Vacation Marketing

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the tourism industry. A successful recovery from the pandemic requires a clear understanding of the ‘new normal’, including tourists’ perceived risks, safety perceptions, attitudes, and willingness to travel. Guided by the Risk Perception Attitude (RPA) Framework, this study investigated female business travelers’ risk perception attitude and willingness to travel in the COVID-19 climate. This study segmented the sample into four distinct RPA groups, including the Avoidance, Proactive, Responsive, and Indifference groups. These groups differ in some demographic characteristics and the strength of willingness to travel. Findings also showed that anxiety, perceived safety, and consumer confidence mediate the relationships between the sample’s RPA and willingness to travel, but the exact relationship varies by groups. Finally, this paper discussed the theoretical contributions and practical implications of this study.

The purpose of this study is to explore household tourism decision making. There is an extensive literature on consumer choice in general.1-3 In terms of tourism, the main focus has been on motivational factors,4-6 but as part of the emergence of a literature which studies the issues of tourism and gender, there are some authors who focus on holiday decision making.7-9 In this context the focus here is on the distinctive roles and power relations within a couple. The study is exploratory in nature and employs a self-administered questionnaire. It is concluded that the overall consumption of a holiday is largely a joint decision, but when the purchase is broken down into different stages females have a dominant role in the early stages of the process, possibly making them the gatekeepers.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have had a significant impact on both the travel and tourism experience and industry. In particular, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have found ICT a powerful ally to harmonize and coordinate the activities of local stakeholders as well as to reach travellers. The aim of this research is to analyse destination brand communication strategies, especially those applied to online communication (official websites, social media and mobile applications). Data were collected from Spanish destinations – regions, provinces and cities – via an online survey addressed to destination brand and communication managers. Results show that destination brand communication is not fully standardized or professionalized yet; online tools (websites, social media and mobile applications) are used tactically and not strategically and the usefulness of social media and official websites is clearly more appreciated by DMO managers than the usefulnes...

Recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturers have traditionally been viewed as having no direct effect on caravanning experiences beyond their role as the suppliers of the vehicles. Drawing on the theoretical approach known as service-dominant logic, this paper suggests that RV manufacturers play an active role in the co-creation of tourism experiences. This study adopted the framework developed by Storbacka, K., Brodie, R. J., P., Böhmann, T., Maglio P. P., & Nenonen, S. [(2016). Actor engagement as a microfoundation for value co-creation. Journal of Business Research, 69(1), 3008–3017] that considers engagement as a microfoundation of value co-creation to investigate value co-creation in this context. A template analysis of the data collected from in-depth interviews with all Italian motorhome manufacturers revealed themes relating to five issues: engaging actors, engaging platforms, actors’ dispositions, engagement properties and resource integration patterns. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Previous researchers have studied the consumption values of Chinese consumers; however, limited studies focused on the consumption behaviour of Chinese corporate travellers. This study explores the consumption behaviour of Mainland Chinese corporate travellers at leisure. Participant observation of 12 travel groups indicates that tourism is seen as a reflection of modern lifestyle and understood in the narrow sense of material consumption and modern developments in the society. The findings demonstrate how Chinese corporate travellers embrace aspects of materialistic consumerism that not only offers luxury and status recognition but also reflects a particular form of collective gaze that constantly searches for modern development.

This article focuses on one of the hotel industry’s key challenges: sustainable development. By reviewing the current impact and characteristics of this industry, its high potential to contribute to this challenge is established. The key question addressed here – especially interesting from a futures perspective – is whether the hotel industry is prepared to fulfil that potential. Through a review of relevant literature and 12 in-depth interviews with hoteliers in leading positions in Dutch hotels, this article evaluates to what extent the hotel industry’s current business models and its managers’ willingness and capabilities are ‘future proof’ from a sustainable development perspective. It concludes that the hotel industry is not yet able to make an optimal contribution and needs assistance to do so in the future, especially with respect to addressing guests’ needs and wants and (subsequent) institutionalization of sustainability, but the potential is there and maybe even more so t...

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have had a significant impact on both the travel and tourism experience and industry. In particular, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have found ICT a powerful ally to harmonize and coordinate the activities of local stakeholders as well as to reach travellers. The aim of this research is to analyse destination brand communication strategies, especially those applied to online communication (official websites, social media and mobile applications). Data were collected from Spanish destinations – regions, provinces and cities – via an online survey addressed to destination brand and communication managers. Results show that destination brand communication is not fully standardized or professionalized yet; online tools (websites, social media and mobile applications) are used tactically and not strategically and the usefulness of social media and official websites is clearly more appreciated by DMO managers than the usefulnes...

The primary objective of this study is to determine the impact of the sub-dimensions of source credibility (attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise), and its secondary objective is to investigate the mediating role of parasocial interaction the effect of the sub-dimensions of source credibility on travel intention. The study was conducted with data obtained from 379 participants and the response rate was found to be 88%. The validity and credibility of the constructs were tested through confirmatory factor analysis, while its hypotheses were tested using path analysis. It was found, as a result of the study, that the trustworthiness and expertise sub-dimensions of source credibility significantly impacted travel intention and played a significant mediating role between the trustworthiness and expertise sub-dimensions of parasocial interaction and travel intention. It is thought that the mediating role of parasocial interaction, which was not previously available in the literat...

Bruce Prideaux is a senior lecturer in the School of Tourism and Leisure Management at the Uni-versity of Queensland, Australia. He holds a PhD in tourism from the University of Queensland. His research interests include tourism transport, des-tination development ...

This study investigates the behavioural relationship between outdoor recreation and vacation tourism in order to facilitate the marketing of nature activities as tourism products. In determining the outdoor recreation behaviour, motivations were explored on the basis of the recreation experience preference theory, and experiences were explored on the basis of the experience economy theory. In order to determine the vacation behaviour, which is an important market segmentation variable, vacation activity preferences were investigated. The implementation was accomplished within the scope of the outdoor recreationists in Eskişehir, Turkey. The data were collected through face-to-face and web surveys and analysed with the support of structural equation modelling. As the result of the analyses suggests, significant relationships were found among outdoor recreation motivations, nature experiences and vacation activity preference structures.

This study examines tourists’ dining experiences and tests competing models of predictors of satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Specifically, we examine the influence of service quality, quality of environment, food quality, price fairness, authenticity, and tourist satisfaction on behavioral intentions. Within the context of mountain hut casual ethnic restaurants and a survey of 304 respondent tourists, we apply partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test both the baseline and the competing, hierarchical latent model. First, results for the baseline model show that satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between the various quality attributes and behavioral intentions. Second, results from the competing model confirm that food quality, service quality, and quality of environment form a second-order construct of perceived quality. Third, results reveal that service quality, quality of the environment, and food quality are best represented as a seco...

Rachel Dodds is the manager of marketing and business development for the Green Tourism Association (GTA) in Toronto. She joined the association in 1999 after obtaining a masters in tourism management from Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. In addition to her ...

The air transport industry is currently experiencing one of the most difficult periods in its history. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industry lost more than US$10bn in 2001. In Europe, well-established carriers such as Sabena and Swissair have had to declare bankruptcy after decades of existence. In Canada, the dominant carrier, Air Canada, declared a record loss of C$1.25bn in 2001. It is tempting to attribute all these problems to the economic slowdown that began in early 2001 and was exacerbated by the tragic events of 11th September, 2001. After all, global air traffic dropped approximately 4 per cent in 2001. However, low-fare carriers are still earning profits and growing at a rate that is the envy of traditional scheduled carriers. In short, one question arises: are the industry’s current problems the result of a temporary economic downturn, or are they the outcome of a major transformation that began several years ago? Th...

Hotel service levels and pricing range are often denoted by the “star” rating system predominant in that country. This rating system depends considerably on travel agencies to disseminate information to consumers to assist them in their hotel selection. Given the popularity of online travel agencies (OTAs) and review websites, consumers can now compare published star and user ratings of hotels online to obtain a complete idea of the hotel service standards from the perspective of other users. This study attempted to analyze the difference among the star and user ratings published in eight popular OTAs. Findings showed that Priceline and Ctrip had the lowest website star ratings, whereas Bookings.com and Agoda had the highest for both local chain and independent hotels. A comparison of the star and user ratings indicated that Priceline, TripAdvisor, and Hotels.com had no statistical difference, but the other five OTAs exhibited statistical differences. The findings also indicated tha...

This article explores consumer tendencies to opt for luxury or economy hotels by identifying their most and least important selection attributes. The researchers investigate how sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics influence traveler assessments of hotel attributes. In explaining consumer hotel selection preferences, the researchers used an unconditional method—best–worst scaling (BWS). Based on an analysis of responses from 397 luxury hotel customers and 351 economy hotel customers in the United States, it was found that the two groups perceive hotel attributes differently. Differentials were also identified on the basis of gender, income, and frequency of purchase. While acknowledging that the task is complex, there is an urgent need to identify the factors influencing hotel selection, because hoteliers need to attract new markets and also balance this by retaining existing patrons. The findings extend existing literature by applying BWS to the identification of hotel s...

Many destinations encounter problems when attempting to adopt a strategic approach to planning. If destinations misread target markets and fail to provide the experiences desired by tourists, they face the danger of falling revenue, adverse impacts on their image and a disenchanted travel trade sector that may make recommendations to its clients to travel elsewhere. This article examines how destinations are able to use a tourism-specific version of the strategic window of opportunity model to identify opportunities for ...

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 conc...

Dr David Bowen is field chair of tourism man-agement at Oxford Brookes University. His inter-est in tourism is wide-ranging, but his research focuses on tourist satisfaction and tourism re-search methods. ... Dr Jackie Clarke is a senior lecturer in marketing and tourism at ...

The purpose of this study is to explore the applicability of brand personality in the economy hotel segment and whether hotel brand personality could differentiate between similar hotel brands. Courtyard and Hampton Inn are used in this study. The results of this study suggest that brand personality dimensions can be clearly delineated in the economy hotel sector, in consistent with Aaker’s dimensions, ruggedness, competence, excitement, sophistication, and sincerity. Moreover, similar hotel brands can be perceived differently based on their personalities. Additionally, although common brand personality factor structure can be used to describe economy hotel brands in general, specific hotel brand does exhibit some unique dimensions.

Successful destination branding strategies require the commitment and mobilization of internal stakeholders in order to reinforce the communication of the brand message to the tourist market. To this purpose, the literature suggests that adopting an inclusive and participative approach to the branding process can increase and maintain the stakeholders’ willingness to share the brand mission. However, the results of such sharing and involvement strategies in terms of internal brand equity creation are still under research. In order to fill such a gap, the article proposes to build on the established consumer-based brand equity model for assessing the internal stakeholder-based brand equity of tourist destinations. The model, comprising four dimensions – brand awareness, image, commitment, and satisfaction/loyalty – is then applied to the analysis of South Tyrol’s (Italy) regional branding strategy, through a survey of internal brand users. Findings confirm the importance of a partici...

Internet and User-Generated Content has reshaped the way people plan for, buy and consume tourist products, thus putting into question the very role of traditional travel agencies. Using a sample of 1448 Italian tourists, this research finds that significant differences do exist between occasional, moderate and frequent online buyers, based on gender, age, education level and income, their online purchase experience, and their likelihood to be influenced by User-Generated Content in their final choices. Results also highlight that the Internet is used most frequently when people make hotel reservations for both short-haul and short-term leisure travels. From a theoretical perspective, this research provides further insight into the scientific debate on disintermediation for booking hotel rooms, showing that differences based on cultural background do exist and should be investigated via cross-cultural comparison, also considering the relative power in influencing the tourist’s choic...

ABSTRACT Realizing the growing importance of culinary tourism, the present study explores culinary preferences of foreign tourists through surveys conducted at various tourist spots in India. In order to identify latent factors beneath, data related to preferences were factor analyzed. The outcome of the analysis suggests that tourists’ preferences converge into five factors, namely, taste and quality of food, food preparation, localization of food and dining etiquettes, tradition and nutrition of food, and food aroma and cleanliness. Furthermore, convergence in foreign tourists was also explored based on their responses. From the analysis, three segments emerged, namely, taste seekers, localization seekers and experience seekers. The study also discusses the implications of the outcome for marketers and researchers.

Destination authorities invest in sport venues and related infrastructure to attract sport events due to their influence on destination image and visitation. Several studies have revealed a significant influence of image on behavioral intentions of sport or event tourists; however, a comprehensive assessment of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) inclusive of image, consumer value, brand value, quality, and loyalty by comparing sport and non-sport tourists is lacking. The current study conducted an online survey with a sample of the US population and compared Orlando’s CBBE from the perspectives of sport and non-sport tourists in general and those sport and non-sport tourists who have visited Orlando in the past. Results revealed some differences between sport and non-sport tourists, both in the general sample and in the past visitor group. Although both groups revealed a strong CBBE in general, sport tourists have a better perception of Orlando in some image and loyalty dimensions. ...

The study focuses on crisis management in the travel agency sector. The analysis is based on a questionnaire that assembled a list of crisis management practices. These practices are grouped into four categories: marketing, maintenance, human resources and government assistance. The study evaluates the importance travel agencies’ managers assign to each practice. In addition, the study evaluates how managers use the different crisis management practices. The findings suggest that there is a gap between the importance managers assign to different practices and the intensity of usage. The gap is especially evident in the category of government assistance where importance of practices is higher than their usage. In addition, managers tend to combine different practice from the different categories of marketing, maintenance, human resources and government assistance in an effort to achieve cost cuts. The paper concludes with recommendations for practitioners and suggestions for future r...

Tourist satisfaction has been considered as a tool for increasing destination competitiveness. In an attempt to gain a better understanding of tourists' satisfaction in an island mass destination this study has taken Crete as a case with the aim to identify the underlying dimensions of tourists' satisfaction, to investigate whether tourists could be grouped into distinct segments and to examine the differences between the segments and their sociodemographic and travel arrangement characteristics. A segmentation ...

This research provides insights into the nature of the Mexican health spa tourism market. The overriding research hypothesis is that a comparatively strong long-haul pleasure market for health spa-related tourism exists in Mexico, and that this market can be differentiated from other more generic Mexican long-haul travel groups. Using information derived from the Tourism Canada-United States Travel and Tourism Administration (USTTA) long-haul market data sets, the paper begins by outlining the health spa affinity of travellers from several European, Asian and Latin American countries on their long-haul pleasure travel vacations. The research then describes the characteristics of Mexican health spa travellers. Using a long-haul market segmentation framework developed by Tourism Canada and the USTTA, it identifies how Mexican long-haul health spa visitors differ from other travellers to that destination in terms of their socio-demographic, attitudinal and behavioural traits. The paper...

Dr Ziene Mottiar is a tourism economics lecturer in the Tourism Department at Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland. She has a wide range of research interests, in particular in the area of tourism regional development and tourism firms. Ziene has published several journal ...

Service quality and design researchers in tourism have long been directed by demand-driven paradigms and consumer-centred rationales. Ontologies and epistemologies are largely output orientated and customer centred, that is, performance of services, number of satisfied customers, loyal repeat visitors, overnight stays, financial performance and others. We argue that a need exists to reduce this imbalance. This conceptual article reviews the relevant literature before developing five fundamental premises regarding the enabler-oriented view of the tourism industry. Future research should conduct empirical studies to validate and/or modify the premises presented in this conceptual article.

The paper evaluates whether tour operators' current promotional activities are effectively targeting the increasingly important seniors market. It provides an overview of recent research on senior lifestyle and leisure characteristics and uses this research as a basis for evaluating whether current marketing messages and images are reflecting the changing reality of seniors' lives. The empirical data are drawn from the UK and a range of tourism operators' vacation brochures are examined using exploratory, qualitative content analysis techniques. The findings, however, may have some relevance for all marketers interested in targeting this segment. The paper concludes that there is a notable mismatch between the narrow range of consumer images projected by mainstream tourism marketers and the increasingly active and varied consumption experiences of seniors.

Tourism is a significant foreign currency earner for Nepal and during the 1990s its tourism industry enjoyed an unprecedented period of growth. During 2001-2002, however, international arrivals fell by over 20 per cent in the wake of a highly publicised airline hijacking in 1999, a series of internal political crises culminating in a declaration of a state of emergency in 2001 and the aftermath of 11th September. This paper discusses the damaging consequences of the resultant media coverage of Nepal as an unsafe destination and examines how the Nepal Tourism Board is currently addressing the image challenge.

... key ®nding of the paper, however, is that the long-held axiom that marketers should focus the majority of their efforts on the heavy-user segment may no longer be sound advice, as ... Revisiting the heavy-user segment ... respondent's subjective knowledge of the given product field. ...