Chris RyanThe University of Waikato · Waikato Management School
Chris Ryan
B.Sc (Econ) Hons, M.Ed, Ph.D,
About
367
Publications
245,695
Reads
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19,345
Citations
Introduction
Additional affiliations
September 1998 - present
Position
- Professor
Description
- The unit undertakes work with Chinese colleagues in China and studies Chinese tourists in NZ In 2017, we are undertaking visitor monitoring at the Terracotta Warriors Museum with Chen Hui from XISU. See: http://cms.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/cnztrc/Home.aspx
July 2013 - August 2014
October 2014 - present
Position
- Professor (Full)
Description
- Research Unit within Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management - please see http://cms.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/cnztrc/Home.aspx
Publications
Publications (367)
This study is rooted in the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) and the Risk Perception Attitude Framework (RPAF). Utilizing longitudinal data from the early stages and aftermath of the COVID-19, the research empirically investigates how media exposure influences tourists’ travel intentions, mediated by risk perception and tourist concern...
Purpose
This paper examines why individuals start their hospitality careers by becoming temporary lifeguards while aspiring to later promotion. It reports data from young people working in one major upmarket hotel chain that operates in the Gulf but has a global reach. This study aims to address issues regarding this often-overlooked career path fo...
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In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the global tourism industry and continues to impact the Chinese hotel sector today. Using a multiple cases study method, we analyzed the response strategies of four Chinese hotel groups – Jinling, Jinjiang, New Century Hotels & Resorts, and Huazhu Group Ltd.—across four successive periods: (1) outbr...
This article explores how generational challenges of resident-destination bonding diversify, evolve, and persist for small host communities. The research analyses two qualitative case studies with distinctive and contrasting contexts of intergenerational differences, migration patterns, and socio-political contexts. Three findings are highlighted f...
This study develops a theoretical framework based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model to examine the formation and determinants of tourists’ satisfaction with online car-hailing. Self-administered questionnaires were used to survey 486 tourists in Hangzhou, China. The results show that the perceived quality and value of online...
The purpose of this study is to conceptualize how learning patterns differ between two modes of museum visitation: free-independent visitors (FIV) and an interpretation-guiding tour (IGT). Based on principles of experiential learning, eye tracking and personal mapping with 32 visitors to an ancient Egyptian exhibition in Shandong Museum, findings i...
Differing from much of the research on overtourism, which has concentrated on urban tourist destinations, this exploratory study investigates the attitudes of rural communities toward over-visitation. Face-to-face interviews with 63 respondents in three of the most visited Iranian villages reveal that tourism creates social, psychological and healt...
This paper presents a study of visitors to the Fuxi Taihao Mausoleum and provides two sets of results derived from mixed methods research. The first is a description of motives and behaviours derived from observation and interviews with visitors. The second set reports statistical data derived from questionnaires completed by 553 informants pertain...
The study examines the evolution of China’s border tourism policies based on the case of Xishuangbanna. Findings show a three-stage policy evolution, namely bottom-up promotion of tourism (the 1990s), inhibition of tourism (the 2000s), and reposition of tourism within broad national contexts (the 2010s). The lei motif behind such policies lies in a...
Daguanyuan is used to assess to whether an attraction based on an eighteenth century novel (Honglou meng) is still seen as an attractive destination by Chinese visitors. The study is based on a content analysis of interviews of 36 visitors to the tourist/film site. The analysis is supported by the use of text-analysis software. The findings indicat...
Valuable lessons can be gleaned from the consequences of preparations made by countries prior to hosting Olympic Games. However, studies about Olympic Games are often conducted before or shortly after the events (Gratton & Preuss, 2008; Raco, 2015; Zhou & Ap, 2009), and thus may fail to address far-reaching consequences of embedding a mega event in...
The study aims to determine the key issues and challenges in wine tourism entrepreneurship and to identify the behavioral, cultural and strategic success factors underlying the development of wine tourism. A biographical research has been used to encompass the total life of a wine tourism entrepreneur in rural area in Turkey named Elmalı town. Thro...
Drawing on data from fieldwork and interviews, this paper reports a cross-generational analysis of residential place attachment to a Chinese destination. The context of the study was the rural town of Heqiao, in Zhejiang province. Findings show that three generations share collectivised aspirations of tourism investment for rural development and th...
In 2005 China commenced significant reforms in the provision of care for those over the age of 60 years. Subsequent developments have created a synergy between (a) senior care, (b) tourism policies that seek to alleviate rural poverty by (c) creating additional employment opportunities and the improvement of medical facilities. However, the success...
Drawing on interviews with 84 residents in Raglan, New Zealand, the study examines the impact of tourism on the lives of those residents. It uses a cross-generational analysis of attachment of place across three classifications of residents – those born in the town, those who left and returned, and those with no prior connection before taking up re...
This study of impacts of Airbnb in a small coastal town in New Zealand was initiated by a need to create housing for those displaced during the summer. The research involved a survey of approximately one-quarter of the households and detailed interviews with 25 local respondents. It was found that approximately 17% of households experienced househo...
Based on research derived from observation, conversations and a survey of 740 respondents, the paper reports data on perceptions and experiences of visitors to the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi'an, China. A mixed-methods research approach was adopted and the analysis involved the use of textual analysis software and statistical techniques including...
This study focuses solely on push travel motivations based on emotional arousal. The study aims to find: (a) the underlying components of push travel motivation associated within a 3S travel destination, (b) the relationships between push motivations, emotional arousal, satisfaction, and post-experience behavioral intentions, and (c) the mediator r...
Purpose
After expressing an initial disquiet about the nature of many studies that are published using structural equation modelling (SEM), a rationale for using the technique is provided. Given the advantages provided by the technique, the differences between covariance-based and partial least squares techniques are briefly described. The argument...
Purpose
This paper aims to present a case study investigating Chinese tourists’ perceptions of North Korea which is regarded one of the most unique tourism destinations in the world.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study reports findings based on semi-structured interviews with 30 Chinese tourists. This study uses the cognitive-affect...
While the notion of farm tourism is not new in tourism studies, it continues to evolve and take forms not previously examined. This article describes the development of this form of tourism on the outskirts of Hội An (a World Heritage Site in Vietnam) as a farming sector seeks to build on a demand being created by visitors to the United Nations Edu...
This study explores the impacts of bicycle sharing and the satisfaction of tourists using such services. Using Hangzhou as a case study and data derived from 552 tourist surveys, a structural equation model of the satisfaction of tourists using bicycle sharing is constructed. Six perceptual factors were identified as sources of tourist satisfaction...
As little is known about guest experiences when considering tourism in countries such as North Korea where there is tight governmental control of tourist activities, this paper examines guests' perceptions of a North Korean hotel. It suggests that the usual criteria of hotel evaluations do not apply due to a restricted choice set, and hence guests...
This paper results from a year-long ethnographic study spent with a group of women on the Kenyan coastline who provide older male European tourists with friendship and intimacy. However, for the most part these are asymmetric relationships for while in many instances the men experience emotional feelings of tenderness for their girl-friends (albeit...
Xi Jinping has set the goal of eliminating rural poverty in China by 2020. One critical component if this target is to be achieved is the effectiveness of village tourist committees, and the article reports findings from a study of social networks and their operation in five Shandong villages. Using both thematic and social network analysis, the ne...
The nature of conferences, trade shows, and entertainments has evolved, particularly in China, to become a hybrid event combining the features of all three hitherto separate forms. A specific example that has attracted attention is the Hangzhou Computing Conference hosted by Alibaba. Within eight years, this event has grown from nothing to be a meg...
Sometimes an analysis of findings may not meet initial expectations. This outcome emerged after a six-month period of immersion in the life of a Chinese World Heritage Site. Both authors are familiar with the site – the first from living in the village and the second from visiting the village on many occasions for more than a decade. The paper desc...
Hiking has emerged as an activity growing in popularity. One reason lies in the significant investment being made in hiking trails by the Chinese government, while equally many Chinese find hiking attractive because trail construction permits safe hiking and high levels of social interaction. This study of 579 Chinese hikers on trails in Ningbo, Zh...
The theory of guanxi, coming from the work in Chinese psychology, has been widely applied in marketing and management academy. Although tourism scholars have paid considerable attention to Chinese tourists, the use of Chinese psychology in explaining the market remains limited. The purpose of this study is to apply guanxi in explaining Chinese tour...
As the editor of Tourism Management, in this presentation I say something about the editorial process and provide a list of common mistakes made by authors that can be easily avoided
By exploring the meditation camps in Nuonatayuan and Hongfa Temples, the paper examines what
motivates tourists to experience Zen meditation in Chinese temples, and how they shape those experiences.
The study is based on participant observation and thus includes material drawn from observation,
informal and formal interviews, personal experiences a...
The aim of this note is to raise awareness about the problem of measurement misspecification in tourism research with reference to studies that employ structural equations modeling. More precisely, this note describes possible instances when the measurement mode has been wrongly specified as reflective, although employed indicators/measures are for...
Mission statements have an important bearing on business and in the airline industry such statements inform and connect international and heterogeneous stakeholders. While research was conducted on airline mission statements over a decade ago, the industry has since been transformed with the rise of new global carriers and changing consumer trends....
Film tourism is a growing phenomenon worldwide. The shooting of popular films and TV series at a destination can be seen as a very efficient driver for attracting tourists. This study focuses on a Chinese film site, Grand View Garden, located in Beijing. As the existing studies focus mainly on Western film sites, this study fills the gap with respe...
In China there has been a considerable increase in the demand for outdoor recreational and tourism experiences, one of which is hiking. This paper reports results derived from a sample of 579 hikers walking two ancient trails in Ningbo. The research objectives were (1) to assess levels of satisfaction gained from the experience, (2) to identify det...
This study (premised on inductive approaches) examines Chinese tourists’ souvenir shopping experiences in North Korea, a unique destination by reason of its strict controls over tourism, where even a self-drive tourist must have a North Korean guide in the car accompanying the driver and passengers. Consequently tourist souvenir shopping can only b...
Hongcun, an ancient village in Anhui in China, is an UNESCO-gazetted village because of its Huizhou architecture. It attracts over 1.6 million visitors per annum. Based upon a simple spatial model, the results of this study indicate that its social carrying capacity is being vastly exceeded, and the consequences are discussed in terms of the impact...
This study presents a general background to film tourism in China. Film tourism is the inevitable result of socio-economic development, especially when consistent with state policies and the development of a consumer-led economy. Based on a representative case study, that of Grand View Garden, we aim to reflect on the development of Chinese film to...
The purpose of this opinion piece is to reflect on the past of tourism research in order to envision its future. In this paper, the history and a selection of current trends are reviewed. By focussing the discussion on the changes in universities, processes of publication and tourism itself, the paper highlights some early scholarship which paved t...
The paper analyzes data derived from an exploratory study based on interviews with 26 Syrian Refugees, indicating how they used past experiences and qualifications to obtain employment in the UK and Germany. The paper also describes in outline a chronology of escape, reaching Europe, traveling through Europe, and finally accessing a new 'normality'...
CatPac analysis of text for Syrian refugees and their re-entry to normality: the role of service industries
As China’s domestic tourism develops, so too many recreational activities are emerging as tourism products. One of these is hiking and a substantial investment in trail development by the Chinese State commenced in 2014. Based on the Beard and Ragheb Leisure Satisfaction Scale and combined with measures of the characteristics of hiking, this paper...
As China's domestic tourism develops, so too many recreational activities are emerging as 11 tourism products. One of these is hiking and a substantial investment in trail development by 12 the Chinese State commenced in 2014. Based on the Beard and Ragheb Leisure Satisfaction 13 Scale and combined with measures of the characteristics of hiking, th...
Due to a limited brand presence and other issues, many Chinese second and third tier cities find it hard to compete with larger cities to attract, host, and promote mega-events. The purpose of this study is to understand the gap between the large and medium-sized cities and find how the smaller cities may develop their own product potential in the...
The paper examines the political and social realities of China pertaining to its pro-poor rural tourism policies. It provides a discussion of those policies by drawing on an analysis of changes in the village of Qiyunshan, which is being developed as a tourist destination by the Huangshan authorities. It contextualises the wider policies of current...
This paper explores the nature of sex tourism on the Kenyan coast. Based on a study of women offering 'romantic' experiences to international tourists in the beach towns of Mombasa and Malindi, the research suggests that these women are motivated by the desire to have a better life that only a mzungu (white foreigner) can provide. The study further...
The paper serves as an introduction to this special issue reporting research findings previously published in China's leading tourism journal, Tourism Tribune. It describes the origins of the initial decision to undertake the project, the difficulties experienced, but more importantly comments on the papers. Such comments draw attention to the diff...
Any tourist evaluation of place is partly shaped by the tourist’s own culture, and this may be even more so when the site gazed upon is representative of a different culture and/or heritage. However, this article suggests that differences of evaluations may be overemphasized if the research concentrates solely on the variable of nationality. The ph...
Adopting Goffman's (1959) theories about presentation in daily life, this paper discusses the use of the culture of marginalised peoples whose very marginality forms the focus and subject of a tourist gaze and tourism development. This paper (a) examines to what extent Goffman's theory (1959) regarding presentation of self in daily life can be appl...
Due to a limited brand presence and other issues, many Chinese second and third tier cities find it hard to compete with larger cities to attract, host and promote mega-events. The purpose of this study is to understand the gap between the large and medium sized cities and find how the smaller cities may develop their own product potential in the M...
The book adds to our canon of knowledge about social conflict and collaboration in tourism development as well as impacts of tourism on disadvantaged ethnic communities in China.The combination of ethnographic description and sociologically-oriented analysis, drawing upon both Chinese and western paradigms that are, at times very different in their...
Research on motivations and perceptions of tourists at a cultural heritage site is not rare but the personal and aesthetic context of visitors’ experiences have been neglected in much of the literature on cultural tourist attraction management. Using qualitative methods, this study explores the nature of demand for heritage tourism with particular...
This paper describes the findings of research into the travel patterns of 264 University students at a university in New Zealand. The number of overseas Chinese students studying in New Zealand in 2002 is estimated to be about 15,000. The paper finds relatively high levels of independent travel by the sample. They tend to travel in groups, by priva...
Chaos and complexity theory implies a holistic, evolutionary systems approach to tourism. This paper discusses the key elements of chaos theory and provides a brief description of how chaos and complexity theory has been discussed and applied in tourism research with specific reference to regional tourism organizations in New Zealand. The New Zeala...
This paper analyses ‘top of the mind’ evaluations of respondents who had visited three cultural heritage sites in New Zealand. Unlike many studies, this paper reports data derived from answers written to open-ended questions. The research sought to assess to what extent respondents are purposeful seekers of knowledge, or alternatively are simply se...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to provide a personal view of changes and trends in hospitality research since the formation of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Research, and the context of those changes.
Design/methodology/approach
– A micro-auto-ethnographic approach is used based on observation and experiences of the...
This paper argues that tourist experiences are essentially individualistic, although it is possible to discern consensual realties. It follows the viewpoint that positivistic research methodologies contain limitations in not being able to de®ne the nature of individual tourist experience, and suggests that phenomenographic analysis may be one appro...
This paper defines marginality and uses it to situate a discussion on the nature of tourism in the South Pacific. Small size, a limited resource base and globalization continue to reinforce the marginalization of the island nation states. This applies not only to airline routes, but also to the development of cyber networks. Parallels are drawn bet...
Given that a post-modern perspective of tourism has introduced a new gaze of the destination as a construction of both visitor perception and supplier corn modification, the language of cultural compression and place displacement has become commonplace. It has almost become a cliche to argue that tourism deconstructs history, fact and fantasy to re...
The purpose of this paper is to offer a review of past literature relating to ways in which the ‘tourist experience’ has been conceptualized. The paper includes theories of importance-evaluation, confirmation-disconfirmation, flow and involvement, among others. The implications of these different approaches for the adoption of any research method a...
This paper examines the statistical significance of socio-demographic variables with reference to perception of Australia as a tourist destination among a sample of 675 West Malaysians. To the variables of age, gender, educational attainment, and household income are added the variables of ethnicity, reflecting Malaysia's Malay, Chinese and Indian...
This section has been specifically introduced to include findings of special significance and problem areas of subtle nuances in tourism research. Insightful contributions presenting the state-of-the-art preferably from the developing societies will be appreciated. It will also encourage scholars and authors to think against the grain, probing the...
In the contemporary competitive and globally connected marketplace, factors that guaranteed business success in the past may be of limited relevance in the future. Within the paradigms of today’s business, many successful operators continually introduce new products and services to maintain their market leadership position. Whilst firms in the tour...
While there exists an abundant literature on the way religious sites deal with tourists, little has been written specifically on how Buddhist monasteries visited by large numbers of believers and nonbelievers strive to preserve their physical fabric and atmosphere of sanctity. This article describes and analyzes how the resident monastic orders of...
The paper examines a film site of heritage value based on literary values and Chinese 'Redology'. Recreational use by local residents adds to the ambience for tourists and contributes to a sense of authenticity. Residential users create insights into site attractiveness and recommendations for tourism managers. Conceptually the paper addresses the...
Using tourism as an instrument to reduce poverty is an increasingly common policy in
developing countries. Based on a case study in China, this paper analyses the effects of
tourism on the incomes of a poor community through the use of a survey replicating an
earlier work in the same area supported by secondary data sets supplemented by
observation...
Heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry and there is also a trend towards an increased specialization among travelers. More and more, well-educated and mature travelers seek interactive learning experiences. Festivals, a fast-growing tourism segments, can serve as a powerful tool to attract tourists during the off-se...
Heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry and there is also a trend towards an increased specialization among travelers. More and more, well-educated and mature travelers seek interactive learning experiences. Festivals, a fast-growing tourism segments, can serve as a powerful tool to attract tourists during the off-se...
Set against the background of China’s changing economy and its rapid rise as a major
tourism provider, this paper examines the development of tourism, and tourism
policies, in Kanas (Xinjiang), an ethnic inhabited scenic area in north-western China
which has seen visitor numbers rise from c. 800 to c. 1 million annually from 1990 to
2013. It uses t...
This article reports results from a survey of 23 semi-structured interviews with Chinese
visitors to North Korea. The interviews examined the motives for and subsequent assessments
of their tour of North Korea. In addition to expected assessments such as perceptions
of North Korea as a unique destination, the satisfaction derived from sightseeing,...
Set against the background of China’s changing economy and its rapid rise as a major
tourism provider, this paper examines the development of tourism, and tourism
policies, in Kanas (Xinjiang), an ethnic inhabited scenic area in north-western China
which has seen visitor numbers rise from c. 800 to c. 1 million annually from 1990 to
2013. It uses t...
Purpose
– This research aims to explore how outsider entrepreneurs maintain harmonious guanxi with stakeholders (especially the government) in an ethnic minority area of less-developed western China.
Design/methodology/approach
– This paper is derived from an ethnographic study undertaken by the first author who lived for 12 consecutive months in...
This study examines how an intention on the part of tourists to purchase items for daily use is determined by their awareness of franchise-branded stores, the image of those brands, and the perceived risk of purchase from non-franchised stores within Taiwan. In that country franchised chains are an important component of the retail mix, and their p...
This research note discusses measurement issues involved in an assessment of economic impacts of a cycle trail based on counts of users with reference to the Hauraki Cycle Trail located in North Island, New Zealand. It illustrates the problems of correctly counting cyclists to arrive
at a gross estimate of expenditure. Double counting can occur bec...
This study uses content analysis to identify the perceived destination image held by Chinese tourists to New Zealand. In this study, qualitative content analysis is the primary mode of analysis, but quantitative methods are used as a support. The findings reveal the main components of New Zealand, as perceived by Chinese tourists, as being the poss...
The term and role of a “culture broker” is examined based on the definition provided by Smith and ethnographic research of 12 months of living among the Tuva and Kazakh residents in Kanas, Xinjiang, China. Here it is suggested that Kazakhs operate as a culture broker by impersonating Tuva in Home Visits. A series of symbiotic relationships are foun...
Using tourism as an instrument to reduce poverty is an increasingly common policy in
developing countries. Based on a case study in China, this paper analyses the effects of
tourism on the incomes of a poor community through the use of a survey replicating an
earlier work in the same area supported by secondary data sets supplemented by
observation...
Questions
Question (1)
I edit a journal, and as many editors would probably tell you, with the availability of software that permits drawing a set of proposed relationships, structural equation modeling (SEM) has become a popular method of statistical analysis. I worry about this for a number of reasons, one being that many authors fail to provide material that permits one to assess whether the use of SEM is appropriate (e.g.did all respondents answer all the items, how was missing data etc handled etc.). My immediate question is whether SEM should be used with non-random samples? There is a debate about this - e.g. are the assumptions behind the use of regression techniques themselves realistic, and I am aware of many learned papers being published on these issues. However I would be interested in learning the view of Research Gate colleagues, among whom are people who actually submit papers to the journals I edit!
Many thanks.
