Alastair M. Morrison

An analysis of wine festival attendees’ motivations: A synergy of wine, travel and special events?:

As special-interest tourism, wine tourism is becoming increasingly important for wine-growing regions. But wine marketers are faced with a paucity of empirical data when examining wine tourists’ characteristics and behaviour. This issue needs to be addressed if marketers want to implement more effective strategies to target the market. Visiting wine festivals is an important component in the complete construct of wine tourism. What might have motivated the participants to visit such an event has become critical for wine-growing destinations when they attempt to use wine festivals to promote the wineries and regions. This research study used a survey instrument specially designed to test participants’ motivations to attend a regional wine festival in a Midwestern state in the USA. Both festival and wine tourism motivations were integrated in the measurement scale. The findings showed that attendees were motivated by a variety of factors which were associated with the focus on the different elements incorporated in the theme of the festival — a synergy of wine, travel and special event. Wine festivals can be used as a vehicle to attract younger people to become more interested in wine. They create a good venue to tap into future target markets for wine tourism development.

Benefit Segmentation: A Review of Its Applications to Travel and Tourism Research

Abstract In travel and tourism, the diversity of products and customers has justified the intensive use of segmentation strategies as strategic weapons in an increasingly competitive environment. Among these techniques, benefit segmentation has had extensive use in travel and tourism research, and seems to have received wide approval by academics and practitioners alike. This method involves the segmentation of a market based on the benefits sought in a product rather than simply grouping consumers on traditional factors such as demographic, socioeconomic, or geographic characteristics. However, the definitions and the research methodologies involved in applying benefit segmentation have varied, justifying the need for a state of the art of its current developments and applications in travel and tourism research. This article reviews the basic principles underpinning benefit segmentation, its applications to travel and tourism, and the methodological issues associated with segment identification. It concludes with the identification of the main challenges, issues, potential advantages and disadvantages of using benefit segmentation in travel and tourism marketing and research.

Benefit segmentation of Japanese pleasure travelers to the USA and Canada: selecting target markets based on the profitability and risk of individual market segments.

Abstract Many previous research studies have offered alternative approaches to segmenting travel markets, but few have provided any decision rules for selecting target markets. This study used factor-cluster analysis to define three benefit-based segments of the Japanese outbound travel market (novelty/nature seekers, escape/relaxation seekers, and family/outdoor activity seekers). The demographic and trip-related characteristics of these markets were compared. Four criteria were then used (profitability, risk, risk-adjusted profitability index, and relative segment size) to reach a decision on the choice of the optimum target market.

Website evaluation in tourism and hospitality: the art is not yet stated

SUMMARY Millions of dollars have been invested in Website development, often without much thought of how to evaluate the effectiveness of sites. This paper reports on the past, present, and likely future of one of the recommended approaches for evaluating tourism and hospitality Websites, the modified Balanced Scorecard approach. It traces the use of the approach from its beginning in 1999 to the present time. A thorough review of other approaches to Website evaluation is also provided. The article suggests that Website evaluation approaches can be classified into four groups based upon why and when the evaluation is done (formative vs. summative evaluation) and whether efficiency or effectiveness is being measured. It concludes with a call to action for industry leaders, academics, and consultants to develop a unified procedure for Website evaluation in tourism and hospitality.

Developing a Typology for Understanding Visiting Friends and Relatives Markets

This study seeks to classify visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel and to explore the linkage between VFR travel types and commercial tourism in an empirical study. The VFR phenomenon is multifaceted, making it hard to integrate research findings. This article proposes an initial typology of VFR travel and positions the major existing studies within this typology. Using data from Queensland, Australia, an examination is made of the relationships between the proposed variables and VFR travel and behavior patterns. The data set gave the researchers the ability to identify VFR as either a prime trip motive or one of a set of activities or regional attractions. The study provides an activities-based segmentation of this type of VFR traveler and attempts to connect different segments to both travel patterns and the variables in the proposed typology.

Expanding Volunteer Vacation Participation An Exploratory Study on the Mini-Mission Concept

There has been a considerable growth in the volunteer vacation concept in the U.S. since around the mid—1980s. The increased demand has been attributed to an increased sense of global awareness among the Baby Boom generation, along with a growing willingness to make a contribution to other societies while on vacation. This study consisted of two parts, the first of which was an identification and description of some of the major organizations in the U.S. providing volunteer vacation opportunities. Next the concept of the mini-mission or ‘mission lite’ was described as a potential means for tour operators to build volunteering into itineraries. An exploratory study was conducted to determine the potential demand for the mission lite concept, which could be instrumental in significantly expanding participation in volunteer vacations in the future. A survey was conducted among a sample of members of the Ambassadair Travel Club, the largest organization of its type in the U.S. The studys results indicated considerable potential demand for adding a volunteer component as part of tire overall vacation experience. Tire activities in which the respondents had the greatest interest in participating on volunteer vacations were arts and crafts, chaperoning orphans, educational activities, building projects, physical fitness activities, and medical assistance. There appeared to be certain characteristics of those who are likely to be more interested in volunteer vacation participation. These included people who volunteer in their home communities, and those with higher levels of education, especially postgraduate degrees. Additionally, those who vacation more frequently and with higher household incomes may be more likely to participate.

Segmenting the international travel market by activity

Abstract The more we understand the choices made by the travelling public about sets of activities, the more potential tourists will be generated through improved market planning and promotional strategies. Activity based segmentation was used to identify five groups of Hong Kong international pleasure travellers. They were ‘visting friends and relatives’, ‘outdoor sports’, ‘sightseeing’, ‘full-house activity’ and ‘entertainment’. Statistical differences between clusters exist for party size, age, occupation and education. Results show that activity segmentation is a viable approach and that implications exist for packaging and programming vacations, distribution channels, training programmes and promotional materials.

East versus West: A comparison of online destination marketing in China and the USA:

The internet is playing an increasingly important role in destination marketing. To explore the current situation of online marketing in major destinations, this study compared destination marketing organisation (DMO) websites in the USA and China. By applying a modified balanced scorecard approach, website marketing strategies, web page designs, marketing information and technical qualities were evaluated. The main purpose was to determine similarities and differences among the official DMO websites in the USA and China. Four tiers of DMO websites were evaluated: state tourism offices and convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) in the USA, and provincial and city tourism administrations in China. US DMO websites were found to be superior to those in China in terms of marketing strategies and information, and US CVB sites received the highest evaluations. Based on the evaluation results, recommendations were made on how DMOs can improve their websites to develop them into more effective destination marketing tools.

The Effect of Prior Destination Experience on Online Information Search Behaviour

This research proposed and empirically tested a behavioural model of online tourist information search by integrating the consumer involvement concept, modes of cognitive processing and knowledge representation. The model identified two types of online information involvement: involvement measured by time spent online (degree of search) and by types of information sought (content of search). The results showed prior experience and knowledge with a destination influenced both by the content of search and the degree of search that a traveller engages in online while planning a trip. It appears that online search effort decreases and search content changes as a result of the different level of prior knowledge that a tourist brings to a search. The results will also have practical implications for the content, length and presentation of tourism websites that service iTravellers.

A cross-cultural comparison of travel push and pull factors: United Kingdom vs. Japan.

Abstract Tourism marketers are confronted with the dilemma of whether standardization or the tailoring of services, products and marketing programs for specific markets is more effective and efficient. It remains to be addressed in tourism research whether travelers from varying cultural backgrounds seek different travel benefits and have different preferences for travel products and services, and to what extent they are similar in their travel behaviors. This research study used national household travel surveys conducted by the Canadian Tourism Commission and U.S. Tourism Industries for a cross-cultural comparison of two different countries, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Japan. Results showed that travelers from these two countries had different travel motives and benefit-seeking patterns. From a marketing perspective, the branding and positioning of a destination for U.K. and Japanese long-haul travel markets will be more effective if the destination marketing organization (DMO) projects different images within its advertising campaigns. These images should reflect the different travel motivations and benefits desired by the two groups of travelers.