Jackie Clarke

Reflections on tourist satisfaction research: Past, present and future

An overview is provided of some key considerations in the now considerable literature that exists on consumer and tourist satisfaction. Special emphasis is placed on the distinctiveness or otherwise of the three concepts of satisfaction, quality and value; the supposed components of satisfaction and related theoretical paradigms; the particular characteristics of tourism that provide the context for the development of satisfaction; and, finally, the felt need for innovation with regard to research methodologies and new research methods. The overall objective is to raise issues and to indicate answers — or at least provide some signposts — that will be of use to practitioners and academics alike as they seek better to understand tourist satisfaction.

Tourism brands: An exploratory study of the brands box model

This paper is based on exploratory research which seeks to apply the brands box model developed for physical goods by de Chernatony and McWilliam to the context of tourism brands. The brands box model is a four-cell matrix based on two dimensions of a brand, the ‘representationality’ dimension and the ‘functionality’ dimension. The methodology of an interview survey of a random sample of the general public was replicated as far as feasible, including the sample size, with adaptations in the Likert statements to allow for the replacement of physical goods by tourism brands. The choice of tourism brands was tested against an evaluation exercise using a convenience sample; all six brands were recognised as ‘household names’. As an exploratory study, the research sought to investigate the public perception in Oxford of the representationality and functionality dimensions of six tourism brands, and to suggest possible explanations for the pattern alongside implications for marketing practice. The emerging brands box matrix suggested that the brands were high on both dimensions, although there was some indication that the representationality dimension varied more than the functionality dimension.

Contemporary tourist behaviour: yourself and others as tourists.

Prologue: You the Tourist Section 1: Admiring the Panorama 1. The Tourist Today 2. Country-file: Tourist Nations 3. A Life in Travel 4. Life Change: Tourist Experience and Beyond Section 2: Focusing the Binoculars 5. Models of Tourist Behaviour 6. Economic and Social Influences 7. The Driving Force of Motivation 8. Logical Decision or Lucky Dip 9. In-use Experience 10. Fulfilling the Promise - Tourist Satisfaction Section 3: Enjoying the Slide Show 11. The Power of Brand and Celebrity 12. The Importance of Family 13. Of Fear, Flight and Feistiness 14. Giving Tourism - the Intangible Gift Section 4: Gazing Into the Crystal Ball 15. Limits to Travel? The Environmental Tourist 16. The Tourist Tomorrow Epilogue.

Farm accommodation and the communication mix.

Abstract Previous research into farm tourism and promotion has focused on the individual farm and on a limited number of communication tools. Acknowledging the importance of cooperation for small tourism businesses, this paper examines primary research into communication as conducted by the three levels of a consortium for farm accommodation in the United Kingdom. The findings show that different communication techniques are used by different levels in the consortium, thus capitalizing on existing skills and strengths. ∗ Insights are offered for other small tourism businesses in a similar position of apparent isolation.

Rural tourism in Roznava Okres: a Slovak case study.

Abstract Now that the novelty factor of visiting the former communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe is over, the focus must be on product quality, professional service and value for money if an internationally competitive tourism product is to emerge. The natural assets of the Slovak Republic point towards an unfulfilled potential for rural tourism. This paper critiques the results from a British Know How Fund three-year project to build the rural tourism offer for Roznava Okres, a declining mining area in the Slovak Republic. The four key activities were the creation of a three-year marketing plan, the establishment of a Tourist Information Centre, the formation of a local tourism association, and the delivery of training courses. The main international target markets were identified as Hungary and the Czech Republic, with Germany, Poland and the Netherlands forming secondary segments. Results from the TIC tracking studies indicated that France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands could merit future attention for market development. Lessons from this project could be applied to rural tourism areas in other former Eastern bloc countries.

A marketing spotlight on the youth ‘four S's’ consumer

Abstract This article considers the nature of the demand-supply relationship between the large-scale or mass market inclusive tour operators geared to the youth market and the UK youth target market for holidays abroad: the ‘four Ss’ consumer. It is argued that this youth segment is significantly different from the youth market for independent travel and specialist niche products, on which previous research has largely been focused. The reasons for the success of the mass tour operator in the youth market are considered against the general characteristics of young people. Evidence for the consumer profile is drawn from data analysis of the once leading youth mass tour operator, and three youth subsegments are shown to emerge from the dominant profile. Threats to the youth operators are identified and possible moves towards product diversification are briefly discussed.

Experiences as gifts: from process to model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the giving and receiving of gifts that are experiences rather than physical goods, and to illuminate how the behavioural processes in the selection, exchange and consumption of such intangible gifts might differ from the generic understanding of gift giving.Design/methodology/approach – A trio of qualitative research methods – depth interviews, self‐completion written instrument, and semi‐structured telephone interviews – captured donor, recipient and industry expert perspectives, yielding a total of 189 real life incidents of experience gift exchange.Findings – The model of experience gift‐giving behaviour encapsulates the behaviour of donors and recipients with sufficient flexibility to incorporate purchased, modified and donor‐created experiences, differing donor decision‐making styles, and immediate or delayed consumption. It is structured around the process stages of decision making, exchange, and post‐exchange/consumption/post‐consumption.Research li...

Experiential aspects of tourism gift consumption

This article addresses how consumers make use of fantasy, feelings, and fun when deciding, giving, and consuming gifts of tourism and leisure. Despite little industry awareness, consumers are engaging with such behaviour because tourism gifts offer considerable scope for the creative expression of donor–recipient relationships. This UK-based interpretive qualitative study captured data from donors, recipients, and tourism and leisure providers. The feelings (emotions), fantasies (imagination and dreaming), and fun (playfulness) were interrogated through the behavioural phases of gift decision making, gift exchange, post-exchange, and gift consumption. A range of emotions were displayed by donors and recipients at different stages in the gift-giving process; donor decision making in groups for created gifts was particularly charged. Fantasies were evident both for donors planning gifts and for recipients. As an intangible gift, means of exchange allowed for creative mechanisms beyond the classic wrapping strategies associated with physical gifts. The ‘decoy’ strategy stimulated the recipient’s imagination to conjure fantastical scenarios. Fun or playfulness was built into many of the gifts and often related to an element of ‘surprise’, an attribute of the perfect gift (e.g. Belk, 1996) in Western societies.

The effective marketing of small-scale tourism enterprises through national stuctures: Lessons from a two-way comparative study of farm tourist accommodation in the United Kingdom and New Zealand

The paper stems from PlID research conducted at the School of Hotel and Catering Marlagelltellt, Oxford Brookes University. Small-scale tourism enterprises are subject to marketing problems caused by their relative isolation. National structures, the progressive development of successive levels into all integrated national structure, facilitate the effective marketing ofsutch small-scale enterprises, enabling more efficient use of limited marketing resources, linkage into the glohal tourism system, and absorption of tourist members. This paper aims to demonstrate tlhe ability of national strutctures to solve problems, and to present the strengths alld weaknesses of two differerlt national structures, so that other small-scale enterprises might benefit. Farm tourist accommodation is a prime example of small-scale tourism enterprises. The paper focuses on a two-way comparative study of the national structures established for the marketing of farm tourist accommodation in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Purchased, modified, created: consumer voices in experience gifts

Gift-giving behaviour is an established topic in consumer research, but little is known about the phenomenon of experiences as gifts. Experience companies are only part of the market; hospitality, tourism, leisure and entertainment providers also have the potential to offer such gifts. Using real-life consumer accounts, this research explores the behaviour associated with purchased, modified and created experience gifts. The findings show that consumers act as adaptors and competitors as well as purchasers, make specific use of information technology and use ‘donor resources’ to convey meaning in ways unappreciated by industry in this wider portrayal of the experience gift sector.