Gabrielle Walters

Investigating the Role of Prior Knowledge in Tourist Decision Making A Structural Equation Model of Risk Perceptions and Information Search

To date, limited research has investigated the effects of tourist prior knowledge as a multidimensional construct on their perceived risk. This research is one of the first studies to investigate the relationships among tourists’ risk perceptions and various types of their prior knowledge, namely subjective knowledge, objective knowledge, prior visitation, and past international travel experience. The research also investigates the nature of the relationship between tourist prior knowledge, risk perceptions, and their subsequent information search behavior. Using structural equation modeling, the results reveal that while objective knowledge did not significantly reduce or increase the risk associated with traveling to the Middle East, subjective knowledge appeared to have the strongest influence on tourist risk perceptions. The results of this study further suggest that while various dimensions of perceived risk may elicit the use of different information sources, prior knowledge also plays a role alongside risk perceptions in determining the information sources used. Implications at both theoretical and practical levels are also discussed.

The Effectiveness of Post-Disaster Recovery Marketing Messages—The Case of the 2009 Australian Bushfires

ABSTRACT An understanding of how best to communicate with the tourism market in the wake of a disastrous event is essential for destination marketing organizations seeking to manage the misperceptions and media-imposed attitudes held by potential visitors. To date, the literature remains silent in terms of the types of messages destination marketing organizations are best to employ when a disaster has hit and consequently marketers often take an “ad hoc” approach to their post-disaster communications that may or may not be effective in terms of encouraging visitation. In response to this knowledge gap, the research presented in this article adopted an experimental methodology to examine the effectiveness of nine disaster recovery message themes commonly used by destination marketing organizations. The messages were presented to respondents via a print advertisement promoting the Victorian region of Gippsland—a tourism region severely affected by the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires. The results revealed that a marketing message endorsed by a well-known and well-associated celebrity figure is likely to be most effective in encouraging tourists to return to or visit a disaster-affected destination 12 to 24 months following the event. The findings also revealed a significant relationship between past visitation and the time frame in which visitors will visit a disaster-affected region. Those who had visited the region four times or more were much more likely to return within 6 months of the event than less frequent visitors. A final important message revealed in this study was the fact that the tourism market is not averse to disaster recovery promotional activities, a concern often considered by destination marketers when planning their post-disaster recovery campaigns.

Risk perception, prior knowledge, and willingness to travel: investigating the Australian tourist market's risk perceptions towards the Middle East.

Despite the importance of risk perceptions in decision making and destination choice, limited research has been undertaken to explore tourists’ risk perceptions, especially those of rapidly growing destinations such as the Middle East. The purpose of this article is to explore the primary risk dimensions that the Australian tourism market associates with the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Jordan and to investigate how prior knowledge may counter these perceived risks. Using a sample of potential Australian tourists, this study identified three risk dimensions associated with the region, namely: physical, general, and destination specific. Various dimensions of knowledge were found to influence tourist risk perceptions differently. Conclusions and recommendations for those responsible for the marketing and promotion of these destinations are put forward.

Understanding the tourist's response to natural disasters: the case of the 2011 Queensland floods.

This article presents the results of a quantitative study designed to investigate the perceptual and behavioural responses of tourists to a disastrous event. Looking specifically at the 2011 Queensland floods, this article explores the image perceptions held by 2113 members of the Australian tourism market in light of this event. It also investigates pull motivations of tourists who claimed they would be willing to visit Queensland despite the flood event. Tourists’ past experiences with the state of Queensland, namely their visitation frequency and personal affiliations, are considered in terms of their influence on tourists’ attitudes towards visiting the destination and their reasons for doing so. Demographic differences are also explored. The conclusions present marketing implications relating to how to attract the attention of tourists who are willing to visit a destination in the wake of a disastrous event and how to encourage those who are not.

Behavioural adaptation to climate change among winter alpine tourists: an analysis of tourist motivations and leisure substitutability

Understanding market responses to climate change impacts has important implications for the sustainability of Australias winter tourism destinations. Utilising a framework incorporating push–pull tourist motivations and the theory of leisure substitutability, this study sought to explore how winter tourists in Australia will adapt to changes in snow cover in Australias alpine regions under future climate change scenarios. The results of a questionnaire completed by 231 respondents indicated that tourist motivations were related to behavioural adaptation, and that there is a general preference among the current winter market for spatial substitution in the event of poor snow. Those motivated by recreation specialisation or snow-related attributes were likely to opt for spatial substitution, while tourists motivated by self-expression and après ski activities displayed resilience to poor snow conditions. The results demonstrate a clear division between leisure-driven tourists who valued participation in sport, and experience-driven tourists, who displayed higher resilience to reduced snow under projected climate change scenarios. These results have practical implications for winter tourism destinations, both in terms of targeting experience-driven tourists in the case of reduced snow as well as the longer term sustainability and viability of winter tourism destinations.

From White to Green Identifying Viable Visitor Segments for Climate-Affected Alpine Destinations

The negative impact of climate change on Australian snow cover is resulting in an increasingly shorter winter tourism season for Australian ski resorts. It is therefore becoming essential for ski resort managers to diversify their product offering through the development of alternative activities that can support the economic viability of such facilities outside the winter period. The purpose of this article is to identify tourist segments likely to use Australian ski resorts in nonwinter periods, commonly referred to as the “green season.” A two-step cluster analysis is employed to “cluster” current alpine resort tourists and identify viable market segments based on experience sought, the importance of destination attributes, and the types of activities these visitors want to experience should they return to an alpine resort in the green season. Using a case from Australia, marketing and managerial implications for the diversification of alpine resort activities in response to climate change are discussed.

The impact of human-induced environmental destruction on destination image perception and travel behaviour: The case of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

The study presented in this article provides a valuable insight into the impact of human-induced environmental destruction on the travel market’s image perceptions of a World Heritage-listed tourism icon: the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The study employs a pre-/post-experimental design to explore how tourists are likely to respond to the media hype surrounding the construction of a port terminal, known as the Abbot Point Project, which will inevitably have some perceived environmental consequence for the ecological sustainability of a section of the GBR. We measured the change in respondents’ image perceptions and travel intentions as a result of their exposure to information about the Abbott Point Project and explored how existing knowledge, past experience and demographic background may influence this change. The findings reveal a significant change in tourists’ perceptions concerning Australia’s conservation efforts towards the GBR, and consequently a change is noted in terms of the time frame in which tourists intend to visit the icon. The results of this study provide valuable information for destination managers responsible for marketing the GBR and other destinations subject to human-induced, and often controversial, environmental destruction.

Chinese Travel Behavior in Response to Disastrous Events: The Case of the Japan Earthquake

ABSTRACT In a bid to identify Chinese travelers that can be relied upon in the event of a significant disaster this paper examines the travel behavior of the Chinese tourism market following the 2011 Japan earthquake. The post-disaster travel behavior of 535 Chinese travelers who had existing plans to travel to Japan at the time of the earthquake is explored to reveal the characteristics of Chinese travelers who would still travel under such circumstances. This paper also identifies the characteristics and concerns of those who canceled their travel indefinitely. Relationships are explored between travel decision and variables such as past travel experience, trip purpose, image perception and demographic background in order to identify dependable tourist markets that can be relied on in the wake of a disaster. Practical implications for destination marketers reliant on this market and seeking to encourage visitation post-disaster are provided.

Managing seasonality in rural destinations: a case study of South Gippsland – Australia

ABSTRACT Seasonality, a distinctive feature of the tourism and hospitality industry, refers to the temporal imbalance in tourism demand at a destination. In order to address this issue, the tourism literature often suggests that tourism operators cooperate with each other to create marketing synergies, and that destinations should develop a variety of products and services to cater for different market segments. However, there are limited studies that examine the practicality of these suggestions in the context of small and medium businesses in rural areas. This study addresses this gap via an investigation of the phenomenon of seasonality and its implications for rural tourism destinations. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 16 local tourism operators and stakeholders in South Gippsland (Victoria, Australia). A key finding revealed in this study is that tourism operators’ views towards seasonality and their own mitigation efforts are not necessarily synonymous; hence, this paper speaks to the challenges rural tourism destinations encounter when attempting to take a collective and collaborative approach to seasonality. The paper concludes with recommendations for rural tourism organisations to assist small and medium operators to manage and mitigate the impacts of seasonality.

The effectiveness of ad-induced emotion in reducing tourist risk perceptions towards politically unstable destinations

ABSTRACT Political crises have a significant impact on tourists’ risks perceptions towards both the affected destination and the neighbouring regions. The longevity of such crises has a long term detrimental impact on those countries whose economies are dependent on tourism due to the tourists’ propensity to avoid destinations they perceive as unsafe. This study investigates the relationship between the theoretical constructs of emotion and risk perception. The study demonstrates the power of ad-induced emotion in lowering risk perceptions towards destinations that are considered to be politically unstable. Focusing on the Middle Eastern country of Jordan, a pre–post experimental design employing psycho-physiological measures of emotion is applied to test the hypotheses and research questions of interest to this study. The results indicated that destination advertisements with emotional appeal are likely to succeed in reducing the risk perceptions and increasing willingness to travel. These findings contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence to support the notion that positive emotions induced by destination advertisements can reduce risk perceptions. Moreover, this study marks one of the first to apply psycho-physiological measures of emotion to the study of risk perception and makes an important methodological contribution to the tourism literature.