Noreen Breakey

Hotel restaurant dining: the relationship between perceived value and intention to purchase.

Restaurants affiliated with the hotel industry play an important role in increasing revenue and responding effectively to customer expectations. This paper examines how perceived value relates to intention to purchase (ITP) in the context of hotel restaurant dining using a quantitative approach involving multiple regression analysis. In addition, the findings indicate that there are three significant key variables that positively contribute to ITP: perceived brand image, perceived quality and perceived sacrifice (both monetary and non-monetary price).

Students Go a “Waltzing Matilda”—A Regional Tourism Knowledge Exchange Through Innovative Internships

ABSTRACT Recent academic trends are requiring tourism educators to redefine their practice. Students are demanding vocational outcomes, and the market is demanding industry-ready graduates. This article reports on an innovative response to these new directions, outlining the conceptualization, objectives, delivery, outcomes, lessons learned, and future of a Tourism Regional Internship Project (TRIP). The initial pilot was a joint initiative of the University of Queensland School of Tourism (UQST) and the Roma-Miles Tourism Development Unit (RMTDU). The design and development of the project was built on existing theories that frame student internships, industry partnerships, and knowledge exchange, with the addition of new and creative industry collaboration and student to industry exchange. The five objectives of this Australian-based project were to foster partnerships, generate knowledge exchange, support workforce development, maximize marketing opportunities, and develop a research agenda. The success of the pilot has resulted in funding for a future wider project rollout. This article illustrates how other educationalists may use this innovative tourism regional internship model in their own areas as part of their response to the changing climate of tourism education.

Food for Thought: Investigating food and beverage curricular in Australian hospitality degree programs

Abstract Previous research has identified several models which higher education institutions might adopt in approaching the delivery of food and beverage (F&B) studies. This study investigates the various models adopted in the delivery of Australian hospitality degree programs. A two phase research design is employed. An initial time-series institutional case study informed the second phase, an Australian nation-wide survey of all hospitality degree programs. The findings suggest that overall F&B content is given space in most hospitality curricula but that there is a complexity of models apparent. A level of inconsistency and several potential gaps in relation to F&B program content have been observed. Given F&B is an integral component of hospitality these findings may inform industry stakeholders, hospitality educators and undergraduate program directors.

Impact of Chinese outbound tourism to Australia: Reviewing the past; implications for the future

To support research-based planning this article aims to identify the similarities and differences between the Japanese tourist boom of the late-1980s and the current Chinese tourist boom, in the context of Australia. By investigating the past issues this analysis will assist the Australian tourism industry in providing an informed response to current issues and the predicted levels of Chinese visitation. This will provide the basis for positive host–visitor relations and assist sustainable inbound tourism development within Australia.

Studying World Heritage Visitors: The Case of the Remote Riversleigh Fossil Site

ABSTRACT World Heritage listing aims to provide protection for the planets most precious natural and cultural sites. Listing can also increase awareness and visitation, particularly as presentation is a tenet of the World Heritage Convention. Visitor management, based on empirical research, is therefore required to ensure an appropriate balance between these, often conflicting, obligations of protection and presentation. Many World Heritage visitor studies have considered iconic, accessible, international tourism destinations that are facing issues of visitor congestion and threatened heritage values. To provide a balanced understanding of World Heritage tourism, further research is required, particularly focusing on various site types and different World Heritage visitors. To support this agenda, this research identified a lesser-known World Heritage Area with low visitation levels, developed a self-administered visitor questionnaire appropriate for the site, and studied the visitor characteristics, motivations, and experiences. Findings regarding visitors to the remote Riversleigh World Heritage Site in Australia indicate that these visitors differ from visitors to iconic World Heritage Areas, although motivational aspects are similar. The outcomes of the research have informed the visitor interpretive plan developed by the state government responsible for delivering on the Convention requirements for the Riversleigh World Heritage Site, and provide a visitor questionnaire that can be used, or further developed, for other sites.

Knowledge exchange and networks: a new destination for tourism internships?

Traditional host-student internships always aim to provide positive real-world learning outcomes for students. The industry partners are often considered to benefit from the arrangement, primarily through recruitment opportunities and achieving corporate and social responsibility objectives. Supplementary host benefits can include knowledge exchange, such as receiving innovative ideas and the latest theories from the students, as well as developing a collaborative relationship with the university. It is these, usually peripheral, benefits that emerged as the key positive outcomes for the tourism industry stakeholders of an innovative destination immersion internship, conducted by the School of Tourism, The University of Queensland. A third key outcome, identified through the in-depth interviews, and not usually associated with internships, was engagement with the destination network. This paper reports on the industry participants expectations, experiences and satisfaction with the destination-based internship program. In particular, the research considers the benefits and challenges beyond the established internship literature. The findings of this study show that there is broader scope and reciprocity from internship programmes than has previously been identified in the literature.

The Role of Employment in the Sustainable Development Paradigm—The Local Tourism Labor Market in Small Island Developing States

Due to the numerous developmental constraints faced by many Small Island Developing States, these governments have promoted tourism in policy agendas on the grounds that it will enhance the lives of local people through the creation of employment and subsequent increase in income level. Using the case of the Maldives, this research explored the extent to which local employment is integrated in the sustainable development paradigm. The research indicates that the Maldivian tourism industry will be impacted upon by a myriad of social, human resource, economic, institutional and religious factors which affect the attraction and retention of local people in tourism employment.

Women's Participation in Tourism: A Case from the Maldives

Women are key participants in the tourism labor market. Maldivian women are recognized as being among the most emancipated in South Asia and the Islamic world. There is no institutional discrimination along gender lines in access to education, health services, or for jobs in the public sector (The World Bank 2004). However, the proportion of women working in the Maldivian tourism industry is relatively low. This chapter explores one of the key outcomes of a broader study on the participation of locals in the Maldivian tourism industry. The role of government in balancing religion, politics, and economy is considered imperative in positively influencing local tourism labor market participation and employment for women.

Yield Applied to Destination Management - an Inefficient Analogy?

This paper reports on a research project that examines the use of yield as a performance indicator for destination management. It reviews the history, definitions and use of yield and yield management in hospitality and transport businesses and then examines how these ideas have been transferred to the literature of tourism destinations. A series of recommendations on usage of the term ‘yield’ are provided.

Tourism and Aldo Leopold's “cultural harvest”: creating virtuous tourists as agents of sustainability

Sustainable tourism aims to achieve a balance between the needs of tourists, the environment, local people, and businesses – a situation complicated by the numerous ethical issues at play. This paper presents an original account of the ethics of Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), a key figure in the development of modern environmental ethics, as it unfolds in his classic work, A Sand County Almanac. We argue that prior interpretations failed to incorporate Leopolds lynchpin cultural harvest idea into his larger “land ethic”, and that a proper understanding of the cultural harvest reveals how tourism and other recreational activities can drive a persons ethical development. Ultimately, the land ethic helps us protect and nurture the most precious sustainability resource: human beings that value and respect the environment. The paper will be of value to tourism scholars, to heritage interpreters, to travel journalists, to tourism marketing staff, and to tourism managers. It shows the enormous opportunities for better marketing and heritage interpretation, notes the potential value of slow tourism, and the need for opening five key areas of the cultural harvest for tourists: storytelling, learning and knowledge, beauty and aesthetic appreciation, rarity and the hunt for trophy, and signature/personality.