Shu Tian Cole

Examining the festival attributes that impact visitor experience, satisfaction and re-visit intention:

The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of a downtown festival’s attributes (programs, amenities and entertainment quality) on visitors’ overall experience, their levels of satisfaction and intentions to return. A theoretical model depicting the relationships among festival attributes, experience quality, overall satisfaction and revisit intention was examined using path analysis. The fi nal model suggests entertainment quality of the festival had the strongest impact on visitors’ overall experience at the festival, their satisfaction and intentions to return. All three festival attribute categories studied had direct impacts on visitors’ overall experience, but only entertainment quality directly contributed to visitor satisfaction and re-visit intention. Implications and limitations of the study were also discussed.

Using Geographic Information System to Visualize Travel Patterns and Market Research Data

Travel pattern data collected from a rural county in western North Carolina, United States, was analyzed using a geographic information system. Travel pattern data are valuable to destination marketers as it highlights potential regional promotions and development partners. Geographic information systems (GIS) can easily display in map form spatially oriented concepts such as travel patterns and provides easy viewing of the data. The generated maps provided a clear indication of regions, counties, and towns that tourism promoters in the rural county may consider as potential marketing and development collaborators. Additionally, by modeling trip distances per travel pattern, potential new markets were identified.

Examining the Effects of Tourism Impacts on Resident Quality of Life : Evidence from Rural Midwestern Communities in USA

Abstract Tourism impacts studies have identified three major types of positive-negative tourism impacts that dynamically change residents’ life experiences and their evaluation of tourism development. This study examines three specific impacts, perceived social costs, environmental sustainability, and perceived economic benefit, to determine their effects on resident perceived quality of life. The results indicate that the social cost dimension has no significant effect on resident quality of life, however both environmental sustainability and perceived economic benefit dimensions significantly affect resident quality of life.

Students' motivation to learn: a comparison between undergraduate students majoring in parks, recreation, and tourism and those in other majors

ABSTRACT Often called a “Discovery Major,” the parks, recreation, and tourism major tends to have more transfer students than other majors. Research has shown that educators sometimes perceive transfer students as less motivated than continuing students. This study explored differences between Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (PRT) students and non-PRT students who represented 52 majors on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. Survey results confirmed that PRT students were more likely to have changed majors. Although PRT students reported lower ACT and GPA scores, no significant difference was found between the two groups in their motivation to learn. However, compared with non-PRT students, PRT students attributed more value to their major when they perceived having more control of their learning.

Facilitation of the SUS-TAS Application with Parsimony, Predictive Validity, and Global Interpretation Examination

The Sustainable Tourism Attitude Scale (SUS-TAS) has been widely recognized as a promising instrument for evaluating tourism sustainability. Scholars have successfully validated this scale across contexts. This study carries forward the fruitful outcomes of previous SUS-TAS studies by exploring some possible facilitations of the SUS-TAS application efficiency and scope. Using data from 11 Midwestern U.S. counties, this study (1) found a maximally parsimonious 20-item SUS-TAS that facilitates data collection efficiency without compromising the psychometrical properties, (2) verified SUS-TAS’s predictive validity as in predicting residents’ intention to engage in tourism planning at different levels, and (3) suggested that SUS-TAS is best interpreted by seven separate dimensions rather than a global factor. The extended applications and possible further refinements for the scale are also discussed.

Developing a Barriers Scale in the Context of Travel: TRIP

OBJECTIVE To develop an environmental-barriers scale, Travel Restrictions Influencing Participation (TRIP), in the context of travel for people living with spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN A mixed-method approach where, in the qualitative phase, items were developed and written based on results of interviewers with different stakeholder groups and, in the quantitative phase, survey data were collected to examine the psychometric properties of the scale. SETTING Home, work, and community settings. PARTICIPANTS People living with SCI, caregivers/family members, therapists, and travel professionals (N=333). INTERVENTIONS None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES A 19-item TRIP scale that measures the travel barriers encountered by people with SCI. RESULTS Results from 83 semi-structured in-depth interviews with 4 stakeholder groups guided the writing of items in the TRIP scale. Seven cognitive interviews and an expert panel conducted reviews for content validity of the scale, and 19 items were included in the quantitative assessment of the scale. A total of 250 patients enrolled in the Rocky Mountain Regional Spinal Injury System was systematically selected to report their experience with each travel barrier. Item-response theory-based Rasch analysis revealed that TRIP has acceptable psychometric properties. CONCLUSIONS The 19-item TRIP scale demonstrates promising psychometric properties for the scale to be used in clinical settings to quickly identify environmental barriers individuals with SCI encounter when traveling. It has the potential to assist with developing interventions that will improve the travel experience of individuals with SCI or to assist with strategies to overcome travel barriers.