Brian E M King
Professor and Associate Dean
Address: Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M University, 600 John Kimbrough Boulevard, TAMU 2261, College Station, Texas 77843
Address: Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M University, 600 John Kimbrough Boulevard, TAMU 2261, College Station, Texas 77843
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-016-0067-y
Established inbound tour operators (ITOs) are being challenged by emerging competitors that have embraced technology-enabled innovations, including aspects that are associated with the collaborative or sharing economy. A variety of suppliers across the supply chain are now able to form a direct connection with customers through platform websites, thereby providing tech-savvy tourists with the capacity to create customized trips. Incumbent ITOs are now competing with emerging entrants that are responsive to customer needs because of their digital expertise. As the various provider categories have become less clear and as barriers to entry have fallen, tour service suppliers must consider the contemporary tourism ''ecosystem'' when formulating strategies. In the face of declining consumer demand for standardized tour products, there is an urgent need to consider changing tourist habits or tastes when introducing new in-destination options. In exploring the evolving features of the inbound tourism ecosystem, this paper draws upon the recent literature to focus on the distinguishing characteristics of innovative tour service and experiences. It identifies how tour suppliers respond to competitor actions, or embrace these features themselves. The authors adopt a multiple case study approach and assemble evidence from 17 examples of tourism start-ups in Taiwan. The paper concludes with implications for practitioners and suggestions for future research.
Methodology - The overall approach of this paper is qualitative exploratory. Using in-depth interview, this study investigated the existing facilitators and constraints that wine tourists encountered. Then a preliminary content analysis was performed so as to develop an analytical framework.
Findings - Results will show a wide range of facilitating and constraint factors. They will also reveal how different the perspectives of winery owners and wine tourists are.
Practical implications - the results can serve as a starting point to understand outbound Chinese wine tourists. Implications of the factors that contribute to successful winery operations and local wineries cooperation will be put forward.
• Presents a large-scale survey of cultural experiences in attractions, events and tours
• Identifies significant differences between visitor- and context-related influences on the experience
• Underlines the importance of active involvement in producing satisfactory experiences
• Illustrates the importance of affective experiences of cultural sites for local residents
Abstract
This paper develops a measurement scale for cultural experiences across different contexts, including attractions, events and tours, in Hong Kong. Four dimensions of experience (cognitive, conative, affective and novelty) are identified through structural equation modelling. The scale is applied to compare visitor- and context-related influences on the experience and on subsequent behavioural intentions. We find that the conative dimension of experience elicits the highest experience scores from visitors, but affective experiences are more significant in distinguishing between different experience contexts and visitor groups. The strongest experiences were attributed to event contexts, followed by tours, and finally permanent attractions. The experience is also enhanced when various sites are combined by visitors to provide a ‘destination journey’.
Keywords
Visitor experience; Attractions;Events;Tours; Cultural tourism;Hong Kong