Jason Draper

Tourism Use History: Exploring a New Framework for Understanding Residents’ Attitudes toward Tourism:

This study attempts to answer the question “What influence does an individual’s travel have on attitudes concerning who should develop tourism in their community as well as the role of the government in such development?” Research on residents’ attitudes toward tourism has traditionally focused on demographic, socioeconomic, and spatial predictor variables, with relatively few consistent findings. Based on the experience use history concept from the leisure and outdoor recreation literature, this study explores a new framework for understanding residents’ attitudes toward tourism in two distinct destinations in South Carolina, United States. Tourism use history was used to create resident groups within each community and assess attitudes about who should develop tourism (e.g., local businesses, outside investors and developers, government, or a public—private partnership) and government support for tourism businesses. Results are discussed in relation to the stage of tourism development in each destination. Further development and testing of tourism use history is recommended.

An Exploratory Study of the Importance of Sustainable Practices in the Meeting and Convention Site Selection Process

The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop a list of sustainable practices at convention facilities and assess the importance of these items according to meeting planners. The recycling of items had the highest levels of importance. Significant differences were found between third party and association meeting planners’ levels of importance in the areas of water resources, energy efficiency, and recycling. Length of being a Certified Meeting Planner was not related to the importance of sustainability practices. Females placed more value on programs that capture separate organic waste for composting and on energy certification than did their male counterparts. Results give meeting planners and venues a clearer picture of the current state of sustainable practices and its importance in the meeting, incentive, convention and event (MICE) industry. However, further research is needed, and discussed.

Access to the Beach Comparing the Economic Values of Coastal Residents and Tourists

In the United States, an objective of coastal states is providing sufficient access to coastal resources. To better utilize public resources for such projects, decision makers would benefit from possessing reliable estimates of economic values coastal residents and tourists place on public beach access. This study’s purpose is to estimate the economic values coastal residents and tourists assign to public beach access, and provide options for financing such projects. Estimates of these values were calculated using the doubled-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation technique. Results indicated that coastal residents were willing to pay

A Review of Meeting Planner Site Selection Criteria Research

2.46 for additional public beach access, while coastal tourists’ mean willingness to pay was

An exploratory study of the differences in prior travel experience and tourist information sources

6.33. Findings suggest additional public beach access locations are desirable to both coastal residents and tourists. Supplying coastal resource managers with these values can assist in justifying the use of public resources on beach access projects, as well as in the development of long-term policies.

How important is wine at an Italian festival

The purpose of this study is to review empirical studies regarding the site selection process of meeting planners. The study was conducted by searching for and collecting empirical studies related to meeting planners’ site selection criteria. Each study was reviewed and various elements documented to assess the history and current state of research regarding meeting planners’ site selection criteria. The results revealed that since 1990, the cost of hotel rooms, meeting space, food and beverage, and other costs have consistently been important criteria. The discussion includes implications for various stakeholders and recommendations for future research.

Applying importance-performance analysis to services of a visitor information center

The information search of potential travelers is an important component of tourism. Essentially, it is how travelers learn about tourism destinations, which affects their decision whether or not to visit. The primary purpose of this visitor inquiry study is to group inquirers based on their prior travel to the study destination and total travel. Then, the study examines differences across the different groups of travelers based on prior travel experience and the usefulness of various information sources. Results reveal differences between prior travel experience groups and the importance of previous trips to the study destination, relatives, and official visitors guide as sources of information. Implications for convention and visitor bureaus are discussed.

Event management research over the past 12 years: What are the current trends in research methods, data collection, data analysis procedures, and event types?

Abstract Festival attendees have various motivations, especially for cultural festivals which typically include numerous activities, entertainment, and other components. Planners of such festivals are challenged with what aspects of a festival they might enhance for attendees. The purpose of this study is to examine relationships between motivation for attending an Italian festival and the importance of types of and characteristics of wine at the festival. Results indicate attendees motivated by the festival culture prefer quality wine(s) reflecting the festivals culture. Attendees motivated by escape prefer other wines at a reasonable price and value. Implications for festival organizers are discussed, as well as opportunities for future research.

Motivation and satisfaction of marathon volunteers: How important is volunteers' level of running experience?

Visitor information centers provide destinations with an opportunity once visitors are at the destination to provide information and recommendations. As a result, destinations who manage visitor information centers benefit from being aware of who visits the center, what information is important to such visitors, and how well the center does at providing the information and services. Therefore, this study compares demographic characteristics of visitors who visit and those who do not visit visitor information centers, as well as if reasons for visiting such facilities (e.g. general information, get a map of the area) are associated with demographic characteristics. The study also conducts an importance-performance analysis of a visitor information center’s services. This study found visitors who stopped at the visitor information center were older and more likely to be retired than visitors who did not. The study also found that demographic characteristics, such as age and employment status, were associated with reasons for stopping at a visitor information center. Importance-performance analysis revealed areas where the visitor information center can focus to improve their performance (e.g. knowledge of staff) and where resources might be redirected as a result of less important services (e.g. activities/tour booking service). Practical implications of the study are discussed.

Applying self-perception theory to explain residents' attitudes about tourism development through travel histories

ABSTRACT The meetings, expositions, events, and conventions sector has gained recognition as an academic field by growth in higher education programs including courses, programs, and textbooks, as well as research. The purpose of the extant research is to review event, tourism, and hospitality journals from 2004 to 2016 to provide insight into the current state of research in terms of data collection and data analysis procedures. Results can assist researchers identify the type of journal to target for publication with consideration of the type of event, methods, and data analysis procedures.