Pearl M.C. Lin

A framework of memory management and tourism experiences

ABSTRACT This research first develops a conceptual model to link relevant concepts in psychology and tourism research to each stage of the long-term memory (LTM) system. It combines insights from mindfulness, positive affect, and quality of conscious experience to understand how tourists encode information; research in short-term memory and working memory as well as social identity to address the consolidation of information; and concepts of remembering, false memory, and storytelling to highlight information retrieval. Next, focus groups were conducted to examine how practitioners are helping tourists encode, consolidate, and retrieve their memories in the context of this model (Study 1). Finally, in-depth interviews were conducted to complement the practitioner’s perspective by reflecting the tourist’s voice that is relevant in each stage of the LTM system (Study 2). Overall, this research connects findings from the practitioner’s viewpoint with the tourist’s voice to present a framework of memory management and tourism experiences.

Social entrepreneurs: innovating rural tourism through the activism of service science

Purpose This study aims to construct an integrated social entrepreneur system in the rural area of Hengshan, Taiwan, that could benefit four stakeholders, namely, tourists, business, community and government. Two social entrepreneur cases demonstrate a mutually beneficial situation of lowering the structural unemployment rate, returning young human capital to villages and innovating rural tourism through the activism of service science. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative approach was applied to data obtained from 12 research projects spanning three years. Service experience engineering (SEE) methods were used to conduct a service design for social entrepreneurs in an integrated service system. The service system aimed to innovate rural tourism through the activism of service science. Findings SEE methods explain a series of service design processes that helped our research team start up two social entrepreneur projects as service prototypes to offer service innovation based on cultural creativity to innovate rural tourism. These two social entrepreneurs in rural tourism offer job opportunities to young people and senior citizens alike. In addition, an integrated service system of interdisciplinary knowledge, multi-stakeholders and local resources fulfills various requirements of stakeholders to promote sustainable rural tourism. Research limitations/implications Real action studies are limited in the research on social entrepreneurs. This case study provides research insights into service science and calls for action in practice to change the future of a local village. The results provide the philosophy and knowledge of service science that social entrepreneurs of rural tourism can use in the village. Designing service innovation for rural tourism has shaped its vision toward a sustainable tourism system. Originality/value Few studies have shown that social entrepreneurs could innovate rural tourism. The present study presents an action case through the activism of service science.

Does Tourist–Host Social Contact Reduce Perceived Cultural Distance?:

Tourist–host social contact significantly influences the perceptions of tourists and deserves more attention from scholars in the field of tourism research. However, studies on the relationship between these two constructs are limited. To address this research gap, the present study develops and validates instruments for measuring social contact and perceived cultural distance in the context of tourism, explores the effects of social contact on perceived cultural distance, and provides implications for tourism stakeholders, including governments, tourism operators, and local communities. A survey was conducted among Hong Kong tourists traveling to Mainland China. The study had two significant findings: (1) the quality of contact negatively influences tourists’ perceived cultural distance and (2) in terms of the quantity of contact, social-oriented contacts negatively influence perceived cultural distance, whereas service-oriented contacts positively affect perceived cultural distance. Implications were provided to contribute to theoretical and empirical realms, and to guide policy formulation.

The meaning of applied creativity in the culinary industry

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to present a study which explores the origin of applied creativity in the culinary industry, in Taiwan. A total of 36 Chinese and Western cuisine chefs from five-star hotels and top restaurants were interviewed to provide the data from this study. The findings indicate that the role of applied creativity in the culinary industry has played a key role in culinary change and evolution in Taiwan. Culinary creativity has its own distinct characteristics, such as time limitations and market acceptance, which are acquired through building blocks of professional skills and experience. The study contributes to understanding the role of applied creativity in the culinary industry.

Experiential learning: being a real-event planner.

Experiential learning is an effective education method used to bridge the gap between classrooms and the real world. Given the much applied nature of the discipline, scholars and practitioners emphasize the value and importance of experiential learning. This study reports on a case of experiential learning to a convention and meeting management class at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. A total of 30 undergraduate students were given a task to organize a real conference for the school. The process of conducting an experiential learning course of conference organization is discussed. Student feedback on the learning experience of organizing a real event is analyzed. Implications and suggestions for enhancing students’ learning experiences via experiential learning courses are provided.

Experiential Learning in Hospitality Education Through a Service-Learning Project

ABSTRACT The importance of experiential learning in hospitality and tourism education is widely noted. Effective learning can only be achieved by well-guided practice in the real world. Learning by doing is widely manifested in the hotel and tourism programs of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In this study, we explored the role of the service-learning subject in hospitality education. Through analyzing students’ reflective journals, we found that, of all learning outcomes, teamwork and leadership had the highest number of reflections, followed by (a) developing cultural sensitivity and (b) identifying, defining, and resolving relevant problems. This real-life service-learning subject is highly valuable to students because it provides students with unique learning opportunities that are scarce in traditional classrooms.

Customers’ Perception of the Authenticity of a Cantonese Restaurant

ABSTRACT The term ‘authenticity’ is becoming increasingly precious in this world full of hyper reality. Authenticity has been an important attribute of the tourism industry as well as the food sector. This study explores diners’ perception of authenticity of Cantonese cuisine, with Shang Palace of the Kowloon Shangri-La Hong Kong as the study base. This study draws on a triple data source, composed of in-depth interviews, online comments and participant observations. Systematic content analysis performed using NVivo 10 leads to findings that food, ambience, and environment, as well as staff members, are important factors that influence customers’ perception of authenticity in the restaurant. Comparative analysis of the data confirms the importance of customers’ knowledge and experience of Cantonese cuisine as a factor that influences their perception.

Ice Bucket Challenge, Butterfly Effect, and Hotels’ Strategic Configurations – The Case of the Hotel Industry in China

ABSTRACT This study aims to construct a typology of hotels’ strategic configurations based on the Butterfly Effect in the event of the Ice Bucket Challenge in the Chinese hotel industry. We employed the BDS test and analogy inference method to infer the strategic configurations and strategic configuration matrix of the hotel industry based on the chaos theory. The strategic configurations and configuration matrix of the hotel industry were identified through the Ice Bucket Challenge and Butterfly Effect, which correspond to the chaotic and deep regularities/attractors of the chaos theory. The implication for hotel operations is to survive and surpass this complex system and dynamic competition under the strategic configurations and configuration matrix, which entails cooperation in the industry structure and pursuit of the blue-ocean strategy, a way to work in a marketplace that is free of competitors, through a strategy of service innovation.

Analyzing the Economic Sustainability of Tourism Development: Evidence from Hong Kong:

Despite increased concerns about the negative economic impacts of tourism on host communities, insufficient attention has been paid to assess tourism’s economic sustainability. This article aims to develop and validate a framework for assessing economic sustainability from the perspective of local stakeholders. In-depth interviews with 12 major stakeholders and telephone surveys with 1,839 Hong Kong citizens were conducted. The tourism economic sustainability construct consisted of three dimensions: economic positivity, development control, and individual welfare. The reliability and validity of the dimensions were confirmed by the data of subsamples. The links between sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes toward tourism economic sustainability were evaluated. This article enhanced our understanding of tourism economic sustainability by expanding the measurement from the macro-level to the micro-level. Using the study setting in Hong Kong, it transcends previous analyses by providing a context to learn from ongoing controversies about the effects of tourism on the host communities.

Entrepreneurial Motivation and Destination Evolution

ABSTRACT This study aims to understand the small tourism business owner’s entrepreneurial motivation in different stages of destination development. Using a qualitative approach, 46 entrepreneurs who owned guesthouses in the Old Town of Lijiang, China, were interviewed. The findings suggest that business orientation was dominant in the predevelopment stage and that the livelihood motivation was a main cause of business orientation, whereas lifestyle orientation was obvious in the early development stage and most of the lifestyle-oriented owners had been tourists who enjoyed the place. However, the percentage of business orientation increased when the tourism area entered into a rapid growth stage, as more entrepreneurial investments were established. Therefore, this study identifies a pattern of small tourism business owners’ entrepreneurial motivation in different stages of destination development. An interactive view that connects tourism entrepreneurship and destination evolution is applied.