Raphael R. Kavanaugh

The Impacts of SARS on the Consumer Behaviour of Chinese Domestic Tourists

By analysing the impacts of SARS on the consumer behaviour of Chinese tourists, this empirical research paper probes into the sensitivity of consumers towards crises in making decisions concerning leisure travel. The survey indicates that SARS has greatly affected people’s life, work and travelling during the SARS period while the impacts on people’s inclination to travel, the preference of leisure trips and concern of public hygiene vary. Generally speaking, the impacts of SARS are of a nature of paroxysm and time period, and the decrease of travel and tourism was caused by a combination of internal motivation as well as external compulsory measures and travel bans. Furthermore, the establishment of an effective communication system and emergency measures will contribute to the recovery of the tourist market.

Current convention course offerings at the top 25 ranked hospitality management undergraduate programs: an analysis of objectives, instructional delivery, and assessment methods.

In an effort to keep abreast of convention industry demands for a more qualified workforce, some hospitality and tourism undergraduate programs have implemented courses to prepare students for employment in the business. However, limited information exists regarding the content and quality of these programs and whether they are designed to adequately meet the needs of the industry. This current study evaluates the convention course offerings at the top 25 ranked hospitality and tourism undergraduate schools (Brizek & Khan, 2002). Course objectives, assessment and teaching methods, topics of instruction, and textbooks were analyzed using nonparametric statistics and CATPAC software to determine the similarities and differences among the various course offerings. Results revealed statistically significant differences among courses characterized as General MICE (Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions, Events) Industry, Convention and Meeting Planning, and Event Management. Limitations and suggestions for future research in convention education are provided

Exploring the Use of Emotional Features at Romantic Destination Websites

Emotional connections with products have been identified as an influential factor in consumer decision making and the formation of desirable behaviours toward a brand. Currently, there is insufficient research investigating the emotional appeal of Websites with the concept being rarely addressed in travel and tourism. The purpose of this research was to therefore determine the extent to which the top ten romantic destinations used emotional features at their Websites. In addition, the Website Emotional Features Assessment Model (WEFAM) was developed and tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The model results showed that four WEFAM emotional features site activation, affection, surgency, and confidence are important in the Website design for romantic destinations.

A critique of market analysis for suburban tourism in Beijing, China

Based on a sample survey, this article reveals suburban tourism behavior characteristics of Beijing, the capital of China. Data shows that the major purpose of travel is for leisure, with attraction as the most important affecting factor, and that self-paid, low expenditure of travel by middle and lower income class is the main stream of the suburban tourism.

Conferences in Review

The 1999 International Symposium on Hospitality and Tourism Management Educa tion was held from June 16 to 18 in the beautiful coastal city of Dalian, People’s Republic of China. The event was organized by the Bohai School of Hospitality and Tourism Man agement at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, with major sponsorship from Dalian Bohai Hotel Group, Dalian People’s Municipal Government, and the China Na tional Tourism Administration (CNTA). More than 200 hospitality and tourism educators, industry professionals, university ad ministrators, and government officials attended the symposium. The participants repre sented nine educational institutions within Mainland China and 15 other hospitality and tourism programs from Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Chinese government agencies, hotel companies, airlines, and publication houses also sent their representatives to the symposium. The event was highly publicized by the Chinese media. It was reported on the China Central Television Station and Dalian TV and in Chinese Tourism News and the Dalian Daily newspaper. The organizer and sponsors of the symposium intended to bring together Chinese educators and educators from outside China to exchange views on challenging issues hospitality and tourism education faces in the 21st century. Toward this objective, about 20 formal seminar and panel presentations were made. In addition, attendees engaged in numerous informal dialogues throughout the 3-day event at group meals and receptions.

An Employment Programme to Preserve the Native American Culture

SUMMARY The purpose of this project was to determine if a training programme created specifically for unemployed Native Americans could significantly increase job knowledge levels and improve the graduates’ ability to find, get and maintain a job. The training programme was designed to combine interpersonal and employment‐related skills necessary to finding, retaining, and keeping a job. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed using the Statistical Analysis System. Formal evaluations included comparisons of participant entrance and exit questionnaires, trainer comments, OSU team observations, coalition observations, and pre/post‐test results on curriculum information. The curriculum shows significant improvement from preto post‐test. Evan more encouraging that the computer generated numbers were the changes in self‐esteem and overall job attitude levels measured through entrance and exit questionnaires.