Tourism Engagement Research Articles

Perceptions of Industry Engagement in Tourism and Hospitality Studies in South Africa

This research aimed to determine student and industry perceptions of industry engagement in tourism and hospitality studies in South Africa. The study applied a mixed methodology to ascertain these perceptions to determine how industry engagement can be enhanced in order to produce work-ready, employable and entrepreneurial graduates, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on 420 valid surveys conducted with students across six universities, the key findings suggest that students perceive that their universities sufficiently and effectively provide them with the necessary soft skills, practical skills, creativity skills, and personal responsibility tools through industry engagement activities. Respondents agreed that universities are actively preparing tourism and hospitality students for the world of work and assisting them with career development through industry engagement. The study concludes that the benefits of industry engagement for students include inter alia academic progress, personal development, career planning and workplace exposure, as well as the development of key skills and competencies.

Transformations of Women in Tourism Work: A Case Study of Emancipation in Rural Nepal

A key challenge still exists for emancipation of women in the tourism industry in Nepal. The research addresses how females in Nepal transform themselves through engagement with trekking in remote areas. The authors investigated a female only tourism enterprise to determine how women can encounter avenues to reliable income support. Interviewees were members of Empowering Women Nepal (EWN), a Nepali Non-Government Organisation (NGO), and their interviews were used as a case study regarding women’s training. Open ended questions focused on the background of women who are likely to engage with tourism, barriers preventing engagement in tourism, the positive and negative side to tourism, avenues of support, and specific outcomes to date. The research found that rural and remote Nepali women are being emancipated via engagement with tourism.

The Impact of Tourist Experience Quality and Involvement on Tourist Recommendation Intention: Evidence From Ramelau Mountain as Tourist Destination in Timor-Leste

This study aims to test a model linking tourist experience quality, involvement and recommendation intention. The data was collected from 397 tourists as respondents used a five scale likert questionnaires, and SMART-PLS 3.1 was used for data analysis. The result of this research showed that tourist experience quality and involvement positively and significantly influenced on tourist recommendation intention. This study enriches the empirical debates on tourist experience quality, involvement and recommendation intention in emergent tourist destination. Study also provides insight description to the government and tourism industry to improve Ramelau Mountain as tourism destination by providing memorable experience quality and tourism engagement to enhance tourists to revisit and recommend to the other potential tourists to visit Ramelau Mountain.

Mining for silver: the role of micro-firm adaptive strategizing capabilities in harnessing senior tourism

ABSTRACT This research explores senior tourism adaptive strategizing capabilities through the lens of micro-firm owner managers. The findings derived from 24 qualitative tourism practitioner interviews demonstrated that senior tourism engagement does not necessitate a profound strategic change of direction or extensive resource reconfiguration. However, the strategic commercialization of this cohort remains under-utilized and findings perpetuated stereotypical assumptions regarding a lack of diversity within the senior market. Owner managers that actively embrace adaptive decision-making capabilities proactively target this market, whereas those with little strategic intent view senior tourism as a generic cohort of questionable commercial value. A thematic map positions the owner manager as a pivotal decision-maker within this strategic milieu and charts the trajectory of market alignment and resource transformation as a means of accessing the silver economy. Its adaptive ethos offers avenues for growth by creating bespoke authentic experiences, geared explicitly towards senior tourists as a heterogeneous cohort.

Assessment of the Geotouristic Values of Devil's Town, Serbia

Serbia is a country rich in geoheritage with eighty geomorphological sites now under protection. Although a canyon, the site of Devil’s Town is a unique geomorphological site in Serbia and deserves special attention. The geotouristic values of Devil's Town were assessed based on the analysis of its present state and comparison with three similar and nearby geosites on the Balkan Pennisula (the Sand Pyramids in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Stob and Melnik Earth pyramids in Bulgaria). The assessment was performed using a ‘modified geosite assessment model’ (M-GAM), which includes estimation of the main indicators and sub-indicators. Devil's Town has an average level of major and additional values. Indicators show that this geosite has great tourist, scientific and aesthetic value, as well as enough space for improving the ecological and functional values, as a basis for the development of tourism. Devil's Town displays a higher touristic value than the Sand pyramids and slightly lower than the Stob pyramids. However, in comparison with the Melnik Earth pyramids in Bulgaria, its touristic value is significantly lower. This study could serve as a guide for managing development strategies concerning decision-making and engagement in tourism of the analysed geosite, addressing the needs of modern tourists.

Tourist’s rational and emotional engagement across events: a multi-event integration view

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the role of communication, structural and intangible elements on both tourists’ rational and emotional engagement across five different types of events (nature, gastronomy, religion, theatre and music).Design/methodology/approachResponses from 1,528 tourists were obtained through a face to face questionnaire in five heterogeneous events in the Spanish region of Extremadura, a well-known cultural tourism destination. Linear regressions were used to evaluate focal constructs’ contribution (emotional and rational engagement, formal and informal communication and structural and non-structural elements) on tourists’ engagement across events.FindingsThe results revealed that tourist’s rational and emotional engagement depends on the type of event. Non-structural elements seem to be important for rational and emotional engagement for gastronomic and cultural events. Besides the impact of structural elements on rational engagement, all other factors seem to have a mixed influence. Therefore, practitioners must select the factors to highlight according to the type of events, besides structural factors.Practical implicationsThe current results allow tourism managers to understand the mechanisms for tourists’ engagement in a multi-event scenario to strategically select and use and communicate each type of appeal when planning and communicating events to specific target audiences.Originality/valueUnlike most studies that focus on a single event or typology, this study combines a set of heterogeneous events to provide a complete picture of tourism engagement for the tourism sector.

Impacts of tourism on support for conservation, local livelihoods, and community resilience around Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

The tourism enterprise-based approach to conservation can diversify livelihood opportunities in and around protected areas while incentivizing conservation support and building community resilience. However, the use of tourism as a tool for integrated conservation and development (ICD) has produced mixed results, underscoring the need for adaptive management that accounts for local context. We used a mixed-methods approach to examine how individual and community-level involvement in tourism influenced support for conservation, reliance on the natural environment, and perceptions of governance and community resilience in communities around Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. During January 2017, we surveyed households in three communities (n = 197) with varying levels of tourism involvement and conducted focus groups with village elders (n = 28). Individuals and communities who engaged in tourism-related livelihoods expressed stronger support for conservation and reduced reliance on the natural environment. Links between tourism and environmental, social, and economic resilience varied. Results suggest the presence of a tourism sweet spot where moderate levels of tourism facilitate alignment of conservation and community development goals. Communities that achieve equitable access to and engagement in tourism and associated benefits may be more resilient and better positioned to capitalize on linkages between tourism-based livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1932927 .

Managing Cultural Heritage Festivals towards Sustainable Tourism Development: The Aegean Methexis Festival in Andros Island

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the contribution of the “Aegean Methexis” festival to raising awareness of Andros’ rich cultural heritage and building social bonds for locals and tourists, as well as attracting cultural tourists and providing opportunities for development to local tourism-related businesses. Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology was formed on the basis of deepening into the festival experience of locals and visitors and its impact on tourism sustainability. The paper opted for an exploratory study using both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Primary data was collected via: a. 58 online questionnaires addressed to festival participants; and b. participant observation during a six-month period. Findings: The paper provides empirical insights about how festival participants perceive their experience in connection to cultural heritage and tourism. Findings consolidate that the festival provides a unique platform combining entertainment and familiarity with Andros’ rich cultural heritage based on a cognitive model experience. Participants seem to connect their experience with further tourism engagement in more authentic aspects of the island while seem to seize the opportunity for cultural interaction and building stronger social bonds with the local community. All the stakeholders warmly supported the festival, due to its contribution to cultural heritage awareness and tourism product enrichment. Originality/value: The study fulfils an identified need to study how the “Aegean Methexis” festival may act as a catalyst for sustainable tourism development, how the destination can benefit from similar events, and how to employ them as original branding tools of Andros.

STRENGTHENING STUDENTS’ HEALTH IN THE PROCESS OF SPORTS AND HEALTH TOURISM ENGAGEMENT

The aim: Is to investigate the level and dynamics of students' physical health in the process of sports and health tourism engagement. Materials and methods: The research involved the students (men) of Sumy State University (n = 60). The research was conducted in 2018-2020. The comparative analysis of indicators of physical development, functional status and health of the students who were engaged in sports and health tourism (sports section of the Department of Physical Education, n = 30) in the process of their physical education, and the students who attended traditional physical education classes (main section, n = 30) was carried out. The level of the students' health was assessed according to the methods by H. L. Apanasenko and V. P. Voitenko. Results: It was found that most indicators of physical development, functional status and state of health are significantly better at the end of the research in the students who were engaged in sports and health tourism during their education than in the students who were engaged in traditional physical education classes. The largest increases are in the indicators of body weight, circumferential size of the chest and the waist, heart rate, vital, strength indices, Robinson's index, duration of heart rate recovery after standard exercise, duration of breath-holding at inspiration and expiration, level of physical health. Conclusions: The high level of physical development, functional status and the state of students' health formed in the process of sports and health tourism will ensure the effectiveness of their learning in higher educational institutions owing to improving their mental and physical performance, as well as help to improve indicators of their lifesustaining and future professional activities.

Economic Vulnerabilities and Livelihoods: Impact of COVID‐19 in Fiji and Vanuatu

Economic Vulnerabilities and Livelihoods: Impact of <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 in Fiji and Vanuatu

Virtual reality and mixed reality for second chance tourism

The deterioration of attractions, landmarks, artefacts and destinations is a critical issue facing tourism across the world. The closure of tourism sites and attractions is increasingly more common due to the difficulty and expense of managing preservation with onsite tourism engagement. However, the closure or destruction of tourism sites presents challenges for tourism development. The inability to foster meaningful visitor engagement at sites has implications for the local communities. This paper aims to explore the efficacy of creating tourism experiences in destinations and sites that have succumbed to over-tourism, resultant deterioration and even, destruction. To achieve this objective, the paper introduces the concept of second chance tourism and the role of innovative preservation methods such as virtual and mixed reality. Based on the proposed framework, the collation of data will provide indications on site preservation and impact mitigation via a second chance to reduce pressure on inherently fragile destinations.

Hedonic and Utilitarian Performances as Determinants of Mental Health and Pro-Social Behaviors among Volunteer Tourists.

International volunteer tourism is an emerging and sustainable trend of the global tourism industry. In this study, we attempted to provide a clear comprehension of volunteer tourists’ mental health increase and pro-social intention formation. A survey method and quantitative approach were used. Our result from the structural analysis showed that hedonic and utilitarian performances, mental health, and volunteer tourism engagement had significant associations and that these relationships contributed to improving pro-social intention. In addition, results from the metric invariance assessment revealed that the volunteer tourism engagement and pro-social intention relation was under the significant influence of problem awareness and ascribed responsibility. Mental health and engagement acted as significant mediators. The comparative importance of volunteer tourism engagement was uncovered. Overall, our results provided a sufficient understanding of volunteer tourists’ pro-social decision-making process and behaviors.

Understanding customer engagement and social media activities in tourism: A latent profile analysis and cross-validation

Customer engagement has gained noteworthy attention among academics and practitioners over the last decade. Two studies employ latent profile analysis (LPA), a person-centered approach, to uncover discrete customer subgroups with similar profiles based on multiple customer engagement dimensions and relate these LPA groups to brand loyalty. Study 1 identifies four latent classes of airline and hotel customers. Customer engagement dimension scores inform four class profiles: enthusiastic, reserved, unpassionate, and disengaged. Results show a significant association between the latent profiles and customer participation in customer engagement activities. Interestingly, the results indicate that highly engaged customers do not necessarily participate in cyberspace-related customer engagement activities; instead, they participate more often in traditional, offline customer engagement activities. Study 2 validates these findings in a tourism destination context. The consistent findings across the two studies challenge the customer engagement literature’s general assumption linking customer engagement and consumer participation in social media.

관광객의 음식관광 동기, 관여도, 인게이지먼트에 관한 연구

관광객의 음식관광 동기, 관여도, 인게이지먼트에 관한 연구

Trekking and toddlers: Towards a biocultural analysis of growth among infants and young children in a rural region of the Himalayas.

Rapid socioeconomic change, associated with development and a growing tourism industry is occurring across the Himalayas. The health impact of this rapid economic development is poorly understood, especially for infants and young children. This study investigated the associations between village level economic differences as indexed by economic development and tourism engagement on infant and young child growth and health in a population of ethnic Tibetans living in the western Himalayas of Nepal. One hundred and fifty nine infants and young children (ages 1-24 months) were enrolled. Anthropometric data (height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness) were collected at a single time point. Village level measurements of tourism and market engagement were incorporated into a scale measuring tourism, healthcare, trail access, agriculture, and involvement in medicinal trade. Village level disease patterns were calculated from morbidity and mortality recalls collected since 2003. There were no significant associations between infant weight for age z-score (WAZ), length for age z-score (LAZ), or weight-for-length for age z-score (WLZ) and village altitude, village economic development score, or engagement in tourism. Males had significantly higher LAZ, WAZ, and WLZ compared to females; only females showed a decline in LAZ with age. Triceps skinfold thickness z-score (ZTSF) was inversely associated with village level economic development score in male but not female infants; females ZTSF was positively associated with IYC age. While overall size for age indices (WAZ, LAZ, WLZ) were not associated with altitude or village economic development in this population, ZTSF was inversely associated with village economic development in males but not females.

Exploring destination engagement of sharing economy accommodation: case of Australian second-homes

ABSTRACTDigital platforms operating in the colloquially termed sharing economy (SE) are disrupting tourism, notably accommodation with growth in peer-to-peer (P2P) rentals. Second-home rentals constitute an important segment of SE ‘entire homes’ as revealed by Airbnb, SE’s largest accommodation platform, with over seven million listings in 2019. Concurrent to SE micro-accommodation growth, global tourism organizations promote local engagement of all tourism enterprises to build sustainable destinations. Lack of understanding SE second-home engagement in destination networks and development activities is a significant knowledge gap. In response, this qualitative study explores regional tourism engagement of numbers of SE second-homes to help achieve local destination management organizations’ (DMOs) sustainable development goals. Research methods incorporate three Australian regional cases using interviews, web observations and secondary data to investigate perspectives of destination engagement of second-home rentals. Findings uncover power shifts in case regions that have created vacuums in local tourism ecosystems now being filled by Airbnb and accommodation platforms. Analysis of factors influencing engagement in destination development activities indicates second-home localized marketing and collaborative efforts are eroding under current tourism business models.

The landscape of customer engagement in hospitality and tourism: a systematic review

PurposeThis paper aims to deliver a systematic review of customer engagement in hospitality and tourism by synthesising existing literature, thus presenting a state-of-art landscape of customer engagement research.Design/methodology/approachA total of 173 peer-reviewed articles were collected from seven databases, spanning from 2007 to 2020. A systematic review was conducted by analysing, categorizing and synthesising existing studies to examine the evolution, conceptual nature, typology and measurement of the existing literature on customer engagement in hospitality and tourism.FindingsThis study provides an overview of the temporal, spatial, sectoral and journal-wise distribution of customer engagement in hospitality and tourism. A comprehensive definition of customer engagement is proposed based on five fundamental propositions. Scrutiny of customer engagement studies in hospitality and tourism presents four sub-forms, including online customer engagement, tourist engagement, customer brand engagement and customer engagement behaviour. Additionally, the research methods, dimensionality and measurement scales of customer engagement are systematically reviewed.Originality/valueThis study is the first systematic review of customer engagement research in the field of hospitality and tourism. The original definition leads to an improved understanding of customer engagement. This study is also the first to propose a clear typology of customer engagement to enhance consistency in usage.

Customer engagement and eWOM in tourism

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to examine the role of customer engagement (CE) on electronic word of mouth (eWOM) behavior among vacationers in Tanzania. The article disaggregates CE into cognitive process, affection and behavior and integrates eWOM passing into the eWOM concept.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 278 vacationers who had used social media before and/or during their trip in Tanzania was used. They were drawn at three major airports in Tanzania when exiting the destination. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed relationships.FindingsIt is revealed that both the affective CE and behavioral CE positively relate to vacationers' eWOM seeking, giving and passing behaviors in tourism-related sites. On the other hand the cognitive CE relates positively only with eWOM passing behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsThe varied relationship of the three CE dimensions (cognitive, affective and behavioral) with eWOM behaviors further confirms the multi-dimensionality of CE and the enduring psychological connection of individuals beyond participation in activities.Practical implicationsCE is multifaceted and enduring and thus managers should take a long-term, enduring and multidimensional perspective in facilitating CE development. Different content appeals are needed in facilitating CE in online platforms as CE dimensions relate variedly with eWOM behaviorsOriginality/valueThe study links CE and eWOM in a novel way by disaggregating CE and integrating the eWOM passing component into the eWOM concept in tourism-related social media sites.

Stavovi lokalnog stanovništva prema uticaju turizma na Paliću

This paper discusses the attitudes of the local population towards the impact of tourism on the tourist destination Palic. By researching the role and the importance of the local population in the process of tourism development, what is presented is the current situation, positive and negative influences as well as the possibilities of improving tourism. The aim of this paper is to determine the impact of tourism on destination Palic observed through the attitudes, involvement, and the contribution of the local population. A sample of 100 adults was surveyed with 18 questions taken from previous similar surveys. The good internal reliability of the questionnaire was determined by using Cronbach's alpha. It was found that the local population of Palic generally highly evaluates the impact of tourism and recognizes its positive impact on the local development. Women were stricter in assessing the impact of tourism, while the assessment of respondents of different ages did not differ significantly. The importance of tourism for the local development is more recognized by those who are engaged in it. However, the real impact of all three factors (gender, age, and engagement in tourism) was small.

Customer experience and engagement in tourism destinations: the experiential marketing perspective

ABSTRACT Tourism destinations are increasingly offering experiential services to promote the development of their competitive advantage. This research investigates the effects of customers’ tourism engagement with experiential marketing activities and develops and tests a framework in this area. Findings suggest that customer engagement’s dimensions exert differing effects on customer experience and identification, which subsequently affect behavioral intention toward destinations. Findings also suggest the indirect effects of customer engagement dimensions on behavioural intentions via experience and identification. Further, findings propose the significant difference between first-time and repeat-visitors in terms of the underlying constructs. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.