ognizant Communication Corporation

Tourism Analysis, Vol. 5, pp. 1-12, 2000
1083-5423/00 $20.00 + .00
Copyright © 2000 Cognizant Comm. Corp.
Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.

¹Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research, Faculty of Business, University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia 2560
²Department of Economics, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia, 3618
³Department of Economics, University of New England, Armidale, Australia, 2350

The competitiveness of an industry is a critical determinant of how well it performs in world markets. In particular, it is important to pay particular attention to the price competitiveness of a country's tourism industry, compared to that of its competitors, if the industry is to continue to prosper. While previous studies of destination price competitiveness have focused on the tourism industry in aggregate, an advantage of the present method of constructing price competitiveness indices is that they can be disaggregated so as to provide information on a destination's price competitiveness with respect to different sectors (e.g., accommodation, organized tours, shopping, etc.). This article has two aims: first, to highlight the results of constructing price competitiveness indices for key sectors of tourism and to identify changes that have taken place over the past decade; second, to discuss the implications for tourism research and to identify strategies that may be formulated to maintain/enhance a nation's price competitiveness in key tourism sectors.

Key words: Tourism; Price competitiveness; Industry sector

Address correspondence to Larry Dwyer, Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research, Faculty of Business, University of Western Sydney, P.O. Box 555, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia 2560. E-mail: l.dwyer@uws.edu.au

¹National Laboratory for Tourism and eCommerce, Department of Leisure Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820
²Best Buy Co., Inc., Eden Prairie, MN

The goal of this study was to examine the structure of the trip decision-making process and to explore how travel decisions evolve during the course of trip planning. The results indicate that the travel decision-making/planning process can be decomposed into a number of constituent "subdecisions" or facets. Explication of these component parts seems to indicate three basic levels of decisions: (1) core decisions, which are planned in detail well in advance of the trip; (2) secondary decisions, which appear to be considered prior to the trip but "flexible" to accommodate the possibility of change; and (3) en route decisions, which are, in the main, not considered until the traveler is actually en route and actively seeking alternatives. Decisions made in an earlier stage appear to condition decisions made in later stages. However, the relationships among component decisions at each level are undetermined and should be explored in future studies. In addition, relationships between level and detail of the trip and a variety of independent variables such as trip length and type and knowledge level should be examined.

Key words: Travel planning; Decision-making process; Decision net; Trip profile; Tourism marketing

Address correspondence to Daniel R. Fesenmaier, Professor and Director, National Laboratory for Tourism and eCommerce, Department of Leisure Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820. E-mail: drfez@uiuc.edu

¹Washington State University, Swill Center Campus
²Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Globalization occupies an increasingly dominant role in tourism and hospitality development. Thus, interest in conducting global research with consumers from multiple cultures is a natural direction for researchers involved with the hospitality and tourism industries. This article identifies and explains the criteria that are necessary to establish validity in multicultural research projects. The article emphasizes those areas where procedural specifications have been established to address the concerns unique to conducting comparative research across cultures and nations. Topics addressed include conceptual and functional equivalence, instrument development, sampling techniques, and data analysis.

Key words: Multicultural research; Equivalence; Instrument development; Sampling techniques; Data analysis

Address correspondence to Suzanne K. Murrmann, Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 356 Wallace Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061. Tel: (540) 231-8421; Fax: (540) 231-8313; E-mail: smurrm@vt.edu

¹University of Central Florida, Department of Hospitality Management, Orlando, FL
²Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI

This study discusses the relationship between a community's reliance upon tourist trade and a recent rash of criminal activity that has sprouted up in the community. In order to assess the impact of criminal behavior in this community, community members are asked to evaluate the effectiveness of 19 different crime prevention programs that are employed by the city. The general outcome is that city council members, chamber of commerce members, and law enforcement officers have significantly different perceptions concerning crime prevention program effectiveness. This general finding alludes to the fact that community leader collaboration is less than desirable, which indicates that corrective action is necessary in order to avoid the loss of tourist trade.

Key words: Crime; Crime prevention; Tourist trade; Collaborative strategies

Address correspondence to Randall S. Upchurch, Associate Professor, University of Central Florida, Department of Hospitality Management, Orlando, FL 32816-1450. Tel: (407) 823-6119; Fax: (407) 823-5696; E-mail: Randall.Upchurch@bus.ucf.edu

Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060

This article reports on select aspects of the Georgia Olympic Poll trend study that examined Georgia (US) resident perceptions towards the impacts of hosting the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. The Georgia Olympic Poll began in the summer of 1992 and ended in the Post-Olympic Poll in August 1996. All 12 telephone surveys represented a combined total of 9342 Georgia resident responses. Resident support for hosting the 1996 Summer Atlanta Olympics remained strong over the years, although it decreased to a low point (79.5%) in the Pre-Olympic Poll before reaching a high of 94.7% in the Post-Olympic Poll. With regard to perceived benefits, Georgia residents rated the international recognition benefit the highest benefit in all Olympic Polls. With regard to perceived liabilities, Georgia residents rated the traffic congestion liability the highest perceived liability in all polls with the exception of the Post-Olympic Poll conducted in August of 1996. After the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, residents clearly indicated that perceived traffic congestion was not a major problem as originally forecasted. The issues of price gouging from street merchants and the Atlanta Olympic Committee moved to the top of the perceived liability list.

Key words: Atlanta Olympic Games; Resident support; Perceived benefits and liabilities

Address correspondence to Brian J. Mihalik, Ed.D., Department Head, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060. Tel: (540) 231-5515; E-mail: bmihalik@vt.edu