International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

Aston, Joshua; Wen, Jun; Goh, Edmund; Maurer, Oswin

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-01-2020-0032

This cutting-edge short commentary is intended to raise awareness of sex trafficking in the tourism and hospitality industry. The purpose of this paper is to also advocate for further research to identify and hopefully prevent sex trafficking in related settings.Design/methodology/approachThis paper provides a descriptive overview of the current knowledge base on sex trafficking in tourism and hospitality. Based on gaps in the literature, future research agendas and directions are suggested.FindingsAcademic research on sex trafficking in tourism and hospitality remains limited. More scholarly attention is needed to this matter. The tourism industry is directly and indirectly associated with sex trafficking (e.g. hotel accommodations and direct consumption of sexual services, such as through sex tourism). Despite legislative efforts by international government agencies to eradicate sex trafficking, the problem remains pervasive. Broader practice- and research-based intervention efforts are needed.Originality/valueThis short commentary advocates for tourism and hospitality researchers to make practical and theoretical industry contributions that may help prevent sex trafficking.

Petry, Tanja; Pikkemaat, Birgit; Chan, Chung-Shing; Scholl-Grissemann, Ursula

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-09-2020-0215

Neither visitors of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel nor hosts are homogeneous segments (Griffin & Guttenberg, 2020). For this reason, this study aims to address students as hosts of VFR travel and analyzes differences in the visitor and the host segment. As a result, marketing implications for destination marketing organizations that seek to realize the potential of the student VFR segment arise.Design/methodology/approachThis research project adopts a multi-method approach to derive a deeper empirical understanding of visitors’ behaviors and the role of students hosting friends and relatives (SHFR). The quantitative study aims to reveal the relevance and differences between visits to friends (VF) and visits to relatives (VR), whereas the qualitative study elaborates on the findings of the quantitative study and seeks to understand the role and experiences of students as hosts.FindingsThe findings reveal that VR and VF travelers vary in terms of their expenditure. Hosts’ spending depends on visitors’ budgets; in general, both their direct and indirect (when relatives pay) spending increases when they have visitors. Furthermore, the data identify two distinct hosting styles: functional hosting is concerned with providing outstanding hospitality based on a more traditional, guest-oriented understanding of the role, whereas integrative hosting blurs the lines between hospitality and lifestyle based on a more modern, host-oriented understanding of the role.Research limitations/implicationsRegarding limitations, this study did not differentiate between students who were simultaneously locals and students who resided in the city only for study purposes. In a similar vein, the cultural background of the students was not considered in the research. Finally, the differences between VF and VR could further be explored in a quantitative follow-up study and in testing for significant differences in SHFR spending behaviors. Further research could examine whether domestic travelers, travelers with cultural proximity and/or short-distance VFR travelers are more likely to visit after COVID-19 as suggested by Backer and Ritchie (2017) in the case of crises and disaster.Practical implicationsStudents as hosts differ from other hosts in VFR travel in their reluctance to embrace conventional tourism products. This study found that place attachment makes hosts of VFR travelers passionate ambassadors and advertisers for the destinations; destination marketing organizations (DMOs) could support this already positive image by providing and supporting students with more detailed information about their cities and the opportunities they offer. Results are of particular relevance because the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing DMOs to develop destination strategies that incorporate social-distancing and avoid crowded places.Social implicationsWhen students take their friends out to events and nightclubs, they contribute significantly to experiences that go beyond typical tourism activities such as sightseeing and shopping. By offering special discounts to visitors who come with their hosts, DMOs could help visitors delve more deeply into city life and thereby reduce the likeliness of crowded city centers. Considering the findings relating to the social and emotional qualities of VFR travel, DMO marketing to VFR travelers could benefit from promoting socio-cultural spaces and offerings that value groups’ social ties (e.g. family prices for families with adult children) or alumni status.Originality/valueAccording to the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first which analyzes both, visitors and hosts of VFR travel using a two methods approach. Very recently, Griffin and Guttenberg (2020) miss VFR research focusing on the heterogeneity of the segment, and Backer et al. (2020) claim for more VFR research on the role of hosts carried out outside of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the USA. To the authors’ best knowledge, this study is the first which delivers empirical insights on SHFR in Central Europe.

Almeida, Sofia; Campos, Ana Cláudia

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-12-2020-0285

This paper aims to better understand community of practice (CoP)’s dynamics with a focus on the hotel sector and perceived benefits to members and business performance.Design/methodology/approachThis is a case study research focusing on a successful experience within a CoP found in the hotel sector. The study reports in detail how a CoP was created and how it evolved to a digital platform to give birth to a fully co-designed tourism product. It analyzes this CoP’s social dynamics, processes of communication and interaction, as well as digital evolution. To collect rich data, method triangulation was applied by mixing quantitative and qualitative analyses.FindingsThe community is highly participated and valued because it is perceived as a dynamic system contributing to rapid information exchange and diffusion, efficient context for knowledge transfer and individual responsiveness to daily professional activities and challenges. The reasons why members perceive Amigas do Trade as a distinctive community include shared values and attitudes; professional area and position; and group composition. The majority of members acknowledged that belonging to this CoP has helped in making an informed decision with impact on business practice. The sub-theme more intensely participated and discussed concentrated on human resources issues.Research limitations/implicationsA case study brings useful insights into the understanding of CoP members’ behaviour; however, findings are not generalizable to other communities.Practical implicationsThis study contributes in several ways to business practice and management. Hotel businesses pertain to a sector in which CoPs easily thrive. This seems to happen because businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry are highly dependent on networks, people, communication channels and technologies. Engagement with technological platforms is stimulated because of the unproblematic integration of these digital platforms into other technologies members already use in their daily work and life. Moreover, digital platforms are not expensive and potentially increase motivation levels within CoP, and consequently in companies. This example inspires the use of digital platforms to exchange knowledge in other CoPs in the hotel sector.Social implicationsCoPs are contexts of good interaction within a group of people by nurturing a good value system (comprehending trust, cohesion and good communication climate). Thus, a non-hierarchical and non-biased approach to CoP by managers could be accomplished by fostering an organizational culture based on joint innovation, coopetition and open communication principles. Expectedly, in this respect, intensive use of digital technologies in the business arena will keep playing a key role.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on CoP applied to the hotel sector. Additionally, it is also the first time a CoP composed only by women working in the hotel sector was analyzed. One other element of novelty links to the fact that a CoP with physical and virtual dimensions was studied, introducing the use of digital platforms to the analysis of CoP dynamics.

Nazarian, Alireza; Atkinson, Peter; Foroudi, Pantea; Velayati, Rezvan; Edirisinghe, Dilini; Hosseini Tabaghdehi, Asieh

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-10-2020-0229

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that managers in independent hotels can influence to improve organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by examining the relationship between leadership style and OCB through newly developed balanced organisational culture and trust variables. Unlike most studies, which have been on chain hotels, this study investigates these relationships in independent hotels in Iran. Additionally, organisational size was also included in the study.Design/methodology/approachUsing information from Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, 160 independent hotels were identified and approached. A survey was assembled using well-known instruments. In total, 392 usable questionnaires out of 1,150 distributed were collected from employees and analysed using structural equation modelling.FindingsContrary to previous studies, it was found that in this context, neither transformational nor transactional leadership affects trust directly but only through balanced organisational culture, and only transactional leadership had a direct relationship with OCB. Also, organisational size had a moderating effect on the relationship between trust and OCB.Originality/valueThe authors add to the theoretical literature dealing with the different behaviour of constructs developed in a Western context in other contexts and suggests that hotel managers in a collectivist culture, like Iran, who want to build OCB can do so by creating organisational culture conditions (Balanced Organisational Culture) that foster trust between managers and their subordinates.

Algassim, Ali Ahmad; Saufi, Akhmad; Diswandi, Diswandi; Scott, Noel

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-01-2021-0023

Al-Juhfa is a small village located near Rabigh City, between Makkah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia, with significant archaeological and religious resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine residents’ attitudes toward tourism development at Al-Juhfa.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative study uses purposive interviewing to recruit informants. Data was collected using semi-structured interview and open-ended questions. Eight semi-structured interviews were made and a list of open-ended questions was distributed to 134 informants. All data were analysed and no new codes were found after the answer of the first 49 informants analysed.FindingsThe results show that residents’ attitudes toward tourism development in general were positive with residents expecting to receive economic, social and environmental benefits. Residents were aware of potential positive and negative impacts of tourism development and appeared to balance these in developing their attitudes. Tourism was seen to empower residents and the religiosity of the community influenced their perception of tourism development.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by supporting the use of social exchange theory in this context and by recommending the inclusion of religiosity in further studies.

Sthapit, Erose; Björk, Peter; Coudounaris, Dafnis N.; Stone, Matthew J.

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-01-2021-0002

This qualitative study aims to explore the activities that guests perform while staying in Airbnbs, emotions associated with these experiences and the components of memorable Airbnb experiences.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study of a qualitative nature was conducted using a self-administered open-ended questionnaire among tourists who had stayed in an Airbnb in the past three years. Data were collected using two different sources for triangulation purposes, referred to as Studies 1 and 2.FindingsMany respondents reported conducting similar activities while at home and while staying in an Airbnb, supporting Burch’s (1969) spill-over theory. Travellers mostly recalled mundane activities, such as cooking. The results suggest that the spill-over effect is more prevalent in the Airbnb context than in other accommodation types, as one often travels from one’s own home to another’s home. Respondents associated their Airbnb experience with the positive emotion of joy. Respondents mentioned numerous reasons for having felt joy during their Airbnb experiences, such as sharing the trip with travel companions and spending time with friends.Practical implicationsAirbnb should clearly define host’s tasks and responsibilities, hosts should treat guests in a friendly manner, which includes resolving any problems they face in relation to the rental property.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a new conceptual framework for a memorable Airbnb experience, which comprises several components: socialising and bonding with friends and family members, location, the host’s hospitality, a homely feeling, home amenities and negative experiences (the poor condition of the room and a dishonest host).

Gardiner, Sarah; Bec, Alexandra

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-08-2020-0160

This study aims to explore the evolution of the culture agapic (personal) gift-giving with the advent of new online gifting platforms that provide the opportunity to gift tourism experiences. This study investigates this well-established cultural behavior in view of this new form of social exchange.Design/methodology/approachFocus group interviews with two key target markets – mothers and couples/singles – were conducted (N = 39). Interview questions focused on understanding gifting using online platforms, sharing the experience and the role of various parties in the exchange.FindingsThis study reveals that experiential tourism gifts differ from physical gifts because they offer novelty and symbolic value, heighten positive emotions and have the potential to create lifelong memories for recipients. However, giving an experiential gift can also be a risky option because of the uncertainty of getting the gift–recipient identity match correct, particularly for adventure tourism gifts. The identity of the gift-giver is also considered in gift selection as the experience selected is a reflection of self.Practical implicationsIt is recommended that online experiential gifting platforms pay attention to both the identity of the gift-giver and gift-recipient. Sharing the experience through social media posts can reinforce both parties’ social identity, create a positive social exchange and may motivate repeat purchase.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to uncover the motivational factors of online tourism experiential gifting as part of the culture of gift-giving and the parties in this exchange. The findings advance theoretical understanding of this new form of social exchange.

Outreville, J. François

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-05-2020-0112

The purpose of this paper is to present a new methodology to estimate the migration of grades of top rated restaurant and the default rate over time.Design/methodology/approachTo demonstrate how to develop migration matrices the empirical results are based on the real number of top-rated French restaurants in Gault-Millau in a specific year and how they migrate from one grade to another over the period 1974–2010.FindingsThe purpose of the empirical analysis is only to illustrate the methodology. It is shown that migration rates are relatively stable over time.Research limitations/implicationsResults are presented only to illustrate the methodology. Further analysis could provide a sound basis to compare the rating systems from one guide to another.Originality/valueThis research note explores the notion of migration rate by developing an alternative way of measuring how restaurants survive over time.

Schuhbauer, Sarah Lisa; Hausmann, Andrea

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-08-2020-0171

This study aims to identify pitfalls in the use of cooperation for the implementation of digital applications in rural cultural tourism marketing and derive practical implications for avoiding them.Design/methodology/approachA total of 14 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants of the cooperation project around the Web app “The Legend of the Call of the Mountain” in the Zugspitz Region in Germany.FindingsThe study has identified four key pitfalls: challenges in the long-term financing, destination-specific characteristics of rural areas, doubts about the use of evaluations and the limited horizon of many cultural institutions.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the qualitative approach and the single case study, the results may lack generalisability. Therefore, future research should place the results to a larger scale, for example, with a mixed methods approach.Practical implicationsPractical implications can be derived from the study for avoiding pitfalls and thus for a successful use of such cooperation projects. The implications draw attention to the different possibilities of long-term financing, the important role of a central tourism organisation, the special possibilities of evaluations and the important role of general awareness raising for the added values of such cooperation.Originality/valueBy examining an exemplary cooperation project, the paper fills an existing research gap, as there has been little knowledge in empirical cultural tourism research about the special conditions for using cooperation to implement digital applications in rural cultural tourism marketing.

Cenni, Irene; Vásquez, Camilla

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-12-2020-0289

In April 2020, Airbnb launched “Online Experiences,” (OE) a virtual tourism product responding to pandemic-related restrictions on physical travel. The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics of this innovative product that were most salient to consumers and in so doing, to provide preliminary insights into the factors related to its success.Design/methodology/approachUsing a grounded theory approach in this qualitative study, the authors investigated a sample of 500 online consumer reviews of 100 different Airbnb OE. The analysis identified five major themes associated with reviewers’ positive evaluations of OEs.FindingsThe study’s findings corroborate prior research on peer-to-peer businesses regarding the centrality of the host and the social appeal of such services, yet they also reveal newer, multifaceted expectations for OEs’ hosts. Further, consumers reacted positively to both the entertaining and educational aspects of OEs. Finally, reviewers’ comments reflect factors related to pandemic-related conditions such as seeking social interaction and virtual escape, yet they also identify factors that suggest the durative appeal of OEs as a tourism product (e.g. “repeatability” of OEs; OEs as sites for virtual connection with family/friends; OEs as a marketing tool for future travel).Originality/valueTo the best of my knowledge, this is one of the first studies investigating this recently launched virtual tourism product. The findings, thus, represent an important empirical baseline for future research on this topic.

Bender, Ana Carolina; Guerreiro, Manuela; Sequeira, Bernardete Dias; Mendes, Júlio

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-12-2020-0297

The purpose of this study is to explore the hedonic experience and its formation at heritage attractions.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative and exploratory approach was applied, using data from 21 semi-structured interviews and three in-situ focus groups.FindingsFindings highlight that senses, imagery and emotions are stimulated by the physical landscape and by triggers of memorable experiences.Research limitations/implicationsTo further explore this topic, a broader range of heritage attractions and perspectives from the diverse stakeholders involved in the management and consumption of these sites is needed.Originality/valueGiven the scarcity of research dedicated to the hedonic experience at heritage sites, this study provides a contribution by exploring the visitor’s perspective and points out relevant insights. As the hedonic feelings of pleasure, comfort and related affective responses impact the quality of memorable experiences, relevant implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Amicarelli, Vera; Aluculesei, Alina-Cerasela; Lagioia, Giovanni; Pamfilie, Rodica; Bux, Christian

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-01-2021-0019

The hospitality industry is responsible for significant amounts of waste, more than one-third of which is food waste. Through the comparison between an Italian and a Romanian hotel, this paper aims to provide a better understanding of food waste management trends in the hotel industry as well as to highlight hotel kitchens and hotel food services weaknesses and opportunities to minimize food waste.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews, personal communication and observations were conducted to investigate food service planning, food procurement and food waste management, as well as to better comprehend current individuals’ understanding and attitudes, infrastructures, legislative culture and opportunities either from the managerial and the employees’ perspective. Data were analyzed according to a content analysis approach.FindingsThree critical hot spots emerged from the analysis: prediction and check of guests’ attendance, communication and transparency with local suppliers and among departments within the unit and purchasing frequency and perishable food provisioning. The accurate forecasting of the number of guests and their nationality is fundamental in avoiding food waste at food service, as well as implementing transparency and communication with local suppliers.Originality/valueAlthough academia and authorities have recognized the crucial importance of food waste management, food waste research in the hotel industry remains under-researched. The present exploratory research contributes to the scarce empirical studies about hotels’ food waste, giving theoretical and managerial recommendations for supporting further studies, highlighting the need for formal deals between hotels and local suppliers (food procurement), as well as the importance of food-networks that holds together companies, retailers and charities (food donation).

Gyódi, Kristóf

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-09-2020-0221

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the traditional hotel industry and Airbnb in nine major European cities. The author examines differences between the two business models and analyses various strategies of Airbnb hosts to cope with the crisis.Design/methodology/approachA detailed empirical analysis is presented based on data from STR and Inside Airbnb for the period January 2018–September 2020. To assess the impact of the pandemic on the hotel industry, year-to-year changes in various performance metrics are presented. The author also investigates the impact of the pandemic on Airbnb prices with panel data regression analysis. Using text-mining methods, signs for new use-cases are explored, including renting flats for home-office or quarantine.FindingsThe results support that Airbnb supply is more flexible. While hotel supply quickly returned to a level close to 2019, the average number of Airbnb listings was lower by more than 15%. Furthermore, the price analysis showed that Airbnb rates decreased more moderately than hotel prices. These findings suggest that a significant share of hosts pivoted from short-term accommodation provision and used their property differently, e.g. rented on a long-term basis. The analysis of listing characteristics revealed that the role of longer stays increased; however, the results do not support a shift towards advertising listings for home-office or quarantine purposes.Originality/valueThis paper presents the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality sector in a wide sample of European cities, explores the adjustment of hotels and Airbnb and provides new evidence on the differences between the business models.

Mittal, Amit; Bhandari, Harveen; Chand, Pawan Kumar

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-12-2020-0287

The purpose of this study is to examine how the anticipated positive evaluation of a tourist’s social media posts by significant others, known as social return (SR), impacts the memorable tourism experience (MTE) and how this evaluation influences the revisit intention and recommend intention (operationalized dimensions of behavioral intention-BI).Design/methodology/approachThe relationship among SR, MTE and BI was measured using established scales that were assessed for reliability and validity. Structural equation modeling was applied to the data collected from 316 respondents who had visited a heritage site.FindingsThe findings indicate that SR significantly impacts MTE and BI and MTE partially mediates the relationship between SR and BI. However, the impact of SR on revisit intention is weak despite being statistically significant.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper seeks to extend the SR concept introduced in tourism and hospitality literature in 2018. This study validated the scale in a new context while retaining the inviolability of the scale by including a world heritage site. This study used an extended version of the MTE scale and an adapted version of the BI scale. The use of these three scales together is an attempt to examine the symbolic nature of social media posts that can generate perceptions regarding the memorability of the tourist’s visit.Originality/valueSR is a relatively new construct and has been very sparsely studied with no known study linking SR, MTE and BI.

Viseu, João; Pinto, Patrícia; Borralha, Sérgio da; Jesus, Saúl Neves de

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-02-2021-0049

This study aims to follow the Job Demands-Resources model to understand how: job resources (organisational health and organisational support) were related to work engagement through intrinsic motivation (personal resource); and intrinsic motivation was associated with job satisfaction through work engagement.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 504 workers (50% women and 50% men; M = 39.48 years old, SD = 11.98) at four- and five-star hotels from the Algarve, Portugal. Through structural equation modelling, using the maximum likelihood estimation method, nine research hypotheses were tested.FindingsResults indicated that intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship between organisational health and work engagement. Work engagement mediated the association between intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction.Practical implicationsHotel managers must promote a supportive work environment and demonstrate openness to receiving suggestions from employees. Employees should also be informed about their hotel’s business model and operation. At the task design level, challenging and stimulating tasks should be created and job rotation policies should be implemented to foster work motivation. Also, managers must recruit employees that present positive emotions, proactivity and stress and time management skills.Originality/valueThis study considered the role of organisational health as a job resource, a new concept in hospitality. The selected personal resource, intrinsic motivation, is different from positive psychological capital, the typical resource used in hospitality studies.

Lenggogeni, Sari; Ashton, Ann Suwaree; Scott, Noel

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-09-2020-0223

This study aims to extend the use of psychology in the field of tourism crisis and disaster management using coping theory. It examines how resident emotions change in the extended prodromal stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and how residents used humour to cope with stress from not being able to travel.Design/methodology/approachEarly COVID-19 (March–April 2020) was characterised by negative media reports, lockdowns and travel restrictions but for Indonesia, no direct effects in terms of loss of life. This unusual context has led to phenomena not previously studied – humour as a coping strategy. This research consists of two studies: Study 1 used thematic analysis of interviews before and during the early lockdown period with a panel of 245 quarantined residents who had travelled in the prior two years. Study 2 followed up using a #hasthtag analysis of travel-related videos content posted on Instagram and TikTok.FindingsThe COVID-19 global pandemic is an unusual crisis which has resulted in high levels of stress and uncertainty. This study identified the unusual characteristics of the COVID-19 crises and changes of quarantined resident’s emotions during the pre-event and prodromal stages. In addition, this study found the use of humour as a coping mechanism during the lockdown period and the use of social media as the vehicle for humour.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings may be generalisable only to a crises and disasters with an extended prodromal stage. Interestingly, climate change has some similar characteristics where warning signs are available, but the personal implications have not yet become apparent.Practical implicationsThe emotions associated with crisis are dynamic and crisis managers may tailor communication to help deal with stress.Social implicationsThis research provides an insight into how humorous content can be used to reduce negative emotions in the early stage of a stressful event associated with travel restrictions. This study may be suitable for use in integrated marketing communication in post-recovery messaging for the tourism industry and destination management organisation in the digital platform.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate “dark humour” during the early stages of COVID-19 and also the use of coping strategies to explain how humour can reduce stress.

Kuhn, Friedericke; Kock, Florian; Lohmann, Martin

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-02-2021-0035

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has drastically affected the public discourse on tourism in news reporting and on social media, potentially changing social perceptions of travel and its utility for conspicuous consumption. Prestige enhancement is a common tourist motivation, yet, as tourists have been portrayed as irresponsible and even dangerous during the pandemic, the benefits of travel for personal prestige may have been affected. The purpose of this study is to monitor changes in tourists’ personal prestige during the early pandemic in 2020.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed an innovative study design implicitly measuring the personal prestige of tourists shown on experimentally manipulated social media posts. Three measurement waves were issued to compare the personal prestige of tourists just before, during and after the first lockdown situation in Germany.FindingsDifferences regarding evaluations of tourists’ prestige were found for prestige dimensions of hedonism, achievements, wealth and power, suggesting that prestige ascription to tourists has been affected by the changing discourse on leisure travel.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the discussion of the socio-psychological effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on customer benefits of leisure travel. It exposes possible impacts of the pandemic on tourisms’ value for conspicuous consumption and prestige enhancement.

Phucharoen, Chayanon; Jarumaneerat, Tatiyaporn; Sangkaew, Nichapat

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-10-2020-0228

Based on big data analytical and statistical techniques, this study aims to examine tourists’ shopping experiences at department stores and street markets in Phuket.Design/methodology/approachA Naïve Bayes machine learning algorithm was used to identify the most frequently used terms in TripAdvisor reviews of both department stores and street markets contributed by the same pool of 729 tourists.FindingsA total of 18 out of 62 terms used were common in reviews of both shopping settings. However, the study found significant differences in the mean use of the 18 common terms and the likelihood of those terms being used in overall positive reviews.Practical implicationsThe study’s findings indicate differences in tourist shopping experiences at department stores and street markets. Several concrete recommendations are made, including a greater focus on the linkage to the national characteristic of street markets, and particularly the quality of local fruit, to enhance the tourist shopping experience.Originality/valueUnderstanding the differences between shopping malls and street markets from the tourist’s perspective would further enhance the coexistence of shopping malls and street markets in tourism-led growth cities. As such, using reviews of both shopping malls and street markets from an identical pool of tourists, the present study will analyse and compare tourists’ actual shopping experiences, thereby addressing this gap in the research canon via integrated statistical and big data analysis techniques.

Chan, Chung Shing; Pikkemaat, Birgit; Agapito, Dora; Zhou, Qinrou

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-03-2021-0063

This paper aims to present the host experience of student hosts in Hong Kong, a popular educational destination for international students from mainland China and other countries. This study examines the interconnection between the experience-based and sociocultural dimensions of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel, considering the overall host experience, the host–guest relationship and post-hosting changes in perception of both the VFR experience and destination.Design/methodology/approachThis research adopts a qualitative approach to compare the experience-based and sociocultural dimensions of VFR travel considering international university students as VFR hosts in Hong Kong, taking a student sample from both mainland Chinese and overseas students. Based on a voluntary sampling approach, the research team had face-to-face interviews with the students that agreed to participate. The interviews were conducted voluntarily and anonymously and included those students who had hosted any friends or relatives in the past 12 months. A total of 26 interviews were successfully completed, including 10 mainland Chinese and 16 non-mainland Chinese students.FindingsThe results confirm that the VFR host experience is generally shaped by an integration of internal characteristics (sociocultural characteristics of both hosts and visitors) and external environment (urban infrastructure and tourism resources). The two groups distinctively express their host experience that shows some areas of cultural barriers and geographical proximity.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this research mainly lie on its relatively small sample size because of constraints in accessing the contact information of international students across universities. These shortcomings should be improved by adopting a research design that uses other sampling approaches, such as snowball sampling, to include a wider scope of students from different local universities, or convenience sampling, to interview and compare responses of international students from various educational destinations. Alternative data sources may be considered, for example, through user-generated contents from online and social media platforms that contain sharing of students as hosts.Practical implicationsThe geographical and cultural proximities influence VFR tourism development and social construction of values and the consequent hosting behaviour. The unique role of international students should be further explored, especially in the Asian context. The outcome of VFR travel must be evaluated and studied more from cultural and personal dimensions than economic gain, which should be relevant to host perspective such as improved quality of life, social ties and place attachment and psychological benefits. The changing risk perception caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may be examined through some forms of travel intention.Social implicationsFirstly, the destination marketing organisations of the educational destination should address the difficulty faced by student hosts in terms of external attributes such as local culture, urban infrastructure, tourism resources and information accessibility. Secondly, to target the hosts, some specific VFR-related products and services may be developed for international students through local tertiary institutions such that the role of hosts as ambassadors can be facilitated and enhanced. Thirdly, the functional role of international students can be distinctive based on their unique network, activities and knowledge constructed upon learning during the period of education.Originality/valueThe studentification of many educational destination cities, the dynamism of the role of international students as VFR hosts and their cultural differences between places of origin have provided an opportunity for deepening the understanding of VFR tourism.

Ramos, Jorge; Pinto, Patrícia; Pintassilgo, Pedro; Resende, Anabela; Cancela da Fonseca, Luís

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-04-2021-0101

There is an increasing interest in visiting protected areas in the Algarve (Portugal). Tourists are interested in contact with nature activities. However, protected areas are quite sensitive to human pressure and are limited in their carrying capacity. The purpose of this study is to fill a literature gap concerning which features attract tourists who visit saltpans via a pedestrian tour and what sort of pressure they inflict on waterbirds’ behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe tour consists of a predefined path with interpretive boards and guides who provide explanations to visitors. This study is threefold: to find out if waterbirds are disturbed by the presence of tourists, if tourists prefer to learn more about saltpans instead of finding waterbirds and if tourists have any preferred waterbird species. The methods used are direct observations with binoculars of the saltpan area and a short questionnaire. With the data collected, three hypotheses are tested.FindingsThe results show that the occurrence of waterbirds does not vary according to the presence or absence of tourist visits, tourists prefer visiting saltpans rather than watching waterbirds and there is some waterbird species preference.Practical implicationsFew people can visit the saltpan while keeping disturbance of both waterbirds and workers to a minimum. This study gives insights into sustainable ecotourism practices and how to articulate them with saltpan works.Originality/valueThe value of this study can be demonstrated by the interconnection between traditional salt production, waterbirds’ habitat, visitors’ interest and their interaction.

Gebril Taha, Mahmoud; Espino-Rodríguez, Tomás F.; Gil-Padilla, Antonia M.

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-04-2021-0094

Supply chain integration (SCI) has become a key strategy for hotels in facing their environment. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of the organizational culture on the three dimensions of SCI. The competing value framework divides the organizational culture into four types, namely, hierarchical, group, rational and developmental cultures.Design/methodology/approachA structural equations model was developed to test the hypotheses proposed. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire with a seven-point Likert-type rating scale that was distributed to managers and assistant managers of 114 four- or five-star hotels located in two Egyptian cities, Hurgada and Sharm El Sheikh.FindingsThe results of the structured model confirm the direct link between the organizational culture and SCI. The findings suggest that rational culture is the most appropriate for SCI because it is fully associated with SCI. In contrast, hierarchical culture and developmental culture are significantly related to internal and customer integration. Group culture only has a positive influence on internal integration.Originality/valueThis study is the first to analyze the impact of organizational culture on SCI in the hospitality sector. The results contribute to the literature by providing managers with practical knowledge about the significant influence of organizational culture on SCI.

Yu, Ting; Rita, Paulo; Moro, Sérgio; Oliveira, Cristina

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-02-2021-0037

Social media has become the main venue for users to express their opinions and feelings, generating a vast number of available and valuable data to be scrutinized by researchers and marketers. This paper aims to extend previous studies analyzing social media reviews through text mining and sentiment analysis to provide useful recommendations for management in the restaurant industry.Design/methodology/approachThe Lexalytics, a text mining artificial intelligence tool, is applied to analyze the text of the online reviews of the restaurants in a touristic Dutch village extracted from the most frequently used social media platforms focusing on the four restaurant quality factors, namely, food and beverage, service, atmosphere and value.FindingsThe findings of this research are presented by the identified key themes with comparisons of the customers’ review sentiment between a selected restaurant, Zwaantje, vis-à-vis its bench-mark restaurants set by a specific approach under the abovementioned quality dimensions, in which the food and beverage and service are the most commented by customers. Results demonstrate that text mining can generate insights from different aspects and that the proposed approach is valuable to restaurant management.Originality/valueThe paper provides a relatively big scale in numbers and resources of social media reviews to further explore the most important service dimensions in the restaurant industry in a specific tourist area. It also offers a useful framework to apply the text mining business intelligence tool by comparison of peers for local small business restaurant practitioners to improve their management skills beyond manually reading social media reviews.

Henriques, Claudia Helena; Elias, Silvina Renee

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-02-2021-0036

This paper aims to investigate the European and Latin America urban cultural policies that could enhance cultural and creative sustainable tourism products development.Design/methodology/approachThe methodological framework is based on a comparative case study regarding the importance, dynamics and policies associated to cultural and creative tourism in four Ibero-American cities, namely, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Lisbon and Madrid.FindingsThis exploratory analysis underlines the growing importance of cultural and creative tourism in the four capital cities. On one hand, cities reveal different tourism impacts and, on the other hand, they are associated to different cultural and creative sector structures. Cities cultural and creative performance put in evidence that sustainable cities index, global talent competitiveness index and cultural and creative cities monitor, tend to position Madrid in the first place followed by, Lisbon, Buenos Aires and Brasilia.Research limitations/implicationsIn general, and despite the importance of space in the creative process, there is little research on the geography of the creative industries and there is a lack of cross-country comparative studies so that it is difficult to assess the particularities of each model of creativity.Practical implicationsCities could enhance more efforts in investing, not only in the traditional cultural infrastructures but also on the new forms of culture, new technologies, new makers, new audiences based on their attributes, activities and labels, in a framework of urban sustainable policies based on “innovation,” “inclusiveness” and “interconnectivity.”Originality/valueThe originality of the paper lies in the comparative analysis of four cities based on cultural and creative sector and tourism interconnections. Simultaneously, it lies in an exploratory model application.

Schwaiger, Katrin; Zehrer, Anita

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-10-2020-0238

Among all forms of commitment, affective commitment has been shown to be the most desirable for enterprises. However, research on commitment among employees in family-run businesses in the hospitality industry is scant. To address this gap, this study aims to analyze the impact of employer image components on hospitality employees’ affective occupational commitment within family-run businesses. As one can assume specific employer image aspects when studying family-run businesses, this paper expects to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between employer image and employee commitment in this context.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts the employer image framework of Baum and Kabst (2013), emphasizing that in addition to considering potential employees, the commitment of current employees needs to be assessed. Convenience sampling is used to obtain a sample from the target population (Tyrolean hospitality and gastronomy employees) from June to September 2018. Multiple linear regression analysis is applied to test the influence of individual employer image constituents on employees’ affective occupational commitment.FindingsAmong the five components of the employer image framework applied here, working atmosphere, task attractiveness and payment attractiveness show a significant influence on employees’ affective occupational commitment.Originality/valueThis study connects an existing employer image model to employee commitment within the hospitality industry. The findings suggest that the model is applicable to current employees as a key stakeholder group and shows the utility of employer image theory in connection with employee commitment.

Sedmak, Gorazd

2022 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/ijcthr-06-2021-0159

Through investigation and comparisons between tourists and restaurant managers regarding their understanding of traditional music and their attitudes, expectations and assigned importance to it, this paper aims to identify the most problematic aspects of the (non)inclusion of traditional music in restaurant settings in tourist destinations.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through a field survey of tourists and managers/owners of catering establishments in the four municipalities of Slovenian Istria.FindingsThe results show that tourists attach a relatively high importance to this element of cultural heritage and that it is not sufficiently included in the overall product of the destination and in the catering establishments. Differences in the understanding of traditional music between the two groups were also found.Research limitations/implicationsThe research limitations are, namely, a relatively small sample of managers for the quantitative analysis, the particular nature of the chosen destination which does not allow generalization of the results and finally, the study was conducted in the high season when the structure of tourists is significantly different compared to that in the mid and low season.Practical implicationsThe findings bring some useful insights into tourists’ expectations and understanding of traditional music as part of the tourism experience for catering establishments’ managers and destination management organizations. By addressing the identified gaps, they can enrich the overall tourism product of the destination, while catering operators can achieve better business results.Social implicationsThe more frequent and cogent inclusion of traditional music in the hospitality sector would provide a new social function and raison d'être for this segment of cultural heritage, which is in danger of being forgotten in many tourist destinations.Originality/valueThis research addresses a widely overlooked area of two interrelated fields of research, namely, hospitality and cultural heritage. Unlike the majority of previous research on this topic, which only involves actual guests, the present research is designed as a comprehensive investigation and comparison of the attitudes of the general population of actual tourists in the destination (as potential guests of the inns/restaurants) and managers of catering businesses operating in the destination.