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Visitor Communities
Abstract
The current paper extends the concept of brand community–a compelling form of relationship marketing-to the hospitality firms and destinations of the tourism sector by introducing the notion of “visitor communities.” The authors argue that destinations and hospitality firms can enhance their marketing efforts by following the lead of sophisticated consumer product firms which have successfully fostered brand communities. By attracting and developing preformed and temporal/situational visitor communities, tourism destinations and their partners can benefit from increased visitor satisfaction and ultimately, higher levels of repeat visitation and positive referrals.
... In this research, we focus on the wider consumers' shared interest on the activities associated with the mega event rather than the event brand in itself, because of the numerous features and new occurrences in mega events (e.g. specific sport results and real-time experiences) and its importance to provide event organisers with insights on how to better manage overall consumers experiences (Levy & Hassay, 2005;Torres, 2017). ...
The developments in information technology have enabled mega events to be experienced beyond their geographical location, but there is still a limited understanding of customers’ online experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine online event experiences and its subsequent effects on customers’ future behavioural intentions. Using a sample of 1,726 participants from four countries (United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa), a structural equation model was conducted with SmartPLS. Results indicate that online content engagement and effective communication influence a custumer’s online experience and behavioural intentions in all countries.
... A common example of this type of usage can be found in articles that describe their findings as offering theoretical insights, but that do not offer a conceptual model nor provide any explanatory or predictive power, such as producing testable hypotheses. Instead, this type of theory may be best described as analogy, such as the extension of the concept of "brand community" from relationship marketing to "visitor community" in the hospitality context (Levy & Hassay, 2005). A relatively well-known example of Type 7 theory is chaos theory, a branch of mathematics. ...
The term theory is used with diverse meanings, resulting in miscommunication and misunderstanding. This article examines how theory, as a word, is used in three leading journals in each of hospitality, tourism, and leisure studies fields over a 20-year period. Utilizing an iterative and comparative hierarchical coding, seven different forms of theory and trends in their usage by scholars over the 20 years are identified. Among the notable trends are: (a) a marked increase in the appearance of “theory” (as a word) and its variants over the years; (b) the virtual disappearance of natural science-type theory in the three fields; and (c) a dramatic rise in the use of theory as an analogy rather than as a substantive term. Implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.
... Moreover, behavioral intentions may also be contingent on switching barriers (Han et al., 2009). For example, visitors may choose to return to a destination in order to establish and strengthen their interpersonal relations with the local people, or with fellow tourists (Kim & Jamal, 2007;Levy & Hassay, 2005). It is also worth mentioning that being satisfied with a destination does not necessarily lead to repeat visitation since visitors may engage novelty-seeking behavior in order to enjoy new experiences and this leads them to visit new destinations. ...
The present study aims to make a contribution to the body of knowledge in destination management and marketing by improving understanding of the relationships among tourist profile, satisfaction and loyalty. Drawing upon theoretical and empirical evidences in the relevant literature, three hypotheses were developed and tested. A survey of 10,393 foreign tourists visiting Antalya was carried out in the summer of 2008 and the data analyzed using chi-square test, independent sample t-test and ANOVA. Research findings indicated that there were significant relationships among tourist profile, satisfaction and loyalty. The paper ends with theoretical and practical implications in predicting tourists' satisfaction and loyalty levels and increasing tourism marketing effectiveness of Antalya as a holiday destination.
... The seminal work of Gitelson and Crompton (1984) on repeat visitors reveals five factors which contribute to the decision to return to a familiar destination: (a) reduced risk of a forthcoming unsatisfactory experience; (b) the assurance that the visitors will find "their kind of people" at the destination; (c) special emotional attachment to the destination; (d) the desire to experience some aspects of the destination that were omitted during previous visits; and (e) a will to expose significant others to experiences that were satisfying to the visitors. More recent studies also found that visitors often chose to return to a destination in order to establish and strengthen their interpersonal relations with the local people, or with fellow tourists, thus granting more meaning and a sense of authenticity to their experience (Fakeye & Crompton, 1991;Kim & Jamal, 2007;Levy & Hassay, 2005;Wickens, 2004). ...
Given the growing appeal of the concept of destination loyalty in tourism marketing, it is highly important to investigate the travel expenditures of loyal vs. non- or less loyal visitors. Adopting the behavioral approach to loyalty, this study examines the spending patterns of visitors to Kissimmee-St. Cloud, while comparing between the different loyalty segments: no previous visit, one previous visit, and multiple visits. The analysis is based on an intercept survey conducted by the Kissimmee-St. Cloud Convention and Visitors Bureau∗ ∗Note. The authors note that the Kissimmee-St. Cloud Convention and Visitors Bureau referred to in this article has since changed its name to the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau. However, in the current article, it is still referred to by the previous name, as it was active at the time of the study. View all notes (KSCVB, 200630.
Kissimmee-St. Cloud Convention and Visitors Bureau. (2006). Facts and stats http://media.floridakiss.com/facts/index.php (Accessed: 20 January 2008). View all references), which yielded a sample of 4,301 visitors. In contrast to the prevalent concept, the results show that first timers spend more than the more loyal segments, both in per-trip and per-day total expenditures. However, the loyalty segments are distinguished in their spending patterns at the destination, when first timers spend more on lodging, food and restaurants, and car rental, and the those with one or more previous visits spend more on gasoline, activities and entertainment, and shopping. The paper ends with an assessment of the contribution of the findings both to the literature on loyalty and to tourism destination marketers.
... This is analogous to visitor communities suggested by Levy and Hassay. 25 People can enhance their interests by meeting the like-minded people and sharing their experiences. ...
Art and cultural organizations are in dire need of promotion because of unstable economic conditions, a lack of systematic support from lawmakers, and a largely apathetic general public. To encourage the economic development of the sector in urban areas, organizations need to identify how people are engaged in art and cultural consumption, how those behaviors are related, and what affects their behavioral. The general public in the Great Lakes States (N=6110) participated in the data-driven Web survey and Multiple Item Response Theory examined the valid items, determined their associations and categorized the items as constructs of measurement. The results identifies how people behave differently and determines which items are valid for segmenting people based on the engagement levels. The persuasive messages targeting a specific group of people will boost more participation in the art and cultural sectors and play a role to enlighten people and policy makers.
Many people enjoy theme park and other leisure experiences with their families; however, today a great number of single, geographically mobile individuals desire to partake in such experiences. ‘Meetup’ is the world’s largest social network of local groups and thus allows for both online and off-line (in person) interactions. Using an ethnographic approach, this study examines how individuals can enjoy activities centered on common activities, interests, and opinions (AIO) via immersion in a Meetup group over the course of a year. Notably, members visited with greater frequency, had less tolerance for long lines, and were more likely to attend special events, eat at specialty restaurants, and consume alcohol. Group members also exchanged travel advice and both contributed and detracted from the enjoyment of the theme park experience. Membership in this Meetup group increased the frequency of visits and deeper exploration of the theme park resort, thus improving behavioral loyalty among annual pass holders. Managers can learn from these online communities to foster interactions among their guests and better target this new market.
Purpose
– The purposes of this paper are to outline the theoretical context for the study of brand love in the context of places and to report preliminary findings from an extensive study on place brand love.
Design/methodology/approach
– Three places were chosen for the research: Orlando, Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Las Vegas, Nevada. A study sample of 20 consumers engaged in a variety of methodological techniques including semi-structured consumer interviews, volunteer-employed photography and consumer collage creation.
Findings
– Thirteen primary themes through which participants articulated their love in respect of the places under study were identified. These can be grouped into four categories: antecedents, relational themes (involving relationships between others, oneself and the place), experiential themes (relating to the experience of being at the place) and outcomes.
Originality/value
– ‘Brand love’ is an aspect of branding that has not been explored in the context of places, and preliminary results indicate that this may be a useful concept for both academics and practitioners to investigate further.
The importance of sports and brands (e.g., New York Yankees, Harley-Davidson, Apple) in today's society is well-documented. The co-consumption of sports and brands often brings people together (Bale, 2003; Bouet, 1966; Brown, Kozinets, & Sherry, 2003), and consumers of the same sport or brand often form a community. In the business literature, these communities are called "brand communities" (McAlexander, Schouten, & Koenig, 2002; Muniz & O'Guinn, 2001). While brand communities are a popular research topic in the business literature, the sport field is only in the beginning stages of applying this idea. As such, the impact of such communities with sport brands is not well understood. In order to investigate the outcomes of brand communities, we must better understand the process of introducing and developing sport brand communities.
The purpose of this research is to identify and better understand the relationships among the antecedents (e.g. causes) and consequences (e.g., outcomes) of consumer participation in a sport brand community. A hypothesized model of the relationships among four antecedents (brand knowledge, brand satisfaction, brand identification, and sense of sport brand community (sense of sport brand community is composed of membership and geographic sense of community) and three consequences (brand loyalty, brand image, and behavioral intentions (behavioral intentions is composed of attendance, purchase, and word of mouth) of a sport brand community is proposed.
Using Churchill's (1979) guidelines for creating better marketing measures, ten constructs for testing the model of consumer participation in a sport brand community were identified. One hundred twenty-four items in total were utilized to measure the ten constructs, and a three-step ad hoc content analysis was conducted by two marketing academics, two expert methodologists, and the author of this research. Fifty-eight items were judged to have content validity. The fifty-eight items were tested in a pilot study with a convenience sample (n = 113). An examination of the results of the pilot study revealed that the fifty-eight items measuring the ten constructs showed evidence of reliability. One issue was noted with the construct of brand identification. As a result, four items were added to measure this construct.
The main study included the sixty-two items which were tested on a convenience sample (n = 627). In order to conduct CFA and SEM procedures, the sample was split into two subsamples (n1 = 314 and n2 = 313). The reliabilities of the sixty-two items were examined using subsample 1. It was concluded from the results that twenty-five items were problematic and therefore removed. The validity of the thirty-seven items were assessed using subsample 1. The items showed evidence of both convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, thirty-one hypothesized relationships were tested using SEM procedures on the data from subsample 2. The SEM results led the researcher to conclude there was empirical support for ten of the thirty-one hypothesized relationships. Due to the existence of four fully-mediated relationships, nine total effects were identified. In addition, the fit indices for the structural model suggested good fit to the data, and the model explained between 46.4% and 78.4% of the variance in the five endogenous constructs (e.g., brand loyalty, brand image, attendance intentions, purchase intentions, and word of mouth intentions).
Sports are used to bridge and bond individuals together. Based on the connections and relationships that develop around a sport brand, organization or team, the co-consumption or co-creation of a sporting event affects consumers' affiliations, attitudes, behaviors, and lives. As a result, a sport organization has the opportunity to facilitate and expand the development of such relationships. Moreover, the development of these relationships can be used to increase the resources consumers allocate toward a sport organization, brand, and goods and services (e.g., the game). While many sport management and marketing practitioners and academics debate how to best satisfy the wants and needs of consumers, the establishment, development, and maintenance of successful relationships between consumers and the sport organization, brand, and team is accomplished through creation and utilization of sport brand communities. In order to better understand how to successfully create and utilize sport brand communities, more research needs to be conducted and more understanding needs to be gained about how sport brand communities develop, improve, and extend relationships with consumers. This research provides an initial framework and model that provides suggestions and evidence that can be used to improve the effectiveness of sport brand communities.
Numerous studies on destination marketing assume that repeat visitors are a more attractive market segment than first-time visitors. The current study questions this assertion, by focusing separately on the balance between economic potential, as determined by tourists’ spending, and risk. Specifically, the methodology adopted here integrates assessment of risks involved with targeting the two separate market segments. Consequently, it is possible to calculate a more comprehensive and accurate assessment of the relative attractiveness of different market segments. The study relies on a survey conducted in Kissimmee, Florida, a mature destination attempting to avoid decline by attracting more tourists. Analysis of the tourist data reveals that the commonly suggested attractiveness of the repeat visitors segment should be reconsidered. The economic potential of both segments varies across spending categories as well as according to whether per-trip or per-day expenditures are considered. Conclusions and implications for both research and practice are provided.
The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to investigate tourists' perception of risk about Turkey as a mix image destination and second, to examine if perceived risk of Turkey as a tourism destination differs between first-time and repeat visitors.The findings of the study indicated six risk dimensions as perceived by tourists visited Turkey: (1) time and social risk, (2) financial risks, (3) physical risks, (4) pressing situation risk, (5) experience-related risk and (6) weather and hotel risk. Descriptive findings suggest that perceived risk of Turkey as a tourism destination was rather low in spite of some possible high risk patterns due to its mixed image. Significant differences were found between first-time and repeat visitors in terms of destination risk perceptions. The study offers practical and theoretical implications for tourism marketing and managing risk in mixed image tourism destinations.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the cultural interaction between communities and visitors to islands using social exchange theory to enhance the understanding of the island experience.
Design/methodology/approach – The method consisted of 30 in-depth interviews with community and tourism stakeholders, and formed part of a multi-phase study that used social exchange theory as the lens to illuminate a range of perspectives of island interaction. This paper presents a comparative case study of Bruny Island in Tasmania, and Magnetic Island in Queensland, Australia.
Findings – Findings revealed that local community members have a wide range of motivations for entering into social exchanges with visitors, ranging from solely economic, to a genuine desire to provide quality experiences. Additionally, findings showed the nature of island cultural interaction could vary immensely, from welcoming and meaningful exchanges through to superficial and even hostile contact.
Research limitations/implications – As this research is on two islands in Australia, within a particular timeframe, the results may not be representative of island communities generally. Nonetheless, the results are indicative of locals' perceptions of their interactions with visitors.
Practical implications – The findings have a range of practical implications for the management of local and visitor interaction on islands. A key implication for island communities is the importance of developing programs that educate and inform locals about the potential benefits of interaction. Additionally, this research illustrates how islands can use cultural interaction to differentiate their tourism product and market island experiences.
Originality/value – The paper's contribution is its use of social exchange theory at a micro-level to illuminate a range of local community members' perspectives of their tourism exchanges, in order to enhance understanding of the complex process of interaction between locals and visitors to islands.
Keywords: Australia, Communities, National cultures, Social interaction, Tourism
Positive social interactions among consumers are considered increasingly important elements in corporate relationship marketing efforts. There is scant empirical research, however, demonstrating the effect of consumer interactions facilitated by service industry managers on consumer evaluations and behavioral intentions. This study employs a field experimental methodology utilizing four half-day cultural heritage tours (n = 156) to examine consumer-to-consumer (C-to-C) interactions within the group travel context. Research findings demonstrate that managerially facilitated C-to-C interactions significantly increase tour member satisfaction and enjoyment. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, and calls are made for more field experimental methodologies to be used in tourism research.
Despite the size, economic importance and interest value of the tourism industry with its multifaceted nature, there is a dearth of brandingrelated research on the sector. Taking a qualitative approach (based on interviews and focus groups), this paper explores the role and significance of brands in the UK air tour operating market, with the focus on the process of consumer choice and decision making. Its aim is to extend the scope of existing research and pave the way for further study in this important and underaddressed area. The paper argues that the special characteristics of the tour operating industry add an extra dimension to any marketing strategy involving the building of a strong, identifiable brand. After contextualising branding by briefly reviewing its development, general application, and its emotional and symbolic associations, it looks at some specific characteristics of the inclusive air tour within the framework of the consumer ‘holiday experience’. The paper concludes that — despite their clear recognition of branding as a potent marketing weapon — UK tour operators are currently failing to build a meaningful and lasting brand-based relationship with their customers.
This paper reviews the growing use of manufacturing plant tours, company museums, and company visitor centers as strategic tools available to strengthen the bond between consumers and brands. Consumer experience tourism provides the user (i.e. the consumer) with an experience regarding a product, its operation, production process, history, and historical significance. Such brand bonding may contribute to higher levels of personal product involvement and brand loyalty. Ultimately, the bond between consumers and brands may be strengthened by the availability of such consumer experiences. The relative importance of these outreach efforts, in addition to their availability, will likely increase as the competition for consumer loyalty intensifies.
This study presents a theoretical and practical model of how the development of a country as a tourism destination brand creates leverage for its products and services in export markets. To effect this leverage, it is essential to conceptualise the tourism system as a network of interacting service providers rather than as a channel of distribution. This aids in the management of the multiplexity of interactions between tourists and the destination's products and services that affect the development and success of the brand in leveraging export products. The theoretical models of the tourism system, the tourism product (experience) and country brand are operationalised and fused so that a detailed process emerges which describes how the brand can link the tourism experience with the products and services that facilitate it. The systematic management of this facilitation process permits a gradual extension of the tourism brand attributes to other products and services destined for export in four stages.Journal of Brand Management (2002) 9, 262-280; doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2540077
Develops and tests a model of the relationship between international tourism and visitors' postvacation attitudes toward the host or destination culture. Path analysis of data from 96 Ss is used to examine the linkages between pleasure travel motivations, level of intercultural interaction, vacation satisfaction, and visitors' postvacation attitudes. Implications for understanding the role of tourism in changing visitors' attitudes and perceptions of host cultures are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A brand community from a customer-experiential perspective is a fabric of relationships in which the customer is situated. Crucial relationships include those between the customer and the brand, between the customer and the firm, between the customer and the product in use, and among fellow customers. This paper delves ethnographically into a brand community and tests key findings through quantitative methods. Conceptually the study reveals insights that differ from prior research in four important ways. First, it expands the definition of a brand community to entities and relationships neglected by previous research. Second, it treats vital characteristics of brand communities, such as geo-temporal concentrations and the richness of social context, as dynamic rather than static phenomena. Third, it demonstrates that marketers can strengthen brand communities by facilitating shared customer experiences in ways that alter those dynamic characteristics. Fourth, it yields a new and richer conceptualization of customer loyalty as integration in a brand community.
This article introduces the subculture of consumption as an analytic category through which to better understand consumers and the manner in which they organize their lives and identities. Recognizing that consumption activities, product categories, or even brands may serve as the basis for interaction and social cohesion, the concept of the subculture of consumption solves many problems inherent in the use of ascribed social categories as devices for understanding consumer behavior. This article is based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork with Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners. A key feature of the fieldwork was a process of progressive contextualization of the researchers from outsiders to insiders situated within the subculture. Analysis of the social structure, dominant values, and revealing symbolic behaviors of this distinct, consumption-oriented subculture have led to the advancement of a theoretical framework that situates subcultures of consumption in the context of modern consumer culture and discusses, among other implications, a symbiosis between such subcultures and marketing institutions. Transferability of the principal findings of this research to other subcultures of consumption is established through comparisons with ethnographies of other self-selecting, consumption-oriented subcultures.
This article introduces the idea of brand community. A brand community is a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand. Grounded in both classic and contemporary sociology and consumer behavior, this article uses ethnographic and computer mediated environment data to explore the characteristics, processes, and particularities of three brand communities (those centered on Ford Bronco, Macintosh, and Saab). These brand communities exhibit three traditional markers of community: shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility. The commercial and mass-mediated ethos in which these communities are situated affects their character and structure and gives rise to their particularities. Implications for branding, sociological theories of community, and consumer behavior are offered. Copyright 2001 by the University of Chicago.
A sociocultural approach is used to explore voluntary high-risk consumption. Specifically, we examine the dynamics of individuals' motives, risk perceptions, and benefit/cost outcomes of participation in increasingly popular high-risk leisure activities such as skydiving, climbing, and BASE jumping (parachuting from fixed objects). An ethnography of a skydiving subculture provides the primary empirical data. We propose an extended dramatic model that explains both macroenvironmental and inter- and intrapersonal influences and motives for high-risk consumption. Key findings indicate (1) an evolution of motives that explains initial and continuing participation in high-risk activities and (2) a coinciding evolution of risk acculturation that leads to the normalization of risk.
The Evolving Nature of Competition and Sustainability Conceptual and Theorectical Perspectives Part I: The Competitive Destination Part II: The Sustainable Tourism Destination A Model of Destination Competitiveness The Macroenvironment: Global Forces Shaping World Tourism The Competitive (Micro)Environment: The Destination and the Tourism System Core Resources and Attractors: The Essence of Destination Appeal Supporting Factors and Resources: Elements that Enhance Destination Appeal Destination Policy, Planning and Development Destination Management: The Key to Maintaining a Sustainable Competitive Advantage Qualifying and Amplifying Determinants: Parameters that Define Destination Potential The Destination Audit: Putting the Model to Work.
Although well accepted by consumer behaviourists in general, self-concept has received relatively little attention from tourism researchers. This is despite the potential it would appear to offer in terms of enabling an enhanced understanding of how tourists feel and what they seek from the tourism experience. The application of a model of self-concept in this study suggests self-concept may provide an alternative segmentation base, giving insights into how people perceive themselves in the tourist role and their consequent behaviour.
Recent urban scholarship on the rise of the tourism industry, place marketing and the transformation of cities into entertainment destinations has been dominated by four major themes: the primacy of 'consumption' over 'production'; the eclipse of exchange-value by sign-value; the idea of autoreferential culture; and, the ascendancy of textual deconstruction and discursive analyses over political economy critiques of capitalism. This paper critically assesses the merits of these four themes using a case study of the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. The analytical tools and categories of political economy are used to examine the rise and dominance of tourism in New Orleans, explore the consequences of this economic shift and identify the key actors and organised interests involved in marketing Mardi Gras. 'Marketing' is the use of sophisticated advertising techniques aimed at promoting fantasy, manipulating consumer needs, producing desirable tourist experiences and simulating images of place to attract capital and consumers. The paper points to the limitations of the 'cultural turn' and the 'linguistic turn' in urban studies and uses the concepts of commodié cation and spectacle as a theoretical basis for understanding the marketing of cities, the globalisation of local celebrations and the political economy of tourism.
The level of customer service provided by businesses in the resort community of Estes Park, Colorado, was investigated in this study. The problems and barriers in delivering quality customer service were determined through a collaborative process of data gathering that involved the use of surveys, group interviews and focus groups. The research confirmed that inconsistent customer service is a direct result of the lack of any customer service training programme, non-existent effort among the providers of tourism services, and low awareness of the impact of customer service as a key marketing and management tool in attracting new and repeat visitors. The research produced a model for developing a tourist-centred customer service campaign that incorporated community involvement in the design and execution of the research and resulting programmes.
The relationship between self-image and product/brand imagery remains an important area of concern in marketing research and marketing practice because of its impact on product/brand evaluation and choice; however many studies report inconclusive findings about this relationship. A conceptual model is developed which links a function of attitudes – as the pursuit and maintenance of self-esteem and self-identity – to the public and private contexts of self-concepts; and the subsequent intrinsic and extrinsic congruence between brand evaluation and choice. In this exploratory study the Self-Monitoring Scale is used to explore the link between the social and psychological determinants of self-presentation in the pursuit of self-esteem and maintenance of self-identity, and to inform the examination of the relationship between self-concept and product symbolism. Findings from the qualitative and quantitative stages of a study of the UK alcoholic soft drinks market are presented. There were distinct differences between the self-monitoring groups when the interpretation of specific brand images was investigated. The results provided empirical support for viewing the self as a divisible entity. The implications for marketing practice are discussed.
Because of the often remote and fledgling character of Canada's aboriginal tourism attractions, developing alli- ances with knowledgeable and culturally sensitive distribu- tion channel operators are especially important. The distri- bution channels developed can affect the patterns of destination use, target markets attracted, and economic im- pact created for aboriginal communities. This research de- scribes the structure and perspectives of the European tour operator industry as it relates to the distribution of North American aboriginal tourism experiences to European trav- elers. The findings suggest strategies for working with tour operators in configuring, positioning, promoting, and deliv- ering aboriginal tourism.
This paper presents, then explains, a model to grow and sustain brands strategically. It adopts a more balanced perspective than existing models, since it builds on the asset of knowledgeable and committed staff whose values ideally align with the brand's values. The model encourages a multifunctional brand team progressing through the phases of strategy to tactics to implementation.Journal of Brand Management (2001) 9, 32-44; doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2540050
A number of variables have been used in the quest to understand better who visits museums and art galleries. This paper proposes the use of lifestyle segmentation in an attempt to understand how museum and art gallery visits fit in with other aspects of the visitors' life. Research to date has tended to focus on those who actually visit, but little has been done to enhance an understanding of non-visitors. Lifestyle studies, undertaken across a representative sample of a population, offer the potential to understand not only those who visit, but also those who do not.
Seven segments result from this lifestyle analysis of New Zealanders, with a significant relationship evident between lifestyle grouping and frequency of visits to museums and art galleries. As each of these lifestyle segments also demonstrates significantly different media characteristics, there are important implications for the placement and tone of promotional messages. Copyright
This study employs the concepts of social situation analysis to examine the nature of interactions among backpackers in an attempt to better understand their informal networks of information dissemination. Results indicate that gathering information on destinations/businesses is a motivation for them to interact with one another. However, several factors influence the value placed on information, including the consistency of reports received, personal feelings or attitudes towards the provider, and previous expectations regarding the destination/business under discussion. Recommendations are made regarding steps businesses catering to the backpacker market can take to encourage positive word-of-mouth promotion and facilitate social interaction among customers.RésuméUne exploration des interactions sociales des randonneurs. Cette étude utilise les concepts de l'analyse de situation sociale pour examiner les interactions parmi les randonneurs afin de mieux comprendre leurs réseaux informels de dissémination d'information. Les résultats indiquent que la collecte de renseignements sur les destinations ou entreprises constitue une motivation d'interaction. Pourtant, plusieurs facteurs influencent la valeur accordée aux renseignements, y compris l'uniformité des rapports, les attitudes ou sentiments personnels envers le pourvoyeur et les attentes antérieures vis-à-vis de la destination ou entreprise en question. On fait des recommandations quant aux démarches que peuvent faire les entreprises qui s'adressent au marché des randonneurs afin d'encourager une promotion verbale positive et faciliter l'interaction sociale parmi les clients.
Crompton, John L., “Motivations for Pleasure Vacations,” Annals of Tourism Research, October/December 1979, VI(4):408–424. The study is concerned with identifying those motives of pleasure vacationers which influence the selection of a destination. It also seeks to develop a conceptual framework capable of encompassing such motives. Empirically nine motives were identified. Seven were classified as socio-psychological, namely: escape from a perceived mundane environment, exploration and evaluation of self, relaxation, prestige, regression, enhancement of kinship relationships, and facilitation of social interaction. The two remaining motives, novelty and education, formed the alternate cultural category. The latter were noted to be at least partially aroused by the particular qualities that a destination offered. By contrast socio-psychological motives were found to be unrelated to destination attributes. Here the emphasis shifted from the destination itself to its function as a medium through which socio-pschological needs could be satisfied. The research data suggest that the tourist industry may usefully pay greater attention to socio-psychological motives in developing product and promotion strategies.
This study reports a cluster analysis derived from the Leisure Motivation Scale of Beard and Ragheb as applied to a sample of 1,127 UK holidaymakers. In a pilot study of the full Scale the factors of the original research were replicated and an abbreviated version was then used to enable a gap analysis to be undertaken between items thought important and perceptions of the last holiday, while based on this a cluster analysis was undertaken. Clusters had different appreciations of holiday destination attributes.RésuméL'application au tourisme d'une échelle de motivation des loisirs. Cette étude rapporte une analyse par groupes tirée de l'Échelle des Motivations des Loisirs et appliquée à un échantillon de 1.127 vacanciers du Royaume-Uni. Dans une étude pilote de l'échelle entière, on a reproduit les facteurs de la recherche initiale. Puis on a utilisé une version abbréviée pour faire une analyse d'écart entre les éléments considérés comme importants et les perceptions des vacances précédentes. En général, les vacanciers étaient satisfaits des possibilités pendant leurs vacances de détente physique, qu'ils ont jugée importante. L'échelle a permis une analyse par groupe, et on a trouvé que les groupes avaient des évaluations différentes des attributs des destinations.
The objectives of this research were to determine if motivational differences existed between tourists from the same country visiting two different geographical destinations and across those from two different countries visiting the same destination. The analysis of findings was based upon ‘pull’ and ‘push’ motivations of 1872 British and German tourists visiting Mallorca and Turkey in the summer of 1998. A series of cross-tabulations were conducted to test for differences between sub-samples of respondents and self-reported motivations. Content analysis was employed to process qualitative data. Factor analysis and a series of independent t-tests were used to evaluate quantitative data. Findings demonstrated that some tourist motives differed between nationalities and place visited.