Samuel V. Lankford

Attitudes and Perceptions Toward Tourism and Rural Regional Development

Tourism development increasingly is used to enhance rural and regional economies. However, a number of key actors are involved in the process of developing this industry that hold varying viewpoints with regard to the viability of the industry. This study presents the results of using an attitudinal scale to survey 13 cities and six counties within the Columbia River Gorge region of Oregon and Washington. The key actors involved are not in agreement with the role of rural regional tourism and recreation development. The article concludes with recommendations for further research related to congruency and public policy in tourism development.

Local food festivals in Northeast Iowa communities: A visitor and economic impact study

A way to enhance the benefits of tourism is to expand the economic linkages by increasing the amount of local food used in the industry. In this respect, rural communities are using food festivals to promote local commodities. This study, utilizing a questionnaire-based survey, analyses travel motivations of visitors and assesses the economic impact of 11 community-based food festivals in Northeast Iowa (from May to October 2005). IMPLAN Input–Output Model was utilized to assess the economic impact of these local food festivals. The total economic impact of visitors (n = 22,806) in local food festivals in terms of sales is almost

Response Bias and Wave Analysis of Mailed Questionnaires in Tourism Impact Assessments

2.6 million; in terms of personal income is

Visitor spending and economic impacts of heritage tourism: a case study of the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area.

1.4 million; and in terms of employment is 51 jobs. The study also found that festival participants were middle aged, college graduates, affluent, and day trippers. They were primarily motivated to specifically attend the festivals, which they learned about primarily by word of mouth. Festivals visitor spending patterns were similar but rather distinct from heritage visitors.

Perceptions of Outdoor Recreation Opportunities and Support for Tourism Development

Common concerns of tourism impact researchers are the rate of return on surveys and the possibility of nonresponse bias issues. Most tourism impact research uses mail surveys. In order to achieve high response rates, multiple mailings (waves) are often employed. Of concern are the differences between waves and the appropriate timing of the cutoff of mailings during the research process. This study examined the attitudinal and sociodemographic differences in three waves and a check of nonresponse bias. The study suggests that no differences exist in the waves, yet some differences exist between respondents and nonrespondents. Methodological implications are identified and discussed.

A Comment Concerning “Developing and Testing a Tourism Impact Scale”

Heritage is regarded as one of the most significant and fastest growing components of tourism. The development of heritage tourism as a generator of income besides the enhancement of community pride and identity has emerged as an objective of both heritage sites and tourism planning. The discretionary nature of expenditures in heritage tourist places makes it crucial to understand visitor spending pattern. This is key in demonstrating the economic contribution to the community for the tourism planners. This presentation is based on an intercept survey of travelers to the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA), comprising 37 counties in Northeast Iowa. Visitor spending pattern is discussed among four categories of heritage sites in the SSNHA: farms, museums, parks and gardens, and businesses. IMPLAN Input–Output Model is utilized to generate the direct, indirect and induced economic impact in the area.

Motivations of wine travelers in rural Northeast Iowa

Tourism and recreation development are viewed by many governmental jurisdictions as an important economic development strategy. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in the interaction between recreation and tourism, specifically the perceived impacts of tourism on recreation opportunities. To examine this issue, a random sample of residents in the Pacific Northwest was divided into three groups: (1) those who felt tourism did not reduce their outdoor recreation opportunities, (2) those who were neutral (neither increased nor decreased, and (3) those who thought tourism did reduce their recreation opportunities. Discriminant function analysis suggested the three groups have different attitudes toward tourism. Whether a person felt development of tourist facilities benefited recreation services accounted for the largest separation of the three groups, as this variable was entered first in the model. The study suggests tourism promoters, planners, and leisure professionals should work together to plan and develop tourism and recreation areas. Involvement of park and recreation staff in local planning and public policy efforts would facilitate the acceptance of tourism development by local residents and enhance the local quality of life.

Tourism and sustainability - can they be partners?

In a recent article, Ap and Crompton (1998) reported on the development of a 35-item tourism impact scale. In recent years, the discussion of the need for such measurement systems with regard to tourism impacts has been reported in the literature. Correspondingly, a number of studies have examined tourism impacts using various approaches. This is obviously an important topic as evidenced by the number of articles published in this and other journals. However, the idea of developing a standardized scale to measure impacts of tourism evokes strong reactions, both positive and negative, from many researchers (Lankford and Howard 1994). Ap and Crompton reported the development of a scale derived from the literature and from interviews, which was later refined using scale development procedures. Their scale was pretested using a convenience sample of university students. Subsequently, the authors report that this scale is superior to other scales and approaches to studying this topic primarily because other scales do not appear to be consistent with any of the “taxonomic” frameworks that appear in the literature. What is important to note is that the literature varies widely on the impacts of scale development. A taxonomic framework would be extremely difficult to identify due to the variation in communities, levels of development, ethnic makeup, sociodemographics of resident and tourist populations, land use, and competing industries in any given instance or place. This challenge does not speak at all to methodology, which is what most academics decide to take issue over in terms of scale development and testing. Preglau (1994) is concerned that researchers do not examine all the literature relative to the variety of tourism impacts. Unfortunately, the review of previous studies oftentimes is misrepresented or misquoted for a variety of reasons. This is one of the primary issues that I must draw attention to with regard to Ap and Crompton’s article. First, Ap and Crompton noted that the two domains found by Lankford and Howard (1994) are not consistent with the literature. Interestingly, a number of other researchers (Allen et al. 1988; Perdue, Long, and Allen 1987, 1990; Belisle and Hoy 1980) have reported similar findings. Rollins (1997); Schneider, Lankford and Oguchi (1997); and Kang, Long, and Perdue (1996) have found support for the Tourism Impact Attitude Scale (TIAS) (Lankford and Howard 1994; Lankford 1994) and its domains. Madrigal (1993) also found similarities to the TIAS within his study. Second, Ap and Crompton stated that the questions Lankford and Howard (1994) used in their study were derived from Perdue, Long, and Allen’s (1990) study. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the research and the subsequent TIAS developed and reported by Lankford and Howard (1994). In this very Journal of Travel Research, Lankford (1994) reported on page 38 (Vol. 4, No. 3) a figure that represents the scale development process used to develop a tourism impact attitude scale. In addition, on pages 127-30 of the Annals of Tourism Research (Lankford and Howard 1994, Vol. 21, No. 1), the full scale construction, generation of items, and pretesting procedures were reported. The following summarizes the discussion of scale development and item generation for both of these articles:

Applying importance-performance analysis for Japanese senior travelers to Hawaii.

Purpose – The purpose of this exploratory consumer research study was to examine demographic and behavioral characteristics and motivations of wine travelers on the recently established Iowa Wine Trail in rural Northeast Iowa. An array of data on visitor lifestyles, interests, attitudes and values can provide more powerful and actionable research information than demographics alone. Equipped with an understanding of visitor motivations, wineries and vineyards can provide their customers the experience they want and expect, and not products and services they are assumed to desire. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were collected using a questionnaire-based survey administered at three participating wineries over the period of April-November 2005. Findings – The demographic profile of visitors on the Iowa Wine Trail falls within a common stereotype of a wine tourist: middle aged (36-55 years old), highly educated (college or postgraduate), in the moderate to high income bracket (higher than ...

A comparative study examining constraints to leisure and recreation opportunities for youth living in remote and isolated communities.

Abstract This paper identifies key dimensions and applications of sustainability in the context of tourism development. It questions whether tourism can be ecologically sound and environmentally and culturally beneficial. The positive and negative effects of tourism on a host region and its people depend on the perspective assumed. If practiced responsibly, tourism can minimize disbenefits. The challenge is to identify ways in which tourism can support healthy lifestyles for visitors and residents by investing in an ecologically sound infrastructure. The paper recommends that tourism should be approached as any other type of local or regional development that utilizes land use planning and regulation systems. Additionally, the site design and construction must consider and utilize concepts of sustainability. Importantly, the development of any visitor facility is within the realm of the local design process. Developments separate from the planning process impact profoundly and mitigating measures become less effective.