Travel Incentives Research Articles

Market mavenism, tourists’ co-creation experience, loyalty, vaxication intention: mediating role of travel incentives in the post-COVID-19 environment

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between market mavenism, tourists’ cocreation experience, loyalty and the mediating role of travel incentives in the post-COVID-19 tourism environment in the context of vaxication intentions in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachThis study used covariance-based structural equation modeling to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. A total of 348 respondents participated in the survey.FindingsThe findings of this study support the assumption that market mavenism (MM) engage in cocreating and sharing travel experiences (CCTE). Furthermore, the study reveals that market mavens tend to demonstrate loyalty (LTY) toward service providers when engaging in cocreation with travel industry professionals. In addition, the study establishes the significant mediating effect of travel incentives (TI) between MM and vaxication intention (VI).Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses the theory of planned behavior to examine tourists’ intentions for vaxication and the psychological factors influencing their decisions, while also using the macro–micro theory to explore industry-level factors like market mavens and customer engagement, leading to a comprehensive understanding of COVID-19 vaccination and tourism behavior. Further research is needed to address limitations such as country diversity, multiple locations and service providers, online behavior analysis, authenticity perception and identification of market mavens’ personality traits and travel preferences.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the scholarly literature in several ways. First, it explores the influence of market mavens on tourism experience cocreation and customer loyalty during the postpandemic era. Second, it empirically examines the mediating role of travel incentives, adding to the understanding of market mavens and vaccination intentions. Lastly, the study addresses the implications during and after the COVID-19 for managers and service providers in the tourism industry.

Why do Japanese people visit hot springs during a pandemic? A psychographic segmentation analysis

An increasing number of tourism studies are focusing on travel anxiety, fear, and worry, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the impact of worry on individuals' intentions to visit Japanese hot springs (onsen) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A market survey (N = 1042) was conducted in Tokyo. Psychographic segmentation based on exploratory factor analysis was used to group Japanese respondents. Three separate segments emerged as a result: Concerned Visitors, Carefree Visitors, and Trusting Visitors; these segments were based on perceived threat intensity, perceived infectability, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and crowded perception and attitude. These segments were then profiled using factors based on demographic information and visit intention under three criteria: a) without external travel incentives, b) with an attractive travel package, or c) discounts provided by the national Go to Travel campaign. Both attractive package prices and discounts provided by Go to Travel had a small effect on boosting visit intention. Notably, a carefree attitude toward COVID-19 did not increase visit intention and should not be considered a factor that may increase the number of people visiting onsen. Meanwhile, marital status and household composition significantly impacted intention to visit. The segments differed significantly by age, marital status, and family composition, but not gender. A better understanding of market segments is critical for hot spring destinations. Trusting visitors can be motivated to visit through external incentives. Although visiting onsen is not the main travel motive of Carefree Visitors, they might be encouraged to visit if campaigns contain vouchers for visits at their selected travel destination. The risk perceptions of Concerned Visitors might be lowered by the limiting visitor numbers, providing discounts during off-peak hours, or to onsen towns in remote locations are encouraged. Promotional material can highlight if rooms offer private pools or tubs. The motivation of visiting onsen for social activities has been lost significantly among all respondents, and offering group discounts is discouraged.

Identifying Factors Influencing Recreational Travel during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aims to identify the psychological constructs that are antecedents to people’s intention to travel to a tourist destination during the COVID-19 pandemic using the extended theory of planned behavior (ETPB) and necessary condition analysis (NCA). Online survey responses collected from 1,259 participants in the United States in May–June 2021 are used for the study. We find a moderating effect of public trust towards the government on the relationship between travel concerns and intentions. Results suggest that certain levels of public trust, subjective norm, perceived benefit of travel, perceived behavioral control, and perceived knowledge of the pandemic are necessary to manifest travel intentions. We uncover that providing travel incentives and better dissemination of the pandemic-related information can potentially encourage people to regain their original travel intention that was lost due to the pandemic. Furthermore, the bottlenecks obtained using NCA show that travel intentions are more easily manifested by perceived knowledge of the pandemic versus others. This study demonstrates the application of NCA, which can be further extended to make policy-level decisions for transportation systems.

Evaluating the Environmental Benefits of Personalized Travel Incentives in Dynamic Carpooling

In a dynamic carpooling system, drivers and riders with their own intended travel plans are matched on short notice. The performance of such a system largely depends on the carpool participants' travel flexibility (the extent to which a detour is tolerated or the willingness to accept a slightly different drop-off location). To increase travel flexibility, an incentive scheme can be introduced for carpool participants to opt for. For instance, a driver specifies how much she/he expects to be compensated (e.g., $5) if the earliest departure time is shifted to be earlier than the originally scheduled time by a certain amount (e.g., 10 minutes). Similarly, an interested passenger reports the expected incentive to willingly accept a different destination (such as a nearby transit stop or coffee shop) deviating from the request. In this dynamic carpool matching problem with incentives, the following decisions are jointly optimized from the perspective of a carpool matching coordinator: 1) incentive allocations to drivers and riders, 2) assignments of riders to drivers, and 3) vehicle routes of drivers. A case study based on data from Washington, D.C. is conducted to evaluate the potential of the personalized incentives offered to carpool participants in mitigating the environmental impact of transportation (quantified by the reduction of vehicle miles traveled). Two notable findings are reported. First, one dollar of incentive could reduce vehicle miles travelled by 2.88 in one benchmark case. Second, driver incentives are shown to be much more effective than rider incentives under reasonable cost assumptions.

Can Senior Travelers Save Japanese Hot Springs? A Psychographic Segmentation of Visitors and Their Intention to Visit Onsen Establishments during COVID-19

To develop tourism products and campaigns that will not just help Japanese hot springs survive but revive and sustain them in the future, it is imperative to understand the behavioral intentions of its visitors during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to investigate how the important market of senior Japanese visitors is characterized by their attitudes and feelings toward visiting hot springs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it explores whether external travel incentives can increase seniors’ intention to visit. A market research study was conducted on Japanese nationals, using 507 questionnaires. A factor analysis generated five attitude dimensions: (1) response efficacy, (2) perceived COVID-19 infectability, (3) self-efficacy, (4) crowding perception and feeling, and (5) perceived threat severity. Through k-means cluster analysis, the segmentation produced three distinct tourist segments: trusting seniors, concerned seniors, and indifferent seniors. Each segment is clearly described in terms of attitudes, considering distinct sociodemographic characteristics. Practical suggestions on managing and targeting these segments are also discussed.

Can Post-Vaccine ‘Vaxication’ Rejuvenate Global Tourism? Nexus between COVID-19 Branded Destination Safety, Travel Shaming, Incentives and the Rise of Vaxication Travel

Vaxication (i.e., post-vaccination travel) and branding destinations for COVID-19 safety have emerged as the cornerstones to fully rebound global tourism. Numerous destination brands are now stimulating tourism demand through realigned travel incentives specifically for fully vaccinated travelers. However, there is growing fear and incidents of travel shaming across destinations, especially due to the recent outbreaks of the highly contagious COVID-19 ‘delta and omicron’ variants. Addressing this critical research gap, the present study makes pioneering efforts to empirically examine the effects of COVID-19 branded destination safety (CBDS) on vaxication intentions, under the moderating influence of travel shaming and travel incentives. Drawing on study data from 560 fully-vaccinated residents from Hawaii, United States and structural equation modeling (SEM) with Mplus, the evidence suggests that the positive impact of CBDS on vaxication intention can be further strengthened by travel incentives, or weakened when travel shaming picks up more momentum. Besides the validation of newly developed scales, the study offers strategic insights based on dominant theories (e.g., theory of planned behavior and protection motivation theory) to interpret the changing tourism demand, and to transform the emerging challenges into opportunities through and beyond the pandemic.

Marijuana Decriminalization, Medical Marijuana Laws, and Fatal Traffic Crashes in US Cities, 2010-2017.

Objectives. To determine the impact of city-level cannabis decriminalization and medical marijuana laws (MMLs) on fatal traffic crashes in US cities.Methods. Using a census of fatal traffic crashes from the 2010 to 2017 Fatality Analysis Reporting System, we examined MMLs and cannabis decriminalization on fatal crashes by age and sex of driver. We used a Poisson difference-in-differences approach, exploiting temporal and geographic variation in marijuana decriminalization laws.Results. Cities experienced a 13% increase in fatal crashes involving 15- to 24-year-old male drivers following decriminalization (incidence rate ratio = 1.125; 95% confidence interval = 1.014, 1.249). This effect was immediate and strongest on weekend nights. We found no effect on female drivers or older males. Conversely, we found that MMLs were associated with fewer fatal crashes for both males and females, which was most pronounced in 15- to 24-year-old drivers.Conclusions. Unlike MMLs, which are associated with fewer fatal crashes, cities experienced a relative increase in fatal crashes involving young male drivers following marijuana decriminalization.Public Health Implications. MMLs stipulate consumption occurs at home, whereas decriminalization only lessens the penalty for marijuana possession. Therefore, travel incentives of such laws have heterogeneous effects on traffic safety.

Behavioral modeling of on-demand mobility services: general framework and application to sustainable travel incentives

This paper presents a systematic way of understanding and modeling traveler behavior in response to on-demand mobility services. We explicitly consider the sequential and yet inter-connected decision-making stages specific to on-demand service usage. The framework includes a hybrid choice model for service subscription, and three logit mixture models with inter-consumer heterogeneity for the service access, menu product choice and opt-out choice. Different models are connected by feeding logsums. The proposed modeling framework is essential for accounting the impacts of real-time on-demand system’s dynamics on traveler behaviors and capturing consumer heterogeneity, thus being greatly relevant for integrations in multi-modal dynamic simulators. The methodology is applied to a case study of an innovative personalized on-demand real-time system which incentivizes travelers to select more sustainable travel options. The data for model estimation is collected through a smartphone-based context-aware stated preference survey. Through model estimation, lower values of time are observed when the respondents opt to use the reward system. The perception of incentives and schedule delay by different population segments are quantified. These results are fundamental in setting the ground for different behavioral scenarios of such a new on-demand system. The proposed methodology is flexible to be applied to model other on-demand mobility services such as ride-hailing services and the emerging mobility as a service.

Sport tourism: a comparative analysis of residents from Brazil and Hong Kong

This paper presents a comparative analysis of residents from Brazilian cities and Hong Kong to an incentive of travelling as sport event tourists. The findings from Hong Kong (n=134) and São Paulo (n=151) reveal their different travel incentives, ability and characteristics in terms of annual and infrequent sport events. When determining interest in a sport event, excitement and safety are of paramount concern to respondents from both territories. As sport event tourism does not automatically flourish and remain sustained after the presence of a mega-event, city governments are recommended to react to the preferences of specific market.

Using an accelerated vehicle retirement program (AVRP) to support a mode shift: Car purchase and modal intentions following program participation

To stimulate the economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from older vehicles, most accelerated vehicle retirement programs (AVRPs) provide participants with incentives to purchase a new, less-polluting vehicle. The province of Quebec also designed its AVRP as a mode-shift tool by providing alternative travel incentives to participants. Alternatives include public transit passes, rebates on bicycles and car-sharing memberships. In the absence of post-program assessment, the theory of planned behavior is used to assess participants’ modal intentions and intentions to purchase a new or used vehicle following par-ticipation. A subset (22 percent) of program participants (2009-2011; n=9070) filled out an optional survey about vehicle purchases and travel intentions. Age, gender, income, distance traveled in the previous year and perceived access to public transit were used as independent variables in logit and multinomial logit regressions. Car purchase intentions and traveling by car were associated with greater distance traveled. Higher-income participants were more likely to purchase new vehicles, and lower-income people and students were more likely to purchase used vehicles or refrain from any purchase. Alternative travel intentions were each associated with different socio-demographic characteristics. Quebec’s program offers a promising incentive-based opportunity to influence mode shift if favora-ble circumstances are in place to enhance access to alternative travel modes.

Treasurer's Report for Financial Year (FY) 2013

Society’s total assets as of May 31, 2014, are as follows: $2,933,887.35 • Cash accounts (community checking + money market business): $2,749,480.42 • Total CDs: $184,406.93 This report covers the period of June 1, 2013–May 31, 2014. Due to the ongoing success of Molecular Biology and Evolution (MBE) and Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE), whose revenues continue to increase, the society remains in outstanding financial health. Society membership decreased marginally during financial year 2013: Membership-only subscriptions decreased from 732 in 2012 to 332 in 2013, whereas Society membership + journal subscriptions increased from 313 in 2012 to 687 in 2013. The society used its income to publish its two journals, MBE and GBE, and to support its annual meeting, in 2013, held in Chicago, IL. This included providing increased graduate and postdoctoral travel awards, funding the Walter Fitch Prize Symposium (a cash prize for the winner and travel funds for all eight contestants), running the Undergraduate Diversity Mentoring Program (UDMP), subsidizing the provision of on-site childcare, supporting the travel and accommodation of Council members, and providing travel incentives for associate editors of MBE and GBE. We also supported three satellite meetings on important, focused and timely topics related to molecular evolutionary biology. We continue to receive an annual donation of $2,000USD from Masatoshi Nei to support an honorarium for publication in MBE of the annual Nei Lecture given by the President of Society for MBE (SMBE) during the annual meeting. The 2013 Nei Lecture is to be the first lecture published under this scheme. The total value of the honorarium is to be $4,000USD. Expense Category June 1, 2013– May 31, 2014 (USD) Interest income 532.23 OUP signing bonus (new contract negotiation) 125,000.00 OUP journal revenue (MBE) 585,510.00 OUP journal revenue (GBE) 131,224.00 Society fees collected by OUP 9,817.00 Annual meeting reimbursement 0.00 Nei Lecture fund donation (Masatoshi Nei) 2,000.00 Total inflows 854,083.23 2013 annual meeting 146,120.00 SMBE satellite meetings 54,796.50 Support for diversity programs (e.g., UDMP, childcare subsidy) 27,685.84 Nei Lecture publication honorarium 0.00 Bank charges 295.00 Accounting 1,750.00 Consultancy and professional society management 3,620.00 Corporation fee 40.00 Fitch prize 1,500.00 SMBE council and editors-in-chief travel 26,915.29 MBE/GBE associate editors travel incentive 110,001.07 SMBE travel awards (Fitch, graduate, postdoc) 46,969.00 SMBE website maintenance 514.81 SMBE treasurer expenses 0.00 MBE editorial office expenses 65,356.66 MBE editor expenses 66,000.00 MBE highlights and press releases 6,370.00 GBE editor expenses 0.00 GBE “Highlight” honoraria 10,090.50 Postage 0.00 Total outflows 568,024.67 Overall total 286,058.56 View it in a separate window

Treasurer's Report for Financial Year (FY) 2012

Society’s Total Assets as of May 31, 2013, are as follows: $1,625,201.14 Cash accounts (Community Checking + Money Market Business): $1,441,288.02 Total CDs: $183,913.12 This report covers the period from June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013. Due to the ongoing success of Molecular Biology and Evolution (MBE) and Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE), whose revenues continue to increase, the society remains in outstanding financial health. Society membership increased during FY 2012: membership-only subscriptions increased from 456 in 2011 to 732 in 2012, while society membership + journal subscriptions increased from 239 in 2011 to 313 in 2012. The society used its income to publish its two journals, MBE and GBE, and to support its annual meeting, in 2012 held in Dublin, Ireland. This included providing increased graduate and postdoctoral travel awards, funding the Walter Fitch Prize Symposium (a cash prize for the winner and travel funds for all eight contestants), running the Undergraduate Diversity Mentoring Program (UDMP), supporting the travel and accommodation of Council members, and providing travel incentives for Associate Editors of MBE and GBE. We also supported three satellite meetings on important, focused and timely topics related to molecular evolutionary biology. This year we received a donation of $2000USD from Masatoshi Nei to be used to set up a fund to support an honorarium for publication in MBE of the annual Nei Lecture given by the President of SMBE during the annual meeting. The 2013 Nei Lecture is to be the first lecture published under this scheme. The total value of the honorarium is to be $4000USD. Expense Category June 1, 2012 – May 31, 2013 USD Interest income 748.81 OUP journal revenue (MBE) 554,002.00 OUP journal revenue (GBE) 74,982.00 Society fees collected by OUP 22,288.00 Annual meeting reimbursement 0.00 Nei Lecture fund donation (Masatoshi Nei) 2,000.00 Total inflows 654,020.81 2013 annual meeting (partial) 25000.00 SMBE satellite meetings 65069.50 Support for diversity programs (e.g., UDMP, childcare subsidy) 17567.31 Nei Lecture publication honorarium 0 Bank charges 120.00 Accounting 1,725.00 Corporation fee 40.00 Fitch Prize 1,500.00 SMBE council and editors-in-chief travel 30,710.40 MBE/GBE associate editors travel incentive 96775.62 SMBE travel awards (Fitch, graduate, postdoc) 54719.25 SMBE website maintenance 3,756.42 SMBE treasurer expenses 0.00 MBE editorial office expenses 111,519.42 MBE editor expenses 103,500.00 GBE editor expenses 25,000.00 GBE “Highlight” honoraria 10,329.00 Postage 453.11 Total Outflows 547,785.03 Overall Total 106,235.78 View it in a separate window

Treasurer's Report for Financial Year (FY) 2012

Society’s Total Assets as of May 31, 2013, are as follows: $1,625,201.14 Cash accounts (Community Checking + Money Market Business): $1,441,288.02 Total CDs: $183,913.12 This report covers the period from June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013. Due to the ongoing success of Molecular Biology and Evolution (MBE) and Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE), whose revenues continue to increase, the society remains in outstanding financial health. Society membership increased during FY 2012: membership-only subscriptions increased from 456 in 2011 to 732 in 2012, while society membership + journal subscriptions increased from 239 in 2011 to 313 in 2012. The society used its income to publish its two journals, MBE and GBE, and to support its annual meeting, in 2012 held in Dublin, Ireland. This included providing increased graduate and postdoctoral travel awards, funding the Walter Fitch Prize Symposium (a cash prize for the winner and travel funds for all eight contestants), running the Undergraduate Diversity Mentoring Program (UDMP), supporting the travel and accommodation of Council members, and providing travel incentives for Associate Editors of MBE and GBE. We also supported three satellite meetings on important, focused and timely topics related to molecular evolutionary biology. This year we received a donation of $2000USD from Masatoshi Nei to be used to set up a fund to support an honorarium for publication in MBE of the annual Nei Lecture given by the President of SMBE during the annual meeting. The 2013 Nei Lecture is to be the first lecture published under this scheme. The total value of the honorarium is to be $4000USD. Expense Category June 1, 2012 – May 31, 2013 USD Interest income 748.81 OUP journal revenue (MBE) 554,002.00 OUP journal revenue (GBE) 74,982.00 Society fees collected by OUP 22,288.00 Annual meeting reimbursement 0.00 Nei Lecture fund donation (Masatoshi Nei) 2,000.00 Total inflows 654,020.81 2013 annual meeting (partial) 25000.00 SMBE satellite meetings 65069.50 Support for diversity programs (e.g., UDMP, childcare subsidy) 17567.31 Nei Lecture publication honorarium 0 Bank charges 120.00 Accounting 1,725.00 Corporation fee 40.00 Fitch Prize 1,500.00 SMBE council and editors-in-chief travel 30,710.40 MBE/GBE associate editors travel incentive 96775.62 SMBE travel awards (Fitch, graduate, postdoc) 54719.25 SMBE website maintenance 3,756.42 SMBE treasurer expenses 0.00 MBE editorial office expenses 111,519.42 MBE editor expenses 103,500.00 GBE editor expenses 25,000.00 GBE “Highlight” honoraria 10,329.00 Postage 453.11 Total Outflows 547,785.03 Overall Total 106,235.78 View it in a separate window

Treasurer's Report for Financial Year (FY) 2011

The society’s total assets as of May 31, 2012, are as follows: Cash accounts (community checking + money market business): $776,190.96 Total CDs: $183,202.71 This report covers the period from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012. Because of the ongoing success of Molecular Biology and Evolution (MBE), whose revenue continues to increase, the society remains in outstanding financial health. Society membership decreased during FY 2011: Membership-only subscriptions decreased from 541 in 2010 to 456 in 2011, whereas society membership + journal subscriptions decreased from 334 in 2010 to 239 in 2011. The society used its income to publish its two journals, MBE and Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE), to support a satellite meeting on Phylomedicine in Arizona, USA, and to support its annual meeting in 2012, held in Dublin, Ireland. This included providing graduate and postdoctoral travel awards, funding the Walter Fitch Prize Symposium (a cash prize for the winner and travel funds for eight contestants), running the Undergraduate Diversity Mentoring Program, supporting the travel/accommodation of Council members, and providing travel incentives for associate editors of MBE and GBE. Expense Category June 1, 2011– May 31, 2012 Interest income 1,211.38 OUP journal revenue (MBE) 549,476.00 OUP journal revenue (GBE) 63,177.00 Society fees collected by OUP 11,460.00 Annual meeting reimbursement 157,893.14 Total inflows $782,387.52 2012 and 2013 meetings 187,000.00 Bank charges 225.37 Accounting 1,700.00 Corporation fee 40.00 Fitch prize 1,500.00 SMBE council and editors-in-chief travel 31,482.40 MBE/GBE associate editors travel incentive 38,559.14 Student awards (Fitch, undergrad, grad, and postdoc) 87,872.09 SMBE website maintenance 3,343.80 SMBE treasurer expenses 0.00 MBE editorial office expenses 85,161.00 MBE editor expenses 70,000.00 GBE editor expenses 0.00 GBE “Highlight” honoraria 9,767.50 Postage 523.74 Total outflows $517,175.04 Overall total $266,042.48 View it in a separate window

Treasurer’s Report for Financial Year (FY) 2011

The society’s total assets as of May 31, 2012, are as follows: Cash accounts (community checking + money market business): $776,190.96 Total CDs: $183,202.71 This report covers the period from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012. Because of the ongoing success of Molecular Biology and Evolution (MBE), whose revenue continues to increase, the society remains in outstanding financial health. Society membership decreased during FY 2011: Membership-only subscriptions decreased from 541 in 2010 to 456 in 2011, whereas society membership + journal subscriptions decreased from 334 in 2010 to 239 in 2011. The society used its income to publish its two journals, MBE and Genome Biology and Evolution (GBE), to support a satellite meeting on Phylomedicine in Arizona, USA, and to support its annual meeting in 2012, held in Dublin, Ireland. This included providing graduate and postdoctoral travel awards, funding the Walter Fitch Prize Symposium (a cash prize for the winner and travel funds for eight contestants), running the Undergraduate Diversity Mentoring Program, supporting the travel/accommodation of Council members, and providing travel incentives for associate editors of MBE and GBE. Expense Category June 1, 2011– May 31, 2012 Interest income 1,211.38 OUP journal revenue (MBE) 549,476.00 OUP journal revenue (GBE) 63,177.00 Society fees collected by OUP 11,460.00 Annual meeting reimbursement 157,893.14 Total inflows $782,387.52 2012 and 2013 meetings 187,000.00 Bank charges 225.37 Accounting 1,700.00 Corporation fee 40.00 Fitch prize 1,500.00 SMBE council and editors-in-chief travel 31,482.40 MBE/GBE associate editors travel incentive 38,559.14 Student awards (Fitch, undergrad, grad, and postdoc) 87,872.09 SMBE website maintenance 3,343.80 SMBE treasurer expenses 0.00 MBE editorial office expenses 85,161.00 MBE editor expenses 70,000.00 GBE editor expenses 0.00 GBE “Highlight” honoraria 9,767.50 Postage 523.74 Total outflows $517,175.04 Overall total $266,042.48 View it in a separate window

Determinants of Quits and Dismissals on a Long-Lasting Unionized Industrial Construction Project

AbstractLabor-market conditions, remuneration, and personal and worksite characteristics all affected the probability of a worker quitting or being fired prior to a reduction in force (RIF) on a large, industrial, union project under construction between 1999 and 2002 in the South Central United States. Using a Cox proportional hazard survival regression model applied to weekly payroll and monthly labor-market data, hazard ratio probabilities for adverse separations (quits and dismissals) are estimated. Straight-time and overtime hours, in particular, retained workers more effectively than did periodic increases in collectively bargained wage rates. Workers coming from afar were less likely to be fired, whereas, ironically, increases in travel incentives made workers more likely to quit. Older workers were more likely to stay until a RIF, and compared to journey workers, apprentices were more likely to stay. Overmanning crews made workers more likely to quit or be fired. This case study underscores the im...

Model of Determining the Expectations Gap between the Status Quo and Desired Status of Tourism Industry Based on Cultural Indices

This article aims to study the expectations gap between the status quo and desired status of tourism industry based on cultural indices in public and private sectors in Iran and present a model for determining such expectation gap. It initially deals with the most common definition of tourism and reviews types of tourism and travel incentives in Iran, and then introduces the research conceptual model based on the theory of Edgar Schein. The results from the study shows that there is a meaningful and deep difference and deviations in the expectation gap between the status quo of tourism industry and the desired status in the future prospects of this industry in the country and it is better to offer some practical solutions to reduce the distance or fill the gap between these two statuses.

Why financial incentives did not reach the poor tuberculosis patients? A qualitative study of a Fidelis funded project in Shanxi, China

A project implemented in 50 counties of Shanxi province provided incentives to poor TB patients for their first trip to tuberculosis (TB) dispensaries. Incentives were also given to doctors for referring and supervising TB patients. A previous quantitative evaluation identified no improvement on TB case detection and management. This qualitative study was then conducted to explore reasons for project failure. To understand how the incentives were distributed to and viewed by their recipients and the implications for TB and health systems. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 TB patients, 13 village doctors, 12 village leaders, 8 TB doctors and 8 TB programme managers. The study revealed a lack of operational tools on how to evaluate patients' economic status and how to publicise the incentives. As a result, patients did not know the level of incentives in advance and regarded the amount as inadequate. Patients faced a huge financial burden and a long delay in treating TB, dwarfing the benefits of travel incentives. The referral and case supervision incentives were not implemented. Doctors did not receive any referral and supervision incentives in addition to those already existing. Strategies to address health system and TB programme issues should be implemented before or alongside financial incentives. Operational details and tools for any intervention should be developed, field-tested and revised prior to wide-scale use.

Incentive travel: an attractive option

Travel incentives are currently enjoying widespread application in the organizational milieu. Unlike other incentives, travel incentives have ‘trophy value’ which implies that they provide long-lasting positive reinforcement, an element that adds to their motivational value. The literature supports the value of incentive travel as a motivational technique; however a paucity of empirically based research which examines the attractiveness and effectiveness of travel incentives suggests the need for further study. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the comparable attractiveness of the most popular incentives and to determine the influence of social pressure on incentive attractiveness. The motivational effect of contests was also examined. The results indicated that the two ‘travel-type’ rewards received the highest attractiveness ratings and that the influence of social pressure on reward attractiveness was significant. Furthermore, respondents reported that contests improve their motivation and performance levels.