Tom Griffin

Tom Griffin
Toronto Metropolitan University · Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Ph.D, Master of Arts, BA Hons

About

47
Publications
18,167
Reads
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505
Citations
Introduction
I am an Associate Professor at the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. I am particularly interested in Visiting Friends and Relatives travel (VFR) and its implications for resident engagement, newcomer integration, destination marketing and development, and economic activity and immigration.
Additional affiliations
September 2013 - present
Toronto Metropolitan University
Position
  • Professor (Assistant)
July 2014 - present
Toronto Metropolitan University
Position
  • Research Assistant
Description
  • Courses taught: HTT 509 Issues and Policies in Tourism HTT 202 Tourism Concepts HTT 510 Sustainable Tourism Development HTH 706 Advanced Hospitality Management HTR 741 Hospitality and Tourism Research Concepts HTR 841 Research Data and Analysis
September 2013 - May 2014
Toronto Metropolitan University
Position
  • Lecturer
Description
  • Courses taught: • HTT 509 Issues and Policies in Tourism • HTT 510 Sustainable Tourism Development • HTR 841 Research Data and Analysis

Publications

Publications (47)
Article
Full-text available
The desire to visit friends and relatives (VFR) is a substantial influencer over a large proportion of all tourism trips worldwide. Despite this generally accepted notion, it is a relatively recent subject in tourism literature receiving comparatively little attention from tourism academics. This article offers a content analysis of journal article...
Article
Full-text available
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/preprint/Visiting_friends_and_relatives_tourism_and_implications_for_community_capital/25246645 Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism accounts for a substantial amount of worldwide travel, yet has received comparatively little attention regarding its impacts on sustainability. T...
Article
Full-text available
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/preprint/A_paradigmatic_discussion_for_the_study_of_immigrant_hosts/25246636 Personal relationships play a substantial part of many tourism trips, commonly referred to as visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism, yet despite the high volume of VFR, it is a relatively under-research...
Research
Full-text available
A 2 page summary of research on visiting friends and relatives travel distributed at a panel discussion at Ryerson University in May 2015. For more information contact tom.grffin@ryerson.ca
Article
Full-text available
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/preprint/Paid_accommodation_use_of_international_VFR_multi-destination_travellers_/25246666 Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of paid accommodation by international visitors who also stay with a friend or relative in another destination. Design/methodology/approa...
Preprint
p>The increasing popularity and accessibility of virtual reality (VR) presents an opportunity for destination marketers to leverage its strengths to attract visitors. However, VR's benefits over more traditional media formats remain unclear. This paper reports results from two experiments that compared the impacts of consuming destination marketing...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>The increasing popularity and accessibility of virtual reality (VR) presents an opportunity for destination marketers to leverage its strengths to attract visitors. However, VR's benefits over more traditional media formats remain unclear. This paper reports results from two experiments that compared the impacts of consuming destination marketing...
Article
The COVID-19 pandemic had transformative effects on the tourism sector at an unparalleled scale. With the rapid onset of unprecedented travel restrictions, tourists were abruptly confined to experiences in their regional surroundings that led to new and refreshed relationships with local destinations. This paper draws on qualitative interviews with...
Preprint
p>“Visiting friends and relatives” (VFR) is a tourism term used in academic and practitioner vernacular that refers to a substantial amount of activity and is yet commonly disregarded. This paper builds on previous literature that has demonstrated how a lack of understanding of what VFR encompasses facilitates the phenomenon to be undervalued and m...
Preprint
p>This paper considers the use of video as a tool for data collection in tourism research. Initially, the paper offers a review of video as a data collection tool as well as studies in tourism and the broader social sciences that have used video in data collection. A typology of usage is provided that delineates whether the video is created interna...
Preprint
p>The popularity of slum tourism has been growing and is a topic of substantial discussion. Proponents suggest tours bring awareness and economic opportunity, whereas others critique their voyeuristic nature and claims of community benefits. Virtual reality head mounted displays (VR HMDs) have become relatively accessible in recent years creating a...
Preprint
p>The hosting of friends and relatives is an important and common experience. Hosting gives reason and opportunity for residents to explore their community while spending time with guests. For newcomers, hosting brings additional significance due to their relative isolation from traditional social networks and comparative unfamiliarity with the com...
Preprint
p>The popularity of slum tourism has been growing and is a topic of substantial discussion. Proponents suggest tours bring awareness and economic opportunity, whereas others critique their voyeuristic nature and claims of community benefits. Virtual reality head mounted displays (VR HMDs) have become relatively accessible in recent years creating a...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>Purpose. The purpose of this viewpoint is to offer some insights into the future of urban tourism. The discussion highlights the fact that cities are increasingly hosting immigrants who have a growing impact on how tourism is shaped. Approach. This discussion is based on a literature review and a conceptual approach Findings. The number...
Preprint
p>Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism accounts for a substantial amount of worldwide travel, yet has received comparatively little attention regarding its impacts on sustainability. This paper provides an initial discussion that situates VFR tourism within a discussion on sustainable tourism development. The community capitals framework is...
Preprint
p>“Visiting friends and relatives” (VFR) is a tourism term used in academic and practitioner vernacular that refers to a substantial amount of activity and is yet commonly disregarded. This paper builds on previous literature that has demonstrated how a lack of understanding of what VFR encompasses facilitates the phenomenon to be undervalued and m...
Preprint
p>This paper considers the use of video as a tool for data collection in tourism research. Initially, the paper offers a review of video as a data collection tool as well as studies in tourism and the broader social sciences that have used video in data collection. A typology of usage is provided that delineates whether the video is created interna...
Preprint
Full-text available
p>This purpose of this paper is to explore the use of paid accommodation by international visitors who also stay with a friend or relative in another destination, and to consider the significance of residents in regional tourism activity. The study draws from literature on visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel and multi-destination trips, and...
Preprint
p>This purpose of this paper is to explore the use of paid accommodation by international visitors who also stay with a friend or relative in another destination, and to consider the significance of residents in regional tourism activity. The study draws from literature on visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel and multi-destination trips, and...
Preprint
p>Purpose. The purpose of this viewpoint is to offer some insights into the future of urban tourism. The discussion highlights the fact that cities are increasingly hosting immigrants who have a growing impact on how tourism is shaped. Approach. This discussion is based on a literature review and a conceptual approach Findings. The number...
Preprint
p>The hosting of friends and relatives is an important and common experience. Hosting gives reason and opportunity for residents to explore their community while spending time with guests. For newcomers, hosting brings additional significance due to their relative isolation from traditional social networks and comparative unfamiliarity with the com...
Article
This research note unveils a pivotal, yet underexplored, aspect of festival attendance: the impact of Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel. Employing data from a 2019 attendee survey at the Taste of Little Italy Festival, Toronto, it reveals that 23.3% of respondents were engaged in VFR travel, exhibiting higher spending, yet often providing...
Article
Full version available here https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/journal_contribution/Hosting_Friends_and_Relatives_as_a_Catalyst_for_Immigrant_Participation_in_Touristic_Leisure_/25246660. Participation in leisure activities has been broadly shown to have positive impacts on immigrant integration. Hosting Friends and Relatives (HFR) is a...
Article
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/journal_contribution/Is_VR_always_better_for_destination_marketing_Comparing_different_media_and_styles/25246669 or https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13567667221078252 The increasing popularity and accessibility of virtual reality (VR) presents an opportunity for destination...
Article
The hosting of friends and relatives is an important and common experience. Hosting gives reason and opportunity for residents to explore their community while spending time with guests. For newcomers, hosting brings additional significance due to their relative isolation from traditional social networks and comparative unfamiliarity with the commu...
Article
Substantial tourism activity can be attributed to visiting friends and relatives travel. However, the identification and classification of hosts who are most active, participating in touristic attractions and culture, has received limited attention. This study surveyed residents of Toronto, Canada, and segmented them depending on their own activity...
Article
Destination Marketing Organizations use a plethora of media to communicate with potential visitors, including advertisements and product placement in entertainment media. This experimental study compares the impact of playing Far Cry 5, a video game set in Montana, U.S., with printed materials and a movie on destination image and behavioural intent...
Article
Full-text available
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/preprint/Exploring_virtual_reality_experiences_of_slum_tourism/25246642 The popularity of slum tourism has been growing and is a topic of substantial discussion. Proponents suggest tours bring awareness and economic opportunity, whereas others critique their voyeuristic nature and clai...
Article
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/preprint/A_discussion_of_Video_as_a_Data_Collection_Tool/25246648 This paper considers the use of video as a tool for data collection in tourism research. Initially, the paper offers a review of video as a data collection tool as well as studies in tourism and the broader social scienc...
Article
Full-text available
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/preprint/Urban_tourism_The_growing_role_of_VFR_and_immigration/25246657 Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer some insights into the future of urban tourism with particular consideration given to immigration and visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel. The discussion highli...
Conference Paper
This study considers the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) in affecting destination image. Three groups viewed related promotional content on South Africa as either a website, a 2D Video, or an immersive VR video using a head mounted display. Participants were asked questions relating to destination image and advertisement effectiveness. Results show...
Article
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/preprint/Towards_a_new_definition_of_visiting_friends_and_relatives_/25246672 Visiting friends and relatives” (VFR) is a tourism term used in academic and practitioner vernacular that refers to a substantial amount of activity and is yet commonly disregarded. This paper builds on previ...
Chapter
Describing the fundamental elements of research methods for leisure, recreation and tourism, this second edition is updated throughout. Part I provides a broad overview of the research process in leisure, recreation and tourism with a chapter specifically devoted to understanding the entire research process that will then be fully covered in succes...
Article
A large number of tourism related experiences involve a personal relationship between a visitor and resident host. As immigration continues to be an increasingly integral experience for many people and communities, and advances in technology make relationship maintenance more accessible, the traditional distinctions of travel types based on ‘pleasu...
Research
Full-text available
A three-page summary on visiting friends and relatives travel.
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Many tourism trips are influenced by relationships between visitors and residents, and yet visiting friends and relatives travel (VFR) is typically overlooked and misunderstood by many destinations. This paper considers the pattern of travel by those international visitors to Ontario. Of specific interest are VFR visitors in the Greater Toronto Are...
Article
Full-text available
FULL VERSION HERE https://rshare.library.torontomu.ca/articles/preprint/Gap_year_volunteer_tourism_stories_sharing_more_than_memories/25246633 Volunteer tourism has received increased attention from academics in recent years, mirroring the growth in providers and participation. Volunteer tourism is often considered to be a more sustainable and auth...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Despite a significant number of tourism decisions being influenced by personal relationships, visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism has received relatively little attention, with the experiences of hosts considered even less. Immigration is a significant factor in VFR; as destinations benefit from increased touristic activity immigrants incr...
Conference Paper
Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) is a major motivation for a significant number of domestic visits to Canada’s urban destinations. This paper uses existing literature and data to suggest that VFR is understated and undervalued by the tourism sector and operationalizes a new definition that incorporates trip purpose and accommodation use to reex...

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