Seasonality in tourism has traditionally been regarded as a major problem which needs to be overcome, but relatively little research has been conducted on the patterns or causes of this phenomenon. The paper begins with a discussion of the characteristics of seasonality and develops a methodology to study the phenomenon in more detail. Seasonality in parts of Scotland are analysed in order to test the approach suggested and to determine if the measures proposed are practical. Two basic questions are examined, whether seasonality in tourism in the study area has changed significantly over a thirty year period, and whether there are spatial dimensions to seasonality that can be detected in the study area. The paper concludes that the variation in seasonality over the time period studied is more complex than anticipated and results are not consistent throughout the area and the measures used. Evidence of spatial variation in seasonality was confirmed. The study concludes that while the measures and approach used would appear to have merit and applicability, further research is needed to produce definitive answers and to fully understand the process of seasonality in tourism.

Seasonality in tourism: issues and implications

The family business is a global phenomenon, and is particularly prominent in tourism and hospitality. In many cases, the family business was developed for the purpose of facilitating personal and family goals. For example, in rural areas, farmers can use tourism as a way to generate additional income, thereby remaining in the area and retaining family property. Running a bed and breakfast establishment is a way to mix family and work. Lifestyle, locational and autonomy motives are the norm, but profit and growth-oriented entrepreneurs are also found within family businesses. This book is the first academic treatment of family business issues within the tourism and hospitality industry. It provides comprehensive assessment of ownership, management and family-related concerns across the entire business and family life cycle. Many new international case studies of real family businesses are used to illustrate key points. The book will be of significant interest to researchers and students in tourism and hospitality, small business and entrepreneurship studies, as well as to owners and potential investors in family businesses.

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The Family Business in Tourism and Hospitality

Seasonal tourism spaces in Estonia: Case study with mobile positioning data

The paper reviews progress in the area of tourism seasonality research and is intended as a guide to the literature. The emphasis is on recent advances in this field. Amongst the various aspects considered are the definitions of seasonality, its causes and impacts, policy-related issues, studies into consumer behaviour and approaches to measuring seasonality. The paper concludes that considerable gaps still exist in published research in this area and it argues that the field lacks a sound theoretical framework. It also suggests that adopting a more exacting quantitative perspective might facilitate and accelerate progress.

Seasonality research: the state of the art

Purpose – How do we measure the success of a hotel business? What factors determine performances? This paper seeks to explore the responses which researchers and practitioners have given to these questions in the last 20 years.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the analysis of 152 contributions and uses the balanced scorecard as a model to rationalize the main streams of research.Findings – The analysis of literature shows the gradually assumed importance of the balanced scorecard as a satisfactory performance measurement system. The findings related to the determinants of results are instead highly complex and far‐reaching. The determining factors are generally looked for within the enterprise. Four main functional research fields have been identified (strategy, production, marketing and organization) and for each one main research goals, findings and open questions are defined. The horizontal axis of the balanced scorecard (customer perspective, strategy and process perspective) is the ...

Hotel performance: state of the art

Time series analyses of daily and monthly occupancy rates in different samples of hotels in England over a 15-year period reveal consistent temporal components of occupancy performance. These differentiate hotels in terms of overall occupancy levels, seasonality, length of season, trend and within-week variations. The components are related to the characteristics of hotels and their management using statistical methods and structured interview surveys, and the factors affecting occupancy performance of hotels are identified and calibrated. The policy implications for the results for successful hotel marketing and management are extracted.

What Makes for a Successful Hotel? Insights on Hotel Management Following 15 Years of Hotel Occupancy Analysis in England

Seasonal mismatching of supply and demand and the associated over/under utilization of capacity are characteristic features of the tourist industry. Visitor demands, in terms of the number, type, timing and destination of visits can fluctuate widely over the course of the year, but the supply of tourist facilities is usually fixed, at least in the short term. The result is a range of problems in resource usage, utilization and management. The characteristics, causes and consequences of seasonality in tourism have been thoroughly explored in other papers in this volume, and in a range of previous studies (Bar-On, 1975; Witt, Brooke & Buckley, 1991; McEniff, 1992). In this paper attention will focus specifically on seasonality in the hotel industry. It will seek to identify and explain differences in the nature and intensity of seasonal fluctuations in occupancy levels within a large and representative sample of English hotels, and to extract implications from the findings for the management and marketing of hotels.

An Analysis of the Nature, Causes and Marketing Implications of Seasonality in the Occupancy Performance of English Hotels

Time series analysis of daily room occupancy rates in 91 hotels in England from January 1992 to December 1994 is used to analyse within‐week occupancy performance in the English hotel industry. Two major temporal patterns are identified: one features a midweek peak and Saturday sub‐peak; the other features a broader weekend peak and midweek trough. Both are represented in the occupancy profiles of most hotels. They are used to define a two‐dimensional daily occupancy performance space. The positioning of hotels within this space is explained in terms of location, market and other characteristics of the hotels, in a stepwise regression analysis. The implications of the findings are discussed in a marketing context.

An analysis of daily occupancy performance: a basis for effective hotel marketing?

The UK market for tourism in China

Time series factor analysis is used to identify four temporal dimensions of occupancy performance in 279 English hotels over the period January 1992 to December 1994 These dimensions referred to as reference curves differentiate hotels on the basis of overall occupancy level (RC1), seasonality (RC2), long-term trend (RC3) and length of season (RC4) The reference curves are used to define the dimensions of occupancy performance space in which the 279 hotels are positioned, with the hotels differentiated by hotel situation type It is shown that the positioning of a hotel in occupancy performance space can provide a precise and effective basis for hotel marketing

Douglas Jeffrey

Papers

What Makes for a Successful Hotel? Insights on Hotel Management Following 15 Years of Hotel Occupancy Analysis in England

An Analysis of the Nature, Causes and Marketing Implications of Seasonality in the Occupancy Performance of English Hotels

An analysis of daily occupancy performance: a basis for effective hotel marketing?

The UK market for tourism in China

Monitoring hotel performance using occupancy time-series analysis: the concept of occupancy performance space.