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Publication Seeking to Extend Well-being Benefits of Leisure Travel: A Character-strength-based Exploration(2010) Zhang, Ye; Gao, Jie; Ricci, Peter; Bilgihan, AnilWhile empirical evidence primarily establishes leisure travel activities as largely producing short-living rather than long-lasting benefits on well-being, this study explores a promising angle of character strengths, that can potentially guide tourism experience/service design toward greater and more long-lasting well-being benefits. Focusing on a sample of millennials, it aims to reveal 1) what are the weaknesses and unique advantages in current leisure travel offerings with regards to strength deployment, in hope of guiding the future direction of offerings to facilitate strength deployment in leisure travel and augment long-lasting well-being; and 2) the potential influential factors to strength deployment in leisure travel, to inform customized marketing/experience design to fully capitalize on the well-being-boosting power of character strengths. This study also justifies besides the special tourism types, leisure travel in general also has potential unique advantages in benefiting long-term individual well-being.Publication Education in Ecolodges in Panama and Costa Rica(2010) Osland, Gregory E.; Mackoy, RobertEducation of tourists at nature-based lodges can significantly affect their awareness, understanding, appreciation, and appropriate values and behaviors regarding the natural environment and the local community. This research seeks to explicate and synthesize theories and best practices in environmental education in the context of ecotourism. Using data from interviews and participant observation, it describes, classifies and compares the educational efforts directed toward guests of 14 leading ecolodges in Costa Rica and Panama. Relationships among educational goals and tourists’ satisfaction and views of the educational performance of nature guides are uncovered. Managerial recommendations are provided, including ways to improve the effectiveness of guides in educating lodge guests.Publication Differentiation of Tourism Online Information Channels through Information Search Activities(2010) Wang, Daniel; Park, Sangwon; Fesenmaier, Daniel R.This study argues that since information search activities of online travel planners are outcome oriented, the selection of tourism online information channels is highly predictable. Building upon this assumption, this study examined the extent to which one could differentiate tourism online information channels through the online information search activities of online travel. The results of a series of logistic regression analyses of online American travelers confirm that there are significant and meaningful differences in the core functions of the various online information channels. The online travelers select different information channels based on different needs such as booking, generating ideas. Thus, the results of this study clearly suggest that tourism marketers can develop their competitive advantage by structuring their advertising program to match the information needs of those travelers based upon information channel.Publication Visitors’ Gaze on the Local Living Culture of a Historical District: its Perceptual and Behavioral Aspects(2010) Naoi, Taketo; Soshiroda, Akira; Iijima, ShojiA historical district as a tourism destination encompasses various aspects, including ones as heritage, as an attraction for visitors, and as a living place for the locals. For investigations of visitors’ gaze on aspects that depict lives of the locals in such a district, this study aims to present some of the theoretical backgrounds and the outlines of the potential methods. This study, which is the first step of a long-term investigation, discusses the nature of the local living culture of a historical district and proposes the use of techniques to obtain verbal responses related to visitors’ perceptions, to capture objects of their focus as projected in photographs, and to record the traits of their behaviors. The difference in visitors’ levels of previous visits is also considered as a variable that may affect their perceptions of the local living culture and the manners in which they interact with it.Publication Opinion of Inexperienced and Experienced Tourists on Curaçao Regarding Locally Produced Handcrafts(2010) Hawkins, Mark. A; Rusch, Pamela I.The authors based this relatively large-sample, quantitative study upon Love and Sheldon’s (1998) small-sample, qualitative study in an attempt to differentiate inexperienced from experienced tourists on souvenir preference, arguing that if inexperienced tourists primarily assign meaning to souvenirs that are representative of place, they should prefer to purchase souvenirs that are representative of place and if experienced tourists are more concerned with hedonics, they should prefer non-representative, artistic souvenirs. Data were collected in ovember 2008 from cruise-ship and stay-over tourists on the island of Curaçao and analysed primarily using chi-square tests of independence to determine the influence of level of travel experience. The results were mixed and different populations of tourists were not clearly distinguished by any of the hypothesis tests. Future research that includes a larger sample size, improved grouping variables, and wider separation of samples may show more promising results.Publication Peircean Semiotics and Tourism Promotion: Some Advice We’d Give VisitDenmark if They Asked(2010) Knudsen, Daniel C.; Gray, Amy M.Publication The Effect of Travel Magazine Features and Photos on Tourist Decision Making(2010) Lee, Woojin; Andereck, KathleenIt has been claimed that travel experience is generally pleasure-based and consumed through images such as photographs and stories. It is often assumed that travel oriented publications such as travel magazines have substantial effects on people’s travel decisions, however the influence of these informal information sources has not been investigated to any great extent. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of feature stories and photos in an ongoing source of information, a travel magazine, on travel decisions. For the current study, a path analysis was conducted to validate the hypothesized relationships (Figure 1), which assumes that the feature stories and photos have an influence on enhancing the interest in traveling in Arizona and on the perceived helpfulness of the magazine during ongoing information search, which can lead to influence on travel decisions and evaluation of the magazine as a source of travel information.Publication Segmenting Tourists’ Information Behavior in the Event of a Crisis(2010) Cahyanto, Ignatius; Pennington-Gray, Lori; Thapa, Brijesh; Villegas, Jorge; Matyas, Corene; Srinivasan, SivaThe study examined tourists’ information behavior in the event of a crisis using the Consumer Information Acquisition and Processing Model as a guideline. The data were gathered in June- July 2009, during the hurricane season. Cluster analysis and Discriminant analysis were employed to segment tourists based on personality traits. Three clusters emerged: complacent tourists, risk-adverse tourists, and happy-well informed tourists. The examination of clusters and likelihood of gathering information prior to travel, source information used, and knowledge of hurricanes indicated that the clusters were different with regard to which variables were utilized for information sources; newspapers and the radio, and two demographic variables: gender and ethnicity. Finally, application of the finding is presented.Publication The Use of Modern Architecture in City Marketing(2010) Godfrey, Andria N.; Gretzel, UlrikeModern architecture creates iconic city landscapes that increasingly shape our mental imagery of city destinations. By identifying common methods employed in positioning images of modern architecture on destination websites, this study seeks to further the conceptualization of destination image creation in online contexts. A visual content analysis of 125 European city websites was conducted; each coded based on image size, placement, and juxtaposition of modern architecture to other destination elements. The results of this study point out that images of modern architecture are prominently placed to gain attention and be seen as part of the ideal destination image. However, they are not used exclusively but rather in conjunction with images of other city elements.Publication Packaging Travel on the Web: A Case Study of Ottawa Tourism(2010) Elliot, Statia; Joppe, MarionThe advancement of Central Reservation Systems (CRSs) has provided Destination Marketing Organizations with sophisticated tools to operate effectively in today’s e-tourism environment. A growing segment of eTourism sales is travel packages. To assess the effectiveness of net packaging and to identify strategic opportunities provided by data collected through the process of package sales, the Ottawa Tourism CRS system and data warehouse is explored. Trends indicate the growth in net versus phone bookings, and package versus regular bookings. These are positive trends given that packages represent longer stays and higher expenditures, aligning with strategic directions of the destination.Publication Seeing Old San Juan, PR through the Lenses of Tourists and Residents: An Analysis of User-Generated Photographs(2010) Rodriguez, Mary Ann Davila; Gretzel, UlrikeVacationing is the event where most photographs are taken (Baerenholt et al. 2004) as taking pictures is an important way in which the tourist gaze is enacted. According to Urry (2002), the tourist gaze, or the ways of seeing, identifies what is the “extraordinary” and the “other” in the tourist experience. Therefore, residents and tourists may portray or perceive a tourism destination differently. Using social semiotics as a methodological framework, this paper analyzes the photographs posted by residents and tourists in the context of Old San Juan, an important historic destination in Puerto Rico, to identify commonalities and differences. A total of 1,064 photographs were analyzed for this study.Publication Introductory Guide to Scuba Diver Species(2010) King, Carina; Heo, JinmooScuba studies primarily focused on physiological aspects of the sport. A few studies about consumer dive behavior have surfaced in the tourism and leisure literature since the 1980s. The recreational scuba market is not homogeneous. Hence the purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of scuba diver characteristics and to conduct an exploratory examination of scuba specific values and involvement. The study sought to identify differences between local scuba divers and visitors, and classify subgroups of divers based on scuba specific values. Data ( =377) was collected in the Florida Keys. Results showed that visitors had less years of certification experience but spent more on scuba, compared to local resident divers. Cluster analysis identified four groups of scuba divers - ‘fun-seeking belongers’, ‘actualizers’, ‘inner- circles’ and ‘moderates’. Group characteristics and scuba specific values were presented. Results may be useful to scuba stakeholders such as marketers and tourism administrators.Publication Drivers of Satisfaction with Chinese Hotels(2010) Jiang, Jingxian; Gretzel, Ulrike; Law, RobHotel reviews provide important opportunities for researching the components of hotel experiences and related guest satisfaction. The study presented in this paper explored what factors are generally mentioned in hotel reviews and if and how specific comments could be linked to overall satisfaction ratings and behavioral intentions. Chinese hotels were selected to form the context of the study as insights on experience elements and satisfaction are especially important in an emerging hospitality market. A total of 983 reviews posted by international travelers were content analyzed. Experience components mentioned in the reviews were then linked to satisfaction ratings, review sentiment and behavioral intentions expressed in the reviews. Implications for tourism experience theory, future research, and hospitality management practice are discussed.Publication An Examination of Effects of Self-Concept (SC), Destination Personality (DP), and SC-DP Congruence on Tourist Behavior(2010) Li, Xiangping; Uysal, MuzafferTourism literature has explored some critical concepts such as motivation, image, expectations and the like. However, such constructs as self-concept, destination personality, and self- congruence, have received little attention. This paper makes an effort to address these concepts by proposing and empirically testing a theoretical model that attempts to investigate the structural relationships between destination personality (DP), self-concept (SC), congruence between self-concept and destination personality (SC-DP congruence) and tourist behavior. The findings suggest significant influences of these concepts on tourist behavior. An understanding of what influences tourist behavior can aid in designing and implementing appropriate marketing programs.Publication A Cone-Shaped Typology of Destination Cities in the United States(2010) Pan, Bing; Li, Xiang (Robert)Based on a panel survey of Americans’ travel behavior, this study adopts cluster analysis and discriminant analysis to build a typology of destination cities in the United States. Past studies relied on supply-side characteristics such as types of attractors and seasonality to categorize destinations; this study adopted tripographic variables for the cluster analysis, such as estimated annual tourist volumes, tourist ratios, trip purposes, accommodation types, trip lengths, and transportation modes. The results validated the 11 cluster solution of cities in the United States. The discriminant analysis results in six discriminant functions in which four are corresponding to the clustering variables. The finding could be useful for various destination marketing, competition, and benchmarking research.Publication Cognitive Age and Tourism Behavior: An Alternative Segmentation Tool(2010) Naar, Jill; Schneider, PaigePublication Night-time Activities and Attractions: Differences in Preferences and Participation between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Travellers(2010) Yun, Dongkoo; Chung, Seung-HoonThe purposes of this study were to identify differences between three national groups (Chinese, Korean, and Japanese) using preferred night-time activities and attractions and preferred night- time travel options and to examine differences in night-time activities participated in while in a particular destination (Jeju Island, South Korea) and in ratings of overall quality and satisfaction between the three national groups. The results demonstrated that the significant differences found in preferred night-time activities and attractions, preferred type of travel options, night-time activities participated in, and overall quality and satisfaction with experiencing night-time activities and attractions in Jeju Island. On the basis of the results, it is apparent that travellers from different countries of origin are not homogenous and thus differentiated marketing strategies need to be applied according to nationality, both in terms of promotions and in product development.Publication Differences in Online Travel Planning: A Rural vs. Urban Perspective(2010) Lee, Kyunghee; Gretzel, UlrikeThe digital divide has been mostly studied with respect to access issues. This paper argues that differences in use have to be considered as well. It specifically looks at digital inequality issues with respect to rural versus urban Internet users in the context of online travel planning. A study of US online travelers was used as the data source and urban and rural respondents were identified based on whether they resided in a metropolitan statistical area or not. The analysis of the data indicates interesting digital inequalities with respect to Internet use as well as benefits derived. Implications for tourism marketers are discussed.Publication The Role of Interactive Maps and Spatial Ability in Creating Virtual Tourism Experiences: A Measurement Framework(2010) Go, Hanyoung; Gretzel, UlrikeMaps are essential tools for providing information about tourism destinations to tourists. With the emergence of digital maps, more and more destination websites use various forms of digital maps to help tourists orient themselves before they even reach the destination. Based on psychology and virtual reality literature, this study constructs a framework to measure how the different types of digital maps affect potential tourists’ ability to explore the space represented in the maps. In addition, the study explores how individual characteristics of the tourists such as spatial ability and evaluations of the maps such as perceived interactivity and perceived user control affect virtual experiences of the space presented in the map. An experiment was conducted to test the measures and obtain preliminary findings regarding variations in the constructs based on the type of map used.Publication Textual and Visual Information in Ewom: A Gap between Information Search and Diffusion(2010) Lee, Geunhee; Tussyadiah, Iis P.n an attempt to better understand the important role of visual information in eWOM, this paper aims to examine the gap between travel-related information search and diffusion by online users. Descriptive analysis is used to examine the types of information combination that are perceived as powerful and influential by potential travelers and contributed by experience travelers. Several t-tests and one-way A OVA are also conducted to investigate various differences (e.g., individual preference for information combination, information combination selection for each of eWOM diffusion venues). The survey result finds that, as people rely more on Internet information for their future travel, potential travelers perceive information with textual and visual information (i.e., photos and videos) in conjunction more powerful and influential for their travel motivation formation than text-only information. On the other hand, while text and photo combined information ranks still high in their information contribution, substantial rate of experienced travelers tends to contribute text-only information as well. The reasons for this gap and individual differences behind their information choices are examined. Some managerial suggestions for each eWOM diffusion venue are also suggested.