Enhancing online brand experiences: An application of congruity theory

Providing a distinctive brand experience is critical to differentiate each hotel brand from others, due to the intangible characteristics of the hotel industry. Rooted in congruity theory, this study investigated how three congruities (i.e., self-image congruity, online–offline brand image congruity, and value congruity) influenced customers’ online brand experiences and their brand trust. Results from this study indicated both self-image congruity and online–offline brand image congruity significantly influenced both customers’ online brand experiences and their trust toward the hotel's brand. Extending brand experience literature and congruity theory, this study suggested hotels should develop a strategy that could capture these three congruity effects in online and offline channels because these effects should be key determinants for customers’ online brand experiences and their responses.     

Overlooked encounters: young tourists' experiences at dark sites

This research note reviews the existing literature comprised of dark tourism articles and chapters mentioning children. Publications meeting the search criteria were few. Accordingly, we offer possible reasons for the scarcity of research on children in dark tourism, including the legal constraints when researching with minors, the academic risk in undertaking a new field of research, and the substantial expertise needed to engage children in studies. We conclude with the compelling reasons to undertake such research: to inform interpretation of emotionally provocative sites for children, to understand and mitigate children's psychological distress at dark sites, and to advance theoretical work on children as tourists.     

Tourism as practice of making meaning

In this paper we attempt to investigate how the semiotic construction of touristed landscapes “works” in tour owners’ ideologizing of the representation of Romania as an ecotourist destination. A semiotic framework of tourism as meaning-making practice is proposed on account of the theory of meaning as well as on cultural geography theories approaching landscape. The paper also addresses the ecotourism ideology as background to our study. The semiotic analysis frames the study of signs on levels of significance, along with the theory of intertextuality. The research corpus shows how the embodied experiences, practices and performances shape the significances we attach to objects and how tourism is meaning made by multiple actors, both tourism promoters and tourists.     

夏威夷对海南国际旅游岛可持续发展的启示

海南素有“东方夏威夷”之美誉,值此国际旅游岛建设之际,借鉴夏威夷旅游业开发的成功经验将有事半功倍之效。文章将夏威夷可持续发展的经验系统地归纳为六大要素构成的“飞机式模型”：“政府与市场的中间道路”为机头,是旅游目的地发展的动力源;“可持续发展原则”是尾翼,起平衡作用;“保护本土文化”和“让当地人受益”为飞机主体,是旅游发展的根基;“创新”以及“基于数据的科学决策”是飞机的两翼,为旅游目的地长期发展提供上升的力量。文章重点归纳夏威夷在六大领域的主要工作,并分析了海南的差距以及对其今后发展的启示。     

“旅游罩”现象的实证研究——以九寨沟为例

本文在旅游罩理论研究的基础上,以四川九寨沟为例,对旅游罩现象进行实证研究,以期推进国内关于旅游罩现象研究的进一步发展.论文从3个方面分别分析了九寨沟旅游者罩、旅游业罩和旅游目的地罩的形成原因.研究表明,旅游罩现象在九寨沟旅游区是存在的,业已对旅游者体验和目的地社会文化造成了影响.本文的研究将进一步促进对旅游罩现象的认识,为合理制定九寨沟旅游业发展战略提供依据,也为其他旅游区旅游业健康发展提供借鉴.     

社会化视角下接待业服务机器人对顾客体验的影响研究

随着人工智能和自动化技术日渐普及,服务机器人被越来越多地引入旅游接待业,但其应用尚处于探索阶段。在已有文献和理论基础上,本文依据互联网、社交媒体中接待业顾客对服务机器人的评价信息,以及对接待业顾客和员工进行深度访谈的数据,分析顾客对机器人服务的感知及体验。研究发现:(1)对机器人服务的感知涉及工具、社会化两个属性,社会化属性对顾客的愉悦体验产生重要影响;(2)服务机器人通过提升服务和营造愉悦氛围两条路径改善顾客体验。在此基础上,本文构建了服务机器人影响顾客体验的概念模型。本文从社会化视角探讨服务机器人的顾客体验感知,对服务机器人设计、服务场景管理和体验设计具有启示意义。     

Corporate brand strategy: Drivers and outcomes of hotel industry’s brand orientation

The MNC resellers are vastly competitive and capital-intensive. Based on the corporate brand orientation, the objective is to investigate how the individual dimensions of hotel industry’s brand orientation can improve a corporate experience and subsequently create superior hotel performance and retailer preferences. A model of the integration of the hotel industry’s brand orientation was tested in a survey conducted among MNC resellers from hospitality industry. Structural equation modelling was applied to gain insight into the various influences and relationships. The research makes two main contributions. It makes a theoretical contribution by classifying the integration of the hotel industry’s brand orientation for hospitality industry and from this extrapolate key suggestions for further study. The continuous evolution and economic influence of the hospitality industry require the application of innovative marketing practices.     

The U.S. tourists’ perceptions of destination China over two transformative periods

This study conducted a textual analysis of The New York Times to examine the U.S. tourists’ perceived image of China as a destination by comparing the two periods of January 1980–May 1989 and January 2005–December 2015. The study found a drastic shift of the U.S. tourists’ affective image of China as a destination from being favorable and positive in the early period to being unfavorable and negative in the recent period. The affective image was characterized by the two domains of Exoticism and Sense of Superiority in the 1980s, as compared to the two domains of Ordinary and Negative National Image in the recent 10 years. Paradoxically, such a sentimental shift on the part of the U.S. tourists occurred while their perception of China’s destination attributes either did not change or grew more positive.     

Tourists’ happiness: are there smart tourism technology effects?

The purpose of this study is to develop a research model demonstrating tourists’ value-seeking processes through the tourism services and travel experiences of a destination. The model suggests that tourist happiness is assessed by tourists’ perceived experiences, which are formed by two motivational values: smart tourism technology (STT) and destination value. Despite a large quantity of research attention on destination tourism, the relation between tourists’ destination experience and STT has been less enthusiastically studied. Therefore, this study proposes to test an integrated model with attributes of STTs and destination values that contribute to tourists’ life happiness. The results of this study, from a survey of 191 foreign tourists in Seoul, South Korea, indicate that tourists are likely to put more value on what they perceived from their destination travel experiences than what they perceived from their experiences with STT services when they evaluate their overall happiness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Exploring religious tourist experiences in Jerusalem: The intersection of Abrahamic religions

By considering the importance of religious tourism for travel and the tourism industry, this study aims to identify religious tourists' experiences in Jerusalem, as one of the most important holy cities. By a survey, 848 data were collected from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious tourists. Results showed that religious tourism experience was a multi-faceted construct, which consists of engaging mentally, discovering new things, interacting & belonging, connecting spiritually & emotionally, and relaxing & finding peace dimensions. By using these dimensions, perceived experience differences of tourists were examined depending on religion. Moreover, religious tourism experience was identified to significantly affect overall tourist satisfaction with Jerusalem. The study concluded with discussion of the findings and their implications.