Christine Lundberg

Success factors and constraints among nature-based tourism entrepreneurs

The nature-based tourism sector is characterised by small-scale businesses often located in rural regions. As a consequence, business success is dependent not just upon the sustainable use of natural resources, but also on several external (e.g. infrastructure and destination images) and internal (e.g. management and human resources) factors. Many nature-based tourism entrepreneurs are also driven by non-monetary objectives, which imply different management priorities compared with many other businesses. This study provides an exploratory analysis of business success factors and constraints among nature-based tourism entrepreneurs in Sweden. Data collected in 2009 include ‘life-history’ interviews, a telephone survey of 176 entrepreneurs, and follow-up critical incident interviews. The results show that internal factors are more common for business success, while external factors dominate among the constraints. Among the 26 success items studied, management (commitment and competence), access to natural resources, and lifestyle are considered the most important. Low profitability, lack of capital, regulations, infrastructure, and taxes are given the highest weights among the constraints. The classification system of Ishikawa [(1990). Introduction to quality control (J.H. Loftus, Trans.). Tokyo: 3A Corporation] is used to analyse how business success and constraints are structured over time. This study also elaborates how success factors and constraints are associated with different types of businesses, including perceived monetary and non-monetary achievements.

Going for the green? The role of money among nature-based tourism entrepreneurs

This research note suggests that the relationship between nature-based tourism entrepreneurs and money is complex and not fully understood. Based on observations from the Swedish supply data, four propositions are presented to illustrate why this is the case. We argue that (1) the identity of the entrepreneurs are not compatible with profit and growth, (2) niche markets and limited market knowledge obstruct opportunity for growth, (3) dependence of natural resources put sustainability ahead of growth and (4) nature-based tourism firms have limited control over their production process. These propositions can assist in better understanding how nature-based tourism companies can contribute to regional development and serve as a point of departure for further research.

Tourist Shopping Motivation : Go With the Flow or Follow The Plan

Purpose – The objective of the study is to describe and analyse different tourist shopping typologies based on their motives for visiting a shopping destination well known for its low prices. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected by means of structured questionnaires administered to tourists visiting the Swedish destination. The survey instrument measured constructs designed to understand shopping motivation and feelings experienced during the course of shopping. Findings – Two distinct tourist shopping typologies were found, based on a tourists primary purpose in travelling, and designated “Follow the Plan” and “Go with the Flow”. The present study proposes the use of a theoretical continuum that takes into account feelings experienced at a low-priced destination and consumer shopping motivations. Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing literature on tourism shopping by suggesting typologies built on feelings experienced and shopping motivations, thus providing new insights on tourist shopping typologies found at a low-price destination. Results are not general for any low-priced destination, thus further research is needed in other destinations as well.

Popculture Tourism: A Research Manifesto

Tourism in the wake of films, literature, and music is gaining interest among academics and practitioners alike. Despite the significance of converging tourism and media production and popcultural consumption, theorizing in this field is weak. This chapter explores complex relationships among popcultural phenomena, destination image creation, and tourism consumption. By taking a broader social science approach, it revisits and connects research themes, such as symbolic consumption, negotiated representations, fans and fandom, technology mediation, and media convergence. The chapter concludes with an integrative model, or “popcultural placemaking loop,” which is qualified through six propositions.

The Virtual Fan(G) Community: Social Media and Pop Culture Tourism

Abstract This chapter focuses on the importance of social media for pop culture fans. A web survey for fans of the Twilight Saga is implemented, using the concepts of cognitive, affective, and evaluative social identity and personal, product, and situational involvement. The purpose is to examine to what degree social identity and involvement can explain pop culture fans’ future intention to travel, make recommendations to others, and use social media. Findings show that pop culture fans use social media to a large extent and that these means are important for making decisions about traveling and event participation. Moreover, the chapter shows that involvement dimensions are more important than social identity dimensions to explain future intention to travel, to recommend to others, and to use social media.

Critical Service Encounters in Hotel Restaurants: The Personnel’s Perspective

Abstract This paper explores frontline hotel restaurant workers’ experiences of critical service encounters by employing the Five Aspects Meal Model (FAMM) as a frame of reference. The questions raised in this study were: Which satisfactory and dissatisfactory incidents can be found in the different aspects of the restaurant experience according to employees? How can they be categorised under these aspects? A critical incident technique was employed to collect experiences of critical service encounters together with projective techniques. The findings of the study suggest that frontline workers experience critical service encounters related to four (Room, Meeting, Product, Management Control System) out of the five aspects of FAMM. Only a limited number of incidents were found in the Room aspect compared to the other three aspects. The largest proportions of incidents were found in Meeting and Product aspects of the meal experience. This insight may guide management of restaurants when making decisions in, for example, the recruitment, information and training of workers, the development of products and suitable management control systems as well as design of physical surroundings. Earlier research has explored the meal experience from a management as well as customer perspective. In this study, employees’ experiences are in focus, which constitute the main research contribution of the study.

Conceptualising on-screen tourism destination development:

This article integrates cultural theory and marketing strategy to examine the complex relationship between on-screen popular culture and tourism destination place-making. Its review of the literature results in the development of an interdisciplinary conceptual framework (termed ‘on-screen dollying’) that provides a culturally grounded and contextually driven theorisation of the means by which on-screen popular culture place-making can foster destination development. In developing the conceptual framework, the article classifies the characteristics of on-screen tourism affecting destination development and identifies six strategies for leveraging on-screen tourism. Based on our interdisciplinary analysis, we propose a research agenda that integrates on-screen tourism and destination place-making and which has implications for policy and theory.