Berendien Anna Lubbe

Mobile Devices as a Tourism Distribution Channel: Perceptions of Visitors to National Parks in South Africa

The use of mobile devices in the tourism industry is growing and travellers’ intentions or willingness to use them for specific purposes need to be recognised. This study looks at visitors’ support of South African National Parks’ (SANParks) mobile website for booking purposes, their level of satisfaction with the interaction and their propensity to adopt a mobile application, should SANParks provide one. It also investigates what visitors deem important in mobile devices. The results confirmed that mobile devices as a booking channel for SANParks is still in its initial stages, with relatively few visitors having used the SANParks mobile website or any type of mobile application. The results also indicated the level of satisfaction that visitors experience with the SANParks mobile website, and features they deem important when using mobile applications for accommodation bookings.

Information and Communication Technologies in Business and Corporate Travel Management: An Overview

This paper presents an overview of the use of information and communication technologies in business travel and corporate travel management. It distinguishes three areas of implementation: the use of technology as a possible alternative to business travel; the technology needs of business travellers across the travel chain; and technology as a distribution channel for business travel and corporate travel management. There is an abundance of industry-related surveys in this field but a lack of academically-published research. The discussion highlights this problem and identifies areas for potential research. Under each of the three areas discussed, a number of research questions are posed which could lay the foundation for further study and more scientifically rigorous research. Such research could support and give direction to the current industry-related surveys as well as contribute to the development of business and corporate travel management as a scientific discipline.

Applying an open systems public relations model to destination image development

Abstract Public relations is essentially a communications function concerned with relationships, image and image development and it is from this perspective that the subject is viewed. A literature survey of the use of public relations in tourism indicated that no structural theoretical framework for its application in destination image development has been postulated. This was found to be the case in both tourism and public relations literature. In this article, such a framework is devised. Adapting an existing open-systems public relations model to represent the process of establishing a tourism relationship between a tourist-generating country and a tourist destination does this. This model was used as the foundation for formulating a public relations strategic framework.

Managing Business Travellers’ Use of Mobile Travel Applications

The purpose of this study is to investigate business travellers’ use of mobile travel applications pre-, during and after their business trip by comparing the frequency with which they use an application with the importance that they attach to said application, as well as ascertaining whether differences exist in terms of the demographic profile of business travellers and their use (as it relates to frequency of use and importance attached) of applications in the various travel stages. An internet based survey was distributed to business travellers with the results showing that the frequency with which applications are used does not necessarily reflect their importance, and that demographical differences exist in terms of the use of the applications. The results should enable companies to better understand their employees’ requirements of mobile applications and assist them in managing the impact of these applications on the company’s travel programme.

The role of the media in constructing a destination image: the Kenya experience

ABSTRACT Applying the experience of Kenya as a tourist destination, the purpose of this study was to examine the role of the media in the construction of a destination image and whether types of media differ in their influence on destination image and travel decision-making. Actual visitors (AVs) and potential visitors (PVs) to Kenya were surveyed using convenience sampling for the AVs and snowball sampling for the PVs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis and, as expected, it was found that the media has an influence on destination perception, but that not all aspects of the destination image are influenced similarly by the different types of media, and not all media information sources have the capacity to influence the visitor types in the study. While television news and television travel documentaries were identified as the most influential media in the construction of the organic image of Kenya, generally the destination image is influenced differently for PVs and AVs by television news, travel guides and newspapers reports. The influence of the media also differs on negative and positive reporting. These findings have implications for a destination’s image communication strategy.

Using Technology to Align the Needs of Corporate Travel Managers with the Functions of Travel Management Companies

This paper investigates how technology affects the functions and role of travel management companies (TMCs). In depth interviews with corporate travel managers of organisations are used to ascertain what the role of the corporate travel manager is, how the TMC supports the travel manager in effectively managing the travel process, and the potential effects of technology on the TMC in the corporate travel process. Findings show that technology is increasingly being used in the travel management process, but that the TMC could still add value in the management of corporate travel if they continue to reinvent themselves, and use technology to their advantage.

The “M-Readiness” of Air Travellers: a Comparative Study in South Africa, Sweden and the UK

The rapid growth in the adoption of mobile devices globally and the commercial potential that this holds for airlines warrants investigation. The overall purpose of this research project is to assess the level of readiness of air travellers to interface with airlines via their mobile devices before, during and after their travel experience. The concept of ‘mobile-readiness” is constructed to describe the extent to which air travellers are ready to interface with an airline or airlines via their mobile devices. An Input-Process-Output Model is conceptualised to guide the empirical research into the “m-readiness” of air travellers. The model considers the cultural context of air travellers as technology users and as air travel consumers. Data will be collected from air travellers in three countries, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

A public relations strategy for the promotion of South Africa as a tourist destination in a 'non-user' country

SUMMARY The objective of this study was to formulate a public relations strategy for a tourist-generating country which could be described as a ‘non-user’ of South Africas tourist product. The aim of this strategy is to provide a catalyst for the establishment of a tourism relationship between a tourist-generating country and a tourist destination. This study shows that a tourism relationship begins when awareness of a tourist destination reaches a level at which a primary image of the destination is constructed by relevant publics in the tourist-generating country. Public relations is viewed from the perspective of a communications function concerned with image development. In this study an existing communication effects theory was adapted to represent the process of formulating a public relations strategy. The concept of destination image was explored with the construction of primary image forming the proposition for the empirical testing. It was shown that by using a qualitative research design, certa...