful in making this prediction, and provides recommendations to travel and tourism organizations of host countries. The findings indicate that Taiwanese FIT travelers are likely to be younger, male, highly educated, budget conscious, travel with a larger party size for purposes of meeting interesting and friendly local people, stay for longer periods of time, and have taken many trips in the last three years that in volved spending at least four nights away from home.     

Transforming competitiveness into economic benefits: Does tourism stimulate economic growth in more competitive destinations?

This research note investigates the impact of a destination's competitiveness upon tourism's contribution to economic growth using a cross-section with 131 countries. Destination competitiveness is measured with the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, while tourism's contribution to economic growth is measured with the growth decomposition methodology. Results reveal that destination competitiveness has no statistically significant impact on tourism's contribution to economic growth. Tourism policy implications and directions for future research are also discussed.     

The hybrid tourist

Inspired by the recent emergence of the hybrid consumer in the marketing literature, the present article defines hybrid tourists and assesses empirical evidence of their existence. Results indicate that hybrid tourists—tourists whose segment membership for the next trip cannot be predicted from their segment membership of their last trip—are the norm, rather than the exception. Only one quarter of tourists remain in the same motivation segment across more than one trip. Results are similar for expenditure segments. Tourist hybridity exists both with respect to travel motivations and expenditure. Personal characteristics predict hybridity. New approaches of market segmentation are needed to cater for the hybrid tourist.     

Do perceptions of time affect outbound-travel motivations and intention? An investigation among Chinese seniors

How people conceptualise time can play a critical role in their travel intention. However, relatively little research attention has been directed to the links between time perspective, outbound-travel motivation and outbound-travel intention. In this study, survey data from a sample of Chinese seniors were analysed to test hypotheses regarding these links. The results showed that present-time perspective and future-time perspective were directly related to travel motivation, and that the associations between present and future perspectives and travel intention were fully mediated by travel motivation. These findings not only highlight the relevance of time-perspective styles to travel research, but also have specific implications for tourism-destination marketers with senior audiences.     

Turning entrepreneurs into intrapreneurs: Thomas Cook,a case-study

The purpose of this paper is to understand how Thomas Cook can turn Entrepreneurs into Intrapreneurs by: looking at the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators as well as the factors in a corporate environment that are conducive to, and act as barriers against entrepreneurial behaviour. A case study approach was adopted. Interviews were carried out with, amongst others, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in Thomas Cook.It was found that Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs have complementary skills, particularly in navigating a corporate political environment. With top level sponsorship and support, they achieve their goals by sometimes breaking rules. Connecting the Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs to engage with each other, and utilising their skills for bigger and wider challenges, provides development opportunities for both groups. Due to an embargo, the paper refers to research carried out in the late 2000's.     

Which accessible travel products are people with disabilities willing to pay more? A choice experiment

Despite the rapidly increasing number of tourists with disabilities, which is known to have a strong nexus with senior travel market, tourism industry has paid little attention to the distinctive preferences of these tourists for accessible travel products. Using a sample of Koreans with mobility disabilities, this study aims to better understand how they make decisions to choose optimal accessible travel products. The results of the choice experiment indicate that respondents place the heaviest weight on the accessibility of accommodation facilities for their maximization of travel satisfaction. The results also suggest that tourists with disabilities show higher willingness-to-pay values on particular tour buses equipped with more accessibility devices. Based on study findings, this study provides several management implications that help tourism professionals develop appropriate accessible travel products for their clientele with disabilities.