Valuing visitor services and access to protected areas: The case of Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda

Policymakers and recreation site managers use changes in fee structure, either introducing park entrance fees or increasing existing ones, to generate revenues, improve services, and reduce damages associated with over-use. Increase in park usage fee, however, can make the park inaccessible to certain segments of tourists. Understanding park users' response to changes in fees and its implication on park use equity is, thus, important to achieving a park's full potential in a socially and environmentally responsible way. This information is crucial especially for developing countries, where the issue has received relatively less attention and national park systems are chronically underfunded. This paper contributes to the literature on park access fees by: empirically assessing park use equity between and among international and national tourists visiting Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda, and; developing an approach for determining predictors and mean willingness to pay values for park entrance. Results of our survey-based approach show a positive willingness to pay values for park entrance and fee increases. Our results also show that it is possible to raise revenue without exacerbating existing park use differences.     

Does offering an organic food menu help restaurants excel in competition? An examination of diners’ decision-making

This study aims to examine whether the presence of an organic food menu can positively influence diners’ decision-making. A 3 (restaurant segment: quick service vs. casual dining vs. fine dining) by 2 (price discrepancy between competing restaurants: small vs. large) scenario-based experiment was conducted with 405 U.S. consumers. MANCOVA results indicate that using organic ingredients offers a greater advantage for the quick-service segment regarding perceived food quality, attitudes towards the restaurant, and willingness to select, compared to casual and fine dining segments. The magnitude of a premium price of organic ingredients negatively influences such advantage in the process of consumers’ decision-making. When a large (vs. small) premium price is charged for using organic ingredients, customers’ preferences for the restaurant (over its rival) significantly drops to such an extent that customers are more willing to choose the competitor (i.e., rival restaurant with a conventional menu). Discussions and implications are further elaborated.     

An empirical analysis of green convention attendees' switching intentions

This study aims at proposing to test a research model to gain a better understanding of the relationships among the dimensions of experiential quality, green experiential satisfaction, green alternative attractiveness, green service fairness, green variety-seeking, and green switching intentions. The study's findings are based on structural equation model analysis of a convenience sample of 650 attendees at the 13th International Green Building and Energy-Savings Exhibition 2016 in Chongqing, China. The results of this analysis contribute to the services marketing theory by providing additional insights into green switching intentions, the dimensions of experiential quality, green experiential satisfaction, green alternative attractiveness, green service fairness, and green novelty-seeking. The study's results will assist green convention management in developing and implementing market-orientated service strategies to increase the dimensions of experiential quality and green experiential satisfaction, enhance green alternative attractiveness, green service fairness, and green novelty-seeking, and decrease green switching intentions.     

Managing solid waste in small hotels

Collectively, small hotels constitute a significant solid waste management (SWM) problem. Little research has focused on the SWM practices of small hotels. In the United Kingdom, much of the solid waste generated by small hotels goes to landfill. This study uses a constructionist approach to investigate SWM issues in small hotels in a local authority in Wales and examines the role of the public sector in helping small hotels manage their solid waste effectively. The results revealed that only a minority of small hotels were considering the adoption of sustainable SWM practices, either because hoteliers felt negatively about sustainable SWM alternatives or perceived challenges – an issue which necessitates government intervention. At the time of this study, the public sector provided only very modest services to enhance SWM practices. This study proposes a best practice model for the public sector to encourage small hotels to manage their solid waste effectively, in order to reduce or even eliminate waste for landfill. Local authorities' support is required to make waste management hierarchy options more accessible to small hotels and should incentivise better waste management through increasing the gap between the costs of landfill and recycling waste.     

黑龙江省企业对俄投资风险分析

近年来,随着中俄两国战略协作伙伴关系的建立,高层互访的频繁进行,以及一系列推动中俄经贸合作关系文件的签署,黑龙江省对俄投资规模不断扩大,领域不断拓展。但企业在实施投资项目的过程中也遇到了俄罗斯政策多变、＂中国威胁论＂等不利舆论导向引发的政策变动及在外人员生命财产缺乏安全保障等投资风险。为保障黑龙江省对俄投资合作的健康发展,企业管理者应认真研究俄罗斯相关法律法规内容,密切关注俄方政策变化,做好应对工作。企业应遵守俄罗斯国家和地方法律法规,做守法企业,教育各类派出人员做守法公民,树立良好的国际形象,提高安全防范意识,避免生命财产受损。     

论购物佣金的法律治理

目前,旅行社扭曲的经营模式是以不合理的购物佣金为基础的,这种购物佣金也几乎必然损害旅游者权益.当前的治理方式主要有两种,即立法禁止与立法规范.但两者都没能解决问题,其共同的困境在于:第一,都是地方立法,受限于地方利益的顾虑,执法者不可能严格执法;第二,都过度依赖行政监管,但行政监管存在自身固有的不足.可行的解决思路是在旅游法中赋予旅游者一项合适的权利,通过旅游者有效的维权活动制约旅行社损害旅游者利益的佣金行为.购物反悔权正是这样一种合适的权利,它将迫使旅行社主动将购物佣金控制在旅游者可以接受的限度内,或者干脆放弃购物安排.此时行政监管的主要职责将转化为保障旅游者该项权利的顺利实现,借此形成市场主导、行政保障的治理模式.     

Fairness of prices,user fee policy and willingness to pay among visitors to a national forest

Imposing user fees in Nature-Based Tourism (NBT) contexts has been a controversial issue. Based on the notions of justice and fairness, this study extended previous work examining the relationship between attitudes toward user fees and spending support. In a proposed structural model of price fairness, fee spending support, and willingness to pay (WTP), this paper identified the antecedents of WTP user fees, and empirically examined to what extent the data fit the model. Furthermore, the moderating role of place attachment in the model was investigated by using multiple-group structural equation modeling. Subjects (n = 562) were recreational tourists to a forest area in the southeast U.S. Results revealed that spending support partially played a mediating role in the relationship between perceived price fairness and WTP user fees. A multiple-group invariance test also demonstrated that while the degree of place identity moderated the effect of price fairness on spending support, the degree of place dependence did not influence the relationships among the antecedents of WTP.     

浅谈粮库设计中电气节能措施

在粮库生产过程中,消耗的能源主要是电能,怎样提高电能利用率,降低电能消耗,是在粮库工程电气设计时就要着重考虑的内容。本文分别从供配电系统和照明系统两个方面,就电气设计节能措施进行浅要的探讨。     

对昆山绿色经济建设的冷思考

十六届五中全会的胜利召开,肯定了我国“十五”期间的巨大成就,并对“十一五”建设进行了总体规划,为高速发展的中国经济明确了一条持续发展、和谐发展的新路。我国“十五”期间县域经济发展的典范——昆山,在经济快速腾飞的同时正迈向可持续发展的绿色经济之路,本文从昆山绿色经济建设现有的措施和成绩出发,提出了在绿色经济建设过程中存在的观念、制度、人口、产业结构和激励机制等方面的问题,并进行了有益的探索。     

管理的本质与管理思想的东方回归

管理的主要本质是追求效率,管理学研究的是组织如何有效率地达到一种预期的秩序.西方管理学的中心是效率原则,中国传统管理思想的核心是安稳原则,当代管理的中心问题依然是效率问题,管理学向着东方回归,要吸纳东方的人本管理的精髓,却不可丢失效率中心的原则,否则将迷失管理学的本性.