Showing papers in "Journal of Travel Research in 2006"

Destination Personality: An Application of Brand Personality to Tourism Destinations

Abstract: As tourism destinations become more substitutable due to increasing competition in global tourism markets, destination personality is seen as a viable metaphor for building destination brands and crafting a unique identity for tourism places. At the conceptual level, although the importance of destination personality has been acknowledged, to the best of our knowledge, no empirical research has yet identified its dimensions. Adopting Aaker’s brand personality scale, this study aimed to identify whether tourists ascribed personality traits to tourism destinations. The findings of the study indicate that perception of destination personality is 3-dimensional: sincerity, excitement, and conviviality. The study also found that destination personality has positive impact on perceived destination image and intention to recommend. In particular, the conviviality dimension moderated the impact of cognitive image on tourists’ intention to recommend.

Promoting Destinations via Film Tourism: An Empirical Identification of Supporting Marketing Initiatives

Abstract: Film tourism is a growing phenomenon worldwide, fueled by both the growth of the entertainment industry and the increase in international travel. This article proposes a model for exploiting film tourism marketing opportunities. It identifies the optimum marketing factors that encourage film tourists to visit destinations that appear (or are depicted) in the movies. Factor analysis reveals four types of marketing activities in which destinations can engage to promote film tourism: proactive efforts to encourage producers and studios to film at the location, efforts to generate media publicity around the film and its location, marketing activities that promote the film location after production, and peripheral marketing activities that leverage film tourism potential. Results of a stepwise multiple regression analysis indicate a high correlation between film tourism success and one of the four factors: the proactive efforts of destinations that encourage producers and studios to film at their location.

Searching for the Future: Challenges Faced by Destination Marketing Organizations

Abstract: Threats in the external environment and changes in the industry’s markets and structures have challenged destination marketing organizations to change in fundamental ways. The strategic responses to these developments are essentially decisions to proactively shape, adapt to, or passively struggle through a crisis. Envisioning the future of tourism and examining possible ways of reaching various future scenarios are essential exercises in this process of deciding which strategic approach to adopt. In response to the increasing need for new visions of the future of tourism and particularly destination marketing, leading destination marketers from the midwestern United States were invited to participate in a large focus group to discuss the specific challenges encountered by their organizations. This article summarizes the issues raised and their implications for destination marketing organizations as well as tourism research.

Repeat Visitation in Mature Sun and Sand Holiday Destinations

Abstract: European sun and sand holiday destinations that emerged in the Mediterranean in the 1960s are currently facing competition from both new destinations and new tourist demands. One of the main characteristics of these destinations is the phenomenon of repeat visitation. This article analyzes the effect that repeat visitation rates have on the intention to revisit the destination and on tourists’ level of satisfaction. The results show firstly that despite the fact that repeat visitors are more likely to make a further visit to a destination, its main determinant is a high level of satisfaction. Secondly, the repeat visitation rate has only a limited effect on overall satisfaction. The study's conclusions also point to a tourists’ continued interest in sun and sand products, as well as highlight a need for the product's basic components to offer high quality levels to maintain client loyalty.

Modeling Iso-Ahola’s Motivation Theory in the Tourism Context

Abstract: Iso-Ahola’s theory asserts that personal escape, personal seeking, interpersonal escape, and interpersonal seeking motivate tourism and recreation. This article operationalizes and empirically tests Iso-Ahola’s theory for similar tourism and recreation experiences. The motivation dimensions are monitored using scenario-based data for sporting events, beaches, amusement parks, and natural parks. The first investigation used confirmatory factor analysis to explore the efficacy of six competing motivational structures. Three of these competing models achieved superior and similar fit statistics, with one model incorporating the most parsimonious structure. This model gave equal and direct salience to each of the four motivations. The second investigation examined the differences in motivation levels for tourism and recreation experiences. Tourism experiences exhibited higher levels of motivation, particularly for the personal seeking and personal escape dimensions. The third investigation found no relationsh...

Applying the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Approach to Convention Site Selection

Abstract: The convention sector is one of the fastest growing and most lucrative areas of the tourism industry. Solving for the most salient determinants in selecting or organizing a destination for conventions and seeing out their success is an important research topic. This study proposes the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach, a decision-making method based on pairwise comparisons between criteria, to construct an evaluation structure with criteria and associated weights of convention site selection for meeting planners. A case study with a three-level evaluation structure is constructed and tested. The findings indicate that the AHP approach is a useful tool to help support a decision in convention site selection.

Economic Impact Studies: Instruments for Political Shenanigans?

Abstract: attributed to tourists. It is the return that residents receive that is important, rather than only that proportion of the total return that filters back to the council. Economic impact analyses have an obvious political mission. They invariably are commissioned by tourism entities and usually are driven by a desire to demonstrate their sponsors' positive contribution to the economic pros- perity of the jurisdiction that subsidizes their programs or projects. The intent of a study is to position tourism in the minds of elected officials and taxpayers as being a key ele- ment in the community's economy. The effectiveness of this strategy is illustrated in the case study reported in Appendix A. Another approach that used economic impact data to reposition a tourism investment is shown in Table 1. The city was considering termination of one of its festivals because its net cost to the city was $230,000. However, when this investment is reconceptualized as residents' money rather than the city's money, the key measure is revenue accruing to residents, not the city. This embraces expenditures by vis- itors both inside the festival gates and elsewhere in the com- Most economic impact studies are commissioned to legitimize a political position rather than to search for economic truth. Often, this results in the use of mischievous procedures that produce large numbers that study sponsors seek to sup- port a predetermined position. Examples are selected pri- marily from the reports of ostensibly expert consultants that illustrate 10 of these mischievous procedures: including local residents; inappropriate aggregation; inclusion of time-switchers and casuals; abuse of multipliers; ignoring costs borne by the local community; ignoring opportunity costs; ignoring displacement costs; expanding the project scope; exaggerating visitation numbers; and inclusion of consumer surplus. The political payoff of these shenanigans is discussed. The conceptual reasoning for commissioning economic- impact studies is illustrated in Figure 1. It shows that resi- dents and visitors in a community give funds to the city council in the form of taxes. The city council uses a propor- tion of these funds to subsidize tourism events, promotions, activities, or facilities that attract out-of-town visitors who spend money in the local community. This new money from outside the community creates income and jobs for resi- dents. This completes the virtuous cycle of economic devel- opment (Crompton 1995). Community residents, aided by visitors' bed and sales taxes, are responsible for providing the initial funds, and residents receive a return on their investment in the form of new jobs and more household income. It is the income that accrues to residents that pro- vides the justification for a community's bearing the costs that are associated with tourism. The purpose of economic impact analysis is to measure the broader economic benefits that accrue to a community. Sometimes, the cycle shown in Figure 1 is perceived to start and end with the city council. This leads to a narrow defini- tion of economic impact that includes only the taxes and rev- enues collected by local government from the tourism event or facility. Such a narrow definition suggests the council should receive a satisfactory return on its investment from lease fees, rentals, admission revenues, increased sales-tax revenues, or whatever. However, this approach is flawed conceptually because the money invested does not belong to the council; rather, it belongs to the city's residents. Economic impact is defined as the net economic change in the incomes of host residents that results from spending

Assessing the Economic Impacts of Events: A Computable General Equilibrium Approach:

Abstract: This article explores the use of computable general equilibrium (CGE) analysis in evaluating the economic impacts of special events. It is argued that CGE analysis is preferred to input-output (I-O) approaches for assessing other than local economic impacts. The article illustrates several differences between the alternative forms of analysis in event assessment. These include assessing the differential effects of events on the host region, other regions, and nationally and the ability to estimate interindustry effects. The article then shows how CGE models can be adapted to estimate the displacement effects of events, their fiscal impacts, intraregional effects, event subsidies, and multistate effects. The article also discusses how event impacts will vary depending on the extent of integration between regional and national resource markets and regional and national product and services markets and how labor markets are modeled.

Heritage Site Perceptions and Motivations to Visit

Abstract: The present study has two main objectives: (1) to further explore the motivations of potential visitors to a heritage site, and (2) to explore whether the relationships among the tourists’ perceptions of the site relative to their own heritage are related to their motivations for the visit. The sample is composed of potential visitors to Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. The results reveal the existence of motives often ignored in previous studies, including emotional involvement and bequeathal of the site's narrative. The findings also indicate a distinct relationship between tourists’ perceptions of a site relative to their own heritage and the motivations for visiting the site. The study contributes to the understanding of tourist behaviors relative to heritage settings along with implications for the marketing of heritage settings.

Identifying the Success Factors of Web-Based Marketing Strategy: An Investigation of Convention and Visitors Bureaus in the United States

Abstract: American convention and visitors bureaus are trying to adjust their marketing strategy to incorporate the Internet but have achieved mixed results. This study examines the factors affecting the success of Web-based marketing strategies by American convention and visitors bureaus. The results of this study indicate that successful Web marketing strategies require the integration and coordination of three complementary aspects of the Internet marketing efforts as well as favorable organization and technology environment and innovative approaches. Discussion and implications are provided based on the results of the study.

A Structural Analysis of Destination Travel Intentions as a Function of Web Site Features

Abstract: This study used the technology acceptance model to assess the influence of tourism Web site characteristics on perceived Web site usefulness in planning a trip. Furthermore, the impact of Web site usefulness on intentions to travel to a destination was examined using structural equation modeling analysis. Consumer characteristics such as previous visits to the destination or its Web site, online travel-planning experience, and Internet use were included in the model. The results showed that motivating visuals and trip information functionality were significant predictors of Web site usefulness. Web site usefulness was a significant predictor of intent to travel to the destination, whereas previous visits to the destination or its Web site had significant but small negative influence on intentions to travel. The motivating visuals factor was also a significant direct predictor of intentions to travel to the destination, whereas trip information functionality had indirect influence on intentions through Web...

Destination Attractiveness Based on Supply and Demand Evaluations: An Analytical Framework

Abstract: This article presents a model to explain and measure the determinants of tourism attractiveness of a destination by measuring supply-and-demand indicators. The guiding principle of this study is that the overall tourism attractiveness of a destination depends on the relationship between the availability of existing attractions and the perceived importance of such attractions. The method used qualitative and quantitative statistical analysis to inventory, group, and measure the existing attraction portfolio and its perceived importance. The findings confirmed that tourism regions are not created equal and reveal significant spatial differences in terms of resource availability and actual perception of these resources. The proposed framework could be used as a decision-making tool in planning, marketing, and developing appropriate resource allocation strategies.

Tourism Demand Forecasting: A Time Varying Parameter Error Correction Model:

Abstract: The advantages of error correction models (ECMs) and time varying parameter (TVP) models have been discussed in the tourism forecasting literature. These models are now combined to give a new single-equation model, the time varying parameter error correction model (TVP-ECM), which is applied for the first time in the context of tourism demand forecasting. The empirical study focuses on tourism demand, measured by tourism spending per capita, by UK residents for 5 key Western European destinations. Based on the discussion of how the series considered related to most, the empirical results show that the TVP-ECM can be expected to outperform a number of alternative econometric and time series models in forecasting the demand for tourism. By measuring performance in terms of the accuracy of the forecasts of growth (rates of change) and showing that TVP-ECM performs very well for this as well as conventional assessment of the level of demand in this study, it is suggested that forecasters of tourism demand levels and growth rates can feel comfortable using TVP-ECM given that it is expected to perform well.

Environmental Concern and Knowledge of Ecotourism among Three Groups of Swedish Tourists

Abstract: The present study is aimed at investigating whether eco-tourists are more ecologically oriented than nature tourists and city tourists. In questionnaire surveys, in line with the hypotheses, the ecotourists expressed more general environmental beliefs than the nature tourists, who, in turn, had more pro-environmental beliefs than the city tourists. Similar results were found in the attitudes the three groups of tourists had toward the impacts of tourism on local people. The eco-tourists and the nature tourists also reported a more pro-environmental behavior than the city tourists. The ecotourists and nature tourists, did not, however, differ in this respect. In all three groups, knowledge about ecotourism was limited and mainly associated with ecologically sound tourism. The application of Stern and colleagues’ schematic causal model of environmental concern proved to be useful, and implications for the tourism industry can be derived.

Segmenting Markets by Travel Expenditure Patterns: The Case of International Visitors to Australia

Abstract: This article addresses the issue of segmenting markets according to drivers of travel expenses, exemplified by the case of international visitors to Australia and modeled by means of hedonic (log-linear) regression. Based on characteristics of a trip (number of travel companions from the same household, duration of trip, and choice of type of accommodation) as well as the reason for travel and influences to come to Australia, the overall expenditure for a trip is estimated by log-linear regression. The results (all ceteris paribus) reveal that visitors from mature markets, most of them in Europe, tend to spend approximately 20% to 30% less on a trip to Australia than those from less mature markets, most of them in Asia. Attending conferences as a delegate, visitation to rural areas such as the outback, and travel aimed at enjoying local food and beverages are associated with higher spending compared to other reasons for visiting Australia. In contrast, (commoditized) beach holidays and visitation to event...

Reference Group Influences among Chinese Travelers

Abstract: Interpersonal influence is known to contribute to an individual's psychological formation (e.g., personal value, norm, attitude, perception). Reference group influence in the services sector, however, has received limited attention, with most works conducted in the setting of tangible products, not of services. In particular, reference group influences are exerted on a traveler when communication among group members provides the opportunity to share direct experiences of others about a particular destination or service and/or induces the selection of a destination or other travel services. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to segment travelers based on their perceptions of various reference groups'influences about visiting Hong Kong as a destination and to profile each segment according to travelers' benefits sought, attitudes, behaviors, and sociodemographic characteristics. A Two Step ® cluster analysis generated three distinctive segments with different benefits sought, perceived behavioral contr...

An Assessment of Visitor Expenditure Methods and Models

Abstract: There has been a great deal of research devoted to estimating visitor expenditures in countries, regions, cities, and other areas as related to specific events. Such estimates are essential for producing comprehensive estimates of tourism’s economic benefits in an area. This review of methods used to estimate visitor expenditures applies definitions of relevant concepts developed by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) to promote standardization and quality in tourism statistics. Three contexts are identified for visitor-expenditure studies: occasion, venue, and time frame. Occasion recognizes the visitor-expenditure studies that have focused on annual visitor expenditures in a study area in contrast to those focusing on visitor expenditures associated with a given event. The latter occasion raises a number of issues regarding what constituted qualified visitors and qualified expenditures. Relevance, coverage, and accuracy principles are applied from the literature to assess 11 methods and models. Guidanc...

The Impact of 9/11 and Other Terrible Global Events on Tourism in the United States and Hawaii:

Abstract: This article reviews recent trends in travel and tourism in the United States and Hawaii to ascertain how the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and subsequent terrible global events affected tourism flows. United States tourism has not recovered fully from 9/11 and other international shocks; indeed, recovery may be a long way off. By contrast, Hawaii tourism is enjoying robust growth in the aftermath of 9/11 as growth in tourist arrivals from the mainland has offset declines in international visitors. We suggest that Hawaii’s current tourism boom is explained in part by the diversion of United States travel from foreign travel. The article demonstrates the usefulness of vector error correction models to generate dynamic visitor forecasts, which we use to determine whether tourism in Hawaii has recovered fully from 9/11 and other terrible international events. The article considers policy options for facilitating the recovery of international tourism to the United States.

The Utilization of Critical Incident Technique to Examine Cruise Passengers’ Repurchase Intentions

Abstract: Recent passenger figures suggest that although the cruise industry is growing, so is the competition. This growth has made it imperative for the industry to retain its current clientele to thrive. Research has revealed that service experiences can be severely altered, either positively or negatively, by one single “moment of truth.” This study examined cruise passengers’ moments of truth using critical incident technique to better understand cruise passengers’ overall satisfaction, perceived value, word of mouth, and repurchase intentions. Results imply that analyzing critical incidents can be an effective management tool for cruise line management and that these “moments of truth” are relevant to visitor retention. It was also found that negative incidents have a much greater effect on cruise passengers’ post hoc cruise evaluations than positive incidents. Opportunities for future research are also discussed.

Likelihood of Cruise Ship Passenger Return to a Visited Port: The Case of Bar Harbor, Maine:

Abstract: Cruise ship visits provide an often overlooked benefit of showcasing port communities to thousands of potential repeat tourists. Using data from a survey conducted in 2002, this study examines the factors that affect a cruise ship passenger's intention of returning to Bar Harbor, Maine. Survey results indicate that one-third of the respondents plan to return to town in the two years following their cruise ship visit. Empirical results suggest that the distance between a respondent's place of residence and Bar Harbor has a negative effect on the likelihood of return. The total number of visits a passenger has made to Bar Harbor and the amount of time spent in port during the one-day visit have a positive effect on the likelihood of return. Finally, household income and the experience of taking a cruise-line-sponsored tour do not have a significant effect on a passenger's intention of returning to a visited port.

Reflections on Measuring Recreation and Travel Spending

Abstract: This article reviews problems encountered in using visitor surveys to measure travel spending. Lack of consistency in question wording, spending categories, and units of analysis makes it difficult to compare results across studies. Spending results can be quite sensitive to a number of data-handling issues, in particular, the treatment of outliers, contaminants, and missing spending data. It is recommended that spending averages be estimated for narrowly defined visitor segments so they can be validated with engineering approaches and common sense. Further research evaluating alternative designs for measuring spending is needed to address a host of methodological issues.

Collecting and Using Visitor Spending Data

Abstract: Visitor spending is a necessary component of economic-impact analysis, but detailed expenditure categories rarely are reported and used as tools for marketing and policy decisions. This article shows that spending by visitors attracted to Montana’s natural resources accounted for 76% of traveler spending in the state. Average daily spending by visitors primarily attracted to fishing was the highest per-group per-trip expenditure ($1,641.26) and the longest length of stay (9.3 nights), with fishing outfitters and guides receiving the largest share of these visitors’ dollars. Visitors attracted to Glacier National Park had the highest total contribution of dollars to the state. Implications of the study suggest that conservation of Montana’s natural resources is paramount to a thriving tourism industry. Policies and regulations related to waterways, mountain view sheds, and open space need to reflect the important economic contribution of what attracts visitors to the state.

Tourist Memory Distortion

Abstract: Tourists' memories of prior vacation experiences are an important source of information as they, their family, and their friends make future travel plans. However, those memories may be distorted by other types of information to which the tourists are exposed after they visit, such as advertising and other tourists' memory stories. In the present article, we utilize the false memory paradigm from cognitive psychology to assess whether external information sources can distort how tourists remember their own past. We end with a discussion of the implications of our results for tourism research and propose some future areas for investigation.

Forecasting Short Time-Series Tourism Demand with Artificial Intelligence Models:

Abstract: This study examines the forecast accuracy of fuzzy time series and grey theory in predicting annual U.S. tourist arrivals. The performance of the two artificial intelligence (AI) models is compared to that of two simple methods—double moving average and double exponential smoothing. The rigorous testing approach includes a large sample stratified to adequately represent four generic trend patterns: a rolling short-term forecast, a large holdout sample, models fitting with both equal number of years and optimal number of years, and tests of statistical significance using Wilcoxon’s signed-ranks nonparametric test. This study’s findings indicate, in contrast to recent findings, that the complicated models are not likely to generate a more accurate forecast than the simple traditional models. Given the notable cost associated with these AI forecasting methods, our finding of no significant accuracy advantage suggests that tourism forecasters should not rush to adopt these two methods without careful consider...

Tourism’s Forward and Backward Linkages

Abstract: This article proposes linkage analysis as a complement to the traditional tourism-impact analysis to examine tourism’s economic imprints on a destination’s economy. The starting point of tourism-impact analysis is final demand; impact analysis measures the direct and indirect impacts of tourist spending on the local economy. The starting point of linkage analysis is the tourism sector; the analysis examines the strengths of the inter-sectoral forward (FL) and backward (BL) relationships between the tourism sector and the nontourism industries. The FL measures the relative importance of the tourism sector as supplier to nontourism industries in the economy, whereas the BL measures its relative importance as demander. Directly applying conventional linkage analysis to tourism is not straightforward because tourism is not a defined industry. Thus, we develop a methodology to calculate tourism’s forward and backward linkages using national, regional, or local input-output tables and demonstrate its utility by...

The Economic Impacts of Tourism: A Special Issue

Abstract: Economic impact analysis is a broad category of analytic methods including some of the most common tools for travel and tourism planning. The consensus of recent work appears to be that economic impact analysis can be an important element of the tourism planner’s toolbox but also can be subject to considerable risk of misuse and misinterpretation. This article highlights many of the issues involved in the appropriate use and interpretation of economic impact analysis and summarizes the contributions of articles included in this special issue. These articles address a wide range of topics, including the measurement of benefits and costs, modeling of indirect and induced impacts, and the testing, validation, and use of impact estimates.

Effects of News Shock on Inbound Tourist Demand Volatility in Korea

Abstract: This study introduces the concepts and theories relating to conditional heteroscedastic volatility models and the news impact curve, and applies them in the analysis of the tourist market in Korea. Three volatility models are used to estimate the conditional volatility of monthly arrivals of inbound tourists into Korea, and news impact curves are examined in the context of these models. The major findings of this study include the existence of monthly seasonality in conditional mean equations, the existence of asymmetric effects from the EGARCH and TARCH models, and the persistence of the impact of news shock on monthly tourist arrivals into Korea in the estimation of the GARCH model.

Tourism Satellite Accounts: A Critical Assessment

Abstract: Experts faced with the problems of measuring the size of tourism and its contribution to GDP have proposed tourism satellite accounts (TSAs), which focus on a regular stream of financial data that can be compared through time and with other economic activities at a regional, national, and international level. The article makes it clear that in measuring the TSA-based contribution made by the tourism industry to national or regional GDP, results must be adjusted for indirect effects and intermediate consumption (such as business trips of residents). Using the case of Austria and two of its Lander (states), the article demonstrates the sheer scope by which the tourism industry’s contribution to the national and regional GDP is underestimated. Even when business trips by residents are included and thus make for a greater contribution of tourism to GDP, this fails to compensate for the downward bias produced by ignoring the indirect effects of tourism demand.

Visitors' Behavior in Heritage Cities: The Case of Girona:

Abstract: This article presents the results of the study of the behavior of visitors in the monumental city of Girona, Spain. The focus of this study has been the classification of clusters of visitors who show the same behavior. We wanted to define the visitors' hierarchical conglomerates (those internally homogeneous and externally different groups) that will help to appreciate the subtleties in the apparent uniformity of the approach taken to visiting heritage sites. The groups of visitors will show specific needs, ways of looking, and behaviors.

Advancing Ecological Systems Theory in Lifestyle, Leisure, and Travel Research

Abstract: Ecological systems theory and research focus on describingand explaining the thoughts and actions of individuals and groups within specific contexts of their lives. This article applies ecological systems theory to examine the contextual facilitating and constraining factors in the thoughts and actions of individuals regarding work, leisure, and travel alternatives. The article presents the results of a case research study of five Australian households with thought protocol data on these households’ lived experiences in work, leisure, and travel, and learning how they compare “ noncomparable” leisure expenditure options; the discussion leads to advancing macroecological and microecological systems theory in leisure travel behavior. The article includes suggestions for future research and implications for tourism marketing strategy.