Michael R. Evans

The 100-percent, unconditional, money-back guarantee

The consensus of a panel of 20 marketing and sales managers with major hotel chains based in North Carolina is that most companies are not ready to implement a 100-percent service guarantee. To date, a handful of national chains offer such a guarantee: Comfort Inn, Howard Johnson, Promuss brands (e.g., Embassy Suites, Hampton Inns), and Sleep Inns. On further questioning, the panel members suggested that the core lodging elements and practices needed to ensure the success of the guarantee policy are service standards and employee training. In addition, properties must maintain strong housekeeping and maintenance practices and make continual quality inspections. On the other hand, the panel discounted the age of the property and its FF&E as a critical factor in the successful implementation of a satisfaction guarantee.

The Triple Bottom Line: A Framework for Sustainable Tourism Development

This conceptual article proposes that tourism development organizations adopt a triple bottom line (TBL) framework to enhance their sustainability. The TBL is a philosophical orientation whereby organizations develop and implement not just a traditional economically sustainable strategy, but also explicitly include environmental and social sustainability strategies. The history of TBL and its application to sustainable tourism development are offered and the development of a much-needed measurement instrument is described and the instrument is presented for discussion. The article concludes by presenting the benefits that can accrue to a sustainable tourism development organization through the adoption of a TBL philosophy and the use of a reliable instrument to measure TBL performance.

Sustainable Tourism: The Case of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area

Tourist preferences for sustainable tourism products vary according to their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Results from a large sample in the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area found preference differences based on gender, age, education level, and income, as well as whether the tourist was a day-tripper or overnight visitor. The study found that the bulk of visitors originate in the southeastern United States, suggesting that promotions for the Blue Ridge area should be directed to those living in North Carolina and vicinity. Results from research such as this can assist sustainable tourism organizations to target promotions of various tourism activities to those who would be most interested.

Economic Impact of the Arts in a Small US County

This paper presents an assessment of the economic influence of the arts in a small county in the USA. The arts in this community consist of university, non-profit and private-sector employers and individual artists. A discussion of the methodology used to estimate the impact is provided. Over one thousand arts patrons and 62 artists and arts organizations responded to the survey. The direct and indirect economic impact of the arts in the community was estimated to be US

Marketing Arts and Crafts: Exploring the Connection Between Hedonic Consumption, Distribution Channels, and Tourism

24 million. Normative prescriptions are offered for arts and county administrators.

Estimating demand for services in the nonprofit tourism industry.

The purpose of this study was to explore marketing strategies for arts and crafts sales and, in particular, retail operations versus e-commence. The Craft Organization Development Association craft group cases examined suggest that although e-commerce as an emerging sales channel has been considered by most craft groups, only limited sales are occurring through it. This may be attributed to the hedonic nature of arts and crafts consumption. The results also indicate there is a strong connection between retail craft galleries and shops in tourism destinations, which suggests that an effective marketing strategy for craft sales should be locating retail shops in tourist areas and using marketing tactics linked to tourists.

IDENTIFYING THE PRODUCT/SERVICE NEEDS OF THE FAMILY DINING SEGMENT

Abstract In the tourism industry sales forecasts are used in planning business strategy and operations. They are used to estimate traffic flows, occupancy rates, and visitor spending, as well as to plan for new operations and services, and budgets. Finally, sales forecasts are needed to determine the future strategy direction of the organization and capital expenditures that may result from strategy changes. This research uses historical sales data to develop a reliable sales forecasting model for a tourist attraction located in the Southeast region of the U.S. The model regression model is developed which incorporates two factors, one for time and another that accounts for marketing resources. The model was then validated by comparing estimated tourism with actual tourism data. It is also demonstrated that the use of statistical modeling can serve as a planning tool for policy makers of nonprofit organizations. Implications of this research for the nonprofit tourism industry are discussed.

Planning for the World's Fair: How to House 5 Million Guests

This paper deals with the problems of identifying the product/service needs of the family dining segment in the full service restaurant industry. The research findings indicate that in general the restaurant industry should consider improvements in service, menu nutrition, child entertainment, decor, and even price/value to lure the family market segment. Meal portion size was the only product/service attribute that respondents were truly satisfied with.

Identifying Competitive Strategies for Successful Tourism Destination Development

Michael Evans is an assistant professor in tourism, food, and lodging administration at the University of Tennessee. He has taught at the Culinary Institute of America, and holds degrees from the CIA, the University of Massachusetts, and the University of Kentucky. He has served on the Kentucky Tourism Development Commission and the board of directors of the Kentucky Restaurant Association.