2009 TTRA International Conference

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/54679

Now showing 1 - 5 of 70

Are New Zealand Tourism SMEs Ready for the Chinese Market? A Focus on Quality Management
(2009) Liu, Claire
The purpose of this study was to investigate quality management strategies applied in small tour attraction organisations (with 0 to 49 employees) in Auckland and identify operators’ understanding of Chinese visitor’s expectations of New Zealand as a tourist destination. Semistructured interviews were conducted with ten attraction operation managers in September 2008. The results of interviews have provided insights to the questions for the online questionnaire survey which was carried out in November 2008. The survey targeted 252 small tour attraction operators in Auckland. 39 respondents completed the questionnaires. The interview results show the major themes of findings in terms of quality management strategies and tour attraction operators’ understanding of the Chinese market. It was found that there was a general lack of awareness of quality management systems and their benefits; some tour operators realize the benefits of quality certification for marketing purposes. Quality management is not treated as a priority. Depending on product features, industry standards were generally considered as most appropriate for quality control. Small tour operators collect and analyse client information on a casual basis. Staff training is considered to be an important quality management initiative. The respondents showed a limited understanding of the Chinese market and lack of specific operational plans in place. However, the results also revealed that some operators who have had past experience with the Chinese market maintain an interest and are prepared to take actions in developing the Chinese market. The results of online surveys are similar to the findings identified in the interviews. It can be concluded that small tourism operators in Auckland are not ready for the emerging Chinese market. Operators are lacking techniques to apply quality management systems. While interested in the Chinese market, several operators do not have operational plans to meet the Chinese tourist expectations. Education and training are required to promote China as an emerging market. The findings from this research indicate the importance of ensuring that small tour operator owners understand and see the relevancy of quality standard to their organisation. This research has provided some important insights and themes that are worthy of further examination. Similar research needs to be conducted in other regions in New Zealand. Comparative studies across sectors should be undertaken to identify understanding of quality management.
An Evaluation of the Relative Importance of Tourism for Islands
(2009) Bojanic, David C.; Warnick, Rod; Musante, Michael
The purpose of this study was to compare islands and regular countries to determine if islands depend more on tourism in their economies than regular countries. In fact, it is possible that islands depend too much on tourism. A literature review covers the various areas of research regarding island tourism, including economic impact, sustainability, forecasting, and destination management. Data from the World Bank Group was used to form a panel of 140 countries for the period 1995 through 2006. Islands and regular countries were compared on economic factors such as GDP per capita, travel receipts, and travel receipts as a percentage of exports. The results indicate that islands have a lower level of travel receipts than regular countries, but travel receipts represent a higher percentage of exports for islands.
An Examination of Factors Affecting Japanese Tourism in Hawaii
(2009) Park, Sun-Young; Lee, Hye-Ryeon
The Japanese tourist market is a crucial component of the Hawaii tourism economy due to both market size and higher per capita expenditures in comparison with other key markets for the state. Over the past decade, annual Japanese tourist arrivals have decreased significantly off a peak in 1997. This study examines various supply and demand factors, which may be influencing Japanese tourist arrivals to Hawaii using regression analysis. Results show that five of eight variables significantly influence the monthly Japanese tourist numbers to Hawaii: monthly total Japanese overseas tourists, available air seats, average room rates, available room units, and change in security checking procedure. Meanwhile, three variables were not found to be significant influencers: mean monthly exchange rate ($/100 Yen), anti-smoking law, and airline fuel surcharges. These results do not support the anecdotes and conjectures about the decreasing number of Japanese tourists to Hawaii.
Accommodation Accessibility Criteria: Towards Improving Accessible Accommodation Information Formats
(2009) Darcy, Simon
Studies have identified a series of significant problems with the way that accessible accommodation information is documented and marketed to people with disabilities. While research on seniors and accommodation has been well-established (e.g. Ruys & Wei 1998) no research has investigated the criteria that people with disabilities determine as ‘important’ to selecting accommodation and their preference for presenting this information. This paper presents the results of a survey to determine the relative importance of room selection criteria. Once the criteria were established, four common information formats used in the Australian context were presented to ascertain the preferences of the respondents. The results strongly found that the preferred format of accessible accommodation information provision was based on a combination of textual, floor plan and digital images. The major variables affecting room selection criteria and the preferred format are the dimensions of disability and level of support needs. An accessible accommodation assessment template was then developed from the results and the paper concludes by presenting an example of the information provision suggested by the accessible accommodation assessment template. The management implications suggest accommodation businesses adopting this format are discussed.
An Application of a Model of Online Travel Community Behavior: Beliefs, Attitudes and Behaviors in C-Trip, a Chinese Online Travel Community
(2009) Elliot, Statia; Choi, Chris; Li, Guoxin
Online communities have become a popular and influential venue for tourism information sharing, yet little is known about membership behavior. The purpose of this study is to test a new model of online travel community beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. The model integrates measures proven in traditional consumer behavior theory such as satisfaction, trust and brand attitude, with behavioral measures unique to the online domain, such as stickiness. The results of an online survey of 145 members of C-Trip, a Chinese online community, indicate that the quality of the community significantly influences member satisfaction and trust. However, trust does not influence site stickiness or intention to transact. It is member satisfaction that significantly influences site stickiness, and in turn stickiness influences intention to transact. The relationship from online community quality, to member satisfaction, to stickiness, to transaction suggests a service blueprint for site operators to follow.

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