Destination attachment: Effects on customer satisfaction and cognitive,affective and conative loyalty

Tourists may develop attachment to a destination because of its ability in fulfilling specific goals or activity needs and/or because of its symbolic meaning and thus, attachment could be an important measure of tourist satisfaction and loyalty. Despite its significance, only limited research has been conducted to determine the likely influences of emotional associations or meanings tourists attach to the places they visit on their satisfaction and future behavior. This study therefore explores the role of attachment in predicting satisfactory holiday experiences and destination loyalty. Results of the structural equation modeling show that positive emotional and cognitive bonds with a place could indeed affect an individual's critical assessment of a destination and his/her loyalty to the place. Implications of the study are discussed.     

Ministers’ statements: a policy implementation instrument for sustainable tourism?

Consistent communication of tourism policies by tourism ministers might raise public and industry awareness and promote support for sustainable tourism. The statements made by ministers contain messages that can inform the public and industry stakeholders, and potentially, these statements can draw attention to sensitive issues and bring about changes in practices that encourage sustainability in the tourism industry. Analyzing the statements of the five most recent tourism ministers in Turkey, delivered between 2001 and 2009, this study identifies the ministers’ priorities for tourism and compares them with the tourism policy objectives set out in Turkey's Tourism Strategic Action Plan. Further comparison is undertaken to see whether priorities changed within and between governments. The results of the content analysis indicate that the statements of the Turkish tourism ministers were economically driven and growth-oriented, and that there were inconsistencies between the ministers’ priorities and the corresponding policy objectives in the national tourism strategy. While the period between 2001 and 2009 saw changing governments and ministers, the different ministers emphasized an almost identical set of priorities. Implications are discussed for public awareness of tourism policies and for sustainable tourism.     

Customers’ Assessment of Destination Advertisements with Incomplete Information Interactions among Inferences,Attitudes, and Purchase Intentions

Potential visitors are often required to make judgments about destinations on the basis of limited or incomplete information. Since decision-making rules may change when information is missing, it is instrumental to understand how potential visitors respond to incomplete information. The present research explores how marketing communication containing incomplete information (in)directly affects consumers’ inferences, attitudes, and purchase intentions. The results have shown that when information is limited, consumers are unlikely to develop strong attitudes that will guide their purchase intentions. However, when exposed to the incomplete information, the involved consumers are likely to infer service quality by complementing the incompleteness with their own input, and hence they are likely to develop favorable intent toward the destination. Implications for destination advertising are discussed.     

Centralized and decentralized tourism governance in Turkey

In many developing countries governance is highly centralized. The considerable potential benefits of decentralization for such countries are widely espoused, but less attention is paid to the potential difficulties and dangers. This paper develops a framework of issues to consider when evaluating the decentralization of tourism governance, including its potential benefits and shortcomings. There is examination of the transfer of authority and the distribution of power, legitimacy and accountability. The framework is used to assess tourism governance in the Turkish coastal resort of Belek, notably the involvement of central and local government, a privatized company, and a nongovernmental organization. The difficulties and threats linked to decentralization in Belek warn against an uncritical adoption of such policies.