David Kirk

Reasons for going green in serviced accommodation establishments

This paper reports on the preliminary findings of an exploratory study on environmental decision making in the context of largely small serviced accommodation establishments. It focuses on the motivations of owner‐managers for becoming environmentally involved and their reasons for joining an environmental accreditation scheme. The study was conducted in Scotland using face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews with members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme, an environmental accreditation scheme for tourism businesses. Initial analysis suggests that involvement in environmental activities may be driven by economic as well as ethical considerations. The results point to the role played by personal values and beliefs in small firms’ decision making and the need to gain a greater understanding of the complexity of motives that drive the small hospitality business owner.

Identifying the expectations of older food consumers

Given the many potential negative factors that influence food choice behaviour in older people, it is important to understand the problem areas of food shopping. Uses critical incident technique (CIT) to elicit consumers’ stories of dissatisfying/satisfying shopping experiences and, where dissatisfied, identifies their expectations. Volunteers from a cross‐section of locations in Scotland were interviewed, eliciting 248 incidents. Results identified eight key elements contributing to the food shopping experience with all, except social aspects, having positive and negative incidents. Argues that the factors influencing the food shopping experience are much wider than previous research indicates and that, given the breadth of dissatisfaction across the elements, older consumers are lacking “power” within the marketplace. Expectations indicate that some consumers feel they do not have the ability to exercise any alternative to overcome their dissatisfaction.

The food shopping experience of older consumers in Scotland: critical incidents

The number and proportion of older people in the UK are increasing and it has been found that this population segment is a nutritional risk group. Food choice research and health promotion reports have sought to identify the influences on diet and the food retailing sector has been found to particularly impact upon older people. Low income, poor mobility and an inability to access food shops disadvantage many. This paper considers the food shopping experiences of older consumers by identifying, through critical incident technique, positive and negative aspects of the food shopping activity. A total of 120 interviews were conducted and 248 incidents collected from people aged 60/65+ in various locations in Scotland. Content analysis produced eight primary categories and 22 sub‐categories of key elements in the shopping experience. The main factors that contribute to the quality of the shopping experience were merchandise related, retail practices and staff issues. The internal store environment, accessibility, external shopping environment and personal factors were also identified and featured both positive and negative incidents, with social aspects only having positive incidents.

Ahead of their time? Barriers to action in green tourism firms

This paper presents findings from a qualitative research investigation into tourism firms and the environment. It focuses on the factors preventing a sample of small environmentally accredited businesses from undertaking further action. Attitudinal, financial and operational factors are identified. It argues that in order to encourage businesses to undertake environmentally responsible practices the conditions in which they operate must be favourable; these include adequate support and infrastructure. Crucial, however, is addressing widespread scepticism towards environmental alternatives in both the public and operators, so as to make ‘going green’ commercially viable.

Computer systems for energy management in hotels

Abstract This paper reviews the use of computer-based energy management and control systems and relates these to the needs of a hotel. The role of these computer-based energy management systems is discussed within the context of an energy management policy and programme. Finally, the current use of this technology by hotels in the U.K. is surveyed.

Book Review: Management Science Applications in Tourism and Hospitality

This book, which consists of eight chapters, each of which is a paper published in the Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing (volume 16, numbers 2/3, 2004), examines the application of selected management science techniques to hospitality and tourism situations. In the preface of the book, the editor outlines the particular management science techniques demonstrated in the book in the context of an increasing interest in the application of management science techniques to service industries, including the hospitality and tourism industries. The first four chapters all involve the use of Data Envelope Analysis (DEA) for benchmarking applications. Data Envelope Analysis is a nonparametric technique based on linear programming, which takes a number of data sets of inputs and outputs (without any assumptions of scale weighting) and identifies a frontier representing optimal performance as a ratio of output to input. It is best suited to the comparison or benchmarking of a number of similar operational units. The output consists of a ranked listing of units in terms of their operational efficiency together with an indication of which variables have the greatest influence on the rankings achieved. This is a comparative technique and care needs to be taken in interpreting the outcome as there is no implication that a unit classified as 100% (i.e. at the benchmark) is necessarily highly efficient, just that it is “best in class.” Chapter 1, by Karl W. Wöber and Daniel R. Fesenmaier, uses an input-oriented DEA model to benchmark state tourism advertising programs in the United States, based on 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Inputs include domestic and international advertising budgets and market size, with output measures of business and leisure trips, domestic and international expenditure, accommodation sales, and revenues from arts and entertainment enterprises. In addition to the ranking of states based on their benchmark position, the authors demonstrate how the state-by-state analysis allowed them to look at, for example, the efficiency of the relative spending on advertising. In chapter 2, Dennis Reynolds investigates the use of DEA to determine the productivity of a group of similar multi-unit restaurants located in the northeastern United States, using point-of-sale data generated over a 31-day period. In the development of the model, five input variables were used (front of house hours for lunch and dinner, average wage, number of local competitors and seating capacity) and four output variables (lunch sales, dinner sales, lunch tips, and dinner tips). The author was able to compare the resulting efficiency table with existing productivity data held by the organization. This comparison identified some interesting discrepancies between DEA and more conventional measures of productivity and pointed to the benefits of DEA. However, in suggesting that DEA is a useful tool for assessing the productivity of restaurant chains, the authors point to some of

Book Review: Empowerment for Sustainable Tourism Development

This book forms a part of the Elsevier Tourism Social Sciences Series. In this book, the author explores the relationships between the social, cultural, and economic aspects of tourism development; the empowerment of local communities; and the sustainable development of tourism attractions. This theoretical framework is used to explore a number of case studies of tourism development in the South Pacific region. The initial chapters of the book are used to establish a broad theoretical framework, based on concepts drawn from a number of sources such as development theory, sustainable development, tourism development, and empowerment. From these concepts, the author proposes a number of propositions that relate successful sustainable development to the empowerment of local community groups. In the first chapter, the author describes the development of tourism with a particular focus on the specific issues facing developing countries. The approach taken is to use development theory and theories of colonialism and postcolonialism to discuss some of the power relationships between global developers, governments, and local communities based on a legacy of a dependency culture with former colonies. It is posited that where tourism is viewed as something largely imposed by multinational companies, it may be seen as a continuation of colonialization. A theme that comes out of this analysis is the importance of community participation as a means of breaking this power relationship and acting as a key prerequisite for sustainability. This becomes an important motif for later discussion. The next chapter develops the concept of empowerment as a mechanism for true community participation. Following an exploration of the meaning of power relationships, empowerment is used to look at the decision-making process in rural development and the approaches taken to utilize a consultation process to achieve local support. However, it is argued that consultation stops far short of true local involvement and hence real empowerment. Chapters 4 and 5 provide a background to the case studies through a discussion of tourism development and international cooperation in the South Pacific region. The microstates of the South Pacific have limited natural resources, and the process of population migration has affected the labor market. There are also limited tourism resources, and yet tourism has developed to become a major industry for a number of the countries in the region. As such, tourism has had a significant impact on the transition from a dependency culture, although this depends on the power relationships between regional, national, and international systems. In this context, the author goes on to review the role of international

Publication in Review: Keller, P., & Bieger, T. (Eds.). (2007). Productivity in Tourism: Fundamentals and Concepts for Achieving Growth and Competitiveness. International Tourism Research and Concepts (Vol. 2). Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag

• foster friendly relations among its members; • promote scientific activity on the part of its members, in particular by developing personal contacts, providing documentation, and facilitating exchange of views and experience; • support the activity of scientific institutes of tourism, or other centers of research and education specializing in tourism, and develop relations between them, as well as between them and the members of the Association; • organize and cooperate in congresses and other meetings and courses on tourism of a scientific nature (AIEST, 2000).