Pierre Benckendorff

Using Brand Personality to Differentiate Regional Tourism Destinations

Destination branding is growing rapidly as an approach to tourism destination promotion. While this concept has been borrowed from the world of general consumer goods and applied in a number of national tourism destinations, academic analysis of the value and effectiveness of destination branding has emerged more slowly. The present article addresses this paucity of academic scrutiny by examining the value of the destination brand personality construct in distinguishing between two regional tourism destinations. A survey of 480 tourists was conducted adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Australia to gather data about the destination image attributes of two regional destinations that were branded by a state destination marketing organization. The results indicated that tourists were able to articulate different destination brand personalities for each region. The results also indicated that more work might need to be done to adapt existing frameworks of brand personality to the tourism context.

Exploring Word-of-Mouth Influences on Travel Decisions: Friends and Relatives vs. Other Travellers

Travel research consistently shows the importance of word-of-mouth (WOM) information sources in the travel decision-making process. Friends and relatives have been identified as organic image-formation agents, and it has been emphasized that this WOM information is one of the most relied-upon sources of information for destination selection. While there has been recognition of the importance of WOM information sources on consumer behaviour in tourism, little has been performed to understand more specifically how and what behaviour is influenced. This study examined the differing influences of friends and relatives vs. other travellers on the travel choices and behaviours of 412 visitors to the North Queensland Region in Australia. More specifically, the present study compared the following four groups of respondents: those who indicated that they obtained travel information from friends/relatives and other travellers (n = 70); those who obtained information from friends/relatives only (n = 121); those who obtained information from other travellers only (n = 105); and those who obtained information from neither (i.e. no WOM) (n = 116). The results indicated that there were significant differences across the four groups with respect to demographic characteristics, other information sources used, accommodation and transportation used, and travel activities in the destination. However, the groups did not differ in their image of the destination.

Tourism and Generation Y.

Generation Y is a phenomenon identified by social scientists and social commentators, and is frequently discussed in the media. Referring to the current generation of young people, the label attributes to this generation modes of behaviour, values and attitudes distinct from previous generations. This book looks at Generation Y in a tourism context; in broad conceptual terms such as trends and behaviour, and in applied terms, for example looking at particular types of travel that Generation Y takes part in, and tourism marketing aimed specifically at them. This volume aims to define and examine the current and future generation of tourism workers and consumers, and will be an essential read for researchers and students in tourism studies and related industries.

The Managerial Gaze The Long Tail of Tourism Education and Research

Tourism has been studied and researched in higher education for more than 40 years and in many ways it has now established itself as a significant part of the academy. However, at a time of change and rationalization in higher education, tourism, along with other areas of study, needs to be able to justify its position. Increasingly, academic managers are seeking such justifications, often using readily available metrics. The purpose of this study is to examine the position of tourism using these same metrics, for teaching, research, and impact and for three different countries, Australia, China, and the United Kingdom. In doing so, it highlights tourism’s strengths and weaknesses from a managerial perspective but at the same time it exposes the relative narrowness of this managerial gaze. It points to the need for the tourism community to strengthen its provision and broaden the gaze of the decision makers.

Exploring the future of tourism and quality of life

Few studies to date have examined the impact of tourism on quality of life (QoL) as conventional research has tended to focus, instead, on resident attitudes towards tourism and tourism ’s impacts in particular (Smith, 1977; 1989). Even less research has addressed whether tourism can drive or facilitate sustainable development (Miller and Twining-Ward, 2005) or whether tourism can contribute to the subjective wellbeing of those involved in travel and tourism. Impact studies generally ask residents to agree or disagree with statements regarding perceived impacts from tourism on their community. By contrast, QoL research aims to understand how these impacts are internalised and influence an individual’s overall life satisfaction (Andereck et al, 2007). With terms used interchangeably QoL, happiness and well-being refer to one’s satisfaction with life, and feelings of contentment or fulfilment with one’s experiences in the world (ibid.). Whether tourism as phenomena and practice may support the growing body of evidence that demonstrates a positive relationship between existential factors such as life purpose / meaning, personal growth and wellbeing (Vella-Brodrick, 2007) was the topic of intense debate during the 2008 Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel Education Network (BEST EN) Think Tank VIII.

An exploratory analysis of traveler preferences for airline website content

Structural changes in the aviation sector have accelerated customer acceptance of the Internet as a suitable medium for booking airline travel. This research explores the preferences of airline travelers for various content attributes on airline websites. The study was conducted by surveying 903 respondents from Australia and New Zealand using an online questionnaire. The results indicate that airline website attributes can be organized into at least seven factors. Of these, basic “look and book” features are viewed as most important by customers. The article groups website attributes into basic factors, pivotal factors, and supplementary factors based on their likely impact on customer satisfaction. The results provide an indication of the website features most likely to attract and retain airline customers.

Tourism and Quality-of-Life: How Does Tourism Measure Up?

This chapter reviews and analyzes the contribution that tourism development makes to quality-of-life (QOL). The chapter commences with a review of the sociocultural, economic, and environmental effects of tourism development as it relates to QOL. It will be argued that tourism studies have generally relied on observations and measurement by researchers, who have explored residents’ perceived impacts of tourism on their community. In contrast to community-centric impact studies, this chapter is concerned with how economic, social, and environmental impacts of tourism are manifested and how tourism is contributing to QOL and overall life satisfaction. An importance-performance analysis (IPA) is used to achieve this goal. The opinions of experts in tourism development are used as a basis for identifying the importance of 45 attributes of QOL and for assessing how well tourism performs on each. The literature review, analysis, and findings indicate that tourism has the potential to contribute to enhanced QOL through economic benefits, but this can be at the expense of social equity, cultural identity, and environmental sustainability. There is also considerable room for improvement in tourism’s performance with respect to contributing to local communities and provision of leadership and corporate social responsibility as they relate to the key attributes of QOL in tourism destinations. Research propositions emerging from the findings could inform the future direction of inquiry into the complex relationships and interdependencies between tourism, QOL, and the well-being of both tourists and the communities they visit.

Australian Tourist Attractions: The Links between Organizational Characteristics and Planning

An exploration of the links between the characteristics of Australian tourist attractions and the amount of planning undertaken by attraction managers was conducted. Using a detailed mail survey (N = 407, response rate = 26.7%), a categorization indicating four planning levels was devised: nonplanners, short-term planners, short- and long-term planners, and long-term planners. Attractions with greater levels of planning were shown to have higher levels of perceived performance and faced the future with better growth prospects and business confidence. They also reported higher management turnover. Attraction research, it was argued, needs to develop with studies from different regions and histories to test the value of specific findings. In addition, multimethod approaches are needed to disentangle causality issues linking planning and attraction characteristics.

Drivers of Change in Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management Education: An Australian Perspective

In an increasingly pressured academic environment, too little time is given to understanding the factors that shape tourism, hospitality, and event management education curricula. In responding to this rapidly changing environment there is a risk that one can become reactive rather than strategic and forward thinking. This article identifies major political, philosophical, and managerial influences on the Australian curriculum space. The implications of these influences are discussed with reference to developments in other parts of the world. The conclusion highlights a number of changes and challenges that will need to be contemplated by tourism, hospitality, and event management education management educators but also identifies a clear role for cross-institutional planning and leadership.

Benchmarking, Usable Knowledge and Tourist Attractions

SUMMARY The article considers the special needs of the attractions sector for comparative and comprehensive information on parallel operations. It defines and articulates four kinds of benchmarking and explores the potential of this empirical approach to knowledge acquisition. Some comparisons and asynthesis ofbenchmarking studies from the hotel sector, from tour operators and from the national park management world are included in the conceptual appraisal of the benchmarking approach. The study seeks to apply and illustrate the benchmarking approach to tourist attractions. A large scale survey study of Australian tourist attractions considers the value of 15 indicators and illustrates how they provide contrasts among different kinds of attractions. The research presented also provides examples of easy access graphical information as an illustration of research findings and acts as an exemplar of the knowledge communication process. Important distinctions are drawn between knowledge generated by analysts and knowledge fitting the needs of managers.