Asad Mohsin

Hamilton, New Zealand: Divergent attitudes when the casino came to town

The introduction of a casino into a community, as evidenced from a large number of studies undertaken over the years in different parts of the globe, suggests that casino business affects the communitys social and economic structure. This research considers the case of the introduction of a casino into Hamilton, a city in New Zealand with a population of approximately 129,000. Based on 945 responses, it is of particular note that differences in views regarding the casino were evident between the two genders and between those who had patronized the casino and those who had not visited. The results indicate that women and nonvisitors were consistently more negative about the casinos effects on the community than were men and those who patronized the casino.

Customer perceptions of service quality in luxury hotels in New Delhi, India: an exploratory study

Purpose – The aim of the study is to assess the service quality perception of customers of luxury hotels, New Delhi in India and to help the hotel management identify areas that need attention to meet and exceed customer expectations.Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a survey and interview technique to accumulate information for analysis using SPSS version 12 and was conducted at different four‐ and five‐star hotels in New Delhi involving hotel guests agreeing to participate. A usable sample of 271 participants resulted with a large majority being male.Findings – The importance‐performance analysis shows that, for responses relating to front office, room service and in‐house cafe/restaurant, the importance score is statistically significant to and higher than the performance rating. Overall, the results indicate significant difference between expectations of the guests and actual experiences, thus highlighting managerial implications.Research limitations/implications – The current study cannot ...

Determinants of intention to leave a non-managerial job in the fast-food industry of West Malaysia.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine determinants of an intention to quit a job held by non‐managerial staff in the Malaysian fast food industry. It examines issues such as job stress and peer groups.Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative analysis of 806 respondents working in international fast food chains was undertaken following an initial semi‐structured interview process with managers.Findings – Of the total sample, 20 percent were found to think frequently about leaving their job, while a further 20 percent were described as being committed to their employment. High intent to leave scorers were found to be influenced by friends, but also feeling job stress and “being burnt out”.Research limitations/implications – The findings may relate solely to fast food outlets in Peninsular Malaya due to cultural issues related to the Islamic nature of Malaysian society.Practical implications – Fast food managers need to consider employees as part of a team and not simply as individuals, and i...

Backpackers: attitudes to the 'outback'.

Abstract Backpackers are an important segment of the visitor industry in Australia, accounting for about 20 percent of all visitor nights. However, this research argues that while clearly demarcated by types of accommodation used, and duration of stay, many backpackers exhibit similar attitudes towards features of Australias Northern Territory as are exhibited by other tourists to the region. Like Loker-Murphys work, nationality was found to be an important variable determining attitudes to tourism products and the study also supports Rosss contention that ‘friendship’ motives are important for this group of visitors. The study also contains data about accommodation preferences of this group of tourists.

Analysis of Chinese Travellers' Attitudes Toward Holidaying in New Zealand: The Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to explore the attitude of the Mainland Chinese holidaymakers, their interest in the tourism and hospitality features of New Zealand, and the impact of socio-demographic variables on their travel motivation. The findings should assist the marketing strategies to promote tourism and hospitality product of New Zealand to the Mainland China. A survey questionnaire using Leisure Motivation Scale was designed originally in English, and then it was translated into Chinese Language (Mandarin) before being administered. The study was undertaken in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou–the top three Mainland Chinese cities with highest trend to travel abroad. The analysis involved descriptive statistics; independent sample t-test and ANOVA. The influence of five different demographic variables such as gender, educational level, income level, marital status and age are considered. Overall the study shows the significant features of the attitude of Chinese travellers and how demographic variables influence their attitude. The study explores sparsely researched specificities of influence of socio-demographic variables of Chinese holidaymakers in relation to tourism activities and features of New Zealand.

Exploring Attitudes of Indian Students Toward Holidaying in New Zealand Using the Leisure Motivation Scale

This paper suggests that India will be the next important tourist generating country to emerge after the Peoples Republic of China, and seeks to provide some information on a key segment of future overseas tourists, the well educated. The paper reports the results of a study of over 1,000 Indian students at four Indian universities. The study uses the Leisure Motivation Scale of Beard and Ragheb (1983) and replicates a finding of four dimensions, albeit with a modification relating to the intellectual and challenge factors. The destination used for the study was New Zealand for a number of reasons. At the time of the study the New Zealand Prime Minister had recently visited India, Tourism New Zealand had opened offices in Mumbai and a, then current, popular Bollywood film had been produced in New Zealand. Attitudes toward New Zealand were found to be positive, and some evidence is provided for the possible development of more urban based tourism in New Zealand to avoid the environmentally damaging aspects associated with more traditional adventure tourists in that country. The paper ends with various recommendations and comments.

Perceptions of the Northern Territory by travel agents in Kuala Lumpur.

This paper describes the responses of 38 travel agents in Kuala Lumpur to a questionnaire about the potential demand of residents in Kuala Lumpur for holidays in Darwin and the Northern Territory, Australia. Two main forms of analysis are used in this paper — first, a classification of responses through a descriptive content analysis and second, an analysis derived from neural network software. The data suggest a lack of knowledge on the part of potential tourists about the Northern Territory, and more generally indicate that there is little interest in some of Australias major tourist icons such as the ‘outback’ and Aboriginal culture. Nonetheless, a niche market is thought to exist for Darwin — as a stop‐over destination, a short break location, or as one of two destinations in multi‐destination holidays.

Business Visitors to the Northern Territory Expo

This research paper reports the interim findings of a continuing research project into the attitudes of Malaysian and Indonesian business people attending the Northern Territory Expo. This major trade fair attracts several hundred business people and government officials from much of south-east Asia. The paper reports attitudes towards possibly holidaying in Australia and is the second stage of a three part research project. This second stage trialled a questionnaire containing items previously identified as being important from past interviews. It finds that information needs are important, and that responses to the traditional tourism icons of Northern Territory and Australian tourism such as the ‘outback’ are mixed. It also shows that the presence of halal foods and ease of access to Islamic services are also important for some respondents. However, as the sample was but 51 businessmen policy implications are difficult to assess, but the research does seem to justify additional spending on further rese...

Exploring attitudes of Omani students towards vacations

This study uses the theory of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ travel motivations to investigate holidaying attributes of Omani students studying at the Colleges of Applied Sciences, Ministry of Higher Education in Oman. The results indicate that the three most important push motivations for Omani students to travel abroad were ‘to be mentally refreshed’, followed by ‘to learn something new or increase my knowledge’, and ‘to spend my time without worrying about my study’. The pull factors were such as ‘safety and security at destination even when travelling alone’, ‘natural attractions (sea, beach, coral, mountain, lakes, rivers, streams, wildlife)’, and ‘availability of mosques (places of worship)’. Furthermore, the study indicates that gender had a significant impact on some of the travel motivations.

Assessing lodging service down under: a case of Hamilton, New Zealand

Purpose – The aim of the study is to assess customer perceptions of service quality delivered by front office, room service and an in house restaurant/cafe in the lodgings of Hamilton, New Zealand.Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a survey and interview technique. A survey questionnaire with the help of local managers in the lodging industry was structured for this study. The study was undertaken at different lodgings in Hamilton involving face‐to‐face administration of the survey instrument. A useable sample of 645 participants resulted.Findings – The importance–performance analysis showed that responses related to front office, room service and in‐house cafe/restaurant, the importance is statistically significant, higher than the performance. Gender also reflected statistical significance. Overall, the results indicate that most responses show gaps in importance and evaluations and this suggests managerial implications.Research limitations/implications – From a practitioners perspective the s...