Tourism Management
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/1683
2024-03-19T03:26:50ZActivities as the critical link between motivation and destination choice in cultural tourism
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/95045
Activities as the critical link between motivation and destination choice in cultural tourism
Douglas, Anneli; Hoogendoorn, Gijsbert; Richards, Greg
PURPOSE : This study aimed to determine the motivations of a select group of South Africans in terms of their potential engagement with cultural tourism; more specifically, the study set out to show whether these motivations influence the cultural activities that the tourists want to participate in and whether their interest in specific cultural activities determines their destination choices. Furthermore, the mediating role of activities in the relationship between cultural motivations and destination choice was also assessed.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : An online panel survey collected responses from 1,530 potential cultural tourists across South Africa. Hypotheses were tested, using structural equation modelling.
FINDINGS : The results show that tourists' motivations for cultural tourism influence their likelihood of participating in specific cultural activities. Cultural tourism is shown to be influenced by more than learning and includes entertainment, relaxation, novelty and escape dimensions. There also seems to be a difference in the activities engaged in by destination type. For example, tourists likely to take part in indigenous cultural tourism activities are more likely to do so at hedonic destinations.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : This paper contributes to the understanding of cultural tourism activities, aiding destinations in attracting cultural tourists. Destinations need to develop activities that match visitor motivations, increase satisfaction and encourage visitors to return.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE : The paper increases the understanding of cultural tourism in South Africa and underlines the importance of communities in providing distinctive tourism activities. The study also has an important social dimension, highlighting the role of social status in cultural tourism consumption and destination selection.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZWork values, travel satisfaction, and organizational injustice as antecedents of corporate travel policy compliance
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/93910
Work values, travel satisfaction, and organizational injustice as antecedents of corporate travel policy compliance
Douglas, Anneli; Weber, Mnandi
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, business travel spending is expected to reach two-thirds of the pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Therefore, travel policies remain essential for reducing travel expenses and managing traveller behaviour. A significant challenge for a company is to ensure compliance with its travel policy. This study uses the equity theory and person-organization fit model to understand non-compliance with travel policies. Two hundred and five responses were collected from corporate travellers employed in South Africa via an online survey. The results revealed that work values and perceived organizational injustice could influence corporate travel policy compliance. This study is the first to investigate the influence of work values, travel satisfaction, and organizational injustice on unethical decision-making and behaviour in a corporate travel context.
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZVisitor information centres’ contribution towards creating memorable visitor experiences
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/90293
Visitor information centres’ contribution towards creating memorable visitor experiences
Tlabela, Kholadi Ramadimetja Uriel; Douglas, Anneli
Information exchange is a process through which information, experience and skills are exchanged among stakeholders. While studies acknowledge the role of VICs in enhancing memorable visitor experiences, it remains unclear how the experiences that visitors have at VICs contributes to the dimensions of Kim, Ritchie & McCormick’s (2012) Memorable Tourism Experience (MTE) (hedonism, novelty, local culture, refreshment, meaningfulness, involvement, and knowledge). The pur5pose of the paper is to ascertain whether the experiences that visitors have at VICs contribute to their memorable experiences at visited areas. The paper also intends to determine the factors in the VIC experience that are statistically significant predictors of visitors’ experience of the dimensions of MTE A total of 152 self-completed, structured questionnaires were collected from visitors to government-owned VICs in South Africa. The results show that the experience that visitors have at VICs contributes to the dimensions of MTE at visited areas. More specifically, vistors’ experience of VIC information quality, information resources, ICTs, staff knowledge and customer service contributed to the MTE at visited areas. The results are important in enabling VICs to create an environment that contributes to memorable visitor experiences at visited areas. They will help VIC managers to fulfill their enhancement and information provision function by delivering experiences in VICs that contribute to memorable experience at visited areas and in turn encourage visitors’ intention to revisit these areas.
2022-10-01T00:00:00ZVisa requirements and destination choice : integrating the theory of planned behaviour and the stimulus-organism-response model
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/89978
Visa requirements and destination choice : integrating the theory of planned behaviour and the stimulus-organism-response model
When tourists select an international destination to visit, the ease of obtaining a visa is seen as an important consideration. However, when the visa application process is perceived as burdensome and emotionally stressful, it can discourage tourists from participating in international tourism. Research to date has paid little attention to the relationship between visa requirements and destination choice. Another aspect that is overlooked in the literature is the influence of the visa application process on a tourist’s emotions, as well as whether the emotional responses that were triggered as a result of the visa application process influence the tourist’s intention to visit their destination of choice.
Using the theory of planned behaviour and the stimulus-organism-response model, the study aimed to understand the relationships between visa requirements expectations, the emotions that were triggered as a result of the visa application process, and a tourist’s intention to visit their destination of choice. A mixed-methods sequential exploratory design was used to collect data from South Africans by means of focus groups and online self-administered questionnaires. The findings from the focus groups were used to develop and confirm some of the scales in the online questionnaire. Two additional visa requirements, not mentioned in the literature were identified. Nineteen participants took part in the focus groups, and 444 questionnaires were used in the quantitative data analysis. Structural equation modelling was used as the quantitative data analysis technique, revealing a number of significant relationships.
The results differed slightly between those respondents who had applied for visas before and those who had not. For the group that had applied for visas before, certain visa requirements expectations played a moderating role in the relationship between a tourist’s perceived behavioural control towards a destination and their intention to visit a destination. For the group that had not applied for a visa before, emotions that were triggered as a result of the visa application process played a more pronounced role than for the group that had applied for a visa before. More specifically, there was a relationship between a respondent’s level of excitement and enthusiasm that was triggered as a result of the visa application process and their intention to visit a destination of choice. For this group, emotions also played a mediating role between the visa requirements expectations and the intention to visit a destination of choice.
This study makes a valuable contribution by integrating the TPB and the S-O-R model to understand the influence of visa requirements on destination choice. The results should be useful in convincing policymakers to formulate less restrictive visa policies that would encourage tourists to visit their respective countries.
Thesis (PhD (Tourism Management))--University of Pretoria, 2023.
2023-01-01T00:00:00Z