ognizant Communication Corporation

Tourism Analysis, Vol. 4, pp. 1-17, 1999
1083-5423/00 $10.00 + .00
Copyright © 1999 Cognizant Comm. Corp.
Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.

¹Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech, 353 Wallace Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0429
²Research International, KRC, Seo-Hyun Building. 4F., 1718-9, Seocho-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul, Korea

A study of US and (South) Korean business travelers was conducted to investigate the potential of personal values as a segmenting base for the hotel industry and to see if values segments differed between the US and Korea. A sample of business travelers from Korea and the US was administered the Rokeach Value Survey and asked to rate the importance of attributes used in hotel selection. Cluster analysis was used to identify values segments within each population. Values segments were then related to hotel choice criteria, revealing significant differences between segments and identifying what choice criteria were important to them.

Key words: Business travelers; Personal values; Selection criteria; Korea; United States; Hotels

Address correspondence to Ken W. McCleary. Tel: (540) 231-3262; Fax: (540) 231-8313; E-mail: mccleary@vt.edu

Institute for Tourism and Leisure Studies, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Augasse 2-6, A-1090 Vienna, Austria

Leisure attractions sometimes undergo redesign processes in order to maintain or advance the present attraction level. In this study an excursion rack railway had to be reconsidered basically due to the cost-caused negative profitability. Alternative scenarios had to be evaluated applying three different research methods: 1) a multiattribute attitudinal approach, 2) a conjoint task, and 3) two measures to assess the willingness to pay. The cross-validation of the different measurement techniques using structural equation models (SEM) discovered useful results about the psychometric relationships. The conjoint task appeared to deliver the least biased results. However, the free-rider effect could not be quantified satisfactorily, maybe due to the very particular situation of a product and service that had not been changed for more than 100 years.

Key words: Leisure railway services; Product redesign; Conjoint analysis; Structural equation models

Address correspondence to Andreas H. Zins. Tel: +43-1-31336-4999; Fax: +43-1-317-12-05; E-mail: andreas.zins@wu-wien.ac.at; WWW: http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/inst/tourism/fac/zins

Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Virginia Tech, 362 Wallace Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0429

Information technology is the single greatest force affecting change in the hospitality industry. Everywhere one looks, one can find evidence of how technology is reshaping the industry and changing the very dynamics of competition and customer-employee interaction. Going forward, technology will be the most important competitive weapon for any hospitality company. If hospitality organizations want to compete successfully, they must do so by using technology to drive value to both the customer and to the firm. These are among the conclusions of two Technology Think Tank sessions sponsored by the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) detailed in this article.

Key words: Information technology; Hospitality industry; Hotels; Tourism; Change; Think Tank

Address correspondence to Daniel J. Connolly. Tel: (540) 231-5515; Fax: (540) 231-8313; E-mail: dconnoll@vt.edu

107 Evergreen Drive, Clemson, SC 29631

Tourism development can be the engine that drives the growth of communities. This is especially true in resort communities where tourism is the main industry. It is also a major stimulator of growth in communities that are highly desirable to retirees. Many people retire to communities where they were first tourists. This tourist-to-resident phenomenon has been virtually ignored in tourism research. When planners consider methods of assuring sustainable development and growth, this in-migration caused by tourism must be considered. This is vital because new residents, and particularly retirees who are economically independent of the tourism industry, may have differing attitudes toward growth of the community than other residents. According to growth machine theory, differences in attitudes toward growth from tourism development may be expected among various members of the community. Attitudes can be expected to differ according to the economic benefits to be derived from growth. With growth machine theory as the guiding framework, this study uses the Tourism Impact Attitude Scale to examine the attitudes toward the impacts of tourism development of 287 residents of Hilton Head, SC.

Key words: Community tourism development; Growth machine theory; Resident attitudes; Growth management plan

Address correspondence to Bonnie Martin, Ph.D. Tel: (864) 654-6916; Fax: (864) 656-2226; E-mail: martinb@mrd.dnr.state.sc.us

Urban Planning Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, HG 5.25, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands

The relationship between day trips, short breaks (2-4 days), and holidays (5+ days) has never been examined at the level of the individual consumer because surveys on day and overnight trips are typically conducted independently. In this article, both the stated and the inferred relationship between day trips, short breaks, and holidays are explored. The stated relationship between these types of tourist trips is examined by investigating whether or not people consciously trade off overnight trips against day trips. Little evidence is found to infer that people consider these trips as interchangeable activities, suggesting independence between these tourist activities. The inferred relationship between day trips, short breaks, and holidays is examined by analyzing tourists' activity programs (the agenda of tourist activities for the next year) and by analyzing tourists' actual behavior. Activity programs are examined by means of rank and partial correlation analysis between the day trip, the short break, and the holiday segments of activity programs for a 1-year period. Actual behavior is examined by means of cluster analysis, grouping together respondents with similar frequencies for holidays, short breaks, and day trips. Both the correlation and the cluster analysis suggest that holidays and day trips are substitutes. Holidays and short beaks, on the other hand, appear to be complements, whereas day trips and short breaks appear to be independent activities.

Key words: Holidays; Short breaks; Day trips; Complementarity; Substitution

Address correspondence to Harry J. P. Timmermans. Tel: +31 (0)40 247 3315/247 2594; Fax: +31 (0)40 247 58 82; E-mail: eirass@bwk.tue.nl

Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Clemson University, 287-B Lehotsky Hall, Box 340735, Clemson, SC 29634-0735

The purpose of this study was to examine if an advertisement's emotional appeal was a significant discriminator between respondents who recalled an advertisement and those who did not, and between respondents who had intentions to purchase a rafting trip and those who did not. Previous research suggests that emotional appeal is a predictor of advertisement recall and of purchase intention. Considering that the objective of the advertisement may be to create awareness, hold interest, induce intentions to purchase, and incite purchasing behaviors, the results of this study are relevant to evaluate the effectiveness of services advertisement. A sample of 419 individuals was obtained using a stratified random sampling from the 2335 individuals who had sent an inquiry in response to a print advertisement. A total of 125 questionnaires was received for a 25.5% response rate. The Reaction Profile (RP) scale was used to assess emotional appeal of the advertisement. Confirmatory factor analysis of the scale items revealed a poor fit with the data and suggested modifications. A modified scale presented satisfactory fit indices and good reliability. Results from two canonical discriminant analyses suggested that the advertisement's emotional appeal significantly discriminated between people who did and did not recall the advertisement and between those who did and did not have purchase intentions.

Key words: Advertisement emotional appeal; Recall; Purchase intentions

Address correspondence to Kenneth Backman. Tel: (864) 656-0112; Fax: (864) 656-2226; E-mail: ken@strom.clemson.edu

¹Department of Leisure Studies, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands
²Urban Planning Cluster, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Mail Station 20, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

The aim of study is to examine the relationships between vacation choice behavior and socioeconomic variables. A sequence alignment method is used to classify respondents into homogeneous clusters, based on temporal and spatial aspects of their vacation histories. The relationship between this clustering and a set of socioeconomic variables is then examined using a combination of CHAID and loglinear analysis. The results suggest some interpretable, consistent patterns.

Key words: Vacation behavior; Sequence alignment method; CHAID; Loglinear analysis

Address correspondence to Harry Timmermans. Tel: +31 (0)40 247 29 33/247 33 15; Fax: +31 (0)40 247 58 82; E-mail: eirass@bwk.tue.nl

Department of Management and Marketing, Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway, Pittsburg, KS 66762

Competition among and between entities of the tourism industry has, by necessity, intensified in attempts to create and maintain high levels of satisfaction among targeted tourists. This requires knowledge of the various factors contributing to their satisfaction. This study examines such factors identified through a survey of tourists visiting Bodrum, Turkey. Tourists to Bodrum visited the city for a variety of reasons, the most important of which were to relax and rest, for fun and entertainment, and to visit interesting places. Travel agents and tour operators, brochures, and friends and relatives were sources of information relied upon in choosing the destination. Two factors were identified as determinants of satisfaction: 1) town related and 2) resort related. The results indicated that tourists were more highly satisfied with resort-related factors than town-related factors, and that satisfaction with resort factors was the most important determinant of whether visitors would recommend Bodrum as a travel destination to others. A comparison of first-time versus repeat visitors, however, revealed that repeat visitors were more highly satisfied with both resort- and town-related factors than were first-time visitors. This suggests that tourists must be satisfied with both if they are to return. Further suggestions for developing proactive tourism strategies are discussed.

Key words: Tourist satisfaction; Turkish tourism; International tourism; Vacation motives; Repeat visitors

Address correspondence to Musa Pinar. Fax: (316) 235-4513; E-mail: mpinar@pittstate.edu

¹Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management and ²Research Program in Social and Organization Learning, School of Business and Public Management, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
³Tourism & Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

The Year 2000 computer crisis (Y2K) is likely to have a disruptive effect on many aspects of the economy, particularly the tourism industry. There is a wide range of forecasts of what will happen. Malfunctions could lead to shortages in food, potable water, and fuel, telecommunication failures, economic and financial slowdowns, and failures in national, regional, and local power grids. A number of national travel advisories have already warned citizens of potential disruptions. It is not possible to know exactly what will happen, but enough is known to persuade even the skeptical that preparation may be prudent. Travel and tourism are vulnerable to dramatic declines due to economic stagnation, civil disorders, health and environmental warnings, and terrorist attacks. Tourism will likely be affected by Y2K disruptions, although the industry can also be an essential part of recovery efforts. Hotels and cruise ships, for example, could serve as places of refuge, while tour buses could be used to transport people out of affected areas. Computerized reservation systems could be used as emergency central information and communication systems to locate and allocate health and security resources, accommodations, transportation, and other vital services to and within more sustainable locations.

Key words: Y2K; Year 2000 computer crisis; Travel and tourism; Hospitality industry

Address correspondence to Ginger Smith, Ph.D. Tel: (703) 532-0085; Fax: (202) 994-1630; E-mail: condado@juno.com

*Currently a Visiting Associate Professor for Tourism Studies, School of Business and Public Management, The George Washington University, Washington, DC.

Centre for Tourism, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand

The quality of the service encounter is of paramount importance to the success of the tourism and hospitality industries, both in its delivery and perception by customers. Research into the service encounter has traditionally been concentrated within the realms of qualitative or mixed methodologies. Based on perceived inadequacies with traditional quantitative and qualitative descriptive research methodologies, this article argues for a methodological approach that allows for a deeper understanding of the skills and qualities of the employees in the service encounter without diminishing the importance of the individual, on either side of the service encounter. To this end, the article reviews a new methodology, interpretive description, founded in the discipline of nursing. Based on epistemological similarities between tourism service encounters and nursing, the method has application to service quality research in a tourism and hospitality context. Both are "caring" disciplines that are holistic, interpretive, relational, and practical. Such skills are crucial to the delivery of a service that exceeds visitors' expectations and essentially "wows" the visitor.

Key words: Service encounter; Service quality; Interpretive description method

Address correspondence to Nell Buissink-Smith, 144 Ravenswood Road, St Clair Beach, Dunedin, New Zealand. Tel: 03 4561\2101; Fax: 03 4795498; E-mail: nsmith@commerce.otago.ac.nz

University of Southern Denmark, Grundtvigs Alle 150, DK-6400 Sonderborg, Denmark

A new approach to quantifying bodies of text is reviewed. The core of the software involved (CATPAC) is a self-organizing neural network. It begins with a set of artificial neurons; one for each word in the text it is reading. The analysis is initiated by passing a "scanning window" of n consecutive words through the text. The structure of the artificial brain thus established can be represented by a square matrix of numbers. Each row and column represents a neuron (word), while each number (an updatable weight) represents the strength of connections of the neurons corresponding to the row and column of the number (cell entree). The resulting matrix resembles a typical covariance or correlation matrix and can be used as input matrix for multivariate statistical analysis. A small illustrative study involves a focus group dealing with a holiday cruise. Results are scrutinized using cluster analysis and MDS. It is concluded that the software can be of value for the tourist researcher, provided that appropriate time is dedicated to the analysis.

Key words: Qualitative analysis; Focus groups; Neural networks; Multivariate analysis

Address correspondence to Marcus Schmidt. Tel: 45 79 32 11 11; Fax; 45 79 32 12 87; E-mail: MARCUS@sb.hhs.dk