Amir Shani

Work-Related Depression among Hotel Employees

Given the putative cost of work-related depression, this article reports the results of a pilot study conducted among hotel employees in Central Florida. The study finds an initial indication of a small but noteworthy incidence of depression among workers in the hospitality industry. The article explores the antecedents and possible origins of depression, as well as critical issues related to depression in the workplace, particularly its effects on organizations and employees. The findings indicate a need for greater organizational awareness of depression.

Ecological Orientation of Tourists: An Empirical Investigation

This study presents a tourist ecological orientation (TEO) construct based on the responses of participants who were asked to state the importance of various ecological features of planned tourist sites. The higher the TEO score, the more sensitive the persons attitudes toward the ecological requirements and responsibilities of tourist sites. A principal component factor analysis reveals two alternative dimensions of the TEO concept: ‘destination oriented’ and ‘visitor oriented’. The higher score that was given to the latter dimension supports the argument that successful implementation of ecological values at tourist sites requires a strong orientation towards consumer needs in addition to an ideological commitment to the environment. In addition, differences in ecological orientation patterns and structure were analysed along age and nationality.

The VFR experience: ‘home’ away from home?

The current study examines the meaning of ‘home’ and ‘away’ among visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourists, utilising the multidimensional model suggested by Uriely [(2010). ‘Home’ and ‘away’ in VFR tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(3), 857–860] to assess the VFR experience. Despite recent conceptualisations that emphasise the intersection of tourism and everyday life in various ways, as is prominently exemplified in VFR tourism, this empirical investigation provides evidence as to the limitations of this perspective. Specifically, the findings of this study indicate that when staying at friends and relatives, VFR tourists may feel at ‘home’ in terms of familiarity with place, but they also often experience feelings of ‘away’, in the sense of the loss of privacy and the limited situational control involved in this situation. As a result, the study points to the need to understand tourism, in general, and VFR, in particular, as complex phenomena in which elements of both ‘extraordinary’ and ‘everydayness’ coexist. The conclusion also discusses the marketing implications of the study and provides suggestions for future research.

The Nature of the Hospitality Industry: Present and Future Managers' Perspectives

ABSTRACT This study examines the distinct characteristics of the hospitality industry through use of personal interviews with general managers of leading hotels, and focus groups among hospitality management students. The managers commonly characterized the industry from an outward perspective focusing on industry features such as the relatively extensive and deep host-guest relationship, as well as the on-going tension between opposing trends and aspects, such as progress vs. stagnation, ordinary vs. extraordinary, and hospitability vs. profitability. Alternatively, the students adopted a more inward perspective of the industry, emphasizing hospitality work attributes; such as the intensive teamwork and solidarity among hospitality employees, along with mixed and contrasting images of variation vs. repetitiveness, hospitableness vs. emotional labor, and hard labor vs. alternative lifestyle.

Applying Expenditure-based Segmentation on Special-Interest Tourists: The Case of Golf Travelers

Given the growing competition among golf travel destinations and the increasing costs of managing and maintaining related facilities, it is important to investigate and understand the expenditure patterns of golf travelers. The results of this research provide useful information for golf destination marketers in the development of strategies to attract and retain golf travelers. This study uses an expenditure-based segmentation of golf travelers visiting a Southern Gulf region in the United States. The findings indicate that the heavy spenders exhibit clear spending patterns and are responsible for most of the sample’s total expenditures. The heavy spenders also are well differentiated along golfographic and tripographic measures, but not along sociodemographics and information sources used prior to the vacation. The article ends with an assessment of the contributions of the findings both to the literature on travel expenditure and to golf destination marketers.

The Value of Destination Loyalty: Myth or Reality?

Given the growing appeal of the concept of destination loyalty in tourism marketing, it is highly important to investigate the travel expenditures of loyal vs. non- or less loyal visitors. Adopting the behavioral approach to loyalty, this study examines the spending patterns of visitors to Kissimmee-St. Cloud, while comparing between the different loyalty segments: no previous visit, one previous visit, and multiple visits. The analysis is based on an intercept survey conducted by the Kissimmee-St. Cloud Convention and Visitors Bureau* (KSCVB, 2006), which yielded a sample of 4,301 visitors. In contrast to the prevalent concept, the results show that first timers spend more than the more loyal segments, both in per-trip and per-day total expenditures. However, the loyalty segments are distinguished in their spending patterns at the destination, when first timers spend more on lodging, food and restaurants, and car rental, and the those with one or more previous visits spend more on gasoline, activities and entertainment, and shopping. The paper ends with an assessment of the contribution of the findings both to the literature on loyalty and to tourism destination marketers.

Assessing the Viability of Repeat Visitors to Cultural Events: Evidence from the Zora! Festival

This study examines the value of repeat visitors to a cultural festival in terms of expenditures, behavioral intentions, length of stay, and visitation patterns. This analysis is based on an intercept survey that yielded a sample of 1110 visitors. The results confirm the greater viability of repeat visitors over first-timers in all of the aspects that were investigated, as well as identifying and distinguishing the profiles and festival-related characteristics for the two segments. This article discusses the findings and their implications for festival management and emphasizes the relevance in conducting similar marketing studies for cultural events.

Three Tales of a City Stakeholders’ Images of Eilat as a Tourist Destination

Research on destination image has predominantly focused on tourists’ perceptions, with only limited attention being paid to the other stakeholders of the destination. The present study seeks to address this oversight by examining the images that tourists, local residents, and the tourism sector have formed of Eilat, a prominent resort town in Israel. Analysis was based on a sample of 608 stakeholders. Results indicate that there were significant differences in perceptions between the three stakeholder groups in regard to 27 of the 30 destination attributes examined. Tourists held the most favorable image of Eilat, while local residents chose the lowest scores for all destination attributes. The study expands current understandings of stakeholder theory in destination marketing and delineates practical implications for sustainable marketing and the design of internal campaigns aiming to enhance stakeholders’ images of the destination.

Perceptions of service attributes in a religious theme site: an importance–satisfaction analysis

A growing number of commercial corporations have chosen to open visitor centers or company museums. This trend has not bypassed the religious not-for-profit sector. This study uses past literature, input from management, and importance–performance analysis (IPA) to investigate the visitor experience for a religious theme site in Orlando, Florida. A total of 176 visitor surveys collected in two phases were used to conduct the IPA for the 18 attributes identified. The data analysis revealed three attributes for management concentration, including spiritual activities, something for everyone, and inspirational experience. The remaining attributes were placed into areas of low priority, areas indicating a good job, and areas indicating possible overkill. The results of IPA considered along with the current challenges of management can provide useful insight into the decision-making of management. For the research stream related to the unique context of contrived themed religious visitor sites, this research provides additional support for the behavior of the traveler by identifying and measuring attributes of importance and the associated satisfaction with those attributes. By combining these results with future work, additional support for the testing of sound models of mixed visitor behavior applied to religious theme sites can be offered.

Artificial Reefs and Mass Marine Ecotourism

Abstract Deploying artificial reefs on the seabed has become popular in diving management. This practice has been advocated as a means towards meeting both ecological concerns and recreational divers’ demands for diversification and themed experiences. Nevertheless, the perceptions of the user community itself – the scuba divers – regarding the establishment of artificial reefs have received only limited attention in the literature. Their views on critical issues concerning artificial reefs remain, as a result, fairly vague and speculative. The aim of the current paper is to bridge this gap in the literature by presenting the results of a study exploring divers’ attitudes and preferences with regards to the plan for a new artificial reef along the northern shore of the Red Sea in Eilat, Israel. The findings indicate that the potential integration of this artificial reef was well perceived by the divers, regarding its contribution both to the diving experience and to the natural environment. The divers also expressed their preference for large objects with a themed structure as artificial reefs, such as naval ships and airplanes, rather than more generic and amorphous forms, such as concrete blocks or pipes. Overall, the study points toward the marketing potential of developing mass marine ecotourism through the deployment of artificial reefs at diving sites, as well as the prospect of promoting soft ecotourism in modified marine environments.