Niche Tourism Research Articles

In search of a ‘flying cow’? Marketing storm chasing tours in the Great Plains

ABSTRACT Although storm chasing existed before the release of the 1996 movie Twister, this blockbuster introduced the concept to a wider audience and played a role in creating a new niche tourism sector with an epicentre in the Great Plains region of the United States. Even today, storm chasing tour operators market themselves, in part, on the aspects of storm chasing that relate to adventure tourism, using terms such as ‘extreme’ and ‘thrill’, but is this an effective approach? In this study, we performed a discourse analysis of ten Great Plains-based storm chasing tour operators’ websites in May and June 2023 to assess key themes that they use to market their tours. We compared these marketing themes to reviews posted by storm chasers on an independent word-of-mouth website about storm chasing tours, StormChasingUSA.com. We found that very few tourists referenced themes related to adventure or thrill-seeking in their reviews, but many chose to highlight the expertise of their tour guides and the informal education they received about severe weather. We argue that many storm chasers may be better marketed to as ‘nature tourists’ rather than ‘adventure tourists’.

Enhancing Tourism in the South Caucasus through Coopetition

This article explores the concept of “coopetition” as a strategic approach for enhancing tourism development in the South Caucasus region, comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The region holds significant tourism potential but faces infrastructure gaps, limited awareness, safety standards, and accessibility. Additionally, political instability, including the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and the ongoing occupation of Georgian territories by Russia, has hindered growth. Fortunately, recent peace efforts between Azerbaijan and Armenia offer opportunities for collaborative tourism initiatives, potentially boosting economic stability. Through an assessment of tourism intelligence, competitiveness, and regional dynamics, the study identifies key areas where these countries can both compete and cooperate to attract high-value tourists. Coopetition offers a strategy for enhancing the region’s competitiveness through joint marketing, shared tourist routes, and improved cross-border infrastructure while also allowing each country to utilize its unique strengths in niche tourism products. At the same time, coopetition also poses risks, such as unequal benefit distribution and coordination challenges in aligning policies, among other issues. The analysis concludes that by balancing competition with strategic cooperation, the South Caucasus countries can boost regional tourism, attract high-value visitor segments, strengthen their global market position, and contribute to lasting peace in the region.

Sustainable Marketing of Agro-Tourism: The Socio-cultural Perspective

Agricultural tourism has emerged as a niche tourism phenomenon and its demand has soared across the globe. This paper focuses on the socio-cultural sustainability of agro-tourism. Key socio-cultural dimensions, social capital and authenticity, are examined based on a purposeful sample of spatially dispersed farms in the US. The study results illustrate that agrotourism holds tremendous potential to strengthen and promote local food systems by promoting traditional ways of farming, particularly objective and negotiated dimensions of authenticity, social cohesion, trust and reciprocity. Marketing strategies promoting socio-cultural consumption of agro-tourism are suggested.

Craft breweries, neolocalism and visual social media marketing

Purpose Craft breweries have a growing role in the beer tourism niche as a place-based attraction but also in daily life as a community space. Research has examined how such breweries can appeal to both tourist and local markets through neolocalism in the form of place branding and local embeddedness. This paper aims to consider the extent to which breweries communicate neolocal themes in visual social media marketing through Instagram images. Design/methodology/approach This research examines 3,299 Instagram images posted on the official accounts of 13 Houston, Texas (USA) microbreweries and taproom breweries over the course of 2022. Content-semiotic analysis identifies key themes in these images and explores the extent to which breweries signify neolocal themes through these images. Findings Manifest image content generally appeals to interests in consuming beer and communicates logistical information about if, and when, to visit the brewery. Elements in Instagram images have the potential to convey meanings about neolocalism in the craft beer product, branding, local embeddedness and place-based experiences but such strategies have not been extensively developed or used. Originality/value Although both academic and industry sources recognize the importance of social media and visual content in connecting with potential consumers, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to examine the extent to which breweries employ neolocal strategies through social media marketing.

Antecedents of tourist loyalty in China’s Kangyang tourism: The influence of destination image, service quality, tourist satisfaction, and affective commitment

Background: Kangyang tourism, a wellness tourism niche in China, integrates health preservation with tourism through natural and cultural resources. Despite a growing interest in Kangyang tourism, the factors driving tourist loyalty in this sector are underexplored. Methods: Using a sample of 413 tourists, this study employed Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) to examine the influence of destination image, service quality, tourist satisfaction, and affective commitment on tourist loyalty. Results: The findings reveal that destination image and service quality positively affect tourist satisfaction, affective commitment, and loyalty. Tourist satisfaction and affective commitment are identified as critical drivers of tourist loyalty. Notably, affective commitment plays a stronger role in fostering loyalty compared to satisfaction. Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of a positive destination image and high service quality in enhancing tourist loyalty through increased emotional and psychological attachment. The findings inform strategies for stakeholders to improve Kangyang tourism’s growth by focusing on emotionally engaging experiences and service excellence.

Popular culture and tourism: conceptual advances and future directions

This review of the intersection between popular culture and tourism surveys progress in the field and suggests directions for future research. Popular culture as fuel for niche tourism, interpreted in relation to nostalgia, authenticity, and identity, has been supplemented by research on embodiment and performativity, and the influence of social media. Popular culture remains a strong rationale for travel and is thoroughly imbricated in tourism’s corporatised and platformised industry superstructure. Yet, as subcultures and social media proliferate globally and are refracted by cultural diversity and a more disruptive world, research will need to adapt accordingly, linking structural analysis of industry consolidation, cyclicality, and fluidity, with critical cultural theories in order to pluralise, diversify and contest understandings of popular culture and its connection to tourism.

TOURISM MANAGEMENT EXPLAINED BY THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE AVERAGE TOTAL INCOME PER PERSON AND THE NUMBER OF OVERNIGHT STAYS IN ACCOMMODATION UNITS

In Romania’s tourism industry, in the last decade, following the European trend, small dimensioned accommodation units have appeared, bearing the name of boutique guesthouses or boutique hotels, depending on their accommodation capacity. The boutique guesthouses offer both accommodation services in rooms with traditional Romanian boyar characteristics, with Saxon and Szechuan influences, as well as food services with the same culinary characteristics. A particularity of these accommodation units is that each room had been furnishing according to a traditional noble theme, using either furniture that has been produced in Romanian workshops. Roomꞌ s names have been inspired by the woody essences that can be found in the Romanian forests and a large part of the furniture is made of cherry, beech, fir, oak, elm wood. The specific architecture of the accommodation units has been established in 18th century specific to the rococo and baroque style, predominantly found in buildings constructions in Romanian towns where niche tourism is a small part of mass tourism industry.

Effect of Culinary Tourism on Local Economic Development in South Africa

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of culinary tourism on local economic development in South Africa. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study revealed this form of tourism, centered around experiencing local cuisine and food-related activities, contributes to the economic vitality of a region by attracting visitors who spend on dining, food tours, cooking classes, and local food markets. These expenditures generate revenue for local businesses, including restaurants, farmers, food producers, and hospitality services, thereby creating job opportunities and stimulating economic growth. Additionally, culinary tourism fosters the preservation and promotion of local food culture and heritage, which can enhance a destination's unique appeal and competitiveness. This tourism niche often leads to increased demand for local ingredients, thereby supporting agricultural sectors and encouraging sustainable farming practices. Furthermore, the development of food festivals and culinary events can boost off-season tourism, providing a steadier stream of income for local economies. Overall, culinary tourism not only enhances the economic landscape but also reinforces community identity and pride, making it a valuable component of regional development strategies. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Social exchange theory, multiplier effect theory and sustainable tourism development theory may be used to anchor future studies on assessing the effect of culinary tourism on local economic development in South Africa. To mitigate local governments, businesses, and community organizations should work together to create cohesive culinary tourism strategies. Policymakers should create frameworks that encourage sustainable culinary tourism practices.

Orphanage Tourism as a Niche Tourism Segment: Exploring the Complexities and Ethical Implications

Orphanage Tourism as a Niche Tourism Segment: Exploring the Complexities and Ethical Implications

Food, glorious food! The intersection of food cultures and creative tourism in Brunei

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to apply the theoretical frameworks of resource-based view (RBV) and Social Creativity to elucidate insights related to food cultures and creative tourism in the context of Brunei. This addresses an important gap in the literature to unpack how food cultures and creative tourism can become a vehicle for the diversification of a country’s reliance on oil and gas as primary industries.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was taken in this research, utilising both primary and secondary data such as social media posts, media reports and semi-structured interviews to shed light on an emerging niche market in Brunei tourism.FindingsThe research revealed the entrepreneurial mindset of local food chefs and enthusiasts in showcasing Bruneian heritage and cultures, supported by government campaigns and technological advances. This lends further evidence that food cultures and creative tourism can be a lever for a national economic diversification strategy and can be validated elsewhere.Research limitations/implicationsThis is one of the first studies to investigate the intersection of the RBV and Social Creativity to advance the theory and practice of tourism in South East Asia.Practical implicationsThe intersection of food cultures and creative tourism within Brunei is dovetailed into the theoretical frameworks of the RBV and Wilson’s Social Creativity Framework. This is evidenced in a diversification strategy emerging from the case study of Brunei, where food is earmarked as a heritage resource and leverages individual, and in particular, young people’s creativity to generate a niche tourism market for the country.Social implicationsThe paper illuminates the role of technology as a vehicle for the discourses of creativity, reflexivity, education and economy to flourish. Through co-created content on social media, food heritage and creative tourism experiences are foregrounded and assisted by the entrepreneurs in reaching their desired audiences. Arguably, such tools helped the country alleviate the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and thrust domestic food tourism experiences into the spotlight, like other destinations.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to investigate the intersection of the RBV and Social Creativity to advance the theory and practice of tourism in South East Asia.

Travel for health as a type of niche tourism and economic growth: A cross‐country panel data analysis

AbstractAlthough the potential of the health tourism to support economic growth can be based on strong theoretical foundations, it is also argued that this tourism type may hinder economic growth by weakening labor productivity. On this basis, the present study aims to examine the effect of health tourism on economic growth. The study uses panel data fixed effects method with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors and dataset of 72 countries. The findings strongly supported that health tourism boosts economic growth. To be more precise, it was estimated that a one‐point increase in health tourism revenues, expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) of personal health travel exports, causes an increase of 4.9345 in GDP growth rate and 4.2558 in per capita GDP growth rate. Furthermore, the negative growth effect of health tourism through labor productivity, which is theoretically proposed and expressed as crowding‐out effect, was not supported by the findings.

Factors of forming tourist flows in modern development of tourism in the Russian Federation

The article presents the factors of modern development of tourism in Russia. Statistics on the development of the Russian tourism indicate that the direction, dynamics and intensity of tourist flows have changed quite significantly from 2010 to 2022. According to certain development parameters of the domestic tourism industry, there are both considerable achievements and unresolved issues. The formulation of public policy on resolution of the latter should be implemented on the basis of current factors. Sustainable development of the Russian tourism sector is possible by ensuring an integrated approach that includes improvement of the quality of tourism services based on the principles of sustainable tourism alongside with increase of investment attractiveness of tourism infrastructure and increase of investments in tourism digital products. The expected promising directions for the development of the industry are substantiated: the priority of health and safety, ecotourism, decrease in the number of spontaneous trips, development of niche tourism areas, digitalisation of the industry, virtualisation and simulation (imitation of tourism activities). Attention is focused on important factors of tourism development: potential growth points for the tourism industry are identified as well as the expected types of tourism that will attract demand from tourists.

Halal tourism and ChatGPT: an overview of current trends and future research directions

PurposeThe huge Muslim population has increased the demand for halal tourism products and destination factors in this niche tourism segment. Despite the growing body of research conducted regarding ChatGPT’s revolutionary impact on the tourism industry, the use of such an artificial intelligence (AI) tool in halal tourism needs more attention. This study aims to provide a comprehensive an overview of using ChatGPT in the tourism industry, specifically in halal tourism, and offer an agenda for further essential research questions exploration.Design/methodology/approachThrough the intensive examination of the tourism literature dealing with AI and halal tourism, this review identifies the implications related to the use of ChatGPT for Muslim travelers and future trends in halal tourism.FindingsThis paper identified the possible utilization of ChatGPT in assisting Muslim travelers across various stages of their journey, encompassing pre-trip, staying and post-trip phases. Subsequently, this paper identified the opportunities and challenges associated with implementing ChatGPT in the context of halal tourism. Finally, the paper delves into potential avenues for future research.Practical implicationsThe findings serve as crucial implications, contributing to the theory of halal tourism development and the applications of ChatGPT in halal tourism.Originality/valueThis paper provides essential foundational knowledge for upcoming research on halal tourism theory, ChatGPT and the development of halal tourism sector.

Research progress of tourism marketing over 30 years: Bibliometrics based on CiteSpace

Research progress of tourism marketing over 30 years: Bibliometrics based on CiteSpace

Historical perspective on niche tourism: recreational trout fishing in South Africa

Niche tourism is an important focus in current tourism scholarship. Although the international literature on niche tourism is relatively recent in origin it must be acknowledged that niche tourism is not a new phenomenon and that many types of niche tourism have a long history. The aim in this paper is to address a knowledge gap in current niche tourism literature by examining its under-researched past with a case study of recreational trout fishing in South Africa. Using archival sources this study documents the emergence of trout fishing in South Africa and gives historical insight into its origins as a niche form of rural tourism. The popularisation of recreational trout fishing was given an important boost by the infrastructure and agency of the South African Railways especially its publicity and marketing material. Enhanced automobilities and the emergence of early drive tourism, a by-product of improvements which occurred from the 1930s in South Africa’s road network, further boosted the growth of trout fishing as a niche in rural tourism.

Past Niche Tourism: The First Chapter of Mountain Tourism in South Africa

Mountain tourism enjoys a long history in many countries, much of which is unrecorded. This paper addresses one dimension of the neglected past of recreation and tourism in the Global South. The focus is on the development of mountain tourism as a form of niche tourism in South Africa. The paper contributes to the limited international historical scholarship on niche tourism. In addition, it extends the literature in South African tourism scholarship on tourism’s past, tourism history and the historical geographies of tourism. Using the limited extant literature and with primary archival sources the early development of mountain tourism in South Africa is investigated. The time period covered is from the mid-19th century to the early 1950s. Arguably, the initial origins of mountain tourism in South Africa must be situated at Table Mountain in Cape Town. The focus shifts subsequently to the growth of mountain tourism in the high Drakensberg range. Although mountain tourism is dominated by domestic visitors it is argued that the South African Railways played a vital role in exposing South Africa — and especially the Drakensberg — as a potential destination for international mountain tourists.

Contested Heritage(s) – The Case(s) of the Battle of Blood River (December 16th, 1838), Dundee and Nquthu, South Africa

Battlefield tourism is a well-established niche in cultural and heritage tourism the world over. This paper explores the contested nature of a specific battlefield in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where two separate museums exist to memorialise the same event, but from two perspectives. The Battle of Blood River (December 16th, 1838) remains a contested event in history books, portrayed from Afrikaner and AmaZulu points of view at the Blood River Heritage Site and Ncome Museum, respectively. People interested in visiting battlefields are slowly dying out, and if South Africa wants to take advantage of growing Battlefield Tourism in the future for surviving generations of those involved in these battles, a new approach will be necessary to sustain and develop this niche of cultural and heritage tourism in the country. This paper uses netnography to analyse the internet footprint of this historical event through the museums’ websites. The paper argues that a more balanced and two-sided perspective should be given at both museums to grow and develop the interest in battlefield tourism across South Africa and encourage mutual visitorship to both museums on the same battlefield site.

Creative tea tourism in Asian tea villages

ABSTRACT Tea has a long history connected to many creative pursuits including but not limited to art, literature, story-telling, cultural ceremonies, cuisine and gastronomy. Creativity and related creative activities have been noted as relevant to tourism and hospitality. Tea tourism has been recognized as a niche tourism form both in producing and consuming countries and also as part of tea studies. This paper applies the principles of creative tourism to the niche of tea tourism, investigating the existence of forms of creative tea tourism. The literature on the creative economy, creative tourism and tea tourism provides a context for examining creative tea tourism examples through comparative case studies from rural tea villages in Japan (Wazuka) and Thailand (Doi Pu Muen). A key focus will be on how these communities have creatively developed their tea tourism activities, to address challenges in traditional tea and tourism industries. The relevance of the findings to other global tea producing locales will be identified.

Halal and Islamic tourism: science mapping of present and future trends

Purpose This study aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic review of halal tourism structure using bibliometric analysis. Halal tourism interest has increased due to the high demand for tourism products adhering to Shariah law. Furthermore, the vast Muslim population has increased the demand for halal tourism products and destination factors in this niche tourism segment. Design/methodology/approach A network visualization through bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis, this review presents a science mapping analysis to reveal the knowledge structure of emerging and future trends in halal tourism. Findings The current and emerging trends demonstrate three themes: the fundamentals of halal tourism, communication via word of mouth in halal tourism and Muslim tourist satisfaction and loyalty. At the same time, the co-word analysis presents the four themes primarily associated with halal tourism challenges: tourist satisfaction, service quality and Muslim travellers’ attraction. Research limitations/implications The findings serve as crucial implications, contributing to halal and general tourism theory and application. Originality/value This review serves as crucial fundamental knowledge for future studies in halal tourism and its relevant themes for further development in tourism management. The most significant emerging theme in halal tourism is the intervention needed to increase Muslim tourist satisfaction and loyalty through halal-friendly service, customer-service quality, foods and beverages, facilities and privacy. The co-word analysis suggests increasing tourists’ engagement in halal tourism by invigorating the religiosity domain among tourists, improving service quality and perceived value and discovering new Muslim-friendly attractions. The most crucial finding from this study is to ensure that halal and Muslim-friendly tourism are at the same level, to the extent of better service according to Islamic practice. This approach would elevate the value and status of halal tourism as a trending product in Muslim and non-Muslim markets.

TOURISTS’ MOTIVATIONS FOR VISITING DARK SKY SITES: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN CHINA

Dark sky tourism as a form of niche tourism is gaining popularity worldwide. However, empirical research examining what motivates tourists to seek out this type of experience is lacking. This research note contributes to bridging this knowledge gap by employing push-pull theory to explore tourists’ motivations for visiting dark sky sites. Adopting a qualitative netnographic approach, Chinese tourists’ perspectives were explored through twenty-two semi-structured interviews. Eleven thematic factors were extracted and mapped within a refined push and pull motivation framework. The findings show how push and pull factors motivate both first-time and repeat visitors to gain dark sky experiences.