Bongkosh Ngamsom Rittichainuwat

Tsunami Recovery A Case Study of Thailand’s Tourism

A survey of travelers to Thailand’s Andaman Coast, now recovering from the December 2004 tsunami, reveals three overall travel motivators, relating to nature (the area’s beauty), people (the residents’ welcoming attitude), and value for money. Curiosity to see tsunami debris ranked a poor last, and despite Thailand’s cut-rate “fun package” promotion, most tourists were neutral toward low-cost tour packages as a reason for their travel. In that regard, hoteliers who were interviewed for this case study believed that low-cost tour packages are ineffective tools for long-term marketing promotion.

A Study of the Impactof Travel Satisfaction on the Likelihood of Travelers to Revisit Thailand

Abstract This study aims to: (1) examine the satisfaction of international travelers during their visit to Thailand; (2) determine whether there is a significant difference in travel satisfaction between first time and repeat travelers; (3) assess whether there is a significant difference in travel satisfaction among travelers with different demographic profiles; and, (4) identify the impact of travel satisfaction on the likelihood of travelers to revisit Thailand. An exit questionnaire survey was used to collect data. The target population was the international traveler who was checking in for departure flights to 13 countries at the Bangkok International Airport from June 1-4 and June 10-11, 2000. A three stage sampling approach including proportionate stratified, cluster and systematic random sampling was used to randomly select 590 international travelers. Descriptive statistics, independent sample mean t-test, exploratory factor analysis, ANOVA, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. The result of the study revealed a significant difference in travel satisfaction between first time and repeat travelers, and among travelers with different demographic profiles, and the impact of travel satisfaction on the likelihood of travelers to revisit Thailand.

Ghosts: a travel barrier to tourism recovery.

Abstract This study aims to assess whether or not beliefs in ghosts really deter tourists from traveling to disaster-hit destinations. To many it may appear that cultural differences do play a role in travel decision making between Asian and Western tourists. However, it is vital to provide empirical evidence of the impact of cultural differences in beliefs through a case study of the tsunami-hit destinations. Thus, this study aims to examine tourist barriers associated with tsunami-hit destinations, and also to assess cultural differences regarding such beliefs between Asians tourists from China and Thailand and Western tourists from Britain, Germany, and the United States and also across demographic profile. Research highlights ► Psychologically perceived risk regarding ghosts is another real factor that delays destination recovery. ► Belief in ghosts is a travel barrier primarily among Chinese and Thai tourists during the first year of the destination recovery. ► The travel barriers revolving around collective beliefs take more time to overcome than physical risks from wreckage and debris. ► However, as the destination becomes crowded, most Thai tourists were no longer worried about ghosts at those places.

Perceptions of importance and what safety is enough.

Abstract This research explores perceived importance of safety and security measures from the perspectives of tourists and service providers. Use of face-to-face-semi structured interviews with supply side providers in Thailand results in recognizing safety measures to ask tourists about, other than those found in the literature. Researchers collected questionnaire data from international leisure and business tourists to Thailand on importance of safety and security measures. Analysis of the importance of 23 safety and security measures show a six factor pattern in thinking about measures. However, the most important measure is not in a factor. Therefore, the study considers analysis method issues and raises questions about the value of structured data and merits of the recognition of if-then conditions by research methods such as long interviews. Examination of practical, theoretical and methodological values of findings includes considering research needed and the utility of safety measure information in business decision making.

An Exploratory Study of Attendee Perceptions of Green Meetings

This article reports on the perceptions of convention attendees regarding green meetings. For this article, green meetings have been taken to mean those with sustainable practices and/or facilities. Attendees at four large conventions in Thailand were surveyed in order to gauge opinions on green meetings. Results suggest that broadly speaking, attendees are positive about green meetings, particularly attending meetings and staying in the same hotel; eating local food; and recycling notepaper from previous conferences. However, respondents were less positive about paying more for green meetings, similar to previous research. Additionally, this article emphasizes the importance of not considering attendees to be homogenous, and divides attendees into various convention participant roles, including delegates, organisers, exhibitors and sponsors. Significant differences were found between sponsors and other participant roles, particularly concerning the ambience or atmosphere of green meetings, perceived by sponsors as less attractive than non-green meetings. The article concludes by suggesting further areas of research regarding sustainability and business events.

Tourists’ Perceived Risks Toward Overt Safety Measures

This study aims to assess tourists’ perceptions toward overt safety measures. The study segments tourists into four different groups depending on their perceptions toward overt safety measures, type of accommodation, and purpose of visit. A total of 476 respondents were segmented into special occasion tourists, leisure mid-priced tourists, frequent business travelers, and backpackers. A two-step cluster analysis and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results show that, all clusters, except the backpacker segment, feel quite safe toward overt safety measures. Whereas the special occasion tourists at luxury hotels felt the safest toward overt safety measures, they concurrently were the most likely discouraged with too-stringent overt safety measures. Although most tourists feel safe about overt safety measures, a stringent increase in safety measures could frighten them because such measures could create a false perception that something untoward has previously happened at the destination. Hence, the old claim that stringent safety measures frighten tourists remains a classic rule of thumb. Therefore, hoteliers must find an appropriate balance in the extent of overt safety measures so as not to exceed the acceptable safety threshold of tourists.

Thailand’s International Travel Image

Bongkosh Ngamsom Rittichainuwat, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the department of hotel and tourism management at Siam University. Hailin Qu, Ph.D., is professor and graduate coordinator in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration at Oklahoma State University (qhailin@okstate.edu), where Tom J. Brown, Ph.D., is associate professor of marketing in OSU’s College of Business Administration. The study described in this article was conducted under the auspices of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Siam University. We would like to thank Khun Numfhon Boonyawat in the statistics section of the Research and Statistics Division at the Tourism Authority of Thailand for providing us with support and the Statistics of Tourism in Thailand.

A study of the impact of travel inhibitors on the likelihood of travelers' revisiting Thailand.

Abstract This study examined the impact of travel inhibitors on the likelihood of travelers in revisiting Thailand. A questionnaire survey was given to more than 510 randomly selected international travelers at Bangkok International Airport. A logistic regression was used to identify the impact of travel inhibitors on the likelihood of revisiting. It was found that “travel barrier” was the only significant attribute that had a negative impact on the likelihood of revisiting. It was also found that there were significant differences in the travel inhibitors between first time and repeat travelers and among travelers with different demographic profiles.

Tourists' Motivations to Travel during Financial Crisis

This study aims to describe the motivations of tourists to travel during financial crises and to identify the impact of those travel motivations on the likelihood that tourists would travel during financial crises. The findings suggest short-distance destinations, novelty, and culture would motivate tourists during financial crises; but tourist recreation would deter them from traveling domestically. This study enriches the literature on the travel motivations of domestic tourists, particularly Thai tourists, to travel during financial crises.

Authenticity in Screen Tourism: Significance of Real and Substituted Screen Locations

This article examines the meaning and significance of screen tourism location authenticity. The article analyses the interrelationship among places (real vs. substituted historical sites associated with tourists’ favorite films and TV programs) and activities (reenactment of photo shootings and costume rentals). The study finds a number of visitor segments go to screen tourism locations. For Screen Authentic Tourists, objective and existential authenticity do not matter as long as the destinations are associated with their favorite films. Screen tourism is a rapidly growing sector; this article examines its dynamics and evaluates various approaches to screen tourism authenticity, particularly theoplacity.