Where to vacation? An agent-based approach to modelling tourist decision-making process

Agent-based models (ABMs) are becoming more relevant in social simulation due to the potential to model complex phenomena that emerge from individual interactions. In tourism research, complexity is a subject of growing interest and researchers start to analyse the tourism system as a complex phenomenon. However, there is little application of ABMs as a tool to explore and predict tourism patterns. The purpose of the paper is to develop an ABM that increases knowledge in tourism research by (i) considering the complexity of tourism phenomenon, (ii) providing tools to explore the complex relations between system components and (iii) giving insights on the functioning of the system and the tourist decision-making process. A theoretical ABM is developed to improve knowledge on tourist decision-making in the selection of a destination to vacation. Tourists’ behaviour, such as individual motivation, and social network influence in the vacation decision-making process are hereby discussed.     

Tourist narratives about the dissonant heritage of the Borderlands: the case of South-eastern Poland

ABSTRACT

One of the important effects of the political transformation after 1989 in Eastern Europe is the development of tourism and increasing mobility of citizens from many countries, previously separated by the ‘Iron Curtain’. The process of economic and socio-cultural change justifies the debate regarding the future, but also on the legacy of the past. As for South-eastern Poland, tourism has been used as an important narrative tool for spreading, strengthening or weakening ethnic and national stereotypes by promoting cultural resources and performances that enable cooperation and mutual understanding. However, it can also be a source of potential fears or conflicts, for instance by creating controversial tourist attractions and stories about certain historical events. This paper discusses strategies of ‘past presencing’ of the heritage of South-eastern Poland border regions in public life, culture and tourism, drawing on a few examples which show different ways of restoring the memory of the former Eastern Borderlands. The theme village called ‘The Borderland Settlement’ and the historical reconstruction ‘Volyn 1943–2013’ relate to the main myths and the active memory concept that frame tourist narratives and contribute to the reinvention and reinterpretation of dissonant heritage.     

Unethical use of wildlife in tourism: what's the problem,who is responsible,and what can be done?

Wildlife tourism is a huge global market, the revenue from which can promote local livelihoods and tourist education, enact conservation, and improve animal welfare. Such benefits arise if wildlife tourist attractions (WTAs) prioritise ethical deliverables above financial profit, but recent work has shown that the majority of WTAs have substantial negative animal welfare and conservation impacts. In the absence of global regulatory authorities, tourist revenue has become the ultimate arbiter of what constitutes acceptable use of animals in WTAs. Tourists, however, are not adequate assessors of WTAs’ animal welfare and conservation impacts: they lack the specialist knowledge required and are subject to a number of psychological biases that obscure the ethical dimensions of decisions to attend particular WTAs. This inadequacy is evidenced, and compounded, by overwhelmingly positive reviews on TripAdvisor (the industry-leading review site), even for WTAs with objectively poor ethical standards. Our suggested solution is to empower tourists by presenting unequivocal assessments of WTAs' animal welfare and conservation impacts, hosted in the fora that tourists already use to make their travel decisions. We would thereby promote a subjective norm that tourists should consider and limit their individual negative impacts when choosing which WTAs to visit.     

重庆建设国际旅游目的地的难题及对策研究

建设国际知名旅游目的地是重庆市“十三五”期间旅游业发展的重要目标任务。根据重庆旅游业现有发展基础及面临的困难和挑战,本文着重从建设三大国际目的地、打造七大国际旅游品牌、创新体制机制等三大方面提出了发展思路及对策。     

国外野生动物旅游研究综述

非资源消费型野生动物旅游活动已经吸引了越来越多的人们关注和参与其中,而且这种形式的旅游活动从长远来看,有利于解决经济发展和野生动物保护这一矛盾.国外关于野生动物旅游的研究比较系统而深入.文章通过对国外有关野生动物旅游的文献进行梳理,认为从野生动物旅游产品的角度,文献主要集中在非资源消费型、半资源消费型和费源消费型野生动物旅游的研究;基于利益相关者的角度来看,文献主要集中在动物旅游的影响研究、游客满意度的控制、社区居民的态度这三个方面.最后,文章还对国外该领域现有文献的研究局限作了简要分析,并展望其未来可能的发展走向,以期能为国内相关研究提供参考和启示.     

旅游目的地品牌标识评价研究——以中国优秀旅游城市为例

品牌标识是旅游目的地的核心品牌要素,也是其竞争优势的重要来源.但是,目前国内外对旅游目的地品牌标识及其评价的研究很少.文章在分析旅游目的地品牌标识内涵和类型基础上,提出旅游目的地品牌标识评价应遵循市场营销之功能性原则.基于此,文章构建了旅游目的地品牌标识评价的IDCAM模型,提出一个好的品牌标识应该具备识别性、区分性、一致性、易于被注意和易于被记忆之特征.以该模型为基础,文章从信号传递、符号意义、要素组合、视觉要素四个视角对旅游目的地品牌标识评价的具体标准进行了研究,并构建了基于IDCAM模型的旅游目的地品牌标识评价标准模型.依据IDCAM模型,我国优秀旅游城市正在独立使用的149个品牌标识大部分具有识别性,但是区分性明显不够,而且符合理想层次评价标准者仅有31个.     

森林旅游资源经营权市场化问题思考

森林是现今生态旅游的重要方面,我国森林旅游经过10多年的发展,已初具规模,但由于受到经营机制的限制,森林旅游业,尤其是地方性的森林旅游业发展出现了重重阻碍。文章从森林旅游资源经营权市场化,即所有权与经营权分离的可行性和必要性着手,对经营权市场化过程中涉及的双方权利义务、资源定价、价格程序等进行了有益地探讨。     

解说:一种重要的遗产保护策略

遗产保护是一项复杂而系统的工程,不同历史时期面临的主要任务不同。20世纪90年代以来,中国旅游业的高速发展引发了众多问题,如何降低和消除旅游业对遗产资源的负面影响成为当今遗产保护的一项重要工作。解说,作为一种重要的遗产保护策略,有着非常重要的作用。解说能够通过影响游客的知识重组和行为意图,帮助达到旅游可持续发展和遗产资源有效保护的双赢目标。     

少数民族地区民俗旅游产品游客体验质量要素体系构建研究——以凤凰为例

关注游客对民俗旅游产品的体验需求,有利于做好游客的体验管理,提升游客的体验质量,实现少数民族地区民俗旅游产品的可持续发展。以体验经济为时代背景,从游客体验角度出发,在梳理旅游体验质量影响要素的基础上,提出少数民族地区民俗旅游产品游客体验质量要素体系的理论模型假设;通过随机抽样的调查方式,采用因子分析和方差分析方法,构建了少数民族地区民俗旅游产品游客体验质量要素体系,包括产品体验、环境体验、管理体验和个人能力4个主要素;并在此基础上,提出了凤凰民俗旅游产品游客体验管理对策,即打造核心体验产品、构筑完美体验环境、加强全面体验管理和高度挑战个人能力。     

张家界国家森林公园客源市场的空间特征与潜力研究

旅游客源市场的空间特征是旅游地理学研究的重要内容。从数量上度量旅游需求随客源地的空间分布变化,能指导旅游目的地的旅游规划和经营决策。以张家界国家森林公园为例,运用GIS对其国内客源市场进行了空间分析,利用距离累计曲线分析影响其客源分布的因素;最后在引力模型的基础上建立旅游客流空间潜力模型。研究结果表明,张家界国家森林公园的客源市场分布与我国目前经济发展中珠三角、长三角、环渤海三足鼎立的格局保持一致;在此基础上,提出应在保护资源的前提下实现市场优化以达到可持续发展的对策。