INTERNATIONAL ANTALYA HOSPITALITY TOURISM AND TRAVEL

Transcription

INTERNATIONAL ANTALYA HOSPITALITY TOURISM AND
TRAVEL RESEARCH
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Porto Bello Hotel
Antalya, Turkey
December 9-12, 2014
Organized by
CO-CHAIRS
Doğan GURSOY
Fevzi OKUMUŞ
Akın AKSU
Washington State University
Washington D.C., USA
The University of Central Florida
Florida, USA
Akdeniz University
Antalya, Turkey
Edited by
Edina AJANOVIC
Meltem CABER
Yıldırım YILMAZ
ISBN
: 978-605-4483-22-8
© Akdeniz University, Tourism Faculty
Any opinions and views expressed in the papers included in the proceedings of the International
Antalya Hospitality Tourism and Travel Research Conference held in Antalya from 9-12 December
2014 are those of the authors and are not necassarily shared by the conference organizers. The
copyright for the papers remains with the authors and has not been transferred to the Conference.
Akdeniz University
Dumlupınar Boulevard Post Code: 07058 Campus
ANTALYA, TURKEY
Telephone: + 90 242 2274400
Fax: + 90 242 2275540
WELCOME BY RECTOR OF AKDENIZ UNIVERSITY
The most precious treasure of one society is science and its most valuable assets are the people that posses the
knowledge. With this understanding, the Turkish Nation has always given great importance to education. As
a result, there are many worldwide recognized and successful works across different science fields by the
Turkish origin scientists. In this success according to the world's adopted principles, the share of Akdeniz
University is undeniable.
With initiative of Akdeniz University and Washington State University, the IHTRC Conference (International
Antalya Hospitality Tourism and Travel Research Conference) will be held in Antalya – city regarded as a
''Heart of Tourism''. As a higher education institution that emerged with a slogan ''A World – Class University
which Brings Illumination and Enlightenment to Society'', we are very pleased and honored to be the host of
the IHTRC Conference. Hereby, we hope to present the natural and cultural assets of our city to conference
participants and share knowledge and experiences of Akdeniz University.
The goal of International Tourism Meetings is to use the worldwide academic platform to discuss
developments among countries and enterprises directly and indirectly interested in tourism field.
Additionally, the aim is to share the knowledge with all public and private sector stakeholders involved in
decision making process in tourism and hospitality field. Therefore, I sincerely wish for IHTRC Conference
to serve these goals and provide important contributions in developing new strategies.
It is clear that the IHTRC Conference will continue in the following years as a series of conferences where
the output of one conference will represent the inputs for the following one, sharing valuable knowledge and
experiences and having positive impact in practice. On behalf of Akdeniz University, I would like to thank to
all the colleagues for their contribution and to all the sponsors that supported the organization of IHTRC
Conference.
With my affection and respect
Prof. Dr. İsrafil KURTCEPHE
Rector of Akdeniz University
WELCOME BY CO-CHAIRS
On behalf of the organizing committee, it is our pleasure to welcome you to the “International Antalya
Hospitality Tourism and Travel Research Conference” hosted by Akdeniz University and Washington State
University. The event will take place in Antalya, Turkey at outstanding facilities of the Porto Bello Hotel
between December 9 and December 12, 2014. We are sure that all of us will have unforgettable experiences
during this conference.
Our vision for this scientific meeting is to create an international platform for balanced academic research
with practical applications for the hospitality and tourism industry, in order to foster synergetic interaction
between academia and industry. During this conference, presenters will submit their latest research findings
on hospitality and tourism management. It is our sincere hope that those research presentations will
contribute to knowledge and theory of hospitality and tourism management as distinct, multifaceted fields
approached through the administrative disciplines, the liberal arts, and the social sciences. Furthermore, this
conference will provide an outlet for innovative studies that will make a significant contribution to the
understanding, practice, and education of hospitality and tourism marketing and management. We strongly
believe that presentations scheduled throughout the conference and the papers published in the conference
proceedings will have a significant contribution to the dissemination of knowledge while serving as a unique
international forum for both industry and academia.
The conference addresses a wide range of issues that are crucial for today’s world. Studying a multi-faceted
and hybrid industry like hospitality and tourism requires us to examine issues related to both supply and
demand. Therefore, during this conference and in this proceeding, you will see presentations and papers that
examine a wide range of topics such as marketing, management, consumer behavior, planning and
development, issues related to sustainability and the use of technology, etc. It is our hope that, during this
conference, a clear picture of the hospitality and tourism industry is developed. In addition, we are sure that
the papers included will identify the complex and interrelated issues that the sector faces every day and
propose sound solutions to some of those problems.
The organizing committee has spent countless hours to put this conference together. We would like to express
our sincere gratitude and thanks to all the organizing committee members who graciously volunteered their
time and effort to put this amazing conference together. We would also like to extend our appreciation and
sincere gratitude to the international scientific committee members who worked to ensure the quality of the
papers. Without the organizing committee and the help of international scientific committee, we could not
have this conference.
On behalf of the organizing committee, we would like to welcome you again to the “International Antalya
Hospitality Tourism and Travel Research Conference”. We hope that your will enjoy Turkish hospitality
while attending the conference and have an unforgettable stay in Antalya.
Professor Doğan GÜRSOY
Conference Co-Chair
Professor Fevzi OKUMUŞ
Conference Co-Chair
Professor Akın AKSU
Akdeniz University
Conference Co-Chair
INTERNATIONAL ANTALYA HOSPITALITY TOURISM AND
TRAVEL RESEARCH
CO-CHAIRS
Doğan GURSOY
Fevzi OKUMUŞ
Akın AKSU
Washington D.C., USA
Florida, USA
Akdeniz University
Antalya, Turkey
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Yıldırım Yılmaz
Birsen Çevik
Meltem Caber
Ayla Aydın
Edina Ajanovic
Yunus Topsakal
Abdullah Akgün
Faruk Seyitoğlu
Saliha Başak Erdinç
Selami Gültekin
Gökhan Yılmaz
Gamze Meşe
Özge Kocabulut
İlker Şahin
CONFERENCE SPONSORS
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Levent
Irfan
Eli
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Seyhmus
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Dimitrios
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Cihan
Altinay
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE MODERATING EFFECT OF AGE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE EFFECT OF
IMAGE AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY IN THE
CONTEXT OF AUSTRALIA AS A DESTINATION. .................................................................. 1
Guy Assaker
SHORT-TERM VOLUNTOURISM: AN EXPANSION OF ECOTOURISM OR A NEW FORM
OF NEOCOLONIALISM? ........................................................................................................... 21
Clémence Gillier
Marija Lazarev Zivanovic
DRACULA TOURISM AND DARK GEOGRAPHIES OF ROMANIA.................................... 44
Oana Mihaela Stoleriu
THE DATA GATHERING PROCESS IN A GREEN EVENT STUDY – A JOURNEY .......... 70
Norol Hamiza Zamzuri
Khairil Wahidin Awang
Yuhanis Abdul Aziz
Zaiton Samdin
SERVICE QUALITY IN THE HOTEL SECTOR IN FLANDERS – A CASE STUDY ............ 79
Griet Geudens
Petra Huyst
Katrien Van Ginderachter
A SPATIAL PANEL ANALYSIS ON REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND PRICE COMPETITION
OF SUPER-DELUXE HOTELS IN SEOUL................................................................................ 92
Seul Ki Lee
A NOVEL APPROACH TO STUDYING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR FOR THE TOURISM AND
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIES USING VERBAL ANALYSIS PROTOCOLS AND WIRELESS
AUDIO-VISUAL OBSERVATION ............................................................................................. 93
Anna-Maria Saarela
SUPPLIER ANALYSIS OF HOSPITALITY SECTOR:CASE OF ALANYA ......................... 100
Güliz Salihoğlu
Ferhan Gezici Korten
SPIRITUAL HEALING AS A MOTIVE OF RELIGIOUS TRAVEL – CREATING A NEW
RELIGIOUS ROUTE IN SERBIA ............................................................................................. 124
Sanja Božić
Bojana Spasojević
Nemanja Tomić
RECONSTRUCTION OF TOURISM: TOURISM DETOX ..................................................... 136
Irfan Arikan
Ilker Unsever
DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE RURAL TOURISM IN SAN ANTONIO, TX ..................... 144
Sedef Doganer
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS FOR TRADITIONAL TRAVEL AGENCIES: THE SPANISH
CASE ........................................................................................................................................... 158
Sergio Moreno Gil
Patricia Picazo Peral
Teresa Aguiar Quintana
THE IMAGE OF THE CANARY ISLANDS AND MOROCCO AS DESTINATIONS FOR
NAUTICAL TOURISM ............................................................................................................. 177
Yen E. Lam González
Carmelo J. León González
Javier de León Ledesma
J. Andrés Dorta Velázquez
THE RECREATIONAL ECONOMIC VALUE OF AGRO TECHOLOGY PARK, CAMERON
HIGHLANDS, MALAYSIA: AN APPLICATION OF THE TRAVEL COST METHOD ...... 197
Syamsul Herman Mohammad Afandi
Zaiton Samdin
S.Sridar Ramachandran
Ahmad Shuib
WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR THE CONSERVATION FEE IN KUALA SEPETANG: A
CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD ................................................................................ 206
Zaiton, S.
Hazandy, A.H
Syamsul Herman, M.A.
PLANNING EXPERTISE, VARIABLES INFLUENCING PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AND
MANAGEMENT OF WEDDING ORGANIZATION FIRMS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA.
..................................................................................................................................................... 220
Christine Olanga
Bichage Gesage
Charles Murungi
A BALANCED SCORECARD APPROACH TO MEASURING PERFORMANCE OF FIVE
STAR HOTELS IN NAIROBI, KENYA. .................................................................................. 247
Methuselah Bichage Gesage
Job Kuira
THE COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF THE OJUDE-OBA AND THE OSUN OSOGBO
FESTIVALS IN SOUTH WEST NIGERIA. .............................................................................. 283
OluwafemiOlubukola
Anyafulu Latifat
RESTAURANTS AS NON-R&D INNOVATOR: INTEGRATING TRAINING AND
KNOWLEDGE ASSETS TO ENCOURAGE INNOVATION AT RESTAURANTS.............. 295
José L. Ballesteros Rodríguez
Desiderio J. García Almeida
Nieves L. Díaz Díaz
REGIONAL BRANDING SCALE ............................................................................................. 309
Popy Rufaidah
THE IDENTITY OF ISAN MUD MEE SILK TO CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM IN
THAILAND ................................................................................................................................ 336
Wachiraya Tatiyanantakul
Donruetai Kovathanakul
EFFECTIVE SEASONAL EMPLOYEE LEADERSHIP PRACTICES IN THE HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY: EVIDENCE FROM CYRPUS .............................................................................. 345
Huseyin Arasli,
Hasan Evrim Arici,
IMPORTANCE OF SECOND HOMES FOR LOCAL ECONOMY OF A RURAL TOURISM
REGION ...................................................................................................................................... 360
Czesław Adamiak
INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT AND INBOUND TOURISM INTERACTION: THE
CASE OF ISTANBUL ................................................................................................................ 371
Ferhan Kuyucak Şengür
Özgür Hemdil
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AHILIK IN GRAND BAZAAR AND IMPLICATIONS ON
TOURIST EXPERIENCE........................................................................................................... 391
Ismail Kizilirmak
Gurel Cetin
ASSESSING THE GOVERNANCE OF CO-MANAGEMENT ECO-TOURISM USING SOCIAL
NETWORK ANALYSIS: CASE OF KAMPUNG LUANTI BARU, SABAH AND KAMPUNG
KUANTAN, SELANGOR. ......................................................................................................... 399
Mohd Iqbal Mohd Noor
Mohd Shahwahid Hj Othman
Amira Mas Ayu Amir Mustafa
Rahinah Ibrahim
EDUCATIONAL TOURISM IN FARMYARD AND SUCCESSOR’S IDENTITY: EVIDENCE
FROM JAPAN ............................................................................................................................ 416
Yasuo Ohe
THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SERVICE ORIENTATION BETWEEN PERCEIVED
ORGANISATIONAL SUPPORT AND EMOTIONAL LABOUR FOR HOTEL EMPLOYEES IN
CHINA ........................................................................................................................................ 428
Wei (Vivy) He
Peter BeomCheol Kim
David Williamson
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM: THE CASE OF SLOVENE AND CROATIAN
HOTEL INDUSTRY................................................................................................................... 430
Gordana Ivankovič
Mateja Jerman
Tanja Planinc
Maja Uran Maravić
CONSERVATION STRATEGY OF MOAT AND CITY WALL'S CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
FOR NAKHON RATCHASIMA TOURISM ............................................................................ 446
Kritsana Pinaphang
BUILDING PROPER FORECAST MODEL FOR DAILY AIR PASSENGER DEMAND: A
STUDY OF ANTALYA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.......................................................... 467
Murat Çuhadar
SPECIAL EVENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING: A CASE STUDY OF THE
59TH GRAND PRIX 2012 IN MACAU ...................................................................................... 477
Zhou Jinquan
ASPECTS INFLUENCING THE IMAGE OF SOUTH AFRICA AS A TOURISM DESTINATION
..................................................................................................................................................... 492
Susan Oberholzer
Elmarie Slabbert
WHAT MAKES SOUTH AFRICA AS A TOURISM DESTINATION COMPETITIVE........ 494
Annari van der Merwe
Lindie du Plessis
Melville Saayman
PERCEPTIONS ON RISK AND SAFETY AT MALAYSIAN EVENT MANAGEMENT
INDUSTRY: A REFLEXIVE APPROACH............................................................................... 496
Masrur Mohd Khir
Martin Selby
Ian Stronach
ANALYSING GENDERED REPRESENTATIONS ................................................................. 502
Heather Jeffrey
THE EFFECT OF TOURISM SERVICES ON THE LEVEL OF SATISFACTION APPLIED STUDY ON
INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS VISITING LIBYA...................................................................... 510
Atiya Thabet Abuharris
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF HOSPITALITY MARKETING DRIVEN BY CULTURE IN
HISTORICAL CITY: COMPARABLE CASE STUDIES IN TAINAN CITY……………… 521
Tsung-Han Lin
Chia-Han Yang
IDENTIFICATION OF TRAINING FACTORS IN MEXICAN TRAVEL AGENTS IN ORDER
TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVENESS……………………………………………………….. 536
Francisco Madrid Flores
Hazael Cerón Monroy
Mariano Lechuga Besné
AUTHOR LIST ………………………………………………………………………………………… 550
1
THE MODERATING EFFECT OF AGE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE EFFECT OF IMAGE AND
ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY IN THE CONTEXT OF AUSTRALIA AS A
DESTINATION.
Guy Assaker
Lebanese American University, School of Business, Beirut, Lebanon
University of South Australia, Centre for Tourism and Leisure Management, Adelaide, Australia
ABSTRACT
This study examines the moderating effect of age (younger versus senior travelers) on the relationships
between destination image (DI) and its outcomes; in this case, satisfaction and loyalty. Using structural
equation modeling (the partial least squares approach) as well as multigroup tests and permutation tests to
analyze 249 questionnaires completed in summer 2012 by American and British visitors to Australia, the
findings demonstrated that the effects of DI on satisfaction as well as visitor satisfaction on loyalty were
stronger among senior travelers. In view of these findings, the influences are analyzed and discussed from
theoretical and practical perspectives, and future research issues are highlighted.
Key Words: Structural equation modeling (SEM), moderating effect, age, destination image, destination
loyalty.
1. INTRODUCTION
In times of severe competition and rising tourist expectations, destinations are highly interested in keeping
existing visitors as well as enhancing their loyalty to the destination (Getzel et al., 2006; Assaker et al., 2011).
Destinations focus on loyalty because marketing and tourism literature often tout loyal customers as
desirable, as these customers lead to reduced marketing costs and guarantee a constant inflow of financial
returns (e.g., Haywood, 1989; Fyall, 2006). In addition, from the destination’s perspective, loyalty indicates
travelers’ satisfaction with the destination; satisfied visitors are more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth,
which is one of the most sought-after information sources (Assaker & Hallak, 2012; Oppermann, 1999).
Previous studies in the tourism literature have confirmed the influence of destination image (DI) on tourists’
destination choice, indicating that positive DI leads to favorable outcomes, such as satisfaction and loyalty
(Castro, 2007; Chen & Tsai, 2007; Agapito et al., 2013). Yet a number of unanswered questions concerning
the explanation of the complexity of the relationships between DI and tourists’ satisfaction and loyalty
remain. One notable question is how tourist demographics influence the strength of the interrelationships
among constructs in the DI model (Han et al., 2009; Namkung & Jang, 2009; Oh et al., 2002). In particular,
what role does age play in affecting the relationships between DI and tourists’ satisfaction and loyalty?
Because of the world’s aging population, seniors have become a key segment within the travel and tourism
industry. The senior segment exhibits strong potential for travel thanks to increased discretionary income as
well as leisure time free from work and family obligations (Oh et al., 2002; Prayag & Ryan, 2012). Yet
earlier studies, which investigated senior traveler segments in the travel industry (e.g., French & Fox, 1985;
Horneman, Carter, Wei, and Ruys, 2002; Jang & Wu, 2006; Lieux et al., 1994; Shoemaker, 1984, 1989), have
remained somewhat descriptive and limited in nature as they did not explain the role of age in the tourists’
decision-making process in the context of tourism consumption/loyalty models. Most of these studies focused
exclusively on the senior segment. For example, Shoemaker (1989) attempted to cluster-analyze
2
Pennsylvania residents 55 years or older based on their reasons for travel, ultimately identifying three groups:
“family travelers,” “active resters,” and the “older set.” Similarly, Lieux et al. (1994) utilized reasons for
pleasure travel to categorize American residents 55 years or older, identifying three homogeneous motivation
clusters: “novelty seekers,” “active enthusiasts,” and “reluctant travelers.” A more recent study by Horneman
et al. (2002) clustered Australian residents who were 60 years and older into six market segments in terms of
their choice of holiday attractions, travel motivations, and the information sources used among senior
Australian travelers when planning and choosing a holiday. Finally, Jang and Wu (2006) delineated the travel
motivations of Taiwanese senior travelers in order to identify what variables are most important for this
category of travelers. Using factor analyses, the authored identified five “push” and three “pull” motivation
factors. Among them, “knowledge-seeking” and “cleanliness & safety” appeared to be the most important
push and pull motivations, respectively.
Besides these descriptive studies, a few recent studies (e.g., Oh et al., 2002; Namkung & Jang, 2009; Han et
al., 2009) have investigated the impact of age on the tourists’ decision-making process in the context of
tourism consumption/loyalty models. All of these studies, however, were specific to either the lodging or
restaurant industry rather than examining tourists behavior in the context of tourism travel in general—that is
to say at the tourism destination level. For example, Han (2009) examined green and eco-friendly customer
behavior in the hotel context and found that a hotel’s perceived green image led to a greater willingness to
pay among females and older individuals than among males and younger individuals. Namkung and Jang
(2009) found that satisfaction has more significant influence on visitors’ behavioral intentions in relatively
older groups than in relatively younger groups in the restaurant context. While Oh et al. (2002) found that the
strength of the effects of tourists’ satisfaction does not depend on age in the context of upscale hotel
properties in the United States.
Thus to date, studies have focused exclusively on either the senior segment or have tried to explain the effects
of age on the relationships between perceived image and individuals’ satisfaction and loyalty/behavioral
intention in an industry-specific context. These studies did not examine the senior versus younger segments
to try to identify any differences in the strength of the relationships among DI and individuals’ satisfaction
and loyalty at the destination level, which could, consequently, provide a more in-depth understanding of the
effects of the different age groups on consumers’ and tourists’ decisions in general. Thus the objective of the
current study is to provide additional insights into the relationship between destination image and tourists’
satisfaction and loyalty by examining the moderating effect of age on these relationships in the context of
American and British visitors to Australia. The two countries (i.e., the United States and the United
Kingdom) represent two of the main market segments for inbound travelers to Australia (Tourism Research
Australia, 2013). Therefore, by considering a sample representative of two of the main markets for Australia,
the results from this study will help ongoing research related to age in the specific context of Australia and
will make generalizations about other destinations in general. The results will also help provide empirical
evidence and more in-depth theoretical discussions related to the effects of age on tourists’ satisfaction and
behavioral intention/loyalty, which will be relevant from a managerial perspective as well. In particular,
destination managers and marketers responsible for tourist-retention programs need information on the
determinants of tourists’/visitors’ loyalty. It is especially important for destination managers to know which
group of visitors they can rely on via satisfaction as a driver of loyalty (Baloglu, 2001, 2002) as well as which
types of visitors tend to be less loyal, even though they might be highly satisfied (Opperman, 1999; Boo et
al., 2009).
The rest of this paper evolves as follows. First, previous research on destination image and tourists’
satisfaction and loyalty, as well the connection among these three constructs, will be reviewed, and a
conceptual model specifying relationships among the different dimensions will be presented. Next, age as a
moderator variable for these relationships will be introduced. The research method and results will then be
described. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of the findings, an elaboration of the limitations of
the findings, and an exploration of the theoretical and managerial implications. In summary, the purposes of
this study are (1) to revalidate the theoretical and empirical evidence on the structural interrelationships
3
among destination image and its outcomes, including satisfaction and destination loyalty, in the context of
Australia as a destination and (2) to investigate the moderating role of age on the relationships between image
and its outcomes.
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT
2.1 RELATİONSHİPS BETWEEN DESTİNATİON İMAGE AND İNDİVİDUALS’ SATİSFACTİON AND
BEHAVİORAL İNTENTİONS
Destination image refers to an individual’s mental representation of knowledge, feelings, and overall
perception of a particular destination (Fakeye & Crompton, 1991). Previous studies have found a certain kind
of close relationship between destination image and visitors' satisfaction. If a person’s perceived image of a
destination is high, his satisfaction with this destination tends to be fulfilled. Therefore, the person is certainly
more likely to evaluate this destination highly (Castro, 2007). Other studies have identified positive
relationships among destination image, perceived quality, and tourist satisfaction (see, for example, Lee et al.,
2005). In turn, tourists’ evaluation of the destination experience influences their image of the destination
(Echtner & Ritchie, 1991; Fakeye & Crompton, 1991; Kozak & Rimmington, 2000).
Previous studies have also discussed the relationship between destination image and visitors' possible revisit
intentions (Chen & Gursoy, 2001; Lee et al., 2005; Agapito et al., 2013). In particular, they found that how
tourists perceive a destination influences their behavioral intention (Court & Lupton, 1997; Ashworth &
Goodall, 1998; Bigné et al., 2001; Chen & Tsai, 2007; Castro, 2007). For instance, Court and Lupton (1997)
found that a positive image of a destination positively affects travelers’ intention to revisit that location in the
future. Chen and Tsai (2007) identified in their research that destination image can affect direct effects on
visitors' behavioral intentions/loyalty. Finally, Castro (2007) demonstrated that destination image can have
significant effects on visitors' revisit rate.
The link between satisfaction and post-purchase behavior has also been well established by prior literature
(Hallowell, 1996; LaBarbera & Mazursky, 1983; Rust & Zahorik, 1993). A number of studies have
confirmed a significant positive relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty/retention (Anderson &
Sullivan, 1990; Cronin et al., 2000; Taylor & Baker, 1994). If consumers are satisfied with the
product/service, they are more likely to continue to purchase and are more willing to spread positive WOM.
In the tourism industry, empirical evidence indicates that tourists’ satisfaction is a strong indicator of their
intentions to revisit and recommend the destination to other people (Bramwell, 1998; Kozak, 2001; Kozak &
Rimmington, 2000; Ross, 1993; Yoon & Uysal, 2005). Satisfied tourists are more likely to return to the same
destination and are more willing to share their positive travel experiences with their friends and relatives
(Oliver, 1980). Therefore, destination image can affect direct and indirect influences on visitors' prospective
behaviors/loyalty, and visitors' satisfaction is a mediator explaining the relationship between destination
image and visitors’ prospective behavior (Beerli & Martin, 2004), which takes us to the first set of hypotheses
established in the context of this study:
H1: Destination image has a significantly positive influence on tourist satisfaction.
H2: Destination image has a significantly positive influence on destination loyalty.
H3: Tourist satisfaction has a significantly positive influence on destination loyalty.
2.2 AGE AS A MODERATOR VARİABLE
In the marketing and tourism literature, much attention has been paid to the market segmentation based on
age (Zeithaml, 1985; Holbrook, 1996; Moschis, 2003; Oh et al., 2002). Studies related to consumer behavior
have concluded that age is a key element that affects consumers’ evaluations and judgments. In most studies
4
acknowledging the moderating function of age in marketing and customers' behaviors in the tourism industry,
the influence of age on customers' behaviors was hypothesized and verified according to theories about
innovativeness and information processing (Homburg & Giering, 2001; Namkung & Jang, 2009; Han et al.,
2009). Theories about innovativeness imply that younger people are more likely to bring forth new ideas
when presented with new products or services or new destinations whereas relatively older people are more
possible to keep a conservative attitude toward new products or services or new destinations (Im et al., 2003).
Theories associated with information processing suggest that younger people are more likely to hunt for new
information whereas older people are more likely to depend on the previous information because
information-handling abilities decrease with age (Homburg & Giering, 2001). Different information sources
can result in various destination perception images, which can further lead to different satisfaction levels and
prospective behavioral/loyalty intentions. Therefore, elderly visitors are more likely to depend on existing
information offered by others (such as travel agencies, friends or families, TV and other mass media), while
younger visitors can hunt for tourist attrition information themselves, which can affect their satisfaction level
and even their prospective behavioral intentions.
Indeed, Homburg and Giering (2001) demonstrated that age can affect significant influences on the relation
strength between visitors' satisfaction and their loyalty; the relationship becomes even stronger in relatively
older groups. In a study related to green hotels, Han et al., (2009) considered the influences of age while
testing the relationships among attitudes toward green behaviors, comprehensive images, visit intention,
word-of-mouth intention, and the willingness to pay more. His research showed that the effect of image
perception on willingness to pay among the relatively older group is higher than among the relatively
younger group. According to Namkung & Jang’s (2009) research, satisfaction with restaurants has a
significant influence on visitors' behavioral intentions in relatively older groups than relatively younger
groups.
In addition, from another side, several studies in tourism have advanced the evidence that age is often a
practical proxy for travelers’ novelty-seeking tendencies (Lepp & Gibson, 2003, 2008) as such a noveltyseeking theory can provide a strong theoretical foundation in explaining destination-choice behavior across
different age groups (Assaker & Hallak, 2013; Babu & Bibin, 2004; Bello & Etzel, 1985, Zuxkerman, 1971).
Indeed, it is widely accepted that novelty-seeking behavior, which is defined as the tendency to seek new and
unfamiliar experiences that differ from prior life experiences (see Faison, 1977; Pearce & Moscardo, 1986),
plays an important role in tourist decision-making, where travelers seeking a high degree of novelty rarely
return to previously visited destinations whereas those seeking a high degree of familiarity (or a low degree
of novelty) tend to return to the same places often, regardless of their level of satisfaction with the destination
or the perceived image they have of the destination (Petrick, 2002; Lee & Crompton, 1992). In particular,
Barroso et al. (2007) postulated a moderator effect of variety-seeking propensity on the relationship among
destination image, satisfaction, perceived quality, and tourists’ future behavioral intentions in the context of
tourists who visited a large city in southern Spain during spring 2004 and 2005. Their results supported the
effect of novelty as a moderator in that all variables depend on tourists’ tendency to seek novelty.
Specifically, the relationships among image, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions were non-significant for
the group of travelers who need continuous change and new experiences, suggesting that this group will not
return regardless of the positive experience (Barroso et al., 2007). Assaker et al. (2013), similar to Barroso et
al. (2007), also examined the moderating effect of novelty seeking on the relationships among destination
image, satisfaction, and return intention in the context of a recent study on European visitors to
Mediterranean destinations in 2010. Using multigroup analysis to examine the moderating effects of noveltyseeking tendencies on the structural path model among destination image, satisfaction, and return intentions,
the Assaker et al. (2013) found that the effect of destination image on visitor satisfaction, as well as
satisfaction revisit intentions, is significantly weaker for high-novelty seekers (whom the authors profiled as
mainly older visitors who had visited the destination before) than low-novelty seekers (mainly younger
visitors who visited the destination for the first time). Assaker et al.’s (2013) results further support the
findings of Barroso et al. (2007) and advanced the interchangeable correlation between novelty-seeking
behavior and age segments of travelers.
5
Based on the theoretical reasoning and practical evidence discussed thus far, the present study suggests that
age cannot be seen as a predictor variable for destination image and visitors' satisfaction and loyalty; rather, it
should be treated as a moderating variable for the relationships among the latter variables (image,
satisfaction, and loyalty). This takes us to next hypothesis established in the context of this study, where we
assume that:
H4: The relationships among destination image, visitors' satisfaction, and their behavioral intentions differ
between senior and younger visitors.
Finally, it is important to note that the segmentation of the senior market has been one of the most frequent
concerns in age-related travel research. Previous studies have used different thresholds to define segments
based on different exact ages (Oh, 2012). In other terms, age group divisions are very flexible and specific to
the context of the study undertaken. For instance, in Namkung & Jang’s (2009) and Oh et al.’s (2002)
research, 55 years of age was treated as the critical age between mature and non-mature groups. Anderson
and Langmeyer (1982) divided his research objects into two equal parts, younger customers versus older
customers, using the age of 50 as the critical age. However, LaForge (1984) treated those 65 years old and
above as senior citizens whereas Kale, McIntyre, and Weir (1987) treated the visitors 35 years or younger as
the ''youth'' group. Han et al., (2009) treated the participants 40 years or older as the ''high age'' segment and
those younger as the ''low age'' segment. Han et al. (2009) argued that 40 represents a good threshold as this
is the age when most of the changes occur in a person’s life, such as starting a family or evolving in one’s
career. In this study, we used the threshold of 40 to segment our sample into younger and senior travelers.
Not only does 40 align with what previous studies have proposed, but this threshold also fits our study well as
we found that the mean of our sample was 39, as discussed later in this paper.
3. PROPOSED THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Based on the description presented thus far, the comprehensive framework depicted in Figure 1 is proposed
examining for the relationships among destination, image, satisfaction, and loyalty, with age serving as
moderating variable in this case.
Figure 1. The Proposed Hypothesized Model of Destination image (DI) and Satisfaction on Loyalty
6
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1. RESEARCH DESİGN AND DATA COLLECTİON
Data for this study were collected from June to August 2012 using a self-administered (online) questionnaire
to collect data from residents in the UK and the US—two countries representing Australia’s main market
segments for inbound visitors (Tourism Research Australia, 2013). We deliberately collected data from the
origin countries (rather than from visitors currently in Australia at exit points) for two reasons. The first
reason is convenience; collecting data in the origin country ensures the collection of reliable and credible data
across countries in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner (Echtner & Ritchie, 1993). The second reason is
that collecting data from origin allowed us to include both those who have visited already as well as those
who had not yet visited Australia, with both categories being a target market for the Australian destination
managers. This was important because data from this questionnaire were used as part of a bigger study that
aimed to assess Australia’s destination image across residents of both countries (the UK and the US).
In building the sample frame for this study, we utilized the services of an online market research organization
(MARKETEST), where data was collected from samples drawn from established panels of individuals
representative of the population in each country. This approach ensures the representativeness of the
population from which the sample is drawn in each country. Ultimately, 1,625 surveys were delivered,
resulting in a sample of 500 responses (250 from each country), which represents an overall response rate of
31%. Of the 500 usable responses, almost half (249 respondents) had visited Australia in the past five years;
this number was almost equally distributed across nationalities (133 British and 116 US), further ensuring the
representativeness of the sample. Thus, a final sample of 249 respondents who have previously visited
Australia was used as the final sample for this study after applying the nearest neighborhood approach to
impute any missing value prior to conducting the analysis (Olinsky et al., 1997).
4.2. MEASUREMENT SCALES
Information was gathered about individuals’ social demographics (in particular, age), the image perceptions
of Australia as a tourist destination, as well as individuals’ satisfaction level with the trip and loyalty.
Destination image of Australia was operationalized using a previously applied and reliable scale taken from
Wang and Davidson (2010). In particular, the destination image of Australia’s scale comprised six factors: (1)
natural and well-known attractions; (2) variety of tourists’ services and culture; (3) quality of general tourists’
atmosphere; (4) environment and recreation; (5) general environment; and (6) accessibility. The six factors
were measured using 18 attributes already verified in findings from the general literature (e.g., Beerli &
Martin, 2005; Echtner & Ritchie, 1991; Gallarza et al., 2002) and literature on Australia (e.g., Reisinger &
Turner, 2000; Ross, 1993; Son & Pearce, 2005; Waitt, 1996; Weber, 1997; Wang & Davidson, 2008). The
first three studies provided a guide on the general attributes included in the present study, while Wang and
Davidson (2008; 2010) identified specific attributes of Australia that were included in our present study and
which differentiate the country from others. A statement was developed for each destination attribute, and the
respondents were required to express their opinion on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from one (strongly
disagree) to five (strongly agree). The list of attributes and the measurement scale used are presented in
Appendix 1.
Satisfaction was measured using a previously applied and reliable scale (Cronin et al., 2000; Petrick &
Backman, 2002; Gallarza & Saura, 2006), where four questions were used to measure satisfaction with travel
experiences to Australia.: (1) Overall how satisfied were you with your stay in Australia? (2) Based on the
expectations you had of Australia prior to your visit, how satisfied were you with your stay? (3) Based on all
7
of your previous travel experiences, how satisfied were you with your stay in Australia? (4) Based on what
you spent in terms of price, time, and effort, how satisfied were you with your stay in Australia?
In particular, item 1 of the satisfaction scale aligns with the overall perceived performance theory (Tse &
Wilton, 1988), which suggests that satisfaction is an overall measure greater than the sum of its parts—
namely, the individual satisfaction that visitors could receive from each individual aspect of the stay. Item 2
aligns with expectation/disconfirmation theory (Oliver, 1980), which stipulates that consumers develop
expectations about a product before purchasing it and compare actual performance to those expectations after
purchasing it. If the actual performance is better than the expectation, positive disconfirmation (i.e.,
satisfaction) results; if the actual performance is worse than the expectation, negative disconfirmation (i.e.,
dissatisfaction) results. Item 3 aligns with the norm theory (Latour & Peat, 1979), and it uses some form of
“comparison standard,” through which consumers compare a product they have purchased with other
products. For example, tourists can compare their current travel destinations with other destinations they have
visited in the past to determine their level of satisfaction. Finally, item 4 aligns with the equity theory (Oliver
& Swan, 1989), which stipulates that satisfaction occurs when customers receive more value than the value of
what they actually spent in terms of price, time, and effort. All these questions/items were measured on a 7point Likert scale, ranging from one (not at all satisfied) to seven (very satisfied).
Finally, loyalty was measured using three items adapted from Zeithaml et al. (1996): intention to repurchase,
intention to recommend, and intention to say positive things—all captured on a scale ranging from one (very
unlikely) to seven (very likely). In conceptualizing the behavioral intention factor, several authors (see Song
et al., 2011) have argued in support of using a formative construct to conceptualize behavioral intention,
which assumes that the (measurable) indicators form the construct. In the case of the formative behavioral
intention factor, changes in the indicators cause changes in the construct rather than vice versa (Jarvis et al.,
2003). In addition, changes in the value/direction of one indicator do not necessarily mean changes in other
indicators. For example, in some situations, respondents could say positive things about their stay;
nevertheless, this does not necessarily mean that they are going to return/stay again in the same destination in
the future, as this might later depend on other factors as well, such as available time or money to revisit again.
In particular, Jarvis et al. (2003) advised that a construct should be modeled as having formative indicators if
the following conditions hold:
 Changes in the indicators are expected to cause changes in the construct.
 Changes in the construct are not expected to cause changes in the indicators.
 The indicators do not necessarily share a common theme.
 Eliminating an indicator can alter the conceptual domain of the construct.
 Change in the value of one of the indicators is not necessarily expected to be associated with a
change in all of the other indicators (see the comment concerning multicollinearity below).
All of the above conditions/criteria apply to the behavioral intention factor considered in the specific context
of this study, further supporting the formative scheme/operationalization of the behavioral intention factor in
our model.
Finally, the moderating variables covered by the survey include age, being a scale variable. The mean age in
our sample was found to be 39.8; as such, the age of 40 was used as a critical threshold in the present study to
characterize observations as senior versus younger travelers before testing for the moderating effect of this
variable (age segments, with two categories—senior and younger—across the hypothesized model
relationships). Again, this threshold has already been proposed and used in previous studies (Han et al.,
2009), as mentioned earlier.
4.3 METHOD OF ANALYSİS
We first used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability tests to examine the dimensionality and
internal consistency for destination image and satisfaction constructs at the entire sample level. EFA was
used to verify whether these two constructs were sufficient to influence their indicators as identified from
8
previous literature and proposed in the context of the present study (Hurley et al., 1997). Reliability was used
to verify how well the set of indicators hypothesized for each of these two constructs belong together (i.e.,
internal consistency; see Nunnaly, 1978).
For destination image, composite scores, or parcels, were used in order to reduce the number of observed
(indicator) variables in the model (in this case the previously identified 18 destination attributes for Australia)
into the six predefined factors of Australia’s destination image (i.e., (1) natural and well-known attractions;
(2) variety of tourists’ services and culture; (3) quality of general tourists’ atmosphere; (4) environment and
recreation; (5) general environment; and (6) accessibility; see Aluja & Blanch, 2004). These parcels were
then used as the indicators of the latent destination image construct (Landis et al., 2000). In particular, we
used the “content-oriented strategy” approach to parceling, where items are assigned to a parcel based on
existing theory and rational judgment (Landis et al., 2000). The use of parcels instead of individual items
when examining relationships between latent factors provides psychometric and estimation advantages (Little
et al., 2002). Item-level data, compared to aggregate-level data, have “lower reliability, lower communality, a
smaller ratio of common-to-unique factor variance, and a greater likelihood of distributional violations”
(Little et al., 2002, p. 154). Moreover, a structural model based on parceled items is more parsimonious than
the model with individual items (Little et al., 2002), and parameter estimates calculated when item parcels are
used are more stable and therefore more generalizable (Cunningham, 2007).
After verifying the unidimensionality and internal consistency of the destination image and satisfaction
constructs, structural equation modeling (SEM) (using the partial least squares [PLS] approach) was used to
examine the model (see Figure 1). In our case, PLS (using XL-STAT v.2011) was chosen over covariancebased SEM due to the formative specification for the loyalty endogenous variable (see Diamantopoulos &
Winkholfer, 2001; Joreskog, 1982). A two-step process to PLS-SEM was employed (1) validating the outer
model and (2) fitting the inner model (Chin, 1998). Validating the outer model was accomplished primarily
by testing and checking convergent, discriminant validity, and reliability for the reflective exogenous
variables (destination image and satisfaction), followed by examining the content validity for the formative
endogenous variable (i.e., loyalty; see Assaker et al., 2012). The fit of the inner (structural) model was
determined through a path analysis of the model for the full sample.
Once we validated the initial model for the entire sample, we compared the results from the model across the
age groups (senior and younger), using multigroup t-test and permutation tests in XL-STAT v. 2011 (Vinzi &
Russolillo, 2013). Results from the two previous tests allowed us to examine potential differences in the
importance (weight) of the indicators used to measure each construct and in the relationships among the
constructs (i.e., destination image, satisfaction, and loyalty) across the two samples of male and female
visitors. These steps are further discussed in the results section.
5. ANALYSES OF RESULTS
5.1. EXPLORATORY BLOCK FACTOR AND RELİABİLİTY ANALYSİS
Results of the principal component analysis (PCA) on the unstandardized data for the destination image and
satisfaction constructs found that all loadings for the two constructs were > 0.7, supporting their
unidimensionality (Hair et al., 2010). The Cronbach’s alpha and Dillon–Goldstein’s rho were also used to
determine the internal consistency of the destination image and satisfaction scales. In both tests, results were
higher than the lower limit of 0.6 (Nunnaly & Bernstein, 1994), indicating good scale reliability and further
supporting the unidimensionality and reflective scheme of these factors (see Table 1). As loyalty was
specified as a formative construct, traditional tests of dimensionality and reliability are inappropriate (Bollen,
1989). As such, we proceeded with the PLSPM analysis to (1) further confirm how well these indicators load
on their underlying construct at the population level and (2) examine the causal relationship among
destination image, satisfaction, and loyalty, as hypothesized.
9
Table 1.
Factor Matrix, Cronbach's α, Composite Reliability, and Eigenvalues For Reflective Variable
Blocks with Component Analysis Extraction Method
Constructs
Destination Image
(DI)
Satisfaction
Variables
Factor
1
Cronbach's
α
D.G. rho
(CR)
Critical
value Eigenvalues
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Sat 1
Sat 2
Sat 3
Sat 4
0.869
0.870
0.888
0.887
0.829
0.791
0.833
0.908
0.803
0.879
0.927
0.943
1.000
0.878
0.917
1.000
4.401
0.529
0.340
0.294
0.240
0.197
2.935
0.550
0.298
0.217
5.2. PLS-SEM ANALYSIS
The model was examined through PLS-SEM using XLSTAT software (Addinsoft, 2011) on the full dataset
of the unstandardized data. Mode A (reflective scheme) was specified for the reflective destination image
(DI) and satisfaction constructs, whereas Mode B (formative scheme) was specified for loyalty (Fornell &
Bookstein, 1982). The weights of the inner model were estimated using the centroid method (Vinzi &
Russolillo, 2013)
Outer model analysis. We examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the reflective constructs,
followed by the content validity of the formative construct (Chin, 1998; Henseler, Ringle, & Sinkovics,
2009). The convergent validity of DI and satisfaction were supported as factor loadings for the two constructs
exceeded the 0.7 threshold (see Table 2). As such, more than 50% of the variance in the observed variables
for each of the two constructs (DI and satisfaction) could be explained by their underlying constructs
(Hulland, 1999). Furthermore, the bootstrap test showed high significance levels for all loadings (the
bootstrap-based empirical 95% confidence interval does not include zero; see Table 2). This suggests that all
indicators significantly reflect their underlying constructs. In addition, the average variance extracted (AVE),
which measures the amount of variance in the indicators due to the construct relative to the amount due to the
measurement error, was 0.733 and 0.734 for the DI and satisfaction constructs, respectively. Thus, the DI and
satisfaction constructs capture more than 50% of their indicators’ variance. Discriminant validity is supported
when the average shared variance of a construct and its indicators exceed the shared variance with every
other construct of the model. Thus, the square root of AVE for each of the DI and satisfaction constructs
should surpass the correlation coefficient of that construct with every other construct in the model. Indeed,
this is the case in our outlined model, where the square root of AVE and correlations are equal to 0.733,
0.568, and 0.352, respectively, for the DI construct and 0.734, 0.568, and 0.339, respectively, for the
satisfaction construct (see Table 2).
The content validity of loyalty was evaluated at both the individual and construct levels. At the individual
level, the results of the bootstrap tests showed high significance levels for the loadings of the items LOY1
(How likely are you to visit Australia again in the future?), LOY2 (How likely are you to recommend
10
Australia to friends and relatives?), and LOY3 (How likely are you to say good things about Australia?) (see
Table 2). Thus, the three items significantly contributed to the behavioral intentions construct that they are
supposed to form. Moreover, the variance inflation factor (VIF) values for the behavioral intention construct
were lower than 2.0 for each of the constructs’ forming indicators, showing that these indicators are not
highly correlated to one another. At the construct level, the achieved explained variance (R2) of the loyalty
construct was used to determine whether a theoretically sound formative specification for this construct was
appropriate (Diamantopoulos & Winkholfer, 2001). The R2 values in Figure 2 indicate that 39% of the
variations in the loyalty construct could be explained in terms of the set of indicators and the causal
relationship (DI, satisfaction, and loyalty) as hypothesized in our model. Thus, we concluded that the
formative specification of the loyalty construct are sound and robust and that we did not omit any important
dimension or indicator in measuring the suggested loyalty construct.
Table 2.
Results of the Outer Model: DI and Satisfaction with Reflective Indicators and Formative Loyalty
factors
Latent variable
Destination
Image (DI)
Manifest
variables
Label
Standardized Critical Lower Upper
Standardized
loadings
ratio
bound bound Cronbach's
loadings
(Bootstrap)
(CR)
(95%) (95%)
α
D.G.
rho
(CR)
Average
Variance
Extracted
(AVE)
0.943
0.733
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
0.872
0.868
0.886
0.885
0.829
0.794
0.871
0.867
0.883
0.883
0.829
0.792
48.658
37.693
47.213
44.402
31.534
25.036
0.830
0.813
0.839
0.841
0.775
0.717
0.907
0.907
0.916
0.913
0.883
0.855
0.927
Satisfaction
Sat 1
Sat 2
Sat 3
Sat 4
0.831
0.906
0.808
0.877
0.834
0.907
0.807
0.876
26.132
56.123
24.102
40.980
0.744
0.870
0.699
0.829
0.890
0.936
0.865
0.920
0.878
0.917
0.734
Loyalty
Loyl 1
Loyl 2
0.357
0.415
0.354
0.413
15.984
17.449
0.308
0.369
0.399
0.468
-
-
-
Loyl 3
0.393
0.393
15.807
0.333
0.455
-
Inner model analysis and path estimates. The path coefficients among DI, satisfaction, and loyalty were
examined using bootstrapping with 1000 iterations of resampling (Davison & Hinkley, 1997). The path
coefficients (Figure 2) showed that DI had a significant positive impact on satisfaction (reg. coeff. std. =
0.754), thereby supporting hypothesis H1; DI had a significant positive impact on loyalty (reg. coeff. std. =
0.357), thereby supporting hypothesis H2; and satisfaction had a significant positive impact on loyalty (reg.
coeff. std. = 0.313), thereby supporting hypothesis H3. Thus, these results demonstrated the direct effect of
satisfaction on loyalty while destination image had direct and indirect effect (through satisfaction) on loyalty.
Table 3 reports the direct, indirect, and total effects of DI and satisfaction variables on the loyalty factor.
Finally, the R² of the model also demonstrated that DI and satisfaction explain almost 39% of the variance in
loyalty. These results concur with the threshold proposed by Chin (1998); as such, the nomological validity
of the model is considered satisfactory (Chin, 1998).
11
Figure 2. Results of Proposed Hypothesized Model of DI and Satisfaction on Loyalty with the Standardized
Solution for Inner Model from PLS-SEM using XLSTAT. All Estimates are Significant at the .05 Level.
Table 3.
Direct Effect, Indirect Effect, and Total Effects
Path
Destination Image→ Satisfaction
Destination Image→ Loyalty
Satisfaction→ Loyalty
Direct Effect
Indirect effect
0.754 0.357
0.313 -
0.269
Total effects
0.754
0.626
0.313
Multigroup analysis. The final step of the analysis in examining the model across two groups of respondents
to determine the moderating effects of specified variables: Group 1 included younger travelers and Group 2
senior travelers. A multigroup t-test was used to examine potential differences in the relationships among the
model constructs. Permutation tests examined differences in the weights of the indicators used to measure
each construct, and the relationships among the constructs, across the two groups, were taken separately.
Under both tests (multigroup and permutation), comparisons between the groups were based on
unstandardized estimations (unstandardized data) as the groups have different variances. The multigroup tests
found that the model results differed across the groups (Table 4), thereby supporting hypotheses H4.
Specifically, differences were found in terms of the path coefficients for destination image→ satisfaction as
well as satisfaction → loyalty across the younger (Gr 1 unstandardized path coefficients = 1.183 and .168,
respectively, for image→satisfaction and satisfaction → loyalty) and senior groups (Gr 2 unstandardized path
coefficients = 1.554 and .574, respectively, for image→satisfaction and satisfaction → loyalty). These results
are further discussed in the following section.
12
Table 4. Non-standardized Path Coefficients and Standardized Loadings Results and Significance:
Pooled and Group samples
Pooled
Gr 1 (Younger travelers)
Gr 2 (Senior travelers)
N= 249
N= 148
N=101
Value
t
Pr > |t|
Value
t
Pr > |t|
Value
t
DI → Loyalty
0.555
4.729
0.000
0.611
0.000
0.471
5.349
DI → Satisfaction
1.394
7.039
0.000
1.183c
0.168
6.241
10.96
1
0.000
1.554c
0.574
7.152
Satisfaction → Loyalty
0.270
a
a
4.147 0.000
2.818 0.021
48.65
34.23
DI → Image 1
0.872
8
0.000 0.878
9
0.000 0.865
37.69
21.36
DI → Image 2
0.868
3
0.000 0.861
4
0.000 0.878
47.21
23.35
DI → Image 3
0.886
3
0.000 0.891
9
0.000 0.880
44.40
20.83
DI → Image 4
0.885
2
0.000 0.870
0
0.000 0.906
31.53
23.06
DI → Image 5
0.829
4
0.000 0.835
0
0.000 0.822
25.03
23.90
DI → Image 6
0.794
6
0.000 0.812
6
0.000 0.784
26.13
11.87
Satisfaction → Sat 1
0.831
2
0.000 0.821
7
0.000 0.847
56.12
14.41
0.906
3
0.000 0.883
4
0.000 0.938
24.10
14.82
0.808
2
0.000 0.818
7
0.000 0.800
40.98
20.41
0.877
0
0.000 0.852
2
0.000 0.909
15.98
14.14
Loyl1 → Loyalty
0.357
4
0.000 0.355
7
0.000 0.368
17.44
29.56
Loyl2 → Loyalty
0.415
9
0.000 0.438
4
0.000 0.384
15.80
10.70
Loyl3 → Loyalty
0.393
7
0.000 0.385
6
0.000 0.396
Note: Values with the same superscripts across groups represent significant differences in
coefficients among those groups
5.884
13.40
6
13.93
2
17.84
6
8.853
6.009
7.481
10.33
8
10.81
7
11.06
1
17.81
4
20.32
1
16.85
4
28.74
2
Pr >
|t|
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
0.00
0
13
6. CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION, AND IMPLICATIONS
We examined the effect of destination image on visitors’ satisfaction and loyalty among British and
American travelers to Australia. The UK and the US represent 20% of all international visitors to Australia
and are two of the major five inbound markets (in addition to New Zealand, China, and Japan) to Australia..
As such, these two nationalities were considered representative of the visitors to Australia (at least Englishspeaking ones). In total, 249 American and British visitors who had visited Australia in the last five years
when the survey was conducted (June–August 2012) were drawn from established panels of individuals
representative of the population in each country.
The structural relation analysis showed that destination image positively influenced visitor satisfaction and
behavioral intention/loyalty, confirming direct and indirect (through satisfaction) influences of destination
image on loyalty. These results concur with past research (e.g., Lee et al., 2005; Castro, 2007; Chin & Tsai,
2007). In particular, destination image had the most significant influences on visitor loyalty (total
standardized effect = .626). We also found that visitor satisfaction positively influenced visitor behavioral
intentions, further supporting previous findings (e.g., Hallowell, 1996; Kozak, 2001; Yoon & Uysal, 2005).
Thus, when the destination image is higher, visitor comprehensive satisfaction can be ensured. Therefore,
destination image can certainly influence a visitor’s satisfaction degree and further affect his future
behavioral intentions/loyalty. In other words, when a visitor’s perceived destination image is higher, he is
more satisfied, meaning he will be happier to revisit this destination and more willing to recommend it to
others. Thus, tourism marketers should focus on improving visitor perceived destination image; if visitors
think the destination image is valuable, they will be satisfied, leading to more benefits for marketers.
In addition, although researchers have reached a consensus about the relationship among destination image,
visitors’ satisfaction, and destination loyalty, the moderating effects among these factors have not been
considered (Oh et al., 2002; Han et al., 2009). Another important advantage of this study is that it considers
how visitors’ demographic characteristics could affect the strength of the relationships among those factors.
By considering demographics, the managerial relevance of visitors’ behavior study can be largely improved.
Visitors’ demographic features often not only influence, but also reflect their mental state, values, and
behaviors. Therefore, unlike previous studies, this research considered the moderating influence of age on the
relationship. After multigroup t-test and permutation cause-and-effect analysis, we found that path
coefficients influence the relationship among destination image, visitors’ satisfaction, and loyalty across age
groups.
In particular, this study’s results demonstrated several outcomes: First, destination image’s influence on
tourists’ satisfaction is usually more powerful for senior visitors than for younger visitors; second, tourists’
satisfaction’s influence on loyalty is usually more powerful for senior visitors. This result supports the
information-handling theory (Im et al., 2003): Younger visitors are more likely to hunt for new information
related to the destination, method, landscape, entertainment, or time. Young visitors can ensure their
requirements and their expectations according to the destination image natures. Hence, for young visitors, the
relationship between destination image and their satisfaction is usually stronger. However, elderly visitors are
more likely to depend on existing second-hand information (e.g., travel agencies, friends or families, TV and
other media). Senior visitors enjoy package trips because travel agencies arrange routes in advance, and
seniors can access information during the trip—although such trips are not free. At the same time, different
information sources can also affect visitors’ satisfaction degree and destination image perception, which
supports previous findings that age differences can significantly influence visitors’ attitudes, cognition, and
buying behaviors (e.g., Han et al., 2009; Namkung & Jang, 2009). These results also concur with the noveltyseeking theory, which provides a strong theoretical foundation in explaining destination choice behavior
across different age groups (Assaker & Hallak, 2013; Babu & Bibin, 2004; Bello & Etzel, 1985, Zuckerman,
1971). As several studies in tourism have advanced evidence that age is often a practical proxy for travelers’
novelty-seeking tendencies (Lepp & Gibson, 2003, 2008), senior people are often associated with low
14
novelty-seeking tendencies and vice versa; consequently, it is widely accepted that travelers seeking a high
degree of novelty rarely return to previously visited destinations, whereas those seeking a high degree of
familiarity (or low degree of novelty) tend to return to the same places often regardless of their level of
satisfaction with the destination or their perceived image of the destination (Petrick, 2002; Lee & Crompton,
1992).
We thus found that age differences have significant influenced on relationships among destination image,
visitors’ satisfaction, and visitors’ behavioral intentions/loyalty. Such results are helpful because they provide
marketers with the fundamental theories to establish a single conceptual scheme with age segments, which is
critical for improving tourism management and developing destination strategy. For the specific case of
Australia, destination managers need to pay particular attention to younger travelers, as they exhibit the
lowest level of satisfaction and are less likely to return. Destination managers and marketers could further
enhance visits from this segment by offering adapted packages for these travelers and communicating with
them about the various destination services available that can enhance their image of Australia. Managers and
marketers can also do a better job of understanding travelers’ motivations, preferences, and expectations,
particularly for young travelers. Further research on these travelers could help develop new activities and
products to render the destination more appealing for these visitors in order to boost their likelihood of
revisiting.
Finally, although senior travelers show the highest level of satisfaction (compared to younger visitors) and
the highest loyalty, Australia’s destination marketers must focus on guaranteeing a consistent quality of
essential aspects of their holiday setting (scenery, beaches, accommodation, transportation, etc.). Given that a
tourism destination is an amalgam of factors/actors blending together to form the tourist “experience,”
destination managers need to cooperate and coordinate such factors/actors to produce a consistent tourism
experience that results in steady overall visitor satisfaction levels.
7. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH
This study is not without limitations. The proposed model/study focuses only on one moderating factor (i.e.,
age), which is a typically chosen feature of individual visitors. However, other features (e.g., gender, travel
mode, travel time, household income, travel purpose) have not been discussed, although they might have
moderating effects on the relationship between the destination image and visitors' satisfaction and behavioral
intentions. Therefore, future research should examine the moderation effects of more variables in detail to
explore our knowledge about the relationships between destination image perception and visitors' satisfaction
and behavioral intentions.
Second, this study was based on cross-sectional data. It was conducted in Australia and was limited to British
and American visitors. Thus, results are specific to one location and should be interpreted with care, although
we were careful to make hypotheses on casual relationships based on the general literature. In the future, we
should adopt more accurate measurements for the causal relationships using longitudinal data and expand the
analysis to other markets or other destinations, allowing for the cross-validation of results and generalizability
of the results.
15
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Appendix 1.
List of measurement attribute items and corresponding measurement scales used in the proposed model
Constructs
Destination Image (DI)
Variables/Factors
Image 1: Natural and Well Known Attractions
Image 2: Variety of Tourists Services and
Culture
Image 3: Quality of General Tourists
Atmosphere
Loyl 1
Loyl 2
Loyl 3
Intention to say positive things
Image 5: General Environment
Image 6: Accessibility
Sat 1
Sat 2
Sat 3
Sat 4
Loyalty
Attributes Measurement
Scale
Each attribute item is
measured on a 5-point
likert scale with 1=
strongly disagree to
5=strongly agree
Shopping facilities
Historic sites/museums
Aboriginal culture
Hospitality/friendliness/receptiveness
Personal safety
Cleanliness
Nightlife/entertainment
Sports facilities/adventure activities
Accommodation facilities / Restaurants/ Tourism
Infrastructure
Climate
Restful/relaxing
Costs/price levels
Tourism information/Communication
Accessibility
Overall how satisfied were you with your stay in Australia?
Based on the expectations you had of Australia prior to your
visit, how satisfied were you with your stay?
Based on all of your previous travel experiences, how
satisfied were you with your stay in Australia?
Based on what you spent in terms of price, time, and effort,
how satisfied were you with your stay in Australia?
Intention to Repurchase/Revisit
Intention to recommend
Image 4: Entertainment and Recreation
Satisfaction
List of Attributes/Measurement Items
Scenery/natural attractions
Tourist sites/activities
Beaches
Wildlife
Each item is measured on a
7-point Likert scale with 1=
Not at all Satisfied to 7=
Very Satisfied
Each item is measured on a
7-point Likert scale with 1=
Not at all Likely to 7= Very
Likely
21
SHORT-TERM VOLUNTOURISM: AN EXPANSION OF ECOTOURISM OR A NEW FORM OF
NEOCOLONIALISM?
Clémence Gillier
Les RochesGruyère – University of Applied Sciences
Bulle, Switzerland
Marija Lazarev Zivanovic
Les RochesGruyère – University of Applied Sciences
Bulle, Switzerland
ABSTRACT
Voluntourism is highly recognized for the authenticity and meaningfulness of the travels, however it does not
receive general agreement on its outcomes and raises some debates notably concerning the nature of the trips
undertook and the impacts on the local communities.
This paper explores the voluntourism phenomenon and the discrepancies between the existing theoretical
frameworks and the practical applications. Interviews were conducted with volunteer tourism participants
who traveled through the French organization “Jeunesse et Reconstruction”. The study analyzes their
perception on their travel experience, using in depth interviews and attempts to measure to which extent
ecotourism and neocolonialism notions can be applied to voluntourism.
The findings demonstrate strong similarities between ecotourism and voluntourism notions and especially
concentrate on an ecotourism theory which could be applied on voluntourism concept. Furthermore, the
respondents emphasized more on their own travel experience than on the local development; they expressed
the importance and the uniqueness of cultural exchanges within these types of trips and evaluated the
practices of “Jeunesse et Reconstruction” in terms of design, organization and promotion of the travels.
The results of the study question directly the technical definitions and classifications used for this type of
travels and gives recommendations for future researches that would enable better comprehension of this
concept and improve future practices.
Key words: Voluntourism, Ecotourism, Humanitarian aid, Neocolonialism, Mass tourism, Controversies
INTRODUCTION
Voluntourism is one of the most recent forms of tourism in the contemporary leisure industry (Innovateus,
2011). In response to the increasingly criticized mass tourism, travel agencies have initiated alternative
22
approaches of tourism to fulfill the growing demand for more authentic and meaningful forms of travels
(McGehee, 2010).Volunteer work, volunteer travel, volunteer vacations, volunteer tourism and voluntourism
are used to describe this phenomenon. Nowadays it is often referred to relatively short-term duration
international voluntary workscalled mini-missions; volunteers often seeking to enroll less than one month
operations(Guttentag & Wiley, 2009). These new types of travels are often part of leisure tripsor cultural
exchange programsrelated to commercialized operators while traditionally, international volunteering focused
on long-term skills based placements and was proposed by humanitarian and non-governmental
organizations, educational institutions, and religious groups (McGehee, 2010). Voluntourism is nowadays
considered as the most growing tourism activity. Its potential generates more and more interest by operators
which gradually see it as a new strategy to provide valuable income (McGehee, 2008).
As stated by Poelzl (2012), voluntourism allows individuals, who are unable to commit long-term
humanitarian actions, to go on vacations, to immerse themselves in a different culture and to participate in
activities centered on a charitable cause.
Guttentag& Wiley (2009), highlight that authors such as Wearing (2001) and Coghlan (2006) consider that
some volunteer tourism experiences fall within the realm of ecotourism. However, recent literature has begun
to question their real impact on the host countries. Brown and Hall (2008)(as cited in Palacios, 2010)
advocate that certain international volunteering would be inappropriate with the needs of the host countries
and may represent a form of neocolonialism or imperialism, in which volunteer tourists inadvertently
reinforce inequalities between developed and developing countries.
While exhaustive literature can be found on positive impacts of voluntourism, and a growing number of
refuting theories emerge, a gap was identified when researching about the narrow correlation of the existing
theories and the practical facts by taking into consideration the perspective of the voluntourists.
There are two types of volunteer projects: community based and nature based (Wearing, 2001). This paper
only focuses on short-term voluntourism with its “mini-missions” (considered to be comprised between one
and six weeks) with a particular attention to social welfare projects, as it seems to be the most controversial
area. Indeed, compared to longer missions, this might not be the most beneficial type of volunteering for local
communities.
The researcher explores and evaluates the theoretical approaches combined with the practical results of shortterm volunteer tourism on the local communities through the assessment and analysis of in depth interviews
realized on French volunteer tourists who already experienced at least one mission. The study focuses mainly
on the socio-cultural aspects of short-term voluntourism and less on the economic and environmental aspects.
The work enabled also the researcher to measure to which extent ecotourism can be applied to voluntourism
and tooutline how the term neocolonialism can be associated with the volunteer tourism concept; both notions
being nowadays extensively used by several writers, leading to confusions.
Finally, some key issues of voluntourism concept were identified allowing proposing a new approach with
recommendations for better practices.
LITTERATURE REVIEW
Establishing voluntourism as a pathway to ecotourism and mass tourism
Volunteer tourism and ecotourism: similarities and differences
The definition of Ecotourism highlights tight similarities, but also differences between ecotourism and
voluntourism. The former is considered as a nature based experience, and does not involve any work. It
23
should include a part of observation, education and interpretation of the surroundings and their traditional
cultures, it should be organized by small businesses for small groups, and it should bring a support to the
protection of natural areas and well-being of local populations (Ecotourism France, 2009).
The latteris nowadays considered by authors such as Brown, Morrison, Callanan and Wearing as a model of
alternative tourism (McIntosh & Zahra, 2007). Lyons and Wearing (2008) (ascited in Zavitz & Butz, n.d)
describe volunteerism as having a “transformative potential” as it encourages reflexive self-development of
tourists, permits progressive trans-cultural understanding between tourists and host communities, and
enforces social development or environmental sustainability in locations where tourists volunteer. Wearing
(2001) as cited in Brightsmith et al., 2008)claims that a potential benefit from ecotourism could emerge
through volunteerism in attracting financial and human capitals.
Volunteer tourism and Mass tourism
Conversely, voluntourism has become a new trend. The number of volunteer vacationers has doubled from
2002 to 2008 and tripled in the segment where people volunteered at least once while in 2009, Green Traveler
Study revealed that 59, 1 % of the respondents were interested in participating in a volunteering project in a
future trip (Planeterra, 2011). According to Brown and Morrison (2003) (as cited in Tomazos and Butler,
2010) voluntourism is a growing market and volunteer experience providers are imitating the commercially
successful model of mass tourism packaged holidays to promote these travels and make large profit in less
developed areas. In other words, at the present there is a potential market appeal for voluntourism products
which transformed it into a commercial business.A majority of volunteer placements are organized through
intermediaries called sending agencies. These organizations offer organized volunteer packages within a
certain cost and timeline, where the clients are sent from developed countries to the less developed world on
tourist visas to work as volunteers.It is an affordable way of travelling also appealing due to the successful
models of segmentation and packaged holidays. Tomazos and Butler (2009) see it as a big concern andclaim
that mass tourism models are implemented into voluntourism because they please the big masses.
Bovée (2013) explains that voluntourism is an industry, and thus it behaves as such. Many companies are
dedicated more on their own bottom line than on the impact they have or they don’t have on the local
community. Some of them will tend to focus on sending people to popular destinations instead of destinations
that are actually in the need (Bovée, 2013). This makes sense from a business perspective as the idea is to
fulfill customers’ expectations and to create a lasting relationship with the client.
Hard and soft ecotourism
For Weaver (2001), ecotourism strives to be ecologically, socio-culturally, and economically sustainable
however the concept experiences substantial variations in terms of sustainable impacts depending on the
manner trips are organized. It can be further subdivided into two categories: "hard" and "soft" ecotourism.
Generally, “hard” ecotourism consists of a scientific interest in natural surroundings, wildlife or biodiversity.
It is the least luxurious form of ecotourism, often involving a lack of hotel accommodations or additional
amenities. In contrast, “soft” ecotourism tends to embark travelers to multi-purpose trip (involving shopping
and sightseeing) of which ecotourism is a short-term component (Weaver, 2001). These travelers seek for
high level of comfort and services and are more likely to rely on interpretation and mediation to appreciate
natural attractions. According to Weaver (2001), this form of ecotourism would comply with many of the
characteristics of mass tourism in terms of its volume, purpose of travel, activities, and reliance on
infrastructures and services. These lead to the idea that an ecotourism traveler can at some points be involved
in mass tourism activities and thus engender negative impacts. Weaver’s study (2001) outlines another idea:
“soft” ecotourism would be associated with “steady-State sustainability” which involves living an area in the
same condition as when arrived; whereas “hard” ecotourism would support “enhancement of sustainability”
24
which means the improvement of the physical environment’s conditions through donations and volunteer
activities.
Volunteers and the missions to accomplish
Purpose of volunteering
According to Wearing (2001), the term volunteer tourist relates to those people who for several reasons,
volunteer in an organized way to undertake holidays involving aiding or alleviating the material poverty of
some underprivileged groups in society, the restoration of certain environments or research regarding the
aspects of society or environment. ForSheard (1992) and Wearing (2001) ‘volunteering’ is established on
notions of altruism and self-development (as cited in McIntosh and Zahra, 2007).Controversially, Guttentag
(2009) refutes this thesis and advocates that an increasing amount of the international volunteerism
organizations tend to focus on the personal convenience, interests and motivation of the participants, devoting
a great effort to profile them according to their motivations rather than focusing on the local communities
they are supporting (cited in Palacios, 2010). Physical evidences showing the decreasing pattern of the length
of these kinds of trips reinforce this last assumption (Morgan, 2010). For this last expert, the whole
experience is largely centered on the volunteer instead of the community as it should be. Volunteers go when
it is convenient for them to go to the destination of their choice with no real length of stay pressure.
Positive and negative impacts on the host communities
There are a range of potential benefits provided by the voluntourism sector: the work achieved by the
volunteers, the revenue generated by the host communities or sending organizations, the promotion of the
environmental conservation, the personal growth of the volunteers, and the intercultural experience
(Guttentag & Wiley, 2009). Guttentag and Wiley (2009) explain that for Wearing (2001), volunteer tourists
are looking for a mutually beneficial experience, and contribute positively and directly to the social, natural
and economic environments of the local communities.
On the other hand, voluntourism is seen by some experts as having potential negative impacts and even being
harmful in the case voluntourism programs are not well-organized with well-targeted projects (Buzzle, 2013).
While focusing on short-term missions, they are designed for tourists and don’t take part of long-term
development strategies. Palacios (2011) summarized the findings of some authors by creating a list of the
reasons why these kind of projects may have a low effect on the local communities: volunteers don’t have
enough knowledge (Brown & Hall, 2008), reflection capacity (Simpson, 2004), appropriate skills or
qualifications (McGehee&Andereck, 2008; Raymond & Hall, 2008), volunteering and international
experience (McLeod, 2008), time to get involved with the locals (Roberts, 2004) or altruistic intentions
(Salazar, 2004), but only the desire to help others (Guttentag & Wiley, 2009). For Brown and Hall (2008) this
aspect of voluntourism implies that even less educated tourists can improve the life of the people living in
poor countries. According to Palacios (2010), it raises a controversial questioning associating voluntourism
with neocolonialism.Hindle et al. (2010) explain that volunteer travelers can be divided into “skilled” and
“unskilled” people, which can impact their level of responsibility. Wearing (2001) also recognizes that if the
volunteer tourism sector becomes too commercialized, it could result in threatening the host communities and
environments.Majority of communities don’t have policies or regulations about voluntourism for the
moment, which means that anyone can enter a community and start organizing voluntourism activities
(Guttentag& Wiley, 2009).
25
Table 1
Positive and negative impacts on the host community (Buzzle, 2013)
Community benefits
Community harms
Many types of productive services are
received
Short-term development, dependent solely of
voluntourists, gives rise to “new colonists”
Increase in tourist income
It highlights the differences and hence, widens the
rift between the developed and developing
communities
Influx of special and expert skills
Creates 'market of orphans' in case of orphanage
projects (some organizations hire 'orphans' from
their parents to invite donors.).
Cross-cultural understanding and mutual
respect are promoted
Hinders self-development
People get glimpses of better living
conditions and touchstone for their own
development
Ill-considered projects have less or no usefulness
Sustainable tourism is encouraged
There is adverse effect on local employment and
markets
Social and physical conditions are
improved
Immediate concerns are addressed
Local Government and administration are
pressed to act
Management of the short-term voluntourism for a sustainable development
Sustainable tourism
United Nations World Tourism Organization,claims that sustainable tourism should lead to a management of
all resources in such a way that “economic, social, and aesthetic goals can be fulfilled while maintaining
cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity and life support systems” (USAID,
2013). For Finnish Tourist Board (2011) it should aim to minimize the impacts of tourism on the
environment, respect local people and cultures, offer economic benefits to local businesses and communities,
toprotect destinations for future generations and also to provide memorable experiences for travelers.
Volunteer tourism tends to be advertised as one of the most favorable forms of sustainable tourism, a ‘new
“poster-child” for alternative tourism’ (Lyons & Wearing, 2008).
It ‘can be viewed as a development strategy leading to sustainable development and centering the
convergence of natural resource qualities, locals and the visitor that all benefit from tourism activity’
(Wearing, 2001). Volunteer tourism is perceived as having the potential to redefine tourist destinations as
mutually beneficial for both tourists and host communities through cross-cultural contact. It tends to develop
26
true social interactions, where volunteers can to gain self-developmental experiences and local communities
to realize sustainable community development (Vodopivec& Jaffe, n.d). Volunteer tourism is, therefore,
highly correlated to concepts of sustainable tourism and sustainable development, mainly with respect to propoor tourism and ecotourism (Raymond & Hall, 2008).
However, the negative aspects rose by an increasing number of professionals of whom Guttentag (2009) and
McGehee (2012) question the real sustainability of these trips.
The tourism experts’ recommendations for better practices
The negative impacts associated with voluntourism can be reduced when projects are properly planned and
managed. Stain (2012) highlights the fact that developing guidelines and criteria for voluntourism
organizations could at the same time increase product quality and benefit to local communities. Organizations
would also get a framework for best practice for developing voluntourism programs. Furthermore, this could
enable the potential volunteers to know the project they are volunteering have been assessed and legitimated.
Palacios (2010) cites McGehee and Andereck (2008) who express the idea of regulating the sector and reduce
the quantity of volunteers, while matching volunteers’ skills with the needs of the community. Korkeakoski
(2012) refers to Holmes and Smith (2009) who claim that pre-departure information, training, time and skills
should be required to make a deeper and more meaningful contribution. Additionally Raymond and Hall
(2008) recommend sending organizations to develop programs to be of genuine value for the local
communities, to approach projects as a learning process and not only an experience, and to facilitate
opportunities for interaction with other cultures.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Although the experts’ views permitted to understand the overall concept of volunteer tourism and its
meanings, the researcher collected primary data through in-depth interviews in order to juxtapose the
experiences of non-tourism professionals with the experts’ interpretations and to analyze the outcomes.
The interview process was made on a panel of 10 respondents of whom two were used as pilot studies.
Therefore, the evaluation of the results was made on the answers delivered by the eight other respondents
which were called: 3F24, 4M24, 5F19, 6M54, 7F21, 8M23, 9F23 and 10M27 respectively.
Table 2
Respondent Id
Order of
interviewed
Gender
Age
3
F
24
4
M
24
5
F
19
6
M
54
7
F
21
8
M
23
27
9
F
23
10
M
27
The respondents were selected through a non-random sampling method and drawn from the French
voluntourism association “Jeunesse et Reconstruction” in Paris.
This organization, proposes a large range of worldwide destinations where volunteers can operate according
to their preference of localization or according to the type of work proposed.
The selection of the participants had twomain criteria:
-
Each of the participants has participated to at least one development volunteering (focus on aiding
populations) in developing countries.
For this particular data collection, there was one respondent per destination in order to gather data on the
largest variety of destinations available (in total, eight destinations). The people interviewed spoke about their
experienced in their different host countries: Kenya, India, Mongolia, Peru, Madagascar, Guatemala,
Morocco, and Vietnam.
-
Interviewing participants from only one organization permitted the researcher more convenience
incollection and analysis; on the other hand, it has been a limitation in terms of accuracy of the
results. Indeed, the research was restricted to one organization which does not necessary reflect the
practices of all the sending organizations.
The elements challenged in this research are the small number of participants which reduces the data’s
generalizabilityas well as the interpretation of the researcher and his own objectivity concerning the results
analyzed.
FINDINGS
The results of the interviews showed that people know about Humanitarian aids, but less about voluntourism.
They tend to search for humanitarian projects, find voluntary projects and discover the difference only once
the trip is taken. Half of the volunteers specified they were looking for some ways to do some kind of
humanitarian projects. The two students in sociology (3F24, 7F21) undertook this travel with great
expectations on their own usefulness but when on site, they were disillusioned; both of them wanted to do
humanitarian tourism but could not do it because of a lack of experience in the field.
Position of short-term voluntourism in relation to Ecotourism
This section displays themes raised by “The International Ecotourism Society” (2012), Weaver’s theory on
“soft” and “hard” ecotourism (2001) and Wearing concept of human and financial capital as fundamental
elements of an ecotourism travel (2001).
28
Human Attraction
The study shows that the trip of each participant was developed around a core element, which was the project
to be done on site. The purpose of each trip was to go abroad to work on a social project. The eight volunteers
were involved in one or several activities with the purpose of improving the living conditions of local
populations (appendix C refers to the type of projects the respondents enrolled).
It can be said that through the social development projects they were physically active tourists, and thus
enhanced sustainability. This is in line with one of the two fundamental criteria of an Ecotourism trip
according to Wearing (2001, as cited in Brightsmith et al., 2008): attraction of human capital.
Financial Attraction
Even though the respondents traveled through an association and not a travel agency, they had to pay some
non-negligible fees. Two of them explained that they had to pay the organization in France, the receiving
organization abroad, the plane tickets, and the additional fees during the travel. According to one of them,
this amounted toa total costof 1500 to 2000euros for a trip of 3 to 6 weeks. This benefits the organization on
site which works for a “good cause”, and enables this later to invest in its actions. At the same time, one
respondent reported some issues with volunteers’ money which was supposed to be given to the organization
on site. Apparently the organization “did not receive the money” at the time it was planned. Despite this,
seven out of eight volunteers reported they were completely immersed in the local culture, which makes
evident that the local businesses benefited from their purchases. This financial aspect follows the second
fundamental criteria of an ecotourism trip which is, according to Wearing (2001, as cited in Brightsmith et
al., 2008), the financial attraction, but to a certain extent due to the lack of control of the money.
Size of the groups
The eightrespondentshad differentexperiencesoftravel. One of the firstdifferenceswas the sizeof the group:
ranging from one to22 people, with a particular concentration of numbers distributed between one and seven.
What emerged also is that the two extreme numbers created bad feedbacks from tourists and did not lead to
positive outcomes. The size of the group is an aspect raised in Weaver’s spectrum of “hard” and “soft”
ecotourism (2001). In voluntourism, it seems also to be an important factor of success but does not follow the
same patterns as for Weaver’s theory. While only considering the theoretical aspects it could be said that the
smaller the group of volunteers is, the “harder” the voluntourism will be. However, by taking into account the
negative feedbacks of the two respondents who experienced that, it cannot be considered as a “harder”
volunteer tourism, as the impacts on the local community and on the participants themselves are not
perceived as positive.
Purpose of the trips
Even though each travel had a particular focus on a local project, unanimously,peopleinterviewedreportedthat
they didother activities inparallelto the projectto which theywere assigned. The schedules of the trips were
differently organized but seven out of eight respondents said they worked half of the day on the project, while
the second half was free. All the respondents said they were free during the weekend. The results ofthe study
show thatall the respondentsunderwent through traditional touristicactivitiesduringtheir free time. Animations
were organized either by the local responsible or by volunteers themselves. The animations comprised travels
around the country, visits, excursions, and initiations to the local culture. These results show that even though
these trips are disguised under voluntourism emphasizing on the mission itself, they are made of some
“softened” activities of traditional tourism. These follow the idea of the Multi-purpose trips in Weaver’s
theory (2001) and raise the notion of “soft” ecotourism.
29
Lengths of the trips
The respondents were selected primarily because of their short-term trip experience. The respondents
interviewed left for a length of time between 2 to 6 weeks, and five out of eight have experienced this form of
tourism more than one time. The three who were asked to give more details on their other similar trips
revealed they only participated to short-term travels. An interviewee emphasized on the idea that he could
support a cultural choc for 3 weeks but maybe not for 6 months and that is one of the reasons why he likes
short-term voluntourism. It allows undertaking a meaningful experience for a short period of time. Another
participant states that short-term alternative is “interesting as it allows getting involved in a project but not
too long as it is something we don’t know if we will like it”. For Weaver (2001), the shorter an ecotourism
trip is the softer it is on the spectrum.
Service on site
The experience of the voluntourists on site in terms of accommodation and service seems very basic. In the
interview some volunteers explained they had duties to accomplish for the group of volunteers itself.
Moreover, they lived in host families or volunteer houses. The respondent 6M54 highlighted the nonluxurious conditions of these travels. None of the interviewed mentioned any hotel or comfortable conditions
of living. This aspect of voluntourism refers to “Few if any service expected” element of Weaver’s Hard
ecotourism theory (Weaver, 2001).
Community development commitment as part of sustainable element of hard and soft ecotourism
Two respondents with very strong community development commitment showed high disappointment as for
their high expectations and bad organization of the trip. On the contrary, the rest of the respondents
emphasized on the fact that voluntourism means participating in cultural immersion and while doing so
endeavoring to assist those that are working to improve their own standards of living. For five of them,
voluntourism refers to intercultural exchanges and integration in new culture. Moreover, many respondents
highlighted their awareness on the purpose of the holiday: a focus on the self and on the other. They
understood they would not change the life of the locals. This links directly to the moderate social
commitment of “soft” ecotourism on Weaver’s spectrum of ecotourism (2001). However, contrary to
Weaver’s spectrum of ecotourism (2001), in the case of voluntourism, a very high social commitment does
not fit with the concept of voluntourism.
Personal experience and self-development
The study reveals a clear emphasis on the self; the adjectives used to describe interview’s experiences
revealing benefits for the ego. The most used adjectives are displayed in the chart below:
30
Fond memories
20%
Enriching
40%
Difficult
20%
Interesting
20%
Figure 1.Adjectives respondents used to describe their own experience
Most of the respondents, including the lessthrilledby voluntourismhaveinsisted on the personal experience.
Some sentences used by the interviewees were: “I enriched myself”, “I learnt and received a lot”, “I learnt a
lot about their culture and their religion”, “This project marked me”, “It will remain inmy memory”. For
Wearing, hard ecotourism emphasizes on strong personal experience (Weaver, 2001).
Volunteers’ perception and thoughts on volunteer tourism
The findings below have been classified in order to determine the validity of the arguments comparing
voluntourism with neocolonialism. They are classified into two subsections.
Subsection 1. Volunteer’s opinion on the impacts of voluntourism on local communities
Volunteer’s opinion on the presumed benefit of voluntourism on the locals
Assessment of the answers to the question: “As based on your own experience, do you think that voluntary
tourism has a positive impact on local populations? Can you try to explain your answer? ”
Most of the respondents believe that volunteering can have positive impacts on the local communities.
However negative impacts have been raised and the respondent 7F21 expressed in the conversation that such
travels can be badly perceived by the local communities especially when it involves large groups.
Irrelevant
13%
Negative
25%
0%
Positive
62%
Figure 2.Perception of impacts on local communities
31
Most of the volunteers expressed a positive view of the impacts of voluntourism in the local communities.
Volunteers’ opinion on the reinforcement of inequalities between Westerners and locals
Assessment of the answers to the question: “Voluntary tourism aims to help poor people and at the same time
to experience the local life while living among the locals and discover new cultures. However, don’t you
think that the arrival of Westerners volunteers could also reinforce inequalities between rich and poor and to
go further / get the domination of one country over another?”
Reinforcement
of inequalities
25%
Not
reinforcement
of inequalities
75%
Figure 3.Impressions of respondents about voluntourism and the reinforcement of inequalities
25% of the participants believe that such tourism activities reinforce the inequalities. It is the same amount
that the perception of negative impacts on the local communities assed earlier.
Subsection 2. Volunteer’s behavior towards voluntourism
Motives for volunteering abroad
The respondents had to choose among five answers. They were not restricted on the number to choose. It
appears that the principal motive for volunteering is for a total immersion in the local culture and for
volunteers’ own personal development. Generosity, kindness and altruism are also raised but only in a third.
Thinking of special personal skills to serve the solidarity project
The majority of the respondents expressed they did not have any specific skills applicable on the projects they
undertook. Only two participants declared they had skills related to the work to accomplish in their respective
projects. Both of them estimated they were good enough in English to be able to teach it. One of them
mentioned he was surprised because when he enrolled the project, he hasn’t been asked any document to
certify of his level. According to him, the main selection was the motivation.
32
Speaking or not the language of the country
Two respondents confirmed they were speaking the language of the country they visited, and another one
explained that she spoke the language of the country for two out of her three travels. Other respondents didn’t
speak the language there, and one specially undertook the trip to improve his English.
Report of inappropriate behaviors towards locals
Most of the volunteers consider they have been respectful towards the locals. Only one mentioned she had a
problem with them and some respondents said they witnessed a few other volunteers, behaving against the
local culture, but these “behaviors” seem more to be due to the lack of knowledge of the local customs than
disrespect. Only one interviewee witnessed an appearing lack of respect towards the locals from other
volunteers who showed disdain.
Intercultural issues
Out of the eight respondents four did not consider they faced intercultural problems. Two declared they faced
cultural problems and another added he has not been able to manage some intercultural situations because he
was not prepared.
Perceived usefulness of the projects undertook / cultural exchanges
The overall study reveals that many volunteers are convinced their work on site did not have a significant
impact on the community; as they said, what they did is “very little”. However a majority of the interviewees
revealed that the uniqueness of these travels for them is the cultural exchanges, which benefit both, the
volunteer and the volunteered. One participant was not enthusiastic with the idea this type of travel could be
beneficial to the locals: “Not necessarily beneficial for the children to see tourists every month”.
Table 3
Terms used to express cultural exchanges

Interculturalism

Exchanges

Mutuality

Sincerity

Exchange


Intercultural
Integration new culture

Welcoming
Areas for improvement in terms of volunteer tourism management
33
Three weak areas were identified according to respondents’ feedbacks aiming to provide professionals of the
field with suggestions for future sustainable developments: Selection, Formation, Information and
Communication
Selection
The study showed that volunteers tend to be driven by wrong motivations while enrolling such type of trips
due to misunderstandings about the essence of the travels themselves. Some of them are not mature enough
and “unskilled” for some projects (relating to orphaned for instance): for instance the respondent 3F24
wascharged with the careofhandicappedby doing physical therapy (while not the necessary competent).
Formation
The research has founded that some volunteers where disillusioned while starting their “projects”; their trip
did not fit with the expectations they had; this is clearly related toconfusions about the purpose of the trips.
Some respondents were confronted to behavioral and intercultural matters.
Information / Communication
The study highlighted that many respondents didn’t know much about the host organization and their
activities on site. Some of them pointed out that what they did on site did not correspond with the project
descriptive given before departure. Certain interviewees underlined that they were surrounded by local people
having misconceptions of themselves as tourists (“rich” and “powerful” westerners). Moreover, a few
interviewees showed the voluntourists were not convinced about the usefulness of the fees they paid to
benefit the project.
DISCUSSION ANDRECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES
Weaver’s concept of ecotourism within voluntourism practices and the notion of neocolonialism
Even though the overall notion of voluntourism is distinct from ecotourism as it does not involve only nature
based projects but also community projects, the study shows strong similarities between the two phenomena
with many components of ecotourism that appear also in the community based volunteer trips. Indeed, by
replacing the environmental purpose of the trip by the community development aspect, the two travels are
fuelled by the same idea to travel more responsibly and to get involved in a development project that would
not only benefit the self but also the others. The ecotourism involves enhancing natural environment, while
volunteer tourism in the context of this study involves the participation of volunteer tourists in community
development projects. Both types of tourism involve the attraction of financial and human capital for the
benefit of the area visited.
On the whole, the research presents strong similarities with Weaver’s concept of ecotourism (2001).
According to him there are different types of Eco trips moving on a spectrum from “soft” to “hard”
ecotourism according to the evaluation of the pre-established elements that are supposed to compose the trip.
For the study, the researcher has determined the common themes that determine “hard” and “soft” ecotourism
and voluntourism travels and evaluated them according to the ecotourism spectrum of Weaver. The themes
are: the size of the groups, the purpose of the trips, the service on site, the social commitment as part of the
34
sustainable component and the personal experience. The respondents gave indications making clear that
voluntourism involves trips with different purposes (experience of the project enrolled on site but also more
traditional form of tourism). Moreover, it appears that short-term voluntourism is favored by the respondents
and that these latters have a moderate community development commitment (in comparison with
environmental commitment) as they emphasized more on the importance of cultural exchanges than on the
work to be done within the project. These results present a type of “soft” voluntourism. However, the
importance of the strong personal experience expressed by most of the respondents and the very basic service
on site show aspects of “hard” voluntourism.
The assessment of the spectrum and its different components influencing the position of the trips raises an
issue related to voluntourism. “Soft” voluntourism would be a type of tourism based on cultural exchanges
involving other types of traditional tourism within the touristic experience, while moving towards “hard”
volunteer tourism it would be a type of travel more affiliated to a humanitarian action and would not involve
any more traditional tourism activities. Depending on how the sending organizations design and organize the
travels, the type of voluntourism would not be the same, involving different impacts on the experience of the
volunteers, probably influencing their set of mind and also impacting differently the local communities. In the
case of this study, the respondents emphasized much more on the discovery of new cultures and on the
cultural exchanges, benefiting both the volunteers and the volunteered; the volunteers insisting even more on
the long-term impacts of such travels on the self than on the projects enrolled. Many of the interviewed
explained that their action was negligible. In contrary the cultural exchanges and cross-cultural
understandings were presented as extremely rich for both sides. In this perspective, it would not be
appropriate to relate the idea of neocolonialism with voluntourism. In opposition, if the samerespondents
hadstressed the importanceof the work doneinthe project part of the voluntourism experience, this would have
indirectly raised the question of neocolonialism as their profile and their motivations do not match with a
“harder” type of voluntourism. Indeed, a majority of the respondents explained they enrolled these
community projects for a total immersion in the local culture, for their own personal development and only
after for altruism. Additionally, in most cases the respondents said they did not have any specific skills
related to the project they undertook; a lot of them did not speak the language of the country, and even a few
admitted they did not have a good level of English. If such profiles consider they can have a great impact on
the project they undertake, or if they are seen by some westerners’ entity as so, this confirms Brown and Hall
thoughts associating sometimes voluntourism with neocolonialism (2008).
Issues related to the definitions and classifications of voluntourism and the role of the practitioners
Volunteering is not an act of altruism and the volunteers benefit more from the work they achieve than the
host communities. As evidence, this research found that the people who undertake community development
projects in the context of a volunteer travel follow at the first place a motivation turned towards the self. They
conveyed also they benefited from their period spent within the foreign community to a larger extent than the
local people. These results emphasize more on the travel experience of the tourists than on the local
development. However, the researcher doubts about the implication of an act of exploitation as it is
underlined by the label “neocolonialist”. The fact that this type of travels is perceived as more beneficial for
the volunteers according to the point of view of the respondents does not necessarily undermine the benefits
enjoyed by the host communities. The researcher strongly believes that the issue could lie within the word
“volunteering”; its definition and the term employed to characterize such travels. Indeed, the term
“voluntourism” put on the same level the volunteer action and the tourism activity. The study demonstrates
that the term voluntourism tends to be misinterpreted, underlying an amalgam between volunteer vacations
and humanitarian travels which are two very different notions while the study indicates that the core of this
concept, even though it is centered around the on-site project, has a greater importance in terms of cultural
exchanges. The research shows that perhaps “cultural immersion” would be more appropriate for such type of
35
tourism as it would better reflect the nature of the experience for both parts. This idea has not been raised in a
consistent study yet.
Practicioners should develop a more appropriate language concerning such concept, and sending
organizations should make sure the concept is well-undertood by the people willing to enroll such vacations.
They should design and organize the travels accordingly; and also promote more the cultural exchanges that
underline these travels than the community development. The study shows that although “Jeunesse et
Reconstruction” organization is perceived as having relatively good proceeds, there are some non-negligible
aspects of “selection”, “formation”, “information” and “communication” which should be reviewed. This
would allow to maximize the positive impacts of such tourism on the volunteers and volunteered.
Recommendation for future studies
The study showed howthinthelinecan be between voluntourism and the two extreme notions of ecotourism
and neocolonialism. This type of tourism activity is still an evolving concept which is somewhat not well
understood by the public. In this research, it implies an alternative form of tourism enrolled mostly by young
people in an attempt to discover new ways of living while also giving an extra-hand by joining a development
project. To enable better comprehension of this notion and improve future practices, some key areas which
remain unclear and merit be exploring and analyzing have been determined.
To start with, the study highlights that volunteer tourism travels tend to follow the principles of Weaver’s
theory of ecotourism. This aspect could help define such type of travels and researches would worth to be
further develop on the matter.
Secondly, the results show there are some misinterpretations between the terms volunteer tourism and
humanitarian aid in the mind of the general public. Further studies should be endeavored in order to
determine whether it is necessary or not to develop a new and more appropriate vocabulary related to
voluntourism and banish terms such as “mission”, “humanitarian project”, “voluntary tourism” and
“volunteering”.
It has to be said that poorly organized volunteer trips have great chances to cause negative consequences
affecting the local communities and the tourists.Therefore, it is the role of the practitioners to further develop
an ethical and responsible form of voluntourism. An organization such as “Jeunesse et Reconstruction”
should continue to improvesome of its practices to enable a more sustainable form of travel. It is part of its
responsibility to promote, design, and organize travels to be favorable for all its direct stakeholders.
These findings indicate it is important to establish international rules and regulations and to develop rating
systems regarding the sending organizations and their practices in order to enable the development of an
ethical and constructive concept of traveling.
The study showed also that a majority of the respondents encountered difficulties to communicate due to
language barriers. The researcher did not expect these comments on communication and believes future
research should be made on the topic and particularly on how much communication barriers impact crosscultural understandings.
36
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe my profound gratitude to my mentor Mrs. Marija Lazarev, without which this work would have
remained sleeping in the dark forever. She believed in me and supported me throughout the entire project,
and she encouraged me at each moment of doubt.
This project would not have been possible neither without the support of Les RochesGruyère – University of
Applied Sciences which gave a financial support.
I would like to warmly thank Mrs. FadilaBelkacem and Mr. FouadBousnina, who trusted me and allowed me
to conduct my study within the non-profit volunteer organization "Jeunesse and Reconstruction" while
connecting me with their volunteer people.
I am very thankful to my ten research participants, who accepted to contribute to the study. They gave me
their precious time to answer my exhaustive questions and share their own experiences and vision on
voluntourism with me.
And finally, thanks to my family and friends for their ongoing love, support and understanding.
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
Process undertook to select and contact the sample of the study
This study was originally designed to:
- Concentrate on a variety of French volunteer tourism organizations
- Focus on mini-mission of 1 to 6 weeks
- Interview only volunteers who accomplished social projects and paid for it
- Interview a panel of 10 individual people
However, with the study’s time constraints and the negative responses of many organizations within this
field, the researcher had to redefine her objectives.
Finally, the study focuses on:
- A single French volunteer association called “Jeunesse et Reconstruction”
- Short missions; a range of 1 to 6 weeks being accepted
- Interview only volunteers who accomplished social projects and paid for it
- Interview a panel of 8 individual people
The researcher conducted the interview during the month of January 2013. As none of the organizations
contacted answered positively to the request, the researcher decided to focus her efforts on the mentioned
organization.
The process to reach the potential respondents of “Jeunesse et Reconstruction” was long and needed to
concede some points. To be able to lead interviews with volunteers, the researcher had first to get the
permission of the association, which role was to act as a link between the potential respondents and the
interviewer. The researcher had thus to respect the requirements of the association and the rules set up by this
latter. The first request for the support of the association was made on the 20th of August 2012, whereas the
general appeal sent by the organization itself to their entire database was made on the 9th of January 2013.
Between these two dates a lot of emails were exchanged. The researcher had to explain the purpose and the
reasons of the study to the representatives of the organization in order to convince them to collaborate. Then a
meeting was arranged with one of the responsible. At this moment, the list of questions designed by the
researcher has been challenged. Some questions were asked to be removed, and some terms to be modified as
they were not complying with the identity of the company. Moreover, the researcher was persuaded to not
send the list of questions to the respondents willing to contribute to the study before the interview as it was
planned; it would “discourage” them. After the modifications made on the questions list, an email was sent to
all the database of the association, asking them to contact directly the researcher in the case some of these
people would be interested to participate to the study. On this email sent, the selection criteria were clearly
stated. This was used as a purposive sampling method tool to get only the answers of the suitable candidates
willing to participate to the interviews process.
The researcher contacted each individual potential respondent by email as soon as she had the confirmation
the person accepted to take part of the study, and scheduled with this latter a telephone interview date and
time. One out of the eight respondents preferred a face to face interview. Thus, a meeting in a public area was
planned with this person. Just before starting the interview, the researcher made sure the participant fitted the
41
study’s criteria. Twice, the researcher realized the participants did not correspond to the criteria, and thus had
to cancel the interview and contact new people. Moreover, at the very beginning of each interview, the
researcher gave the interviewee the necessary information to enable the good proceeding of the discussion.
Considering the ethical aspects, each respondent was proposed to remain anonymous.
APPENDIX B
Destinations of the participants
APPENDIX C
Type of projects the respondents enrolled
Construction of an orphanage
Community awareness on HIV / AIDS
Assistance to a community of women to develop solidarity tourism
Involvement in projects for children with mental and physical disabilities
Animation for children
Support to sexually abused girls
Construction of garbage and community awareness about waste
Renovation of buildings
Language courses for children
Participation in the literacy of women
42
Visit of children in a hospital
Figure 4- Type of projects the respondents enrolled
APPENDIX D
Interviews Guide
Introduction
1. What was your social situation when you participated in the volunteer project?
2. How many projects did you do, where and when?
3. For how long did you stay there?
4. How many people were in your group?
5. What kind of project did you enroll for? What did you do exactly to help the local populations?
6. In 5 words, how could you describe your experience?
Main body
7. How did you hear about short-term volunteer works?
8. Did you plan to do some other travels of this type? For which reason?
9. Among the elements that I'll mention, which is closest to the motivations that pushed you to take this trip?
For financial reasons / for a total immersion in the local culture / for your own personal development
43
(language, interpersonal skills, learning, knowledge) / by generosity and kindness to the poor / to enrich your
CV / other ...)?
10. While engaging in a project like that, did you see yourself as someone having special skills useful for the
project of solidarity?
11. Do you speak the language of the country you went to? Do you speak fluent English? Did you manage to
communicate well with the population?
12. Were you provided with workshops to prepare your departure before your volunteering? If so, what have
you learned? In your opinion has it been helpful to you during your trip? If not, did you miss it or felt a lack
of knowledge during the project? Have you encountered intercultural issues during the solidarity project?
13. Can you tell me how your days were scheduled? What about your weekends?
14. In your opinion, did you see other volunteers behaving inappropriately towards the locals?
15. As based on your own experience, do you think that voluntary tourism has a positive impact on local
populations? Can you try to explain your answer?
16. Voluntary tourism aims to help poor people and at the same time to experience the local life while living
among the locals and discover new cultures. However, in your opinion, could the arrival of Westerners
volunteers also reinforce inequalities between rich and poor or some form of domination of one country over
another?
17. From your own point of view, who benefited the most of the solidarity project, you or the local
community?
18. What do you know about the organization that was working for the project on site?
Conclusion
19. What did you learn/understand through the solidarity project?
20. Would you recommend this type of travel to all your friends? Why?
44
DRACULA TOURISM AND DARK GEOGRAPHIES OF ROMANIA
OANA MIHAELA STOLERIU
University “Al. I. Cuza” of Iasi, Faculty of Geography and Geology
Iași, Romania
ABSTRACT
The paper explores the concept of imaginative geographies built by the main Dracula tours promoted online.
Based on text and pictures content, the main Dracula-linked destinations were identified and classified
according to the type and weight of the local heritage they highlight. The analysis of the national heritage
promoted through Dracula tours follows the old media controversy and the dual attitudes of the Romanian
tourism authorities on the topic of Dracula tourism. The paper underlines the way these controversy has
influenced the way private actors understand and manage Dracula tours.
Key words: Dracula tourism, destination image, imaginative geographies, online promotion.
INTRODUCTION
Initiated by Bram Stoker’s novel and the travel literature of the 18th and 19th century, the place myth of
Transylvania, as a mysterious territory inhabited by magical creatures has been reproduced and reinforced by
the vampire literature and cinematography of the 20th and 21th centuries. Hundreds of books and movies as
well as the international media have increased the popularity of Transylvania and Count Dracula, influencing
also the way Romania and Romanians were perceived from abroad. The power of media and tourism
advertising has maintained Transylvania’s image as a territory of fantasy, constantly included in the tops of
the worldwide places to spend Halloween, hunt magical creatures or simply search for thrills.
Since the 1970s, Romanian tourism stakeholders have tried to capitalize this market opportunity using
Dracula’s fame to build an attractive destination image and increase tourist flows. In time, Transylvania and a
couple of places in the Carpathian Mountains have become iconic destinations for the worldwide Dracula and
vampire fans. But despite the international popularity and economic benefits, the tourism capitalization of
Dracula’s myth has raised lots of controversy among the Romanian tourism authorities and residents. The
external perceptions of Romania and Transylvania built by the vampire movies and novels have been
negatively received in Romania because they contradicted internal collective representations of nationhood.
Perceived as a threat to the authentic Romanian tradition (Hovi, 2011), the foreign myth also interfered with
the Romanian authorities’ efforts to build a positive country image, especially after the fall of the communist
regime (Kaneva, 2011; Light, 2007). This explains the constant oscillations and dual attitude of the Romanian
authorities regarding the topic of Dracula tourism. However, beyond all these polemics, a cluster of Draculalinked destinations has been progressively developed and promoted by various tourism actors attracted by the
opportunity to increase popularity and tourist incomes. Trying to conciliate foreign and national expectations,
the tourist interpretation provided within Dracula tours in Romania usually merges references to both
Stoker’s fictional character (Dracula) and to the historical figure that inspired it, prince Vlad the Impaler. But
the resulting mix of reality and fiction often generates confusing tourist narratives and experiences: visitors
45
attracted by the promise of a thrilling adventure in Transylvania are often disappointed by the lack of
connection between their imagination and their personal experience of places.
It is known that beyond geographical entities, tourist destinations are social constructions of marketing
narratives (Gao & Zang, 2009) and sometimes, like in the case of Transylvania, tourist promotion can create
imaginary places even stronger than the real ones (Crang, 2004). Therefore, the information acquired from
various sources before the actual visit is essential in the decision making process, shaping the tourists’
anticipations, experiences (Richardson & Crompton, 1988) and evaluation of places. Among the various
sources used to build a pre-visit destination image, the role of the formal and professional ones is higher in
the case of faraway travels, as well as the influence of the internet. Through text, images and virtual tours,
travel magazines and websites help tourists to imagine and explore a destination before arrival. Previous
studies on Dracula tours, confirmed the tourists’ use of publications and websites to imaginarily trace the
steps of fictional characters before the actual journey (Reijnders, 2011). In this regard, the present paper
further highlights the main informal and professional online information sources that help building the
visitors’ imagination of Romanian Dracula-linked destinations.
Given the popularity of Dracula’s myth and the increasing role of the internet in building tourist
representations, the paper explores the concept of imaginative geographies in relation with the main Dracula
tours promoted online. The initial study hypothesis was that: considering Dracula’s worldwide notoriety and
the power of themed tours to create iconic places, the Dracula tourism itineraries in Romania should have a
major impact on both destinations and visitor perceptions. By their selection and interpretation of places and
attractions included in Dracula tours, the tours managers or promoters acknowledge and increase the tourist
value of destinations, (re)constructing their meanings and image. At the same time, the tours geography
emphasize a specific version of Romania’s territory and tourist heritage that is often further extended to the
way the whole country is perceived by visitors. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to illustrate and
analyse the alternative tourism geography of Romania shaped by the itineraries and narratives of Dracula
tours promoted online.
Overall, the study was expected to highlight an imaginative tourism geography built on both reality and
fantasy. This should be different but not necessarily less powerful than the positive and attractive country
image communicated by the national authorities through international tourism promotion campaigns. In this
regard, the paper also aims to verify if the contradictory media discourses and dual attitudes of the Romanian
tourism authorities on the topic of Dracula tourism have influenced the way private actors understand and
manage Dracula tours. We analyzed the way reality (history) and fictions (myth) were balanced within the
local heritage promoted in order to build attractive destination images and authentic tourist experiences.
LITTERATURE REVIEW
Space is central in tourism. It feeds and anchors imagination, it generates tourist flows and frames tourist
experiences. Depending on the evolving socio-cultural contexts, the identity and meaning of places and
spaces is permanently (re)constructed in tourism practice (Sheller & Urry, 2004). And, as tourism
simultaneously takes place both in the world of the imagination and in the material world (Hennig, 2002),
tourist places are part of complex circuits of anticipation, performance and remembrance (Bærenholdt et al.,
2004: 9). Stimulated by various sources, imagination has a powerful role in building the tourists’ spatial
representations places visited or about to be visited. The concept of imaginative geographies summarizes the
46
geographical knowledge of places expressed in the form of ideas, beliefs and stereotypes about what places
are like (Light and Dumbrăveanu 2004; Light, 2009). Selective and partial, based on clichés or stereotypes, as
much individual as collective (Shields, 1991), imaginative geographies shape the way tourists imagine,
experience and remember a destination.
Movies are major factors that build strong and specific tourist gazes on places (Urry, 1990), even more
powerful if based on fictional characters or events (Pocock, 1987:138). In this regard, together with Salem,
New Orleans or Edinburgh (Light, 2009), Transylvania is part of a growing imaginative network of places
(Pile, 2005), built by movies and literature and anchored both in reality and fantasy. Such places that acquire
a strong reputation in the collective imagination (a powerful set of shared meanings and values), either
realistic or not, can generate place myths (Shields, 1991; Urry, 2002). Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula”
(Stoker, 1897) and the travel literature of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have built the place myth of
Transylvania as: a liminal and backward territory (Wolff, 1994), magical and timeless and opposed to the
“civilized” and rational Western Europe (Dittmer, 2003:236); a threshold between the known and the
unknown (Light, 2009), between the ordinary and the extraordinary (Pritchard and Morgan, 2006). The
longevity and increasing media popularity of the vampire (Dracula’s) myth has reinforced this perception of
Transylvania as a fantasy land (Gelder, 1994; Light, 2009), geographically marginal and home to monstrous
creatures. International media tops constantly place Transylvania among the worldwide Halloween
destinations (e.g. Sherman Travel, 2005; Forbes, 2007; Forbes Traveller, 2009; Reuters, 2012; Travel
Channel, 2014 etc).
Place myths as well as the increasing media fascination with supernatural characters have been used by
tourist stakeholders to select and commodify places according to visitor expectations. They associate various
stories with places, providing them with new or additional meanings and bringing them to life (Aarnipuu,
2008: 350). Depending on these stories, tourist places are built into either: “lieux de mémoire”, which are
visited by people in search of a shared past and identity (Nora, 1984-1992), or as “lieux d’imagination”,
which do not need a historical basis to become popular destinations of literary or movie induced tourism
(Reijnders, 2011). Transylvania was transformed by media into such a place of imagination, home not only to
Dracula but to other fantastic creatures as well (Skal, 1996). Stories that merge reality and fiction are used by
Romanian tourist stakeholders to produce and promote Dracula- themed destinations and tours. Thus, visiting
Dracula’s coffin (Light, 2009) or listening to stories of Vlad the Impaler are main attractions in these tours.
Essential in the social construction of tourist destinations (Rojek, 1997), place myths often generate literary
and movie induced tourist flows. Many people travel long distances to experience places linked with their
favourite writers and writings (Herbert, 2001) or to their favourite movies (Mercille, 2005). Literary and
movie induced tourism reconstruct the boundaries between reality and imagination in order to build places of
imagination where visitors can enter fantasy worlds (Herbert, 2001). Dracula and the Transylvania placemyth have generated their own imaginative geographies (Light, 2009) and tourist flows (Light, 2007; Gruia,
2006). Therefore Dracula tourism is often seen as a form of literary and movie tourism (Muresan & Smith,
1998) which, given its strong media popularization, has progressively evolved into a form of media tourism
(Reijnders, 2011). This includes literary or cinematic tourists searching for Dracula, for supernatural or
simply for unusual experiences (Light, 2009). Most of the tourists are motivated by the need to compare real
landscapes to imaginary (fictional) ones, novels and movies with local history (Light, 2009, Reijnders, 2011,
Hovi, 2011). They engage in specific tourist performances (such as Halloween parties, shopping for souvenirs
47
etc, in order to anchor Dracula’s imaginary country in the topographical reality (Reijnders, 2011) and to
authenticate their visit (Light, 2009).
Given the multi-layered nature of tourist products (Stone, 2006), Dracula tours in Romania also merge
features of heritage and dark tourism. Heritage usually refers to what we inherit from the past and it can be
both natural and cultural, built or inherited (Sigala & Leslie, 2005), material or immaterial. Its value depends
on the visitors’ motivations and perceptions of heritage (Poria, Reichel & Biran, 2006), usually based on
credible authorities’ certifications rather than on specific site attributes. In this regard, Dracula tours include
many attractions classified as heritage: from buildings and places with cultural and historical significance, to
natural landscapes, rural traditions, local and imported myths. On the other hand, Dracula tours are a form of
dark tourism, which is about visiting real or commodified places associated with death, suffering and tragedy
(Lennon & Foley, 2000; Stone, 2006). Dark attractions present, interpret, re-enact and/or simulate death
(Stone 2005). Their tourist interpretation can facilitate the visitors’ connection to the historical past as well as
their immersion in a fantasy world, built by fiction. Depending on the social construction (tourist
interpretation) of places, their locational authenticity, their political impact and their chronological distance
Miles (2002) and Stone (2006) differentiated more shades of darkness among the dark attractions: from dark
fun factories such as the Dracula Park project, dark exhibitions and dungeons, to darker graveyards, shrines,
conflict sites (e.g. battlegrounds) and camps of genocide (concentration camps). Sharpley (2005)
distinguished even the darkest or black tourism which occurs where a strong fascination with death is
provided for by the purposeful supply of experiences intended to satisfy this fascination.
The constant polemics on the topic of Dracula tourism in Romania address various layers of this tourist
product and their appropriateness to Romania’s desired country image. The vampire myth built by literature
and movies has been both feared, because of its negative impact on external perceptions of Romania and
Romanians (Light, 2007; Reijnders, 2011; Kaneva, 2011), as well as tempting, because of its economic
benefits (such as increasing popularity, tourist flows and incomes). This explains the dual position of the
Romanian authorities on the topic of Dracula tourism, adopted even since the 1970’s, when, the communist
authorities started designing the first Dracula attractions and themed tours exclusively addressing foreign
tourists, while internally, they were reinforcing national representations of Vlad the Impaler (Gruia, 2006).
After the abandonment of Dracula tours during the 1980’s, the famous vampire Count has been successively
embraced and rejected by national tourism policy: from the largely mediatized governmental project of a
Dracula Park in 2001, to indirect but constant references in the national tourism promotion campaigns
developed after 1990 (Stoleriu, 2013) or to the official Dracula tour launched by the Romanian Employers’
Federation of Tourism and Services (EFTS, n.d.) in 2012. The same duality has been differentiating the
private stakeholders’ initiatives and their tourist narratives, depending on their focus on the positive (light) or
negative (dark) side of Dracula tourism. Local residents and tour guides from key Dracula destinations still
use separate or mixed discourses (Banyai, 2010), based on fantasy and history, depending on their personal
perspective of Dracula tourism and the tourists ‘expectations.
The growth and competitiveness of the global tourism market have sustained a rich literature on destination
image and destination marketing (e.g. Crompton, 1979; Fakeye & Crompton, 1991; Echtner & Ritchie, 1993;
Morgan & Pritchard, 1998; Baloglu & Mangaloglu, 2001; Li & Vogelsong, 2002). Image promotion has
become a major strategy of destination management and marketing, aimed to create distinctiveness and
increase tourist flows. Researches on destination image defined the concept as: ”the sum of beliefs,
impressions, ideas and perceptions that people hold of objects, behaviors and events" (Crompton, 1979); a
48
“pictorial and conceptual summary" or "an expression of a destination's individuality" (Xiang & Vogelsong,
2003). The destination image formation is supported by various sources (Stern & Krakover, 1993)
differentiated by Baloglu & McCleary (1999) into stimulus factors (information sources, previous experience,
and distribution) and personal factors (psychological and social) or into primary and secondary information
sources that influence pre-visit and post-visit perceptions (by Beerli & Martın, 2004a). Destination image is
the result of the cognitive and emotional evaluation of all this information (Gartner, 1993; Walmsley &
Young, 1998; Baloglu & McCleary, 1999; Beerli & Martın, 2004a, 2004b).
Either based on reality or fantasy, the information acquired by tourists before their journey is essential in
building the destination image (Gartner, 1993). It influences their decision making process (Crompton &
Ankomah, 1993; Goodall, 1990; Moutinho, 1987; Stabler, 1998; Mansfeld, 1992; Um & Crompton, 1990;
Woodside & Lysonsky, 1989), it minimizes the decision risks, justifies choices (Mansfeld, 1992) and shapes
an image of what the future experience might look like (Govers , Go, & Kumar, 2007). Various information
sources contribute to the construction of a pre-visit destination image, such as: professional sources (tour
operators, travel agents, and airlines), word of mouth, advertisement (print or broadcast media), books,
movies, news (Baloglu & McCleary,1999; Beerli & Martin, 2004a) or internet. In the case of international
travels, the role of specialized media sources is even stronger, influencing people’s perceptions and decisions
(Baloglu & Mangaloglu, 2001; Gartner,1993; Mercille, 2005; Frias, Rodrıguez & Castaneda, 2008). The
studies on Dracula tourism showed that prior to their visit in Romania, tourists used various publications and
websites to trace the steps of Jonathan Harker, Count Dracula and other characters, to discover place names
and even work out complete journey routes (Reijnders, 2011).
As the internet progressively became a major communication tool for both travel agencies and tourists (Law,
Leung,& Wong, 2004; Buhalis & Licata, 2002; Buhalis, 2000; Christian, 2001), travel websites are now
complex means for image formation and management (Marcussen, 1997). The internet empowered tourists to
develop their own itineraries (Buhalis, 1998) and explore a destination imaginarily. Travel websites and
online user generated content (such as blogs and visitor reviews) help shaping representations of other
territories and influence destination choice (Xiang, Gretzel & Fesenmaier, 2009; Zhang et al., 2009). This
explains the increasing number of researches on online destination image built by: portals of tourism
directories (Govers & Go, 2005; Govers , Go, & Kumar, 2007); websites of travel agencies, magazines or
blogs (Tang et al., 2009; Pan et al., 2007; Carson, 2008), news and blog articles (Fukuhara et al., 2005) or
online travel magazines (Choi et al.,1999; Hsu & Song, 2012). Such a study on the Western bloggers’ image
of Dracula (Banyai, 2010) revealed a complex mix of history, fiction and personal beliefs or impressions of
the destinations.
Structured methodologies (like semantic differential or Likert type scales) are frequently employed to
measure destination image (Echtner & Ritchie, 2003; Pike, 2002), as well as unstructured methodologies,
essential in identifying unique destination features (Echtner & Ritchie, 2003; Pike, 2002). Content analysis of
the information posted online is done manually (Carson, 2008; Wenger, 2008), with computer-aided tools or
with a combination of both (Govers & Go, 2005; Govers, Go, & Kumar, 2007; Stepchenkova, Kirilenko, &
Morrison, 2009). Lists and categories of attributes (Pike, 2002; Beerli & Martin, 2004a, 2004b) are used to
detect connotations and associations, even if they do not necessarily give a holistic destination image (Bigne
et al., 2001). Echtner & Ritchie (2003) proposed a three-dimensional model of place image formation
including: attribute-based and holistic components, each one with functional and psychological
characteristics, as well as with common or more distinctive traits. Other studies of destination image use both
49
text content and photographs (Dann, 1996; MacKay & Couldwell, 2004). As for the previous researches on
Dracula tourism, they were based on social surveys (Reijnders, 2011), participatory observation during the
tours (Reijnders, 2011; Light, 2009) and interviews with tourist stakeholders (Reijnders, 2011; Banyai, 2010).
METHODOLOGY
Given the increasing role of the internet in shaping the tourists’ anticipations and evaluation of places, the
present study explores the concept of imaginative geographies built by Dracula tours and destinations
promoted online. The data was collected from the main websites promoting Dracula tours in Romania in
May 2014. These were identified through an online research of the keyword “Dracula tour” and only the
results of the first three pages displayed were included in the study, as people rarely go further than a third
internet page displayed. Data processing included several stages. In order to create a coherent and comparable
database, given the high amount and variety of online information (e.g. the type of tour operator, the tours
number and descriptions etc.), only the main Dracula tour from each website was selected. The selection was
based on the importance attributed by the tour operator through a direct or indirect ranking factor such as: an
international certification from major travel publications and websites or the position among the other tours
displayed. Some tour operators included one or several Halloween tours within their general offer of Dracula
tours. In this case, given their specific tourist narratives and practices, the main Halloween tours promoted
online were also included in the research. Dracula-linked destinations and itineraries presented in videos or
press articles were also included in the analysis.
For all the selected tours, a qualitative content analysis of both text and images was done manually in order to
identify all the tourist destinations and attractions included in Dracula and Hallloween tours as well as the
type of local heritage they represent and highlight. In this study the term of tourist attraction was used for
various sites or activities mentioned on the websites and which present a tourist interest based on their natural
or cultural value. These are natural or socially constructed (e.g. natural landscapes and museums), material
(such as buildings) and immaterial (e.g. rituals). The term of tourist destination was used as a geographical
entity (a village or city) that concentrates various tourist attractions, facilities and services designed to meet
the visitors’ needs (Cooper et al., 2005) and create an integrated experience (Buhalis, 2000).
By the power of tourism advertising and the credibility of the professional sources behind the websites (such
as national and foreign tour operators, tourism authorities etc), the places and attractions promoted through
Dracula tours receive an iconic tourist value. They become a “must see” during the real tours, when they are
photographed and compared to what they were imagined to be like. Therefore the heritage associated to these
attractions through the narratives of Dracula tours (by both text and pictures) becomes very important in
shaping the pre-visit destination image. But the information on destinations varies depending on the tourist
practices and discourses. Thus, the stories associated to places by different tour operators often highlight
different sides or meanings of the local heritage. Therefore, a line by line content analysis was used to extract,
code and summarize the key attributes (the key-heritage) associated to the tourist attractions included in
Dracula tours. A first, rough classification of the heritage capitalized in Dracula tours was made based on
Beerli & Martin‘s (2004a, 2004b) categories of destination attributes. Then, these categories were refined
according to the study aims and to previous findings on Romania’s country image communicated through
national tourism promotion campaigns (Stoleriu, 2013). Thus, according to the type of heritage they
50
capitalize, tourist attractions were classified in several categories that delineate reality from fantasy (myth).
The fantasy-based heritage includes the Dracula myth as well as other dark legends and rituals not necessarily
linked to Dracula. The reality based categories are: Culture (e.g. museums, worship places, theaters); History
(historical buildings, fortresses), Traditions (e.g. traditional gastronomy, crafts or architecture) and Nature
(e.g. the Carpathian Mountains). The heritage included in these categories represents unique and/or holistic
features, meant to differentiate as well as to integrate tourist attractions or destinations into the overall tour
theme. Tourist attractions and their corresponding heritage were treated as key destination attributes. Based
on their type and frequency in both text and pictures used to describe Dracula tours, the tourist attractions
were used to reconstruct the composite, holistic image of destinations. When mapped, they illustrate a
particular tourist geography of Romania’s territory that was interpreted in relation with the national official
approaches to country branding and the old controversy regarding the benefits and downsides of Dracula
tourism.
Given of the exploratory and qualitative nature of this study, there are several limitations of the methodology,
such as: the accuracy of a subjective manual coding, usually assumed to have about 60% or 70% correctness
(Pang & Lee, 2004) or the variable nature of the online information that changes in time or depending on the
search engines used. Though, several similar searches showed that the results displayed in May 2014 did not
change significantly between October 2013 and August 2014: only several new tours were added, without
major changes of itineraries, and a change of the website design was done. Another limitation is linked to the
various amount of online information that sometimes is disorienting for tourists with less internet experience
(Ahuja & Webster, 2001), affecting their perceptions of a destination.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Thirty-six internet links were displayed for the “Dracula tour” online search. Because two websites promoted
Dracula tours in the United Kingdom and one link was broken, only thirty-three websites were finally
included in the study. They represent diverse perspectives on Dracula tours, from various sources with
different perceived levels of credibility but they all help virtual visitors to form a general image regarding
Dracula tours in (and) Romania. There were: 27 tour operators websites, 1 blog of a former Romanian
minister of Tourism during the launch of the Dracula Park Project, two videos posted on YouTube (a filmed
tour of Bran Castle made by a tourist, which includes personal impressions mixed with fragments of the
professional tour guiding and a professional video made by of a tour operator that promotes Dracula tours in
Transylvania and explaining the vampire tradition in Romania) and three press websites (a British article
describing personal impressions during a tour that traces Dracula in Romania and two Romanian national
news websites announcing the launch of a Dracula tour by the Romanian Employers’ Federation of Tourism
and Services – EFTS, n.d.). As the first three travel websites appeared several times in the three pages
analyzed, there were actually only 20 different tour operators’ offers analyzed. Two of these were foreign
(German and American) and the rest were Romanian, including the Romanian National Tourist Office for
Northern America (RNTO, n.d.).
An overall review of the online tourist offer shows very diverse approaches to Dracula tourism, from the
general website design to the number and themes of the tourist products, their prices, selected itineraries,
tourist discourses and included services. The total number of tours promoted online (either or not linked to
Dracula) varies from 1 to 86 per website (tour operator) and they are differentiated by: theme (e.g cultural or
nature based tours), spatial coverage (e.g. local, regional or cross-country tours), group size, duration or level
of personalization etc. Among these, the number of Dracula and Halloween themed tours offered by each tour
operator varies from 1 to 22. The general organization of the themed tours is also very diverse. The departure
and end point is usually Bucharest. Easier to access from abroad, the capital city also hosts most of the tour
operators’ offices (seven of them) as well as an important Dracula attraction - the ruins of Vlad the Impaler’
51
princely court. But there are also a few tours starting from Budapest, Germany or from Transylvanian cities
such as Brasov or Cluj. The tours last between one and 10 days, usually centred on weekends: e.g. “Weekend
with Dracula” (RT, n.d.); “Dracula Weekend in Transylvania“(DTS, n.d.). Prices range from 600 to 1200
euros per person, depending on the tour duration, the group size and the services included (which usually are
transportation, guiding, accommodation, themed events and meals). The first impression created by the
website design varies significantly. Starting with the tour operator names, the text (headlines, descriptions),
images (colours, photos or videos) and background music are meant to connect virtual visitors to either a
fantasy version of Romania (e.g. through images of vampires and bats – MJ, n.d.; DT, n.d.; AT, n.d.) or a real
side (e.g. historical facts regarding Vlad the Impaler, pictures of cultural and historical attractions – DT, n.d.).
The websites belonging to the American tour operator (DTS, n.d.) and to the Transylvanian Society of
Dracula (MJ n.d.) are more focused on specialized products inspired by the vampire myth, while Romanian
tour operators prefer a more complex or neutral approach: they promote various types of tours and multiple
images of Romania.
As for the Dracula-themed tours, they vary among tour operators as well as within the same website,
reflecting their different understanding and approaches to Dracula tourism. The tour name and sometimes a
brief description are the first to impact the visitors’ imagination: they influence their choices depending on
what they already know and seek in a Dracula tour. At the same time, the tour name indicates the tour
operator’s specialized or dual approaches to Dracula tourism and heritage. Thus, there are tours focused on
following the novel or movie script by tracing the vampire Count and Jonathan Harker’s journey in
Trasnylvania: e.g. In search of Dracula Tour (BCH n.d.); Vampire in Transylvania (DTS, n.d.), Following the
tracks of Dracula; Summer vampire Vacation to Transylvania; On the steps of Dracula (VT n.d.);
Mysterious nights with Dracula (MJ, n.d.) . Others tours are meant to connect fiction to historical places
linked to prince Vlad the Impaler: e.g. The Real Dracula Tour – BCH, n.d..; Halloween Party in
Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler! (DTS, n.d.), The Historical Vlad Tepes Tour (GRT, n.d.). The mystery
theme is even stronger highlighted by the use of initiation levels, such as: level 1 - "The Classic"; level 2 "The Twilight Zone Dracula tour" and level 3 - for the survivors of the lesser ones (MJ n.d.). On the other
hand, there are the tour names and itineraries that clearly underline the opposition between myth and history,
between Dracula and Vlad the Impaler: e.g. “Dracula, the Prince and the vampire” (MJ, n.d.), The Real
Dracula Halloween Tour - Truth and Myth of the Legend of Vlad Tepes (GRT, n.d.). As expected, this is also
the title of the tour promoted by national tourism authorities: "Discover Dracula Tour - the history and the
legends” (EFTS, n.d.). Sometimes the limit between reality and fiction fades, the fictional and historical
characters merging: e.g. Halloween in Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler - the full Dracula Tour (BCH,
n.d.).
Another differentiation is introduced by the time schedule of the tours. Apart the general Dracula tours sold
all-yearlong (or mainly during summer), seven tour operators promote specialized Halloween-themed tours
(that appear in ten links) such as: Halloween in Transylvania (AT, n.d.), Halloween in Transylvania with
Vlad the Impaler (DT, n.d.), The Ancient Transylvania Halloween Tour (GRT, n.d.). Closely linked to both
Dracula and dark tourism by their itinerary and narratives, these tours try to capitalize Transylvania’s dark
image as a top worldwide Halloween destination. The Transylvania place-myth is used to give a stronger
impact to the name of other Dracula tours as well: e.g. Vampire in Transylvania - Dracula Tour (DT, n.d.).
Other events associated with Dracula tours and Transylvania are Christmas (Xmas with the Voyevode – MJ
n.d.) or Valentine’s Day (Valentine's Day in Transylvania or Transylvanian heart beats – DT, n.d.). All the
event-based tours include specific tourist attractions and services meant to reproduce stereotyped tourist
practices, from: ritual performances (e.g. costumed parties) to themed meals and accommodation.
The selection of destinations and attractions is essential for building the tourists’ experiences and their spatial
representations of Romania. Overall, the tour itineraries promoted online indicate the tourist stakeholders’
52
general understanding of what Dracula tourism means (what tourist experiences and attractions they should
provide to meet special visitor expectations) as well as their own imaginative geographies of Romania (what
is significant enough to be promoted, in their opinion). The logic behind the destination selection and the
tourist experiences these should enable are usually indicated by the brief descriptions following the tour
name. They add value to the tour (e.g. “This is a Top 10 Must-Do Adventure according to Fodor's Travel
Guide” – DT, n.d.) and explain the logic behind the tour itinerary as well as the weight of myth and reality:
e.g. “Dracula Tour follows Jonathan Harker's trail from the Bram Stoker novel Dracula" (DTS, n.d.);
“experience the ultimate monster haunted holiday“(DT, n.d.); “The funniest Halloween Party from
Transylvania” (DTS, n.d.); “a historic tour of real places related to the real prince Dracula (AT, n.d.; BCT,
n.d.). Sometimes these descriptions indicate mixed, confusing approaches to the heritage associated with
Dracula tourism: e.g. “a Dracula Tour intended to Dracula enthusiasts, Transylvanian lovers, culture and
history fans” (VT, n.d.).
Figure 1. Romanian destinations included in the main Dracula and Halloween tours.
The tourism geographies associated with Dracula tourism have been shaped since the first tours organized in
Romania during the 1970s in answer to the foreign tourists’ demand to trace the fictional itinerary of
Jonathan Harker in Transylvania and the Carpathians (Gruia, 2006). Two destinations were then physically
and symbolically built in order to help western visitors to anchor their imagination to real places: Hotel Castle
Dracula (HCD), specifically built according to the location and description in Bram Stoker’s novel, and Bran
Castle, a medieval fortress with no real link to either Dracula or prince Vlad the Impaler, but with a
significant historical and cultural value and also closer to Bucharest and to major tourist facilities (Gruia,
2006). Promoted both as Dracula’s Castles, these two have become iconic destinations for Dracula tours. In
53
2014, the main Dracula and Halloween tours promoted online include 54 destinations and 134 associated
tourist attractions (Figure 1). Their spatial distribution confirms the central role of the Transylvania placemyth in the production of Dracula-linked tourist experiences: Transylvania concentrates about 52 % of the
destinations and 65 % of all the tourist attractions. Beyond Transylvania’s boundaries, destinations are
clustered according to an inherited mental geography of Romania, based on the limits of old historical and
natural regions: e.g. Bukovina and Maramures (in Northern Romania) cumulate a quarter of the total
destinations but only 9 % of the attractions. As for the Carpathian Mountains, where Dracula’s castle was
located in Bram Stoker’s novel, they concentrate about half of the tours destinations and a third of the tourist
attractions. Within these regional boundaries, there are individual destinations (such as Hunyad Castle, for
example) as well as several local clusters formed around major cities: e.g. Bucharest (with two nearby
destinations gathers 23 attractions), Brasov (with 8 other destinations gathers 23 tourist attractions);
Sighisoara forms a cluster of cultural (UNESCO included) heritage sites with 5 other destinations and gathers
16 tourist attractions. On the other hand, accessibility is very important in the overall geography of Draculathemed itineraries. Destinations are concentrated along the major communication axes that link key Dracula
destinations from Transylvania to the main tour arrival/departure points, across the Carpathians. This explains
the presence of several isolated cities, such as those near the western Romanian frontier that mainly serve as
transit points. The spatial coverage of Dracula tours can be also linked to the location of the main Romanian
tour operators that conceived them: most of them are from Bucharest (10), Transylvania (4) and Northern
Romania (2).
If the inclusion of a destination in Dracula tours reinforces its general level of tourist acknowledgment as well
as a holistic dark(er) image imprinted even only by the tour theme, the number of associated tourist
attractions is an indicator of the main destination attributes and the type of the local heritage they highlight.
The number of attractions and their diversity reinforce the symbolic importance of a destination and its
potential attractiveness. The map in Figure 1 shows that most of the tourist attractions are concentrated in
several cities already known as major national tourist destinations because of their diverse and complex
cultural and historical heritage: Bucharest with 21 tourist attractions), Sibiu with 16, Brasov with 15 and
Sighisoara with 9 tourist attractions. On the other hand, 70 % of the destinations (including Bran Castle and
HCD) don’t have more than three tourist attractions associated and 46.3 % of them have only one (e.g. small
towns and villages with UNESCO and/or ethnographic heritage from Northern Romania and Transylvania).
Seven destinations mentioned as transit/accommodation points have no tourist attractions associated, even if
they have a significant cultural (UNESCO) or natural heritage, but not mentioned din the tour description.
If we analyse the frequency of destinations included in different tours, this should be an indicator for their
acknowledgment level and for the strength of their association with Dracula tourism. According to these
frequency values (see Figure 2), most of the tours are focused on several key-destinations between Central
Transylvania (Sighisoara, more precisely) and Bucharest. Bran Castle and the Poienari fortress are mentioned
in about 70 % of the itineraries. At the same time, the places described in Bram Stoker’s novel and promoted
during the 1970’s remained rather peripheral, with a lower presence than destinations with any or indirect
link to Dracula or Vlad the Impaler (such as Brasov or Sibiu). HCD and the city of Bistrita appear in less than
half of the main Dracula and Halloween tours (respectively in 42 % and 30 % of them). This change of
weight could be explained by pragmatic reasons like accessibility (e.g. Sighisoara can be reached from
Bucharest in about 4 hours drive, which is about half the time it takes to reach HCD) but it can also be linked
to a special focus of these tours on historical and cultural heritage. This could explain the higher weight of
Brasov or Sibiu, described as representative medieval cities with an important cultural and historical heritage.
The stories and landmarks associated with places by tourist narratives are meant to (re)build and attractive
image by shifting the boundary between fiction and reality. In order to increase the visitors’ interest and the
54
symbolic value of places, the tour operators emphasize unique destination features using similar techniques
and discourses. Literary or movie references, tourist superlatives and famous international certifications like
the UNESCO heritage label are all meant to enhance the tourist importance of places. Thus, HCD is “where
in Bram Stoker's novel, in the end, Dracula is killed and from that moment his spirit never finds its
peace“(CR, n.d.). The villagers near the Poienari fortress are the same who in the movies “are always busy
loading up Dracula’s coffins with Transylvanian earth” (RNTO, n.d.). Even references to other movies like
“Cold Mountain” filmed in the Southern Carpathians are used. On the other hand, historical and cultural
superlatives justify the selection of tourist attractions, such as: the largest Gothic church in South-Eastern
Europe can be seen in Brasov, the second largest building in the world, in Bucharest (BCT, n.d.; AT, n.d.;
CR, n.d.; VTT, n.d.; ILR, n.d.) etc. References to famous characters from the real life are also used, like
Prince Charles of Wales and his house in a Romanian village (RTG, n.d.) also known for its UNESCO
heritage.
As tourist products and heritage are multi-layered (Stone, 2006), each destination is a collection of multiple
‘images’ (Framke, 2002) built by different sources and tourist narratives. Different tour operators highlight
various components of the local heritage or associate different stories to the same local asset: for example,
most of the tours present Brasov as a medieval city with Saxon heritage, while another tour associate it with a
legend regarding Vlad the Impaler: “It was in Brasov that Vlad enjoyed his meals while hundreds of
villagers died on stakes at the base of Timpa Hill” (DT, n.d.). Hunyad Castle is always presented as the
largest Gothic castle in Romania (GR, n.d.) and sometimes, as the most haunted one as well.
55
Figure 2. The type of heritage associated with the destinations included in the main Dracula tours
promoted online.
All the local attractions, facilities and services promoted online are intended to support the formation of an
attractive pre-visit destination image that could meet visitor expectations and motivate a future journey.
Overall, the 133 tourist attractions included in the main Dracula tours are very diverse in regards with their
functionality and the type of local heritage they represent and highlight. According to Beerli & Martin
(2004a)’s classification of destination attributes, about 70 % of these are buildings with cultural and historical
value: about a third are churches, another third are historical buildings and the rest are museums and
concert/theatre halls. There are also 5 tourist infrastructures (themed hotels or restaurants), 22 general
infrastructures (like streets or public squares), 2 attractions linked to traditions, 3 to leisure (e.g. dungeons)
and 6 natural ones (corresponding to famous landmarks in the Carpathians and a lake near Bucharest). But
according to their link to reality or fiction, the heritage underlined and promoted within Dracula tours can be
classified in:
a) Fantasy based heritage that includes local and foreign vampire myths (e.g. the dungeons with Dracula’s
coffin at HCD or the restaurant where Jonathan Harker had dinner in Bistrita) as well as other local dark
myths, rituals or dark attractions not necessarily linked to Dracula, such as cemeteries or communist prisons.
b) the reality based heritage that can be classified into several sub-themes: culture (buildings with cultural,
spiritual and architectural value), rural traditions (crafts and rural life), history and nature (mountains, rivers).
Most of the historical attractions are focused either on medieval history, and thus indirectly linked to the
period of Vlad the Impaler’s reign, or on the Communist period and to another famous “dark“ figure in the
Romanian history, the former president Nicolae Ceausescu. Very few are directly linked to the historical side
of Dracula tourism, namely to the life of Vlad the Impaler. These make the transition between the two
groups: Vlad’s fortress of Poienari, two princely courts (in Targoviste and Bucharest), his supposed tomb
near Bucharest or birthplace in Sighisoara.
The first category shows a diversification of the Dracula-linked heritage with new attractions that have a dark
holistic image as well as unique differentiating features: two cemeteries (including the Merry cemetery in
Sapanta); two haunted places (e.g. Hunyad Castle), local crafts adapted to darker tourist activities (like
admiring spider webs painting or learning wood spears crafting), Dracula-themed exhibitions (in Bistrita and
Sighisoara) or restaurants (in Turda and Bucharest). Dark legends associated to places are also capitalized.
Some are rooted in the Romanian oral tradition (e.g. for Poienari fortress, Arges Monastery or Hunyad
Castle), some are anchored in Western movies and fiction (like Frankenstein’s association with Sibiu – DT,
n.d.). Ghost hunting in Hunyad Castle or shopping for unique Dracula souvenirs at Bran or HCD are also
differentiating features underlined in some tours. As expected, the ten Halloween tours included in the study
further enrich the dark tourism heritage with specific rituals. Still, even if limited to fewer destinations (33),
the overall image and geography they create is not less diverse than the one shaped by the general Dracula
tours. Small cultural centres from Northern Romania and major cities with no link to the vampire myth (like
Sibiu and Brasov) are better represented than classical Dracula and/or dark destinations. The difference is a
higher focus on specific re-enacted rituals (like the killing of a vampire) and on the ethnographical heritage
highlighted during the Halloween events through traditional dances or gastronomy.
According to the composite destination image built by the corresponding tourist attractions and type of
heritage highlighted in the promotion of Dracula tours (Figure 2), the weight of the destinations and
56
attractions corresponding to literary or movie induced tourism is quite low compared to those with no link to
either Dracula or Vlad the Impaler. Most of the tours geography is anchored on cultural and historical
heritage. Dracula and dark tourist attractions are concentrated in two main groups: one in Northern
Transylvania, mainly built on Stoker’s novel and another one centred on the Southern Carpathians, which
capitalizes local legends as well as the historical heritage linked to Vlad the Impaler. The general focus on
reality and historically accurate heritage appears to be very important for many tour operators. This is
frequently emphasized in the description of tourist attractions: e.g. most of the tours underline the historically
erroneous association of Bran Castle with Dracula’s myth, while Poienari fortress is most often presented as
“the real Dracula Castle” (GRT, n.d.). Also based on “real” heritage, two cultural clusters are visible on the
geography shaped by Dracula tours: the UNESCO labelled monasteries from Bukovina and the UNESCO
fortified churches from Southern and Central Transylvania. Considered the symbols of the Romanian
authenticity and uniqueness (Stoleriu, 2013), rural traditions are another type of heritage used in the tours in
order to enable a deeper experience of the “real” Romania and Romanians and to correct the false image built
by fiction and foreign myths. Romanian traditions represent the main underlying feature for a themed cluster
of destinations in Northern Romania as well as a secondary feature for other destinations, mainly linked to
sensorial experiences (e.g. traditional restaurants, music, accommodation or crafted souvenirs).
The unequal balance between myth and reality in the geography and social construction of Dracula tours
could be justified by multiple factors. On one hand, given the limited number and scarce distribution of
Dracula linked attractions, the map sustains the role of accessibility in the selection of tour itineraries as well
as the tour operators’ strategy to include many cultural attractions in their tours in order to fill in the long
distances between key-destinations, thus enriching the tourists’ experience of Romania and Transylvania. On
the other hand, this could also be a reflection of the oscillation between the foreign visitors’ expectations and
inherited collective representations of national authenticity. All the media discussions regarding the topic of
Dracula tourism revolve on the issue of authenticity and the threat represented by the imported myth (Light,
2007; Gruia, 2006). Most of the formal and informal discourses regarding Romania’s tourism heritage use the
concept of objective authenticity in the delineation of Romania’s key destination features. National heritage is
usually appreciated and classified based on its historical accuracy, lack of manufacturing and certifications
from credible authorities (Wang, 1999). Thus, all the official national tourism campaigns after 1990 (Stoleriu,
2013) illustrate a symbolic version of Romania based on cultural and historical destinations, rural traditions
and well-preserved natural landscapes. Or, the same type of heritage and sometimes the same landmarks
endorse the construction of the Dracula tours analysed. History is often used by the Romanian guides from
Bran Castle as an authoritative argument about what is ‘real’ and ‘unreal’ about Dracula (Reijnders, 2011).
Many tours descriptions use the same argument to underline the errors in the tourism promotion of Bran
Castle as Dracula’s home. But, even if manufactured and/or based on fantasy, the heritage associated with the
vampire myth and other dark attractions is not less authentic in terms of tourist experiences. It proved to be
able to generate genuine feelings of authenticity through specific practices staged by the tour operators
(Light, 2009; Reijnders , 2011).
Even if it doesn’t have a major impact on visitor perceptions (as it appears only on the second and third pages
displayed), the official perspective of national tourism authorities expressed on the internet websites analysed
re-produces the dual formal approaches to Dracula tourism. Thus, the website of the Romanian National
Tourist Office for North America (displayed as the forth link on the second page) promotes nine destinations,
eight of them linked to either Vlad the Impaler or Dracula. As for the tour built by the Romanian
Employers‘Federation of Tourism and Services, there are three different perspectives on it, belonging to: the
57
federation’s head chief (expressed on his personal blog) and two news websites announcing and commenting
the launch of the first official Dracula tour, in 2012. Only three destinations are mentioned in this case: one is
linked to Vlad the Impaler (Poienari fortress) and two that combine a historical or cultural heritage with an
imported (Bran castle) or local myth (Arges Monastery). The three websites explain the aim assigned by the
federation to this tour, namely: to use Dracula’s myth as a tool to attract foreign visitors and, then, make them
discover other iconic (cultural and historical) national destinations (Agathon, 2012; EFTS, n.d.). All this
confirms the Romanian authorities’ rather formal appropriation of Dracula’s myth, justified by its economic
benefits and the effort to meet the foreign visitors’ expectations. This comes close to Hovi’s (2011) opinion
that marketing cultural destinations in Dracula tours is a cultural protest against a foreign and unfamiliar
image of Romania.
The type of perceived tourist authenticity associated with destinations and heritage in Dracula tours can be
used to differentiate several levels of darkness in the overall geography shaped by these. According to
Miles’s (2002) classification, dark attractions are differentiated into: dark (sites associated with death and
suffering) and darker (actual sites of death and suffering). The first ones are based on a staged (subjective)
authenticity (Wang, 1999), while the second ones are based on objective authenticity, given by the location
and historical artifacts. In this regard, the heritage promoted by Dracula tours includes several shades of
darkness. Dark attractions associated with death and suffering by tourist narratives and often perceived as
staged and inauthentic (because they are based on fantasy), include several themed exhibitions (in Bistrita
and Sighisoara) and a Horror Castle in Bran. The darker tourist attractions are built on a locational
authenticity certified by three types of sources: history, tourist (professional) speeches as well as movies and
literature. Thus, the simple location in Transylvania adds symbolic authenticity and tourist value even to
places with no or very low connection to Dracula or Vlad the Impaler. This explains the focus of tour
itineraries on Transylvania as well as the frequent use of Transylvania’s name in the description of the tour
attractions. On the other hand, references from movies or novels are used to authenticate tourist experiences:
tourists visit the places mentioned in Stoker’s novel or movies. They eat Jonathan Harker’s steak in Bistrita,
follow his journey in the Carpathians and spend the night in Dracula’s castle (HCD). Apart the locational and
objective authenticity of historical places such as Poienari fortress or the Vlad’s princely courts from
Bucharest and Targoviste, sometimes places are authenticated by the professional authority of tour guides’
discourses that sometimes promote the local tradition as real facts. For example, Snagov monastery is
described as: “Vlad's final resting place” (ER n.d.; DTS, n.d.); the place where “according to the legend, Vlad
was buried after his assassination” (DT, n.d.; RNTO, n.d.); the place where “people say the tomb of Dracula
lays” (GRT, n.d.) or “in which Dracula was buried in 1476” (CR, n.d.). Tourist signs have the same effect on
people’s perceptions of authenticity: e.g. the inscription marking the place where, according to an old
Romanian myth, a woman was built alive in the wall of Arges Monastery. Similar shades of darkness can be
differentiated in the tourist practices associated with Dracula tours: from dark ones that simulate death (e.g.
meeting Count Dracula during costumed parties), to darker attractions based on historical and spatial
authenticity (like the simulation of a witch’s trial), up to the darkest or black ones, reinforced by the media
fascination with vampires, locational and temporal proximity (re-enactments of old practices still active in
some rural parts of Romania). Thus, depending on the production of tourist experience, the ritual killing of a
vampire can combine: subjective (emotional), locational (Transylvania) and temporal authenticity (the
references to a mediatized recent case of killing the living dead in Southern Romania). One of the videos
included in the study enables a virtual experience of this ritual, embedded in a complex historical, social and
geographical context. The overall level of darkness generally increases from North to South.
58
Tourist interpretation and the production of visitor experiences are very important factors in building the
tourists’ sense of authenticity even before the real journey. Therefore, Dracula - themed meals and beverages
are often promoted as part of the tour package: visitors will “eat in the very house where Vlad the Impaler
was born”, in Sighisoara (BCT, n.d.), they will try a” vampire menu” in Turda (BCT, n.d.) or relive “the
atmosphere of the novel” in a restaurant from Bucharest (RTG, n.d.) etc. Still, the same tours enable tourists
to experience also the” real” side of Romania: its history (through medieval or Saxon restaurants in
Transylvania) or Traditions (through Romanian gastronomy, music and dances). The accommodation follows
the same main key-themes: Dracula’s myth (in HCD), history (medieval hotels) or rural traditions (the guest
houses in Northern Romania). Ritual performances, especially those associated with Halloween complete the
embodied experiences of Dracula’s legendary country through: dances, costumed parties, fire camps, visiting
dungeons, enactments of Dracula’s wedding etc. They also enrich the dark image of Transylvania with new
characters such as witches (in Sighisoara, Borgo, Tg Mures), ghosts (Hunyad Castle, Sighisoara) or
Frankestein (Sibiu). Still, even the Halloween parties have their brief infusions of reality (modernity) and
history in the form of DJ music or symbolic meetings with the Transylvanian knights.
Apart the text content, pictures are a powerful tool used in tourism advertising to construct and reinforce the
destination image (O’Leary & Deegan, 2005). They strengthen the text message in promoting intangible
aspects of products (Ozdemir, 2010) or add relevant information (Van der Molen & Van der Voort, 2000).
Pictures motivate tourists to travel and help them in recalling a destination (Molina & Esteban, 2006). In the
present study, there are only 25 destinations associated with 256 photos. The number of photos per
destination and the type of heritage illustrated (Figure 3) draw a different and narrower imaginative
geography of Romania. This highlights the main destinations expected to be associated with a literary and
movie induced tourism, namely the mythical and historical heritage linked to Dracula’s character, as well as a
few other dark tourism attractions. The first group is mainly concentrated in Northern Transylvania, the rest
are concentrated around the Southern Carpathians. Overall, they reflect a clearer image of the Dracula
tourism heritage in Romania. The pictures selected by tour operators also reveal significant change in the
importance attributed to places, according to the number of pictures: for example, the Dracula themed
restaurant in Turda became a key point in this new geography, while other Northern attractions, including
HCD, are lower ranked. The missing or low weight of many cultural destinations in Southern Transylvania
with a single cultural attraction (even if UNESCO labeled) sustains the hypothesis of their supporting (filler)
role in the general architecture of the tours. Still, apart the typical Dracula tourism heritages, famous cultural
or historical landmarks (such as central squares or monuments) are also reproduced in the destination
pictures. As for the ten Halloween tours included in the study, these concentrate about a third of all the
photos. They reinforce the dark(er) image of several destinations (Snagov, Hunedoara, Bran) with images of
vampires, dark rituals, misty or nightly landscapes.
59
Figure 3. The type of local heritage illustrated by pictures in the main Dracula tours promoted online.
In order to build an attractive destination image that could motivate customers to purchase a product, pictures
must be correlated with the text (Hsu & Song, 2012) and further enrich it. However, in this study there are a
few differences between the destination image communicated by image and text: e.g. for Turda or Sighisoara,
pictures are more focused on highlighting the dark features (attractions), while the text emphasises better the
historical heritage. At the same time, the number of pictures of dark attractions is often much higher
compared to the weight of the corresponding destination or attraction within the whole tour experience. Or,
this creates visitor expectations that are not fully met by real place experiences.
The destination images promoted online by Dracula tours are (re)produced and/or reinforced at a larger scale,
in the way some regions or the whole Romania are imagined. For example Transylvania is described by the
same dual tourist narratives as its key destinations. Some tour operators insist on the historical (medieval) and
cultural (Saxon and UNESCO) heritage: they present it as “a land full of history and legend”, “home to some
of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe” (VT, n.d.). In other tours, Transylvania is the “Eastern
Europe's most infamous land of the unholy” (DTS, n.d.), with a Count Dracula's domain of fright and terror
in the North-Eastern part. Bran Castle is often presented as the symbol of Transylvania and Romania, which
also explains its presence in most of the tours pictures. The Carpathian Mountains anchor both national
representations of Romania’s key-heritage as well the visitors’ imagination of Dracula’s country: e.g. “begin
the ascent up the Carpathian Mountains and follow the path of Jonathan Harker, as described in Bram
Stoker's novel” (DTS, n.d.). The literary myths of Dracula and Transylvania built by the travel and fiction
literature of the 18th of 19th centuries are further reproduced in the descriptions of Romania: a country
different from the Western world (“with a country side where you will see a completely different way of life”
60
– CR, n.d.), barbaric (with “villages where an impaler could easily kill thousands” – DTS, n.d.), backward
(with “tiny villages and acres of forest-covered hills” – DTS, n.d.) and magical (“the land of Dracula”- MJ,
n.d.; GRT, n.d.), haunted by “the Creatures of the Night” (MJ, n.d.). As for Bucharest, the tours highlight
different sides of the heritage, either cultural (“Little Paris“), historical (home to the communist president
Nicolae Ceausescu) or dark (an “unholy land”, with howling wolves, a gate to Dracula’s realm).
CONCLUSIONS
The paper explores a new approach to the study of Dracula tourism in Romania by highlighting the national
heritage capitalized and promoted by this form of tourism. Compared to previous researches centered on
subjective visitor perceptions and experiences during Dracula tours, this paper focuses on one of the major
factors of destination image formation: the internet.
The study results confirmed the reproduction of ambivalent media discourses regarding Dracula tourism in
the general conception and promotion of online Dracula tours. In the effort to conciliate myth and reality, two
main categories of tourist heritage were used to build the general image of destinations included in Dracula
tours. A first category is represented by the fantasy-based heritage based on the vampire movies and literature
and extended to other typical dark tourist attractions such as dark exhibitions, local dark legends, cemeteries
or haunted places. On the other hand, there is a much more consistent group of reality-based heritage,
associated with cultural, historical, ethnographic and natural tourist attractions. Apart the few attractions
connected to the historical side of Dracula tourism, the second group is dominated by places with any or very
weak connection to Dracula or Vlad the Impaler. The oscillating balance between reality and fiction is
reflected in the tours names, descriptions and illustrations, in the selection of itinerary and tourist attractions,
in the tourist services and interpretation provided. All these reflect both the visitors ‘and tour operators’
imagination of what Dracula heritage and tourist experiences should look like.
Given the role of tourism advertising and internet in shaping the tourists’ imagination and pre-experience of
destinations, the main Dracula tours promoted online highlight an imaginative geography of Romania that has
significantly evolved from the first themed tours organized during the 70’s, in terms of spatial coverage as
well as of the heritage promoted. The tours itineraries now follow the main routes linking Central
Transylvania to Bucharest across the Carpathian Mountains and they are anchored on a few major cities with
a complex cultural and historical heritage. About half of the tours destinations are now outside the boundaries
of Transylvania and they are associated with a complex heritage, where fiction and reality are opposed,
juxtaposed or merged.
In terms of place meaning, the old opposition between myth and reality formerly represented by Bran Castle
(associated with “real”, historically accurate heritage) and Hotel Castle Dracula (completely built on fantasy)
is now reproduced at a larger scale in the national heritage promoted through Dracula tours. Overall, the
group of reality- based destinations dominates the fantasy ones by their number, spatial distribution and the
frequency of their inclusion in the tours itineraries or pictures. Thus, culture, history, traditions and natural
landscapes are a major part of the heritage promoted to potential Dracula tourists. This could be partially
justified by pragmatic and professional reasons like accessibility and the tour operators’ strategy to keep
tourists interested and entertained along their journey to the main Dracula-linked destinations. Another reason
is the more or less intended reproduction of old national representations about the national heritage that
should be considered truly and authentically Romanian, according to formal certifications from credible
61
authorities like policy makers, historians or international tourism bodies. Most of the destinations included in
Dracula tours highlight the same type of heritage and sometimes even the same landmarks promoted in
Romania’s national tourism promotion campaigns and/or classified as UNESCO heritage. The old fear of
Romanian authorities regarding Dracula’s negative impact on country image has been overcome by a new
compromising formal strategy: building Dracula tours meant to lure foreign tourists and then introduce them
to what they should really know and remember about Romania. A very similar approach is reflected in the
private tours analyzed: in their case, dark tourism narratives (text and pictures) dominate their promotion,
while cultural and historical attractions dominate their itineraries and real experiences. This could explain the
presence of traditional Romanian gastronomy, accommodation, crafts, music and dances in Dracula tours:
they enable a deeper, embodied experience of the “real” Romania and Romanians.
Nature and history are among the major factors shaping the alternative tourism geography of Romania drawn
by Dracula tours. This is based on: geographical landmarks that correspond both to international place-myths
(like Transylvania and the Carpathians, known as Dracula’s realm) as well as to inherited collective
representations of the national territory (such as Romania’s old historical regions, often mentioned in the
tours descriptions). Also based on geography, the accessibility to the main departure cities and especially to
Bucharest, is another factor that orients the destinations selection as well as their ranking. Dracula
destinations are often clustered within the limits of old geographical (natural) and historical regions and share
similar heritage features: there is an ethnographical and a spiritual cluster in Northern Romania, a historical
and cultural one in Southern Romania or a cultural and historical one in Southern and Central Transylvania
(formed by medieval towns and UNESCO labelled churches). The group of dark, fantasy built destinations is
spatially differentiated into: a northern group, that mainly capitalizes the foreign literary myth, and a
Southern one (centred on the Southern Carpathians), which promotes local oral tradition (dark legends) and
other typical dark attractions like cemeteries, haunted places, fun dark factories etc. A general shift of weight
and spatial focus towards South is visible in Romania’s overall Dracula (dark) tourism geography, better
developed around the Southern Carpathians and mainly based on objective perceptions of heritage
authenticity. Thus, apart the certifications from external authorities (historians or tourist authorities) the tours
use real locations, professional credibility as well as fictional references to increase the tourist value of places
and their perceived authenticity: Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains give a spatial contextualisation
and locational authenticity to destinations, especially when associated with references to precise scenes from
the Dracula novel or movies. Local legends are authenticated by the oral tradition and by professional tourist
interpretation that sells them as real facts.
Depending on the level of manufacturing, their locational and temporal authenticity, distance and social
impact on people’s imagination and experience of places, several shades of darkness can be differentiated
within the geography of Dracula tours and heritage. Beyond the many “light” destinations that communicate
a positive and attractive image of Romania’s cultural, historical or natural heritage, there are also: dark
destinations where death is simulated (e.g. themed exhibitions); darker ones, based on historical and
locational authenticity (e.g. simulations of the witches’ trials; dark legends from the oral tradition,
authenticated by tourist interpretation) or darkest ones, reinforced by the global media fascination with
vampires and the temporal closeness of specific old dark practices. Very complex dark tourist experiences are
associated with Halloween tourist practices that merge subjective (emotional), locational and temporal
authenticity. The darkness shades tend to increase from North to South.
62
The overall imaginative geographies built by Dracula tours promoted online are very important because of
their role in the construction and reinforcement of iconic tourist places and destination image. Local
impressions are often transferred by tourists to the whole country, thus influencing the way Romania and
Romanians are also imagined. In this regard, given their strong impact on people’s emotions, their distinctive
narratives and evolving geographies, Halloween tours deserve the attention of further researches.
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THE DATA GATHERING PROCESS IN A GREEN EVENT STUDY – A JOURNEY
Norol Hamiza Zamzuri
Faculty of Business Management
Universiti Teknologi MARA, 43000 Puncak Alam, Selangor
and
Khairil Wahidin Awang and Yuhanis Abdul Aziz
Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
and
Zaiton Samdin
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor
ABSTRACT
The data gathering process in a green event study reveals the desire and emotions of a qualitative researcher
in exploring the issue of green practices. The uniqueness of a green event study is highlighted through the
problems that arise from the literature review and initial fieldwork. The qualititative approach is chosen as it
is an appropriate method for obtaining relevant data for this study. The study revealed that the two factors
that motivate green practices are top management support and awareness of impending environmental
impact. This research fills gaps in the literature by exploring the green practices undertaken by event
organizers and reduces the gap in the industry as there is a need to understand the sustainability impact of an
event. For this reason, the study has highlighted several sustainable practices undertaken during the
organising of an event. Meanwhile, factors such as top management support and awareness among
employees, leads to green practices in the company. It is suggested that future research explore other issues
pertaining to this subject but from other perspectives.
Keywords: event, green, qualitative research, environmental impact and green practices.
THE UNIQUENESS OF GREEN EVENT STUDY
The study of green events is indeed a unique field of study as the green issue has been discussed by several
researchers such as Mair and Jago (2010), Laing and Frost (2010), Laing and Mair (2012), Rittichiniwat and
Mair (2012) and Laing and Mair (2013). Through the lenses of these researchers it seems there is still a
debate in understanding green practices undertaken during an event. Hence, these practices have actually
been discussed by researchers from other fields such as manufacturing and oil & gas (Bansal & Ruth, 2010)
and the research findings have been similar to that discussed by researchers in the event field. It seems there
is a demand in understanding the green practices in other geographical areas as well. Thus, this highlights the
uniqueness of green events as there is still a demand in exploring green practices in the context of other
geographical areas.
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I began exploring the world of green events after I got involved with one of the seminars organized by an
event company. The issue discussed was related to land and consequently my urge to understand more on the
issue of green event industry started to develop. The desire to understand the green issue led to my initial
field work and I found that there was indeed a problem regarding the green issue. I found that there is a need
to explore the green practices among event organizers. This is said by one of the interviewees during the
initial field work.
“I would say that the problem in organizing a green event is in the mindset of the stakeholders,
especially in Malaysia and in order for the stakeholders to understand the concept of a sustainable
event that we want them to apply, we firstly have to be aware that the audience is not ready, or not
really fully aware about a green event. Actually, we partly apply the green concept during an event
as we belief that the audience is not yet ready. The practice of the green concept during the event is
mostly by reducing the use of paper”.
It appears from the transcript that the event organizer does apply green practices, however, the practices
apply to only some parts of the event. Laing and Frost (2010) had mentioned that although event organizers
do claim to promote themselves as organizing a green event but their affords are arguable. Therefore, the
main objective of this study is to explore how extensive are these green practices as claimed by event
organizer. Based on the main question, several sub-questions have arisen.
Research questions.
i.
What are the green practices undertaken during an event?.
ii.
What motivates a company to organize a green event?.
WHY QUALITATIVE APPROACH?
I begin the journey of exploring green practices with the help of the current literature available. Throughout
the time taken to read the literature and scrutinize the problem, I found that Rittichiniwat and Mair (2012)
said that qualitative inductive is suitable in exploring green events. One of the reasons being that the
approach permits a researcher to explore more and to get an indept view of a case (Yin, 2009). Furthermore,
Merriam (2009) mentioned that the problem identified in literature would drive the approach to find the
necessary information towards a solution. Hence, as the problem arised from the available literature and
initial fieldwork, I chose the qualitative approach in guiding the journey of exploring the green practices in
event industry.
In the qualitative approach, case study is a type of strategic inquiry that provide direction on the road map
towards obtaining vital data. Thus, strategic inquiries provide specific directions or guidelines in achieving
the aim of this study (Creswell, 2009). These strategies of inquiry are models that provide specific direction
for procedures in a research design. Merens (1998) had referred to the strategy of inquiry as the ‘research
methodology’ and Creswell (2007) had called it ‘approaches to inquiry’'. There are many types of strategies
of inquiry such as ethnography, case study and grounded theory (Creswell, 2009). Creswell (2009)
separately discussed the three types of strategies of inquiry, however, in 2012, Creswell revealed that case
study is also a type of ethnographic study. He stated that:
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“Case study is an important type of ethnography, although it differs from ethnography pe se in
several important ways. Case study writers research a group, they may be more interested in
describing the activities of the group instead of identifying shared patterns of behavior exhibited by
the group. The ethnographer searches for the shared patterns that develop as the group interacts over
time. Finally, case study researchers are less likely to identify a cultural theme to examine at the
beginning of a study, especially one from anthropology; instead they focus on an in-depth exploration
of the actual case”, p. 465.
The first rational for choosing case study as the research inquiry in this study is because it permits a
researcher to explore programs, events, activities, processes, or one or more individuals (Creswell, 2009).
Yin (2009) referred to the case study as a unit of analysis because the unit of analysis is a component that is
related to the fundamental problem of this study, whilst the fundamental problem of this study is to explore
the green practices. Yin (2009) added that the unit of analysis involves addressing the questions arising from
the study and according to Sharan (2009); the unit of analysis is not the topic of investigation but a
characteristic of the case study. According to Yin (2009), a case study involves the events, processes and the
individuals. For this purpose, the process of organizing a green event in one of the event organizing company
in Malaysia is chosen as a case study.
The second rational in choosing a single case study design is because the case study can be categorized as a
revelatory case, whereby the researcher has an opportunity to observe and analyze the phenomenon.
According to Stake (2010) observation is one of the strategies in qualitative approach as it is more on the
experiential side. The observation method enables the researcher to report the actual experience of seeing
and feeling the real phenomenon. It highlights the view produced from real-time observation as a
consequence of human participation and involvement. Thus, participant observation is chosen as one of the
research method strategies, as it provides the opportunity for the researcher to be involved in the
phenomenon.
Hence, several rationals were given for the reasons for choosing the case study starategy in this study. The
first rational is that a case study enables a researcher to explore a program and secondly is that it provides an
opportunity for a researcher to observe the actual phenomenon.
EVENT COMPANIES AND INFORMANTS SELECTION PROCEDURE
The A1 company was chosen as this company is registered under the International Convention and
Conference Association (www.icca.com) and the informants selection procedure in this company is made by
using the snowball sampling strategy. Snowbow sampling strategy is a method that permits a researcher to
choose a sampling based on suggestions made by previous researchers. Merriam (2009, p. 9) mentioned that
snowball sampling involves “locating a few key participants who easily meet the criteria you have established
for participating in the study”. Consequently, the snowball sampling strategy for this study yielded six
informants. The informants were a director, two event managers, a sustainable executive and two event
executive and they were chosen based on their experience in organizing a green event. Mair and Jago (2010)
used this similar method in their study, whereby the selected respondents had first-hand experience and held a
position that was related to the process of organizing a sustainable event.
RESEARCHER AS AN INSTRUMENT
Creswell (2007) argues the researcher is part of the instrument during the case study process. However, Yin
(2011) sees a problem in the issue of potential bias that may result from qualitative research that’s being
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conducted by qualitative researchers due to the researcher's personal background, motivation for doing the
research and the interpretation on understanding the events and actions. Therefore, to reduce the researcher’s
bias, I chose the triangulation strategy, as this strategy highlights the validity of the information submitted by
informants. Triangulation is a technique where multiple sources of data are compared and crosschecked
(Merriam, 2009) and subsequently strengthening the validity of a study. A valid study is a study that has
properly collected and interpreted the data, so that the conclusions accurately reflect and represent the real
phenomenon that is studied. The triangulation method was applied throughout this study. For instance,
interviews, observations and reports are three sources of collecting data. Apart from this, collecting data
from the three interviewees is also called triangulating the data (Yin, 2011). This shows that triangulation is
not only a strategy for comparing three different sources but triangulation is also a strategy for comparing
three sources of raw data from interviewees. As mentioned earlier, apart from interviews and reports, I chose
the active observation method for obtaining in-dept information and to feel the experience of the actual
phenomenon.
EXPERIENCE AS ACTIVE OBSERVER
I entered the field in the middle of September 2013, which is when the A1 event organizing company had an
event that involved international delegates from all over the world. I was feeling of excited and anxious at
the beginning of the day. The road that I seldom used seems so far. What will happen today? And what will
the response be from the staff, Will they be helpful? Questions kept popping up in my mind.
I entered the office and was greeted with a smile from a lady. This is illustrated in my fieldnotes of day 1:
“ My presence is acknowledged with a smile from a lady who is wearing a scarf and an Indian men
with a black shirt at level 2 as I was requested to meet Tinty at the Human Resources Department at
Level 2. Beside the right door there are two Chinese ladies discussing something. (OC: I assumed
that since I reached the office early, maybe they were all just starting their working day. I was
introduced to Tinty as she greeted me with a big smile. She was standing right at a table with a man
who was wearing spectacles and maybe around his late 40s. (OC: I think there were in the midst of
a discussion).
I was introduced to the director who was actively engaged in green activities in the hospitality industry and
previously involved with an Non Government Organization (NGO). This was illustrated in his name card,
which indicated the names of several NGO associations. I was introduced to the staff and I was involved
with the ‘delegates registration committee.
I was there for almost a month and spend 96 hours being an active observer. Since I have a tight schedule, as
I was a student and an active observer at the same time, I could only be at the office for three (3) days a week.
The 96 hours provided me the experience of participating in the actual activities before, during and after the
event. The fruitful experience engendered the anxiety of exploring the world of green events. However,
there were several issues that arose in the process of obtaining the vital data.
ISSUES IN GETTING THE INFORMATION DURING ACTIVE OBSERVATION
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I have divided the experience from the perspective of time, financial, employees response and technical
device.
i.
Time
As I mentioned earlier, I was there almost a month, the travelling time was really a challenge required
extreme patience as traffic congestion and jams to and from the office, which is located at the middle of city.
This was definitely different from the normal experience of driving from home to the university, which
usually takes one (1) hour of driving without traffic congestions. The time I spend at the office provides
ample opportunities to gain as much knowledge and experience on how to organize a green event. The office
starts at 8.30 am and ends at 5.30 pm but as the event date edges closer, most of the employees who are
dedicated and commitment would work pass the normal working hours. This is illustrated in the notes that I
wrote at 6 pm:
“The time on my watch shows it’s nearly 6 pm and the staff is still at their office desk doing their
work. A man beside me is has been talking on his mobile phone for almost 15 minutes now… (OC:
it seems that they are talking something about the venue...)
ii.
Financial
Finances are one of the issues that seriously drew my attention, as the daily parking fare I had to spend was
almost RM 6.00. Luckily, I have my own savings and as the Ministry of Education had sponsored me, I was
able to bear the cost of parking tickets, lunch and fuel incured during my days at the company office.
However, I feel that the desire to gain knowledge helps to motivate me in overcoming this issue.
iii.
Staff’s Response
Staff response is another issue that I feel helped my endeavour in obtaining the necessary data with minimal
effort. This is because, as mentioned earlier, that although they very committed and occupied in doing their
job but there were times when I needed to ask a question and some kind of help and they would still kindly
oblige. This is especially so after the event, but I understood their situation and commitment to accomplish
their daily job.
iv.
Technical Devices
I used a sony recorder, which I bought when I started the actual fieldwork. I used the device for recording
purposes; however, there was a time when the device was not functioning well. I was very lucky as I use a
smartphone and that became a second recording device. This helped especially when the primary recording
device was not functioning well.
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EXPERIENCE OF GETTING A CASE STUDY COMPANY
Choosing a suitable company for a case study is not an easy job. This is because; I feel that without a good
relationship with the industry, the data collection process would not have gone smoothly as I have faced
experiences of being rejected by several companies. Most of the companies do not permit data collection of
presence of obervers because of confidentiality or insufficient information. However, having worked with
company A1’s director previously and the commitment of the director had helped the researcher in the data
collection process. This was quoted during initial fieldwork at company A1.
“I am happy that university has seen the importance of green issues in the event industry and I am
really keen to help”. (Personal Interview with company A1’s Director).
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL VALIDITY
Merriam (2009) had discussed the issue of internal and external validity and she had mentioned that internal
validity relates the findings with the actual situation. For this reason, I applied triangulation in emphasizing
the issue of internal validity as the information given by the director was compared with information
produced by the employees and photos taken during the observation. An external validity relies on the
extensiveness of the information that can be generalized in relation to other situations. This in line with the
issue discussed by Boijie (2010) who said that that term ‘external validity’ describes the generalization issue
and he argued that generalization is easily seen in the quantitative approach through the use of proportionate
sampling compared with the use of purposeful sampling in the qualitative approach. This is because; the
sampling technique is the most important issue when generalizing a study. For example, in a quantitative
approach, using the proportionate method results in a selection of respondents from the whole population
(Creswell, 2007), however, for the qualitative approach, a sampling selection is based on a case that
represents the phenomenon of interest (Merriam, 2009). Hence, to reduce the confusion on the issue of
generalization for qualitative approach, Smaling (2003) discussed inductive generalization by using a
theoretical and variation-based generalization (cited in Boijie, 2010, p. 180).
The theoretical generalization plays a role in reducing confusion about generalization issues in the qualitative
approach by using the data analysis procedure. The theory states that during constant comparison the data
analysis procedure is tested by using the analytic induction procedure. The analytic induction procedure is
one of the methods in highlighting the issue of theoretical generalization. This is discussed by Smaling
(2003), as cited in Boijie (2010, p. 180).
“…the researcher theorizes on the basis of a certain sample, then tests the provisional findings and
conjectures with new sample cases. Based on the result of this test, the growing theory is adjusted,
refined, expanded, corrected and the process is repeated several times. The theory that is ultimately
formulated must then becomes the vehicle for generalization to other cases that have not been
studied, provided that they belong to the scope of the theory”.
It appears from the explanations proposed by Smaling (2003) and cited in Boijie (2009) that the argument
about generalization in the qualitative approach is resolved by using inductive generalization as the theory is
built during the process of analysing the data is tested using the same samplings. However, although much
has been said in explaining the issue of internal and external validity, it is also important to discuss on the
issue of reliability of the information.
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RELIABILITY
The issue of reliability is underpinned in this study and is discussed especially when discussing the issue of
replication. The issue of replication in qualitative approach is discussed especially when the question of
research reliability arises among authors and researchers (Boijie, 2010; Merriam, 2009 and Creswell, 2007).
According to these authors, a reliable research in terms of its findings is when the results and process of study
can be replicated in other contexts. According to Merriam (2009), reliability is ‘…the degree of consistency
with which instances are assigned to the same category by different observers or by the same observer on
different occasions’. Whereas Boijie (2009) had mentioned that reliability is consistency of a measurement
by using the same instrument and Creswell (2007) said that reliability refers to the stability of responses to
multiple codes of data sets. This indicates that a reliable research depends on the use of the same instrument
and this may not help the qualitative approach since this approach does not adapt or adopt any instrument
when measuring the construct, as the instrument in qualitative approach is the researcher himself (Creswell,
2009). For this reason, this study has applied the method proposed by Yin (2009), who suggested that in
order to observe the reliability in qualitative approach, the data collection procedures have to be
demonstrated. This is the same strategy proposed by Seale (1999), who said that to reduce the problem in
qualitative approach, methodological transparency seems a logical alternative. Thus, I applied the case study
protocol proposed by Yin (2009). The case study protocol included an overview of a case study, field
procedures permitted by the gatekeeper, sources of data and procedural reminders, case study questions and
lastly, a guide for a case study report.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS REVISITED.
i.
What the types of green practices performed during an event?.
The first question was answered based on the observation made during the actual fieldwork that resulted in
several findings. It found that the green practices by the company A1 began with business operations before,
during and after the event. This finding emerged from the information given by the director, where he had
emphasized the reduction of energy use during office hours, the sharing of printers, the re-cycling of waste
water from the airconditiong system for use in the washrooms and the use of technology in disseminating
information and processing all event business operations. The information given by the director was
compared with the information given by the employees and also based on personal observation. Thus, I found
that the information was justified with the actual practices. This is quoted by A2, who is one of the
employees in the company A1, in line 21:
“The director advised us to reduce the use of energy during office hours. We usually switch off the
lights during office hours and I think that the use of the emailing system helps us in reducing the use
of paper”.
The practices were observed during the initial fieldwork and I found that the information given corresponded
with the actual practices. Observation made during the event itself revealed that there was lack of paper use
during the event and several recycling waste-bins were placed at several locations in the conference hall.
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Apart from these green practices, I found that unused buntings meant for the event was sent to the corporate
social responsibility association. The corporate social responsibility association redesigned the buntings into
conference bags. This was quoted by A3 in line 15 as:
“Our association redesigned the unused buntings during the company’s A1 event and made it into
conference bags. We got the help of other NGOs to come up with the bag”.
The transcrips revealed that corporate social responsibility is practiced by company A1. It shows that the
green-practice activities were performed before, during and until the end of the event.
ii.
What motivates company A1 to practice green during the event?.
The transcriptions revealed that the main motivation for practicing green in the company is the top
management’s support in driving the employees to practice green. For instance, this is a quote by A3 at line
206:
“The founder and director of this company motivates us to go green as there are 100 ways to practice
green”.
Several codes found during the interview that involved five employees were namely the founder/director’s
support, being a green industry player, good green supporters, admiration for the practice and being a green
motivator. Based on these codes I summarized that the theme revealed is ‘top management support’.
The interview revealed that the awareness about the environmental impact also drives them to practice green.
This is illustrated from A5 transcription at line 14 that:
“Nowadays we can see the earth is really really sick, I mean in terms of pollution and so on”.
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION
This research contributes to the corpus of knowledge that might help to close the gap revealed in the literature
and also from the industry. The experience of conducting the research by applying the qualitative approach
with the researcher as an instrument has provided a fruitful experience to the researcher. The method applied
in this study is seen as an academic contribution to the corpus of knowledge as it provides an overview from
the perspective of the researcher while gaining answers from the literature and actual fieldwork.
CONCLUSION
I conclude that the green practices in the A1 company is driven by the encouragement and belief of the top
management on green practices that has helped to reduce the deleterious environmental impact. I found that
factors such as top management support and awareness among the employees regarding the importance of
green practices when organising business event activities and the impact on the environmental has lead to
green practices in the company. Apart from this, I found that the involvement of the researcher as an
instrument has revealed the actual results as the information given is validated by the researcher himself. The
78
qualitative approach used in this study provides indept information as it permits the researcher to explore
more on issues that arise from literature review. However, as this paper only highlights the main objectives
of this study, therefore, the discussion in this paper is limited to the questions that arise from the actual
fieldwork and literature review.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
I recommend that future research should explore more on the issues of green related activities by using the
qualitative approach as this approach permits the researcher to explore the issue from a holistic perspective.
References.
Boijie, H. (2009). Analysis in Qualitative Research. London: SAGE Publisher Ltd.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Ltd.
Laing, J., & Frost, W. (2010). International Journal of Hospitality Management How green was my festival :
Exploring challenges and opportunities associated with staging green events. International Journal of
Hospitality Management. 29: 261–267.
Laing, J., & Jago, M. (2012). The greening of music festivals: motivations, barriers and outcomes. Applying
the Mair and Jago model. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(5), 683–700.
Mair, J. & Jago, L. (2010). The development of a conceptual model of greening in the business events
tourism sector. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18(1), 77–94.
Rittichiniwat and Mair, J. (2012). An Exploratory Study of Attendee Perceptions of Green Meetings.
Journal of Convention and Event Tourism, 13(3), 147-158.
Merriam, S. B. 2009. Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. San Francisco: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case Study Research Design and Methods. Sage Publications Ltd.
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SERVICE QUALITY IN THE HOTEL SECTOR IN FLANDERS – A CASE STUDY
Griet Geudens
VisitFlanders
Brussels, Belgium
Petra Huyst
VisitFlanders
Brussels, Belgium
and
Katrien Van Ginderachter
VisitFlanders
Brussels, Belgium
Abstract
This paper explores a new hotel quality system designed in Flanders. The central objective of this system is to
increase the visitors’ satisfaction with hotels which in turn results in a higher competitiveness and a better
image of Flanders as a qualitative tourist destination. The current hotel license and star rating system, which
is based on static and infrastructural criteria, does not reflect the service needs of visitors who, nowadays,
predominantly select accommodation through reviews and comments on the internet. This quality system
provides hoteliers with different tools to measure and improve their service quality.
Key words Service quality, hotel sector, quality framework
Introduction
This paper explores and presents a newly developed quality system for Flemish hotels. This system, based on
the theoretical principles of IQM (Integrated Quality management) and Service Design, is discussed at length
in the following outline. Step by step the reader is guided through the thought process and undertaken steps of
VisitFlanders, the coordinating organization behind this system.
1. Trends and Facts in the Hospitality Sector
1.1Tourism continues to grow in Europe
International tourist arrivals grew by 5% in 2013, reaching a record 1,087 million arrivals, according to the
latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer (UNWTO 2014). Despite global economic challenges,
international tourism results were well above expectations, with an additional 52 million international tourists
travelling the world in 2013. For 2014, UNWTO forecasts a 4% to 4.5% growth – again surpassing the long
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term projections. Europe led growth in absolute terms, welcoming an additional 29 million international
tourist arrivals in 2013, raising the total to 563 million. Growth (+5%) exceeded the forecast for 2013 and is
double the region’s average for the period 2005-2012 (+2.5% a year).
The hospitality industry in the EU currently employs approximately 9.5 million workers, spread over 1.7
million enterprises. This represents, respectively, 4,4% of total employment in Europe and 8% of all
enterprises in the market-oriented economy.
In recent years, the hospitality industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in Europe in terms of
employment. The number of people employed grew from 7.4 to 9,3 million between 2003 and 2008. The
hospitality industry is a labour intensive industry which means that growth has a strong employment impact.
Between 2003 and 2007, the employment grew over 21% in the hospitality industry alone. This compared to
about approximately 6% for the whole economy. Even amidst an economic crisis (2008-2010), the sector
provided for new jobs for 200.000 people.
Hospitality enterprises are predominantly small and medium-sized: 99% have less than 50 employees and as
many as 92% have fewer than ten workers on their payroll.(Hotrec 2014)
1.2 Trends in the Hospitality Sector
Based on newsletters, conferences, articles we established the following trends related to
The competitiveness of the sector
 The hotel industry is experiencing a global boom and has become extremely competitive nowadays.
Hotels have to think of different ways to cope with the dynamic and tough market environment.
 As Europeans seek cheaper travel options to counteract continued austerity, the sharing economy
offers opportunities at lower prices than ever before. The range of accommodation is very diverse,
thanks to the growth of brands such as Airbnb, HouseTrip and HomeAway.
Quality and innovation
 Fast booking, fast check-in, fast WiFi and fast responses to customer service needs will need to be
implemented within hotels. Service today consists of four levels: basic, expected and desired.
Forming a connection with guests can improve dramatically with genuine, individual interaction.
 Reputation Management and Room Service Reinvented emphasizethat quality experience is a hot
topic.
 Service failures, which can be defined as ‘breakdowns in the delivery of service,resulting in a failure
to meet customer service expectations’ tend to occur in the hospitality industry on a fairly regular
basis.This results in a low customer satisfaction and a tendency to engage in negative word of mouth
and potentially a switch to another company/brand.
 New service-dominant logic acknowledges the tourist’s role in value creation and co-creation. This
logic includes the idea that in the process of value co-creation, the consumers act as resource
integrators.
Social media
 Hotels are differentiating and innovating their products and services, all while embracing mobile and
social trends
 Consumers use the internet more and more to decide which hotel they will book. The booking
process has thus become more and more review based. The internet, friends and word of mouth have
become important reference points.
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1.3Tourist Accommodation in Flanders
Visit Flanders, the Flemish governmental agency for tourism, is responsible for developing and promoting
tourism in Flanders and Brussels. Visit Flanders’ mission is to invest in sustainable tourism development and
to market Flanders as a top destination for tourists to visit.
The main focus lies on the ‘art cities’ for international tourists and the coast and green regions for domestic
tourists. In 2012 Flanders could report 29 million overnight stays and 11 million tourist arrivals. In the last 10
years there was an increase of 27% arrivals in tourist accommodations. The increase was especially due to
increased domestic tourism. International tourists mainly come from the neighbouring countries, Spain and
the USA. The average length of stay in Flanders is 2,6 nights.
The majority of the overnight stays (60%) is in hotels. Over the last 10 years there has been an increase of
hotel arrivals of about 36%. (Toerisme Vlaanderen 2013)
Flanders has an important association for hotels, restaurants and cafés called HorecaVlaanderen. The
association represents the interests of the hotel and catering sector, supports the entrepreneurs and stimulates
networking. HorecaVlaanderen is active on a European, national, Flemish and local level.
Everyone in the Flemish Region who wants to exploit or let a tourist accommodation has to either enlist the
accommodation or have a license. No one is authorized to puta tourist accommodation on the market without
it being enlisted or licensed.
The Flemish tourist accommodation decree (ToeristischVlaamslogiesdecreet 2012)provides an umbrella
regulation for all types of residence accommodation.It tries to ensure a certain level of quality for the entire
tourist accommodation offer. The decree creates a fair competition for the operator with clear rules for
everyone in the Flemish Region. The accommodation decree distinguishes and defines five categories:





hotels (hostellerie, motel, pension, gasthof, auberge)
open air recreational areas with 5 subcategories: campsites, mini campsites, holiday parks, permanent
accommodation parks, camper sites)
guest rooms (bed and breakfast, B&B, guest house)
holiday home (holiday apartment, holiday studio, holiday bungalow, holiday home, holiday villa, holiday
flat, holiday cottage, holiday chalet)
holiday lodging
Within each category, these names are protected, for instance a guest room can be called a bed and breakfast
but not a hotel. For each category, the decree defines basic characteristics and minimum requirements for fire
safety, comfort and hygiene. A licensed accommodation gets an emblem of its (sub) category which also
mentions the comfort rating (or stars) (except for the category holiday lodging).
The division into a comfort classification for licensed hotels is based on mandatory and optional standards.
For each classification there is acompulsory comfort package the hotel has to offer. In addition, points can be
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collected for all kinds of optional comfort standards. These optional standards give the operator more
opportunities to acquire the best possible comfort classification in relation to the profile and properties of the
hotel. The optional standards also reward extra service (such as e.g. a welcome drink). There are currently 5
comfort classifications for hotels ranging from 1 to 5 stars.
1.4Quality of infrastructure versus quality of service
Distinction has to be made between on the one hand quality of infrastructure and on the other hand quality of
service. The comfort classification and star rating system in Flanders provides information on what services
the accommodation offers. It defines physical features and grades these features through a star rating system.
The quality of service, on the other hand, is about the way this service is offered.
There has always been a reluctance in Flanders to use quality of service criteria in the comfort classification
hotel schemes as they are thought to be subjective. The aptitude and the politeness of staff are more difficult
to evaluate and are thought to vary according to the inspector’s expectations.
Over the recent years, however, both the regional and national tourism organisations as well as the hotel
sector have come to realize that a new quality approach for hotels is needed mainly for two reasons.
First, research shows that customer satisfaction is very much interrelated with the quality of service.
(Browning et al 2013) Hospitality is a key success factor in customer satisfaction. The hotel licensing and
comfort classification system in the Flemish Region provides for the basic infrastructural conditions.
However the customer has no guarantee that he will receive a hospitable treatment no matter in which
licensed and star rated hotel he is staying.
Second,as mentioned earlier in this paper,the hotel star rating is nowadays no longer the only criterion for
choosing a hotel. Word of mouth advertising by friends and acquaintances is still the number one source of
inspiration when it comes to holiday accommodation. Next to recommendations, the hotel choice greatly
depends on reviews on hotel booking sites and comments on social media. Evaluations on the internet by
peers tend to have a larger credibility than the objective evaluation of an independent governmental body.
(Browning et al 2013)
These findings have led to the development of a new quality approach for hotels in the Flemish Region. In
2012, Visit Flanders decided to set up a project, called the quality radar, which focuses on the improvement
of the service quality of hotels. The central objective of this quality radar is the improvement of the customer
satisfaction in view of a higher competitiveness for the entrepreneur and a better reputation of Flanders as a
quality destination.This case will be presented extensively below.
2. Case study: Designing a Quality ‘System’ for Hotels in Flanders using Service Design principles
and an Integral Quality Approach
2.1 Desk Research on Quality Systems and Approaches in Europe
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Quality approaches
According to Garvin (1988), there are five different angles to define quality:

The product-oriented approach
The product-oriented approach is based on the specific properties or characteristics that must be present
in a product or service. These properties should be accurately measurable. Quality based on a productoriented approach can be assessed objectively. A product or service is good if it meets the service – or
product requirements.

The customer-oriented approach
In this approach, the client determines the quality. If the experienced service corresponds to the
expectations of the customer, then that service quality is good. Since the customers have different needs
and wants, quality is judged according to the person. Unlike the product-oriented approach, this is a
subjective judgment. Service providers therefore must try to figure out what expectations certain target
groups have.

The process-oriented approach
In this approach, the requirements of the production and service process are essential. According to the
American quality guru Philip Crosby – a production or service delivery should aim at preventing errors
("zero defects"). The production and service process should be as good as possible so that the output
meets the specifications.
This means that if a service or product design or specification has been defined, any deviation will
constitute a deterioration in quality. Only if the production staff or service providers adhere to the
requirements established for the production – or service process, the sound quality is obtained.

The value-oriented approach
This approach focuses on the best value for money. There is an assumption of quality if the product or
service is obtained at an acceptable price or at acceptable costs. Of interest here is the added value for the
customer.

The transcendent or philosophical approach
This approach considers quality as universal, that is, for all apparent. With this approach, it is impossible
to define or to exactly measure quality. Quality is considered as something beyond discussion. No one
doubts the quality of French Grand Cru wines or the service of Singapore Airlines. The product has a
good reputation, allowing people to have confidence in the quality.
All approaches have their own premises and drawbacks but for Visit Flanders the customer oriented approach
is most in line with the broader objectives of the organization. This approach has its limitations as it, for
example, does not take into account the needs of staffor the consequences for the environment for a
sustainable business operation.
Visit Flanders consequently used aspects of the integral quality approach for destinations (IQM), asdefined
by the European Commission (European Communities 2000; 2003), to complement the chosen customer
oriented perspective and to apply it to, in this case, the hotel sector. For a tourist destination, IQM can be
defined as a systematic quest for internal and external quality, i.e. economic improvement in the short term
and local development in the long term. Internal quality is the value that tourists receive throughout the chain
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of experiences characterising their visit from theinitial information that they receive prior to departure right
down to the ‘after-sales’ service.
This chain includes private links (private services purchased directly at market price) and public services such
as general publicity, road maintenance, water management, public cleanliness, security, etc. Internal quality
has short-term aims. External quality means the development of sustainable tourism with a rational and
renewable use of resources such as territory, energy, water, natural resources, the heritage, etc., in order to
prevent problems of congestion. The aim of external quality is one of long-term equilibrium (European
Communities 2000; 2003).
IQM combines four key elements:




Tourist satisfaction, which primarily consists of regularly monitoring the tourists’ levels of satisfaction
with the services in the destination.
Local tourism industry satisfaction, a key activity of IQM involves evaluating the quality of the
jobs and the careers of industry employees, as well as the well-being of local tourism enterprises.
Local people’s quality of life, concern for the well-being of residents means that a destination
should find out what the resident population thinks of the effects of tourism.
Environmental quality, measures of the positive or negative impact of tourism on the environment, i.e.
the destination’s natural, cultural and man-made assets.
In summary, a customer oriented approach is chosen complemented with an eye for both the environmental
consequences, the impact on local people’s lives and the relevance of employee satisfaction.
Integrated quality management for hotels
Integrated quality management for a hotel is defined by us as a systematic quest for internal and external
quality, i.e. economic efficiency and the increase of competitiveness in the short term and the care for
sustainable development in the long term. We establish, based on our literature review, the following
characteristics of an integral quality approach for hotels:




It focuses on continuous quality improvement
It covers all aspects of the visitors cycle
It is process oriented and not product oriented
It takes into account different dimensions (service vs. infrastructure vs business processes)
The main focus is on customer satisfaction but since employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction,
both are equally important (Harter et al 2002).Visit Flanders has a longstanding tradition in developing and
promoting accessible and sustainable tourism. It developed and implemented the accessibility label and the
Green Key label for accommodations in the Flemish region. An integral quality approach combines customer
satisfaction with the values of Visit Flanders such as sustainability and accessibility. The project was called
the quality radar, aiming on the one hand at the different dimensions, namely people management (software),
organisational and business processes (orgware) and infrastructure (hardware), and on the other hand the
quality observer/evaluator , be it the visitor, an ‘objective’ mystery visitor/audit or Visit Flanders as a
governmental agency.
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2.3. Service Design as an overall Approach
Visit Flanders was led by service design principles when developing this quality vision.Service design is an
evolving way of thinking which makes the experiences your organization deliver useful, usable, efficient,
effective and desirable (Thompson 2014).Service design is:





User-centered
Services should be experienced through the customer’s eyes.
Co-creative
All stakeholders should be included in the service design process.
Sequencing
The service should be visualized as a sequence of interrelated actions.
Evidencing
Intangible services should be visualized in terms of physical artifacts.
Holistic
The entire environment of a service should be considered.
For tourism destinations or tourism enterprises, service design is a framework to achieve an empathic
understanding of the tourist experience (Thompson 2014).
The better tourism entrepreneurs understand the overall service experience, the better they can make the
experience.
Service design techniques and instruments were used with two customer perspectives in mind:

the perspective of the hotelier as a future customer using (parts of) the quality radar

the perspective of the visitor/tourist using hotel accommodation
To envisage the needs of the hoteliers and its staff, we involved all stakeholders from the early beginning of
the process. The main partner in the project is the professional association for the hotel sector,
HorecaVlaanderen, representing the majority of the hotelsin Flanders. Visit Flanders installed a steering
committee with representatives of HorecaVlaanderen, hoteliers and representatives of local professional
associations. Each 3 months the steering committee discusses the progress of the project.
This type of stakeholder management is of great importance to guarantee the success of the quality system.
At any time the hoteliers can give feedback on the decisions made during the project. Before the general
launch of the quality system, foreseen in December 2014 it will be tested in 10 hotels. These hotels are
willing to invest time and energy to test the instruments and to give feedback on aspects such as price,
approach, communication and user-friendliness of the of the digital platform.Other stakeholders involved in
the project are tourist boards on the regional and local level, associations of entrepreneurs and educational
institutions. All of them can contribute to the project via their engagement to co-createthe project, to motivate
their hotel managers and to advise the steering committee.
To help hoteliers improve their customer satisfaction, the quality radar offers them different principles and
techniques of service design, namely:
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
a personalized customer survey and a digital tool to follow-up on the evolutions in customer
satisfaction and to benchmark customer satisfaction with competitors

profilingcustomers by making persona’s

customer journeymapping, detecting where and when the customer comes in contact with the hotel

a service blue print. This is a powerful tool to gain a customer’s perspective on what kind of service
they want and where there lie potential problems or obstacles to achieve this. It is a systematic
method to analyze and represent the steps in a service process from a customer’s perspective which
helps to understand what customers expect from a service and what sequence of events they
experience during a service process (Faché 2009).

the involvement of staff as a basic principle. The role of the employee or staff is very important.
Frontline employees have direct contact and interaction with the guests and they are therefore critical
elements in the chain of service quality. Engaged and satisfied employees provide a better service.
2.4 The Development of a Support Program for Hotels
Visit Flanders has developed an approach which focusses on the monitoring of quality, the improvement of
quality in relation to all dimensions of a hotel and a tailor-made business support program. Belowwe
elaborate on the different steps of this process.
2.4.1Mapping the Needs of Hotel Guests
For the hotel sector it is important to comprehend the needs and expectations of the guests to deliver high
quality services. To gain insight in the needs and preferences of hotels guests, Visit Flanders conducted such
a customer survey among hotel visitors from Belgium, The Netherlands, UK, France and Germany who had,
in the previous 12 months before the survey,stayed in a hotel in Flanders1. The survey questions were
developed with the customer journey in mind and were designed to map customer needs. Forty needs were
chosen as the basis for the ensuing instrument development. These needs are considered to be representative
for all guests’ needs, irrespective of age, nationality, gender…
2.4.2 Tools and Techniques of Service Design used for our Quality System
2.4.2.1 Customer Survey
A central question in many organizations is: How do we get started on quality-improvement? Research shows
that a service quality check (customer survey and benchmarking ) is the most effective way to start because it
makes staff aware of what customers want and do not want and in particular, to highlight the organization’s
service failings (Zeithaml et al 1990; Burnes 2004). Moreover, the results of a survey and a benchmark
confront all employees of a company with facts they did not know before, e.g. differences between the
service expectations expressed by the customers and the supposed expectations of the employees (Faché
1
Visit Flanders did this in cooperation withMöbius, a Belgian business consulting company.
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2004; 2009). Based on the reported 40 needs a more detailed and specific customer survey was designed,
resulting in a first service design instrument, namely a customer survey.
This proposed survey consists of three parts. The first quantitative part entails an overall evaluation of the
service. The second part presents 10 statements about quality, which are specific for each type of hospitality
and tourism service (e.g. specific for hotels). This basic framework can per hotel be complemented with a
maximum of three-context-specific items. These actual site specific statements can change per year if
necessary, in order to evaluate, for example, changes in the service concept. The management of each
business decides upon the complementary items.In the third qualitative part, the respondent is asked to
present in his/her own words the things he/she considered excellent, any points of improvement and any extra
comments he/she might want to add to the completed survey.
These answers can help the service provider to interpret the quantitative findings and inspire ideas for further
service improvement.
2.4.2.2 Self-scan
A second developed instrument is a self-scan. This is a low-threshold survey of 31 questions to be filled out
by hoteliers to give them insight into certain aspects of their business operations, in particular their economic
management, HR, corporate social responsibility, partnerships, innovation, service and infrastructure.
The hotelier can answer on a scale of 1 to 5, ranging from ‘no action taken yet ' to ' action is structurally
embedded in the organization '.The self-scan incorporates questions, some of which are less important for the
immediate gratification of the customer, but which aim at the sustainable development of the company in the
long term.
2.4.2.3 Mystery visit
The aim of a mystery visit is to determine on the basis of certain criteria whether and to what extentservice
quality aspects are present. This mystery visit is focused on service quality aspects and is not productoriented. The mere presence of for instance free WIFI or accessories in the bathroom, does not guarantee that
the service provided is hospitable.Based on an initial set of objective criteria the mystery visitor will evaluate
a hotel’s service quality.
There is, however, room for input from the hotel itself as every hotelier has to determine within its own hotel
concept what quality entails and how quality principles are embedded. There can be, as such, extra hotelspecific criteria added to the evaluation. Visit Flanders has no intention to create a uniform mystery visit
checklist,since this would only slow down innovation and creativity. Consequently, mystery auditing is
tailor-made, anticipating the quality requirements of each individual hotel. The question list contains of about
130 questions and most of them are phrased as such that objective answers are possible.
2.4.2.4 Inventory of Instruments to improve Quality – ‘Menu’
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An inventory of existing supporting quality tools set up by all partners in the consortium is available for all
hoteliers. New tools will be developed when there is a clear need based on the results of the customer survey,
mystery visits and self- scan.
2.4.2.5A tailor-made Advise Program by Hotel Consultants
The customer survey and self-scan to measure and follow-up on quality are free of charge and can be used by
all hoteliers. However, other existing quality systems have shown that merely putting quality measurement
tools and instruments to improve quality at the disposal of hoteliers is not enough.
The question is how to act upon the results of the customer satisfaction and how to structurally integrate a
quality strategy for the business, in line with the hotel concept and also involving all the staff members?In the
test phase, two hotel consultants are recruited as external advisers for Visit Flanders. The pool will be
extended to 5 when the project is up and running. These consultants have extensive experience in the
business as hotel manager or as business management advisers.
The hotelier can subscribe for a tailor-made advise program.
The underlying objectives of this program are:



to give the hotelier an insight in the different aspects of quality.
to guide the hotelier in formulating objectives and setting up improvement actions
to intrinsically motivate the hotelier/organisation to permanently work on quality once he is
experiencing the benefits of this system
Every hotelier can, after registering on the platform, access the customer survey and the self-scan for free. A
hotelier, however, can also decide to sign up, on this platform, for the complete support program which also
includes a mystery visit and the advice of a hotel consultant. This complete support program is not free of
charge.
We describe briefly the ensuing steps a hotelier has to take to engage in the complete package.
Phase 1: preparatory/analytical phase
If the hotelier signs up for the support program, he agrees to implement the online customer survey and to
truthfully fill out the self-scan.
The consultant does research on the hotel through the website, social media and, by looking at the results of a
customer survey and the self-scan.
The hotelier has an intake interview with the hotelier to get acquainted with the company, its quality
approach and the main bottlenecks. A mystery audit takes place , followed by a detailed report of the mystery
visitor who lays down the main weaknesses and strengths of the delivered service. Upon request of the
hotelier, the mystery visit can address certain service aspects more in depth.
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Phase 2: time for action
The hotelier and consultant discuss the results of the mystery visit and link them to the other quality tool
results. They agree on what actions should be taken within a period of six months to a year with the overall
aim of improving general customer satisfaction. These actions can cover all areas of the company2.
Phase 3: monitoring phase
When all necessary actions to improve quality, are in place, the hotelier receives a second mystery visit. This
mystery visit report, the evolution in customer satisfaction and the results of the self-scan, to be filled out a
second time, form a consistent base for evaluation. Visit Flanders considers the program to be successful if
customer satisfaction’s level has increased and if the hotelier has structurally integrated quality assurance in
his business operations. Consequently he is committed to make use of a mystery visit or a consultant at a
regular base in the future.
2.4.2.6 Online Monitoring Platform
To register and monitor the data from the results of the customer survey, the self-scan and the mystery visit,
an online monitoring platform is developed. The monitoring platform gathers the following information:

It measures and benchmarks customer satisfaction and the results of the self-scan for a hotelier

It gives an actual overview of all instruments related to quality improvement and directly matches the
individual results of a hotelier and suggested tools to improve.

It can register the action plan and results of the undertaken actions as a way for hoteliers and hotel
consultants to commonly follow-up on quality measures.

It enables regional and local government bodies and professional organizations to monitor quality, detect
flaws and if warranted, take the necessary measures in their own region or domain.
3. Conclusions
Visit Flanders’ goal is to reach half of its hotels with this quality system in the upcoming 5 years (20152020). This means that at least 100 hotels each year will have to register in our digital platform and use one
or more quality instruments.
In 2014 all the instruments, the support program, the digital platform, the communication, and price
settingwill be tested in 10 hotels. These 10 hotels were selected based on their location and star rating to
reflect all segments of the hotel accommodation chain. They have engaged themselves to test and give
feedback on the quality system.
We meet our goals if we increase customer satisfaction by 2020 and if the principles of quality assurance are
embedded in hotels. Targeted side effects of the quality radar are:
2
Two actions are highly recommended namely creating a service blue print and involving all staff in the quality actions.
90




to generate the awareness that quality is an overall objective, integrated in all aspects of your
business
a better co-operation between all stakeholders
a higher employee satisfaction
a marketing of Flanders as a qualitative destination
This quality service system for hotels fits in with the bigger objectives of Visit Flanders with its overall goal
to develop an integrated quality management system forthe whole of Flanders as a tourist destination.
Bibliography
Press-release: Anon. (2014), International tourism exceeds expectations with arrivals up by 52 million in
2013, UNWTO website, available at: http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-01-20/international-tourismexceeds-expectations-arrivals-52-million-2013
Decree: Anon. (2012) Het Vlaamse Toeristische Logiesdecreet en uitvoeringsbesluiten, website
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versie%20van%20het%20Toeristische%20Logiesdecreet%20en%20de%20uitvoeringsbesluiten_1.pdf
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Tourism marketing, 30 (1-2), pp. 23-40.
Book: Burnes, (2004)Managing Change. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
Study: European Communities (2000), Towards quality coastal tourism. Integrated Quality Management
(IQM) of coastal tourist destinations. DG Enterprise website, available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/files/studies/towards_quality_tourism_rural_urban_coastal/iqm
_coastal_en.pdf
Manual: European Communities (2003), A manual for evaluating the quality performance of tourist
destinations and services. DG Enterprise website, available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/files/studies/evaluation_quality_performance/qualitest_manual_
en.pdf
Journal : Faché, W. (2004). ‘Une culture de qualité de service orientée client’, in J. Spindler (Ed.), Le
tourisme au XXIe siècle. Paris : L’Harmattan
91
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and hospitality organization’, in The International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism (AIEST)
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(Nederlandse editie), 17 (4), 118-120.
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3, 52-55.
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Simon and Schuster.
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between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta
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available at:http://travel2dot0.com/ideas/service-design-important-tourism-organizations/
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92
A SPATIAL PANEL ANALYSIS ON REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND PRICE COMPETITION OF
SUPER-DELUXE HOTELS IN SEOUL
Seul Ki Lee
College of Hospitality & Tourism Management
Sejong University
Seoul, Republic of Korea
ABSTRACT
The theories on spatial price competition has been widely referred to in explaining products inherently similar
in geography and quality dimensions. Yet, the products analyzed in literature have low variance of price over
time and/or considerably high homogeneity. The hotel industry has high price variance even in a short
timespan with well-known product heterogeneity in a number of attributes, as well as complexity in pricing
scheme as pre-consumption purchase is possible. For hotels that aim to increase occupancy rate and
maximize financial performance through revenue management prices should remain competitive, but this
may lead to price competition against hotels of high substitutability. Therefore, this study attempts to analyze
the revenue management of Super-Deluxe hotels in Seoul, and the effects of induced spatial price
competition. Findings are discussed with respect to the theoretical and management implications of the study.
Key Words: lodging industry, price competition, revenue management, product differentiation, luxury hotels
93
A NOVEL APPROACH TO STUDYING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR FOR THE TOURISM AND
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIES USING VERBAL ANALYSIS PROTOCOLS AND WIRELESS
AUDIO-VISUAL OBSERVATION
Anna-Maria Saarela
Savonia University of Applied Sciences (UAS),
Faculty of Business, Tourism and Culture,
Kuopio, Finland
ABSTRACT
To understand consumer behavior, it is essential to obtain accurate information collected in real-life
environments. It is therefore important to use diverse methods and types of equipment when performing
consumer research. This paper highlights the benefits of using verbal analysis protocols in conjunction with
wireless audio-visual observation technology for data gathering in consumer research. The uniqueness of the
approach lies in its ability to provide in situ information. The new approach facilitates the use of consumer
input to direct innovation and consumer-oriented product development in the tourism and hospitality
industries.
Key Words: consumer research, field study, verbal analysis protocol, observation, product development,
service development
INTRODUCTION
The study of accurate information gathered in real-life environments is essential for understanding consumer
behavior in variable situations. This necessitates the use of diverse methods and equipment when performing
consumer research (Kingstone, Smilek, Ritsic, Kelland-Friesen, & Eastwood, 2002, Banwell, Hinde, Dixon,
& Sibthorpe, 2005, Mikkelsen, 2011, Glanz, Bader, & Iyer, 2012). Consumers select different kind of
products and services by weighing several simultaneous needs whose origins may be extrinsic or intrinsic
(Olson, 1972, Blackwell, Miniard, & Engel, 2006, Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard, & Hogg, 2006, Strack,
Werth, & Deutsch, 2006).
In addition to the consumer’s need for a product or service, their purchase decisions will be significantly
influenced by their past experiences (Blackwell, Miniard, & Engel, 2006, Strack, Werth, & Deutsch, 2006)
and expectations of product quality. These previous experiences are known as intrinsic cues. However,
consumers are also exposed to an enormous number of environmental stimuli (“extrinsic cues”) that may
influence their decisions (Olson, 1972, Hamlin, 2010). Therefore, data on consumer behavior and product
selection should be collected in contexts where consumers can use information they consider relevant to the
decision making process. As such, data collected in laboratories or via surveys and questionnaires may have
little relevance to real-world decision making (Ericsson & Simon, 1993, Makri, Blandforda, & Cox, 2011).
In the tourism and hospitality industry, successful product and service management requires the constant
exploitation of novel consumer-oriented research approaches. To this end, this paper presents a novel stateof-the-art approach to consumer research based on a verbal analysis protocol (VAP) that is used in
conjunction with wireless audio-visual observation technology (WAVO) to collected information about
consumer behavior in real-life tourism and hospitality environments. The paper also discusses environments
in which the new approach can be applied.
94
METHODS
The novel approach was piloted and developed during a study conducted in a real-life supermarket setting.
The overall pilot study design has been described at length and is based on wireless audio-visual observation
of subjects as they make their purchase decisions in conjunction with a think-aloud protocol (Saarela,
Keinänen, & Rissanen, 2012, Saarela 2013a, 2013b, Saarela, Kantanen, Lapveteläinen, Mykkänen,
Karppinen, & Rissanen, 2013a, Saarela, Lapveteläinen, Mykkänen, Kantanen, & Rissanen 2013b).
In brief, the approach relies on three pieces of technology: the consumer’s unit (a microphone and a camera
attached to the consumer’s head), the researcher’s unit (a microphone), and a unit located inside a shopping
cart operated by the technician. The researcher was responsible for implementing the conversational VAP by
walking with the study subject and periodically reminding him or her to keep thinking aloud while doing their
shopping. The researcher responded to the subject only via nonverbal signals (nodding the head, making eye
contact etc.) to show that she was following the subject’s thoughts and that she was interested, or by making a
neutral comment. If the subject stopped speaking for a while (at most 15-60 s depending on the
circumstances), the researcher used standardized non-leading sentences to encourage dialog, such as “What
are you thinking?” In the standard VAP the researcher does not respond to the subject’s questions or
comments to avoid interrupting the process. (Ericsson & Simon, 1993)
All of the gathered data (including audio-visual material) were analyzed using Noldus’ Observer XT 2.0
software package. The verbal analysis data were sorted using a database program and quantitative data were
processed using SPSS.
RESULTS
The simultaneous use of multiple data-gathering methods makes it possible to collect several forms of
qualitative and quantitative information by recording data simultaneously from different perspectives and
sources, namely the consumer’s visual range, the wider study environment (which provides useful contextual
information), and the consumer’s verbalizations. Rich, real-time data are collected by recording the subject’s
comments and point of view. Table 1 illustrates the wide range of data that can be gathered using the new
approach by listing all of the data collection methods that were used in the pilot supermarket study alongside
the qualitative and quantitative information obtained by each method.
Table 1
Data Collection Methods Used During the Supermarket Shopping Study and Details of the Qualitative and
Quantitative Data Gathered
Method / Data Collector
Initial Conversation &
Orienting Interview with
subject / Researcher
Variables / Themes on which Quantitative and Qualitative Data were
Collected
Notes (recorded in the research diary) were made providing general and
relevant information concerning the consumer’s background, presence, and
behavior based on comments made during small talk
Recorded Information Concerning Products on Consumer’s Shopping List
(average 10 items per list):
Manufacturer and brand
Frequency of selection of the product
Scope for replacing the product
Importance of special offers, product demonstrations, and advertisements
95
Verbal Analysis Protocol
(VAP) / Researcher
Wireless Audio
Documentation during
VAP / Technician
Consumer’s food choice decision paths and individual decision processes
Differences between the selection of familiar products, unfamiliar products,
and impulse purchases
Selection factors governing food choice and explanations:
Consumer’s habits – whether they usually buy specific selected products,
how often they buy a given product, how they normally go about collecting
products…
General product factors that bear on consumer’s needs, attitudes, and values,
e.g. speed and ease of preparation; price; health effects; being organic;
novelty; freshness, being locally produced
Issues related to product packaging, e.g. size, appearance, labels, ease of
opening …
Preferences concerning product characteristics, e.g. ingredients, taste, texture
…
Comments relating to nutrition and energy/fat/carbohydrate/sugar/fiber
content
Manual Observation during
VAP / Trained Assistant
Duration of the shopping trip
The order in which the consumer collected products
The following variables were observed during the selection of every product
…
… whether the consumer paid attention to the supermarket’s signals
… whether the consumer looked at shelf markings / labels on the front of
package / elsewhere
… whether the consumer requested help from a salesperson / researcher
Amount of consumer movement in front of a product category: a lot / a
moderate amount/ relatively little
Number and names of products considered before making final selection
Placement of the ultimately selected product on the store’s shelves: high /
middle / low
Time taken to select product: much / average / little
Reason for product choice
Whether the product had been on the consumer’s mind prior to entering the
store.
Wireless Visual
Observation during VAP /
Technician
The technician examined the same variables as were considered during the
manual observation to provide verification of the results and also made some
additional observations using the cameras:
Camera on trolley:
Used to trace the consumer’s walking route so it could be recreated
Used to observe stimuli in the shopping environment, e.g. shelf labels, ranges
of products, accessibility of sales staff…
Camera on consumer’s head:
Used to gather data on which products the consumer examined, the timing
and duration of the examinations, and the number of products that were
examined
Product Analysis during
VAP / Researcher &
Information on the following aspects of each selected product was recorded:
Product name, manufacturer and package size
96
Trained Assistant
Energy content (kcal / 100g) and contents of fat, carbohydrates, and fiber
(g/100g)
All the nutritional labels in on the front of the packaging (GDA data, the
Finnish Heart Symbol, labels related to energy, fat, carbohydrates, sugars,
fiber …)
Number of labels on each package
Price of product in €/kg, €/l
Photo of product (for qualitative photo analysis)
Product’s representativeness of typical choice
Frequency of product usage
Whether the consumer paid attention to the labels on the, on the front of the
packaging, or the product’s nutritional data
Difficulty / ease of choosing the product
The extent to which the consumer was thinking about weight management
when selecting each product
The consumer’s self-assessment of product suitability for weight
management
Questionnaire on Nutrition
Knowledge after VAP
exercise
The sources the subject used to gather nutrition information and the
frequency at which they sought such information
53 structured questions were asked relating to the subjects’:
Understanding of nutritional terms (energy, fat, carbohydrates, and especially
sugar and fiber)
Awareness of dietary recommendations
Knowledge of food sources and which foods contain which nutrients
Awareness of package labels (GDA, Finnish Heart Symbol, fiber content)
Final Interview &
Feedback Conversation /
Researcher
Subjects were asked various structured and open questions about their:
Behavior at the supermarket
Habits at home before and after shopping, and when making purchases
Opinions about the supermarkets’ environment
Self-assessment of the frequency at which they looked at information on food
products’ energy, fat, carbohydrates, sugar, and fiber contents
Ideas for improving the labeling of food packaging materials
Background, including demographic and nutritional characteristics
General experiences during the shopping trip
DISCUSSION
The method developed during the pilot study allowed the researchers to collect large amounts of accurate
verbal and visual information on the interactions between extrinsic and intrinsic cues as consumers made
their shopping decisions (Saarela, Kantanen, Lapveteläinen, Mykkänen, Karppinen, & Rissanen, 2013a). The
combination of VAP with other qualitative methods (observations and interviews) and wireless monitoring
techniques provides a greater breadth of data and scope for analysis than was possible in earlier studies that
relied solely on interviews or questionnaires from a retrospective viewpoint (Kingstone, Smilek, Ritsic,
Kelland-Friesen, & Eastwood, 2002, Banwell, Hinde, Dixon, & Sibthorpe, 2005, Mikkelsen, 2011, Glanz,
Bader, & Iyer, 2011, Makri, Blandforda, & Cox, 2011).
97
Since the supermarket pilot study was completed, several investigations using similar approaches have been
conducted in different field environments including grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions.
The study protocols and technologies used in the pilot study were readily adapted for use in these diverse
contexts. The novel VAP-WAVO approach thus seems to be well suited for a wide range of consumer and
customer service situations where it is necessary to collect information on the interactions between people,
products and services (Savonia UAS, 2014).
The developed methodology generates both quantitative and qualitative data on consumer behavior and is
compatible with a range of study designs that are relevant to the fields of tourism and hospitality. A major
strength of the approach is that in interactive environments such as supermarkets, restaurants and hotel
receptions, study subjects may find it more natural to communicate with a person who accompanies them
than to talk to themselves. Therefore, by having the researcher walk with the subject while also recording
their behavior using wireless monitoring devices, it is possible to collect extensive accurate qualitative data
on extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect decision making and to obtain insights into consumers’ thoughts
during product selection. Our method also provides quantitative data from several different perspectives
relating to product and service selection in real situations (Saarela, Keinänen, & Rissanen, 2012, Saarela
2013a, 2013b, Saarela, Kantanen, Lapveteläinen, Mykkänen, Karppinen, & Rissanen, 2013a, Saarela,
Lapveteläinen, Mykkänen, Kantanen, & Rissanen 2013b, Savonia UAS, 2014).
The methodology described herein provides large amounts of data on consumers’ interactions with real-life
environments. The uniqueness of the approach lies in its ability to provide in situ information, i.e. data
obtained in real-time at the point where the consumer interacts with his/her environs. Such information
cannot be obtained using other methods (Saarela, Kantanen, Lapveteläinen, Mykkänen, Karppinen, &
Rissanen, 2013a). After-the-fact methods such as questionnaires or interviews require consumers to recall
from memory details of their product/service selection experience, while methods that use simulated
environments or laboratory settings may yield very different results to studies conducted in real-world
environments (Ericsson, & Simon, 1993, Makri, Blandforda, & Cox, 2011).
The new approach is a useful technique that facilitates the use of consumer input to direct innovation in
consumer-oriented product development within the tourism and hospitality industries. It also provides a way
for conscious consumers to support and express their demands for more targeted services. Data collected
using the VAP-WAVO technique provide new insights into purchase decisions and consumer behavior,
which is likely to be useful when designing new products or shopping/purchase/consumer service
environments to effectively meet the needs of targeted consumers or accommodate specific behaviors.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The pilot study was a part of the multidisciplinary “Consumers on the weight management market” (20092011) investigation, which analyzed consumers’ daily choices and experiences of food products related to
weight management, and aimed to identify factors that increased individuals’ motivation to change their
behavior. During the pilot project, the VAP-WAVO methodology and the associated technologies were
developed to study consumer behavior in real life settings. The pilot project was carried out cooperatively by
six universities and research institutes in Finland and was funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for
Technology and Innovation, universities and research institutes as well as eight Finnish food companies.
Since the pilot project’s completion, the VAP-WAVO approach has been used to collect authentic consumeroriented data in different environments for various purposes including commercial product and service
development.
The authors wish to acknowledge Ms. Tammela M.Sc. for recruiting the study subjects, Ms. Meriläinen and
Ms. Perttula for their assistance with data collection, and Ms. Rajapolvi for her assistance with the verbal
analysis transcription. We are also grateful to the retailer, Mr. Kostilainen, who made it possible to collect
data at the supermarket, and the consumers who participated in this study.
98
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SUPPLIER ANALYSIS OF HOSPITALITY SECTOR:CASE OF ALANYA
Güliz Salihoğlu
Gebze Institute of Technology
Kocaeli, Turkey
and
Ferhan Gezici Korten
Istanbul Technical University
İstanbul, Turkey
ABSTRACT
Aim of the study is the determination of the geographical distribution of suppliers of hotels in the scope of
secondary economic impacts of tourism. In this context, the following questions are attempted to answer: In
which groups of products and services that hotels are need, can be provided from the destination? Which of
them are linking the hotels to local, regional or national context? Is there any difference between the linkages
of different size of hotels? The research is conducted in Alanya, which is one the most important destinations
of Turkey, owing to its natural attraction and long season period.
Key Words: supplier geography, hospitality sector, supplier selection criteria, Alanya
INTRODUCTION
Tourism is one of the economic sectors, which plays an important role in development in terms of creating
new business areas and employment, generating income and multiplier effects on the other related sectors.
The contribution of tourism to the economic development depends on its own progress and accordingly
competitive characteristics of the destinations and products. Even though, the economic contribution of
tourism generally analysed based on the number of tourist and the generated income, there are increasing
numbers of tourism studies have tried to explain the primary and secondary effect of the sector within the
different scale of regional economy.
In the supply side of tourism, hospitality industry has been a subject of many studies, because of its more
complex connections with other sectors.
101
The qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the supply of accommodation have a direct influence on the
success and development of tourist destinations. Within the scope of the hospitality industry, it becomes
important that how the industry, which in the need of the strong local and global linkages, meets the needs of
goods and services in terms of the appropriate quality at the lowest cost in order to enhance the
competitiveness. In addition, hospitality industry is claimed to be responsible for more than the other units of
tourism on the local linkages of business, employees, and suppliers and more generally, on the residents of
the region. Sourcing other products and services from local suppliers is an effective way to expand economic
opportunities through core business activities. From the perspective of hospitality industry, products can
include food & beverage, guest amenities, hotel equipment; and services can include laundry, gardening,
transport, entertainment, legal counselling etc. Also during construction phases, hotel can use local
contractors and generating other sort of income. Similar applications can create more skilled local enterprise
in long-term.
The economic contributions of the tourism sector to the area are usually expressed with the indicators, such
as the tourist expenditures and the share of the tourism in GDP; however, there have been some researches
about supply relationships in the literature (Gezici and Küçüksarı, 2012; Anderson and Juma, 2011; Romero
and Tejada, 2011;Telfer and Wall, 2010; Meyer, 2007; Clancy, 1998). In these studies, it is commonly
reported that the linkages between tourism industry (accommodation, food and beverage, tour operators and
transportation companies) and the local economy should be strengthened in order to provide the regional
economic gains.
The study aims to clarify the supplier relationship of hospitality industry, and to map the supply
networkofhotels’ purchases in order to find out the spatial distribution of suppliers in Alanya and
surroundings. Also, wehave analyzed that if there is any difference of suppliers’ distribution according to the
size of hotels and any agglomeration of suppliers according to product groups. Additionally, supplier
selection criteria were questioned in order to evaluate the suppliers’ geography in the context of the most
important criteria that purchasing managers’ care about. The data are collected by in-depth interviews with
purchasing managers of 30 hotels inAlanya.
SUPPLY RELATIONS IN HOSPITALITY SECTOR
Tourism industry is an economic activity, which is providing products and services in order to meet the
demands of tourists. Visitors demand, use and consume various products and services. There has not been a
single sector which meets the tourist needs because of the different products are consumed by the visitors.
Thus, tourism can be defined as collection of businesses, which are providing services directly to facilitate
business, entertainment and recreational activities (Yarcan, 2006).Smith (1998) also argues that the tourism
industry is unlike any other industry so it can be assumed that the tourism industry's primary product can be
conceptualized as an experience involving all aspects of a trip. Thus, tourism product can be identifed as
including five elements: a physical element; a service; hospitality; personal choice; and involvement by the
visitor. And also, the process of producing the tourism product involves four other stages and linking the
former elements: the input of land, labor and capital; the input of facilities (parks, hotels, museums, etc.); the
output of services (interpretation, souvenirs, accommodation, etc.); and the final output of experiences
(recreation, relaxation, memories, etc.).
102
Improving all sorts of quality standards in tourism destinations is an essential factor not only to meet tourists’
needs and satisfy them and but also increasing the competitiveness of the tourism industry and sustainable
tourism development. The success of a destination depending on the satisfaction of the tourist has several
interdependent components. According to European Commission Report(2000), tourism requires a large
number of links between tour operators, travel agents, hotels, other service providers and suppliers of all
touristic facilities in order to maintain itself, because the tourism itself is a fragile, perishable, extremely
diversified and fragmented product(European Commission Report , 2000).
There has been a great interest in accommodation sector within the tourism research literature, since the
accommodation sector is defined at the forefront of the tourism sector. In addition, this sector is claimed to be
responsible for more than the other units of tourism on the local communication lines of business, employees,
suppliers, and, more generally, on the inhabitants of the region (Stynes, 1997; Sharpley, 2000; Hawkins et al.,
2006; Meyer, 2007).According to Crouch (2000), in tourism industry, consumers (visitors) and destination
interaction is both significant and highly complex because of visitors contact with a large number of service
providers from many different tourism enterprises during their destination experiences. For example, in the
case of accommodation which is an element of tourism attraction, Meyer (2007) illustrates the different
linkage opportunities between the hospitality sector and the local businesses of destination (Figure 1.).
Figure 1.Potential linkages between the hospitality sector and thelocal businesses (Meyer, 2007)
As an important behaviour in today’s competitive environment, accommodation units are trying to reduce
their costs and increase their gains as well as generate new facilities.Procurement of goods and services are
the one of the main fields of cost in the accommodation units. Even though relations with suppliers
considered as an operation management strategy in the hotel and other service industries, they can use this
strategy to help add value to their properties and gain competitive advantage (Odoom, 2012; Sakhuja and
Jain, 2012).
Meyer (2007) argues that the impact of tourism on the development of the local economy can be best
followed by investigating the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Also, in this
regard, the author refers that it is deceptive to investigation of international organization’s investments in
domestic market, because these organizations are dragging the tourism into the more foreign-sourced
structure, and prevent the development of SMEs. It is possible to see some researches, questioning the
relationship between the development of SMEs and the tourism sector in the literature (Wanhill, 2000;
Tinsleyand Lynch, 2001; Romero and Tejada, 2011; Thomaset al., 2011). In one of these researches, Romero
and Tejada (2011) have analyzed SMEs and large companies whether there are differences in terms of their
103
contribution to the regional economy, and have determined that SMEs contribute more than large companies
do. Brohman (1996) also mentions the effective influence of SMEs. According to author, the low multiplier
effect of tourism can be seen at areas where large-scale foreign partners’ facilities are concentrated, while the
high multiplier effects occur in areas with small-scale, local entrepreneur-owned businesses. Therefore; the
latter can be seen in the destination which has more relationship with the local economy.
Advanced businesses establish economic relations between SMEs and local communities in a variety of form
and create local linkages. Hence, tourism is creating economic advantage for low-income groups. In this
context, it’s important to establish a relationship between the firm and the local economy rather than the
cross-industry relations at the firm level, consideringthe main reason for the creation of the supply chain is
these relationships. In addition, local linkages create areas of expertise and develop capital accumulation so
that they contribute to local communities (ODI, 2006). Especially in developing countries, local communities
have to take part in supply chains in order to provide economic benefits from tourism sector (ODI, 2009).
Font et al. (2008) states that accommodation, transport, tour agencies and food, drink and crafts firms
constitute four main sectors in tourism supply chain. Also Clancy (1998) researches the relations in tourism
sector in the scope of supply chains, and refers to difficulty of extraction of tourism supplier map, since the
tourism products are produced and consumed in the same place and at the same time.
Gezici and Küçüksarı (2012) have attempted to determine the local economic impacts of tourism through the
supply relationships in hospitality industry. As a result of the study, the demand of the hospitality industry in
Manavgatcannot generate adequate levels of supply within the region. Hospitality industry in Manavgat
meetsmost of their needs within Antalya city center, so Manavgat has limited contributiton to the local
economy.
The fastest growingsysteminthe hospitality industry is the all-inclusive system. This system has been
developed in cooperation with tour operators and accommodations in order to increase the occupancy rate of
accommodation facility. The most important criticism in the literature is the negative economic impact on
local tradesman. However, there are also some studies indicating the contrary results. For example, as a
result of the projects carried out in orderto stimulatethe local economy in the Caribbean, an average of 240
employment has created per accommodation, has reduced the number of seasonal workers, has advanced the
professional workforce, has increased the wages and an average of 3 new business has been created per
accommodation with supply relationships. Roe (2006) also draws attention to the same study and refers that
all-inclusive system in Caribbean creates new business and establishes important links to the agriculture
sector, thus represents a successful example. The author also has emphasized that this type of hotels are
successful in training local people and providing more fair business environment.
There are some studies about all-inclusive system conducted in Turkey. For example, Çevirgen and Üngüren
(2009) have analyzed the attitudes of local tradesman toward all-inclusive system and have concluded that the
system has adverse effects on local tradesman and craftsman. Gezici and Gül(2004) have mentioned about
the complaints of local entrepreneurs and have said that all-inclusive system offers one package which
provides all the needs of tourists(accommodation, transportation and food&beverage), as a result they left out
of the market.
Except all-inclusive system, some studies argue that the differences among the scales of the hotels contribute
to the local economy in different ways. For instance, Hawkins et al. (2006) compares the effects of different
types of hotel on local economy. As a result, small scale hotels spending from local economy have larger
portion, in contrast, all-inclusive hotels’ spendingshave a higher value. A large part of the expenditure of
104
both hotels is on food and beverage. However, all-inclusive hotels meet very little of their F&B spending
from local sources. One of the important results of the study isthat the most direct contribution to the local
economy of all the hotels is made through the local distributors and intermediaries. According to the authors,
decisions of which product will be purchased are taken by distributers may seem like a locally-based
decision-making process, but importing most of the products are reducing the local contribution. The
obstaclesoflocalpurchases are emerged in this study as price, quality and limited variety and quantity.
In one of the studies that highlight the importance of SMEs, Mshenga and Richardson (2013)have tried to
determine the key factors in participation of SMEs in tourism sector and proportion of purchases of hotels
provided from these SMEs. They have determined hypotheses such as; SME’s characteristicdoesn’t play a
decisive role in participating in tourism, and hotel features are not relevant to choosing SMEs as suppliers.
Survey on hotels and SMEs were conducted separately for the research. As a result, (1) SMEs have larger,
older and member of any tourism organization which tends to work with hotels, (2) Hotel’s age, bed capacity
and management characteristics are found to be effective when preferring SMEs in purchasing products.
Studies about suppliers of tourism and local economy usually focused on agriculture sector and the positive
impacts of tourism on the agricultural sector are highlighted (Telferand Wall, 1996; Torres, 2003; Telfer and
Wall, 2010; Rogerson, 2012; Pillay and Rogerson, 2013).In one of these studies, Telfer and Wall (2010)have
focused on the relationship of hospitality industry and the agricultural sector. They have compared the food
purchasing behaviour, practices and policies of 3 different types of hotel (5 star, 4 star and lodgings) with
quantitative and qualitative data. Results can be summarized as follows: (1) 4 and 5 star hotels has
established a strong relationships with their local food network, (2) Hotels cannot find some of the products
that they want to purchase, or find them with insufficient in quality, (3) Purchasing managers of hotels have a
confidence problem towards suppliers and are finding it more important than price.
AlsoTorres (2003) has studied the relation between agriculture and hospitality but also has examined the
products with regard to quantity and origin in Mexico. The author has studied the amount of product
purchased and why most of them purchased from nearest region, Yacutan. According to analysis, there is a
relationship between hotel owner’s nationality and these purchases. So, the study has concluded that because
of the products tend to be imported, local food supply is decreasing, therefore; hospitality industry has less
contribution to the local economy in research area.
Pillay and Rogerson (2013) and Rogerson (2012) have evaluated the relationship between tourism and
agriculture sectors with supply chains analysis. In surveys, suppliers' location has become the most important
determinant of the definition of “local”. In the context of geographical distribution, the suppliers were
examined in 80 km radius, but the radius of 40 km was taken to a local definition. In Pillay and Rogerson
(2013)’s study, results show that hospitality industry is working with network of mediators which are in
collaboration with poor agricultural producers in the area and there is a dominant distributor firm. According
to results of Rogerson(2012)’s study, luxury consumer goods are purchased from more far away whereas
fresh fruits and vegetables are purchased from local farmers. Both studies have revealed that problems
between local production and hospitality industry are quality, consistency and the amount of the supply
oflocal products.
In another research that analyzing the relationship between the hospitality industry and agricultural sector,
Ruegg (2009), has mainly aimed to investigate the impact of tourism on poverty. The author has addressed
the secondary effects of the industry from the perspective of small-scale firms. Study has conducted in
Bolivia Altiplano region in Peru and has compared two different tourism regions. Results support the similar
105
studies’ results about hotel managers’ statements regarding the price, quality and safety issues. In addition,
large hotels have more formal and trust-based relationships; and small hotels don’t prefer to work with
mediators in order to cut down the costs.
Outside agriculture, Hautbois et al. (2003) has explored the supplier of sports tourism in the context of
agglomeration, and has evaluated the results in terms of local development. All sports tourism suppliers are
obtained and identified the geographical agglomeration. Concentrated areas are determined by the types of
the firms, using cluster analysis and cross tabs.
While relations with suppliers play an important role in regional economy, supplier selection issues are
started to pay attention over time. Verma and Pullman (1998), Petroni and Braglia (2000), Pearce (2008),
Atay and Özdağoğlu (2008) and Shil (2009) have identified a number of selection criteria in tourism sector.
Among them, price and quality of the product or service, timing of delivery and cooperation of supplier are
presented as the most important criteria.One of the aims of this study is to evaluate the suppliers’ geography
and also to analysethis geography based on the selection criteria that purchasing managersconsider.Atay and
Özdağoğlu (2008) have identified selection criteria using analytical hierarchy process and have made a table
including price, quality and cooperation, and also sub-criteria of each three main groups. These criteria are
used to determine the changing importance of the supplier selection factors in our study.
METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH
Kemer, Serik, Manavgat and Alanya are the districts which have the most potential in terms of tourism
investments. These distircts sit among the secondary class developed districts group in State Planning
Institute’s research on Socio-Economical Development Ranking Turkish Districts (2004). According to this
study, Alanya is at the 40th position among 872 districts. In terms of tourism supply, Alanya and Manavgat
play two important roles for both Turkey and Antalya. Total numbers of tourism facilities in these two
districts constitute about 25 per cent of the Turkey’s total tourism facilities. Beside these advanced roles,
Alanya is the only district which has no planned tourism development practice among the others in Antalya.
According to these reasons, research is conducted in Alanya.
According to the data obtained in December, 2013, from Antalya Provincial Directorate of Culture and
Tourism, there are 527 hotels in Alanya.52% of these hotels have operation licence from culture and tourism
ministry, %48 have from the municipial.Sample rate is set at %5, and sample was selected on the basis of the
type of hotel. Accordingly, it’s aimed to interview with 30 hotels with 95% confidence level and +-17 margin
of error. Number of interviewed hotels by the license types and hotel typescare shown in Table 1.
Table 1
Number of hotels according to operation license and facility types
Type of License
Number
%
Type of Hotel
Number
Holiday village
1
3% All inclusive
13
5StarHotel
4
13% Half pansion
4
4Star Hotel
7
23% Bed and breakfast
5
3 Star Hotel
4
13% Other
8
Apart Hotel
4
13%
Municipality licensed
10
35%
%
42%
13%
19%
26%
106
hotel(belediyeişletmebelgeliotel)
TOTAL
30
100% TOTAL
30
100%
Basicassumptions andresearch questions are intended to be answered in relation to findings in the literature
and in the selected case study area.In this context, during the interview, purchasing managers of hotels have
been asked a few principal questionssuch as;purchasing practices of the hotel, from which region they prefer
to purchase products and services, andwhy they prefer these regions. During the interview, a form that lists of
products and services which are frequently used in a hotel in the operational phase has been given to
managers and asked to specify where these products and services are purchased from.Based on this data,
several maps are produced showing the location of suppliers of these products and services. Results have
been interpreted within the context of the purchasing preferences besed on hotel scale and concentration areas
of suppliers according to products and services.
Supplier selection criteriaare an important factor in order to increase the competitiveness of all enterprises.
Therefore, purchasing managers have also been asked to which supplier selection criteria they take into
consideration. They have been asked to identify three criteria from the given list, which they consider in
purchasing practices. Supplier selection criteria are generally listed in a similar way with different sources in
the literature. The criteria used in this study are as follows:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Quality
Cost
Delivery time
Billing and payment flexibility
Innovation
Reliability
Cooperation
Expertise
Environmental awareness
Friendship / Relationship
Having modern technological facility
Having quality certification
Having variety kind of products and services
Be able to offer an alternative
Being a reputed company
Geographical proximity
Location of suppliers and supplier selection critera are interpreted together in order to figure out the structure
of suppliers’ geography.
STUDY AREA
Tourism in Alanyastarted with the domestic healthcare tourism activities in Damlataş Cave in 50s’.
Pensioning started with the development in 1970s’, thanks tothe choices of individual trippers of Alanya.
After the “Tourism Incentives Law” in 1982, East and West coasts of Alanya were declared as the tourism
107
centers which result as accelerations in the pace of tourism investments in these areas. With these tourism
investments, particularly in accommodation industry, these areas began to be called as (global) mass tourism
destinations for the first time in Turkey’s tourism history. Beside the high agricultural employment rates in
rural areas and ongoing importance of agriculture sector in Alanya, today, the tourism industry -with the
direct and indirect benefits in terms of employment and investments- is the main (key) sector among the other
sectors in Alanya(The Year of 2012 Economy Report of Alanya, 2013).
The most important feature that distinguishes Alanya from the other tourism destinations is that the
investments are not built on the public but on the private land in Alanya. On the other hand, problems of the
unplanned tourism developments such as; architectural aesthetics, quality of goods and services and
ecological hazards of the investments are the subjects waiting to be “stepped in”. These problems are much
less in planned tourism destinations like Side, Belek and Kemer which have developed later than Alanya.
Because the land in these counties is allocated (supplied) by the state, facilities in these areas are large - scale
and control and public intervention of the tourism development are easier. These are the reasons why Alanya
is less competitive comparing the other districts in tourism development (www.alanya.gov.tr).
Although there are numbers of accommodations in the peripheral areas of the city, tourism in Alanya is well
integrated to city center. This makes the local development of food and beverages, travel agencies, various
entertainment centers easier. Real estate sales to foreigners have rapidly increased in recent years. While
hotels were full of German tourists in 1990s’, tourist profile has changed in recent years. The number of
tourists from Holland, Ukraine, Poland, and Scandinavian region and notably from Russia has begun to
increase in recent years. Because of the favourable climatic conditions in Alanya, tourism season which
opens its gates in March and closes in December is very long. The share of the country in national tourism
income is ten percent, which is very high (The Year of 2012 Economy Report of Alanya, 2013).
There are four types of certification categories which are hotel, motel, pension and apart. It is possible to get
a license to open a tourism facility from both Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Antalya
Metropolitan Municipality which have different requirements to certificate tourism facilities. Among these
categories, Aparts which developed after 1990s integrate tourism with the city center. With the establishment
of large scale accommodation facilities which are licenced by ministry in 2000s, the number of aparts in
Alanya started to decline. Nevertheless, aparts still have significant share in total number of bed supply (The
Year of 2012 Economy Report of Alanya, 2013). 55 percent of the total 527 tourism facilities are certified by
municipality while 45 percent of facilities are certified by ministry (see Table 2.). If it is assumed that the
four and five star hotels are large scale investments, 26 percent of the total number of hotels have large scale
facilities in Alanya. Because of the large scale hotels that are certified by ministry and the all inclusive
systems of these facilities, small scale tourism units couldn’t find a way to compete with these facilities and
fell into crisis (The Year of 2012 Economy Report of Alanya, 2013).
Table 2
Number of hotels in Alanya according to facility types (Data obtained fromAntalya Provincial Directorate of
Culture and Tourism, 2013)
5 Star Holiday Village
3
4 Star Holiday Village
2
5 Star Hotel
49
4 Star Hotel
84
3 Star Hotel
51
2 Star Hotel
16
108
1 Star Hotel
Apart Hotel
Other
Municipility Licensed
Hotel
Total
2
29
1
290
527
The number of incoming tourists to Alanya depends on the increases or decreases in the number of incoming
tourists to Antalya and Turkey. However, in last two years, the number of incoming tourists to Alanya is
increasing. Altough tourist numbers declined in Antalya in 2012, there is a significant increase in the
incoming tourists to Alanya. This situation has similarities with the increase in the tourism investments in
Alanya. In the following table on shares of arriving foreign tourist, the number of beds in facilities located in
Alanya increased from 19.000 in 2012 to 22.000 in 2013.
Table 3
Shares of Arriving Foreign Tourist (The Year of 2012 Economy Report of Alanya, 2013).
Arriving Foreign Tourists
Share of Alanya (%)
Share of
Years
Antalya in
In
Turkey
Antalya
Alanya
In Turkey
Turkey (%)
Antalya
13.701.418 4.681.951
988.785
34,17
7,21
21,11
2003
17.202.996 6.047.168 1.133.616
35,15
6,58
18,74
2004
20.522.621 6.884.024 1.464.686
33,54
7,13
21,27
2005
19.275.948 6.011.183 1.357.554
31,18
7,04
22,58
2006
23.017.081 7.291.356 1.510.000
31,67
6,56
20,7
2007
26.379.845
8.564.513
1.715.000
32,46
6,5
20,02
2008
27.077.114 8.350.869 1.654.975
30,5
6,11
20,03
2009
28.632.204 9.334.171 1.848.607
32,6
6,45
19,8
2010
31.456.076 10.464.425 2.500.000
33,26
7,94
23,89
2011
31.782.832
10.299.366
3.617.884
32,4
11,3
35,12
2012
109
Döşemealtı
Kepez
Kumluca
Kaş
Demre
Muratpaşa
Konyaaltı
Aksu
Serik
Kemer
Alanya
Manavgat
operation
licensed
investment
licensed
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
Bed Capacity
Figure 2. Bed Capacity of Investment and Operation Licensed Hotels in Districts of Antalya(Data obtained
from Statistics of Ministry of Culture and Tourism(http://sgb.kulturturizm.gov.tr/TR,50930/istatistikler.html),
2014)
Considering the study of ErkuşÖztürk (2009) on the tourism firms and clustering in Antalya, except Kaş,
Kale and Belek tourism destinations, it is possible to find every type and scale of tourism firms in Antalya
Metropolitan Area. According to ErkuşÖztürk (2009), while two star and boutique hotels are located in Kale
and Kaş without any significant spatial agglomeration, five star hotels and high quality facilities are
specialized in Belek. Furthermore, agglomeration and spatial specialization for three star hotels are
significant in Alanya while in Kemer, only Resorts are agglomerated but this agglomeration is not a
specialisation.
FINDINGS OF THE ANALYSIS
Hotels increase their competitiveness by improving their own services depending on their size and scale. The
purposes of the services offered by hotelsdo not always provide direct income to hotel, but provide
accommodation services more efficient and successful. The technical and support services are required to
provide successful hosting services to the customers, except core services like food&beverage and
accommodation in a hotel (Usal and Kurgun, 2006).In this context, interview with managers is designed to
include support and technical services in addition to core services of hotels.
Supplier selection criteria are defined on the basis of commonly used criteria in literature. Managers are
expected to rank and score these criteria. Results are evaluated according to the features of the hotels. In
addition, the effects of these criteria above supplier geography are investigated.The following comments are
primarily relating to supplier selection criteria, then the supplier geograpghy of interwieved hotels.
Supplier Selection Criteria of Hospitality Sector
110
Scoring and ranking of the criteria that made by interviewed managers, seems to be approximately consistent
with each other. Managers state that the most important supplier selection criterion is “quality”. Scoring high
points of the “quality” criteria at the scoring table supports these answers. Similarly,”cost” is the second
highest scored criteria as well as the second most important criteria from the perspective of managers. Only
“delivery time” is inconsistent in terms of their scores and ranks. According to scores, the third highest rated
criterion is “having quality certification” which is also supports the importance given to quality issues. In
addition, there are some other critera having higher score than “delivery time” which is third most important
criteria that managers mentioned.These are “reliability” and “having variety kind of products and services”.
In general, it can be said that interviewed hotel managerstake cognizance ofquality, cost, delivery time,
reliability and having variety kind of products and services; and criteria of 'friendship / kinship relations' with
supplier firm, does notmean importance compared with other criteria. Nevertheless, according to scoresof the
criteraas shown in Table4, the highest standart deviation is seen in criteria of “friendship/kinship”. High
scores given to this criterion are often from purchasing managers of small-scaled hotels. Criteria are lowest
standart deviation and therefore the managers agree on the importance of are about quality issues.
Table 4
Descriptive Statistics for Supplier Selection Criteria of Interwieved Hotels
Quality
Cost
Delivery time
Billing and payment flexibility
Innovation
Reliability
Cooperation
Expertise
Environmental awareness
Friendship / Kinship
Having modern technological facility
Having quality certification
Having variety kind of products and
services
Be able to offer an alternative
Being a reputed company
Geographical proximity
Min
.
Max.
1
5
1
5
1
5
1
5
1
5
1
5
1
5
2
5
1
5
1
5
1
5
1
5
2
5
1
2
1
5
5
5
Su
m Mean
139 4,63
137 4,57
127 4,23
113 3,77
116 3,87
135 4,50
112 3,73
121 4,03
117 3,90
61 2,03
110 3,67
136 4,53
134 4,47
126
111
118
4,20
3,70
3,93
Std. Dev.
,850
,898
1,135
1,104
1,106
1,009
1,112
,999
1,155
1,520
1,241
,819
,860
1,095
,952
,944
When the responses of the ranking of the supplier selection criteria are evaluated by considering the hotel
features defined as facility type, license type, operating period and bed capacity variables;
111

The 3 most important criteria which are considerd by interviewed purchasing managers of the hotels
are respectively; quality, cost anddelivery time.

This ranking is only changed in all-inclusive hotels, with the changing order of the cost and quality
criteria.

Except “quality”, managers state that the other most important criterion is “cost”. Only one
purchasing manager whose hotel serves all-inclusive type has mentioned that “reliability” is the most
important supplier selection criterion.

When we analyze the most important criteria according to type of hotel, we can see that the “quality”
is the most important criterion in terms of half pansion, bed and breakfast and other types of hotels
while the “cost” comes first for all-inclusive hotels.

When purchasing managers has been asked about their second most important supplier selection
criteria, answers generally are “quality”, “cost”, “delivery time”, “billing and payment flexibility”
and “innovation”. However, the most popular answer among them is “cost”. All inclusive hotels are
usually consider the “quality” as the second most important criterion while all other types of hotels
consider the “cost” as second.

“Delivery time” is the third most important criteria according to purchasing managers of hotels in
practice. A few hotel managers have stated that they care about “friendship / kinship” as third one,
altough this criterion has relatively low total score compared to other criteria.

According to license type;3 and 4 star hotels, apart hotels and municipal licensed hotels give
importance the “quality” criteria at first while 5 star hotels consider the “cost” as the most important
one. This result is very similar to the result of supplier selection criteria in terms of hotel types.
When we have analyzed the discriptive statistics and frequencies of interviewed hotels we have seen
that that all 5 star hotels serve all inclusive type.

Ranking of the criteria in terms of bed capacity and hotel type are also very similar. Generally, hotels
with high bed capacity serve all inclusive system, so it can be said that consumption affectsranking of
the criteria.
When we have analyzed the all responses, it is understood thatthe large-scale hotels(4 and 5 star hotels, apart
hotels) consider the “cost” first, because of their much more consumption thansmall-scale hotels. “Delivery
time” is the third most important criterion for both large and small-scale hotels. According to information
obtained from face-to-face interviews, “reliability” and “having variety kind of products and services” are
considered important criteria by large-scale hotels, while small-scaled hotels regard “friendship / kinship” as
other important criteria. Additionally, face-to-face interviwes show that some features like; linkage of the
hotel owner with Alanya, experience and technical knowledge of purchasing manager, corporate business
management and even personality characteristics(accuracy, honesty, business dicipline..etc.) are the factors
that influence supplier selection independently from hotel features.
Supplier Geography of Alanya Hospitality Sector
Datas about products and services obtained from interviewed hotels are separated as culinary, housekeeping,
technical services and expertise and support services, and mapped. Thus, results are interpreted as
geographical distribution of suppliers in terms of the product type. Results show that all kind of products and
services that a hotel need can be provided from Alanya. Although suppliers from Alanya can meet all the
112
needs of hotels surveyed, some products and services are purchased from Antalya city center. However, some
products and services are supplied from a supplier which is located outside of Antalya. Followings are the
evaluations and maps explaining the distribution of suppliers in Antalya region and in Turkey in terms of
specified groups.
Culinary
Suppliers of culinary products are divided into following main groups: Fruits and vegetables, canned and
frozen foods, livestock products and beverages. According to these groups, all culinary productsare supplied
from a firm located in Alanya. However, some purchasing managers prefer to buy some products from
Antalya or from other provinces of Turkey. Besides, about purchasing same kind of products, some managers
work with supplier firms which are located in Alanya as well as the ones located in Antalya or in other
provinces. This situation is similar in almost all product categories. It is formerly revealed that managers
consider quality, cost and delivery time about purchasing products. So, it can be said that Alanya has a strong
structure of supplier firm which provides products and services that hotels want in terms of quality, cost and
delivery time.
When examined the supplier geography of fruits &vegetables and canned&frozen foods, it is seen that
supplier firms located in both Alanya and Antalya can provide these products to Alanya hotels. In this
category, managers have mentioned that they prefer suppliers from Antalya when puchasing canned foods
and olive&sunflower oil. In addition, there is a hotel which has a supplier from Manavgat, in terms of
olive&sunflower oil. Except Alanya, Manavgat is the only district of Antalya which has suppliers to the
hotels in Alanya. On-site invesitgations, it’s observed that there are a few olive&sun flower oil production
factories in Manavgat. Purchasing managers have mentioned only two other provinces outside of Antalya in
terms of purchasing products of this category. These are Gaziantep for oils and pulses, and Çanakkalefor
frozen foods.
Figure 3. Supplier Geography of Fruit&Vegetables, Canned&Frozen Food Products
113
Likewise, the majority of managers havestated that they purchase livestock products from suppliers located in
Alanya.Managers prefer suppliers from Antalya, mostly in terms of meat and delicatessen products. In this
category, 23 managers havestated that they only work with supplier from Alanya, while 4 of them only work
with from Antalya and 2of them work with both Alanya and Antalya. Konya and İzmir are the 2 provinces
outside of Antalya where purchasing managers have stated that they work with for livestock products.While
the supplier located in İzmir provides diary products, the supplier located in Konya provides fishery products.
Purchasing fishery products from Konya is because of the fact that the hotel manager, which gave this
answer, has a fish farm in that province.
Figure 4.Supplier Geography of Livestock Products
One of the maximum amountsofproductpurchased in culinary is beverages. Beverages are grouped under 6
categories in the study: high volume alcoholic drinks, wines, beers, soft drinks, coffees&teas and fresh
waters. Most ofmanagers have reported that they often work with the suppliers fromAlanya while
purchasingof beverage. 4 of the purchasing managers prefer only Antalya city center when purchasing
coffes&teas, and 3 of them purchasing high volume alcoholic beverages within 30 interviews. In one from
each other category of beverages, one hotel manager only prefers to buy from the supplier from Antalya.
Only wines are purchased from suppliers that located outside provinces. 1 manager purchases wine from
Tekirdağ and the other one pruchasesthem from Denizli.
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Figure 5.Supplier Geography of Beverages Products
Housekeeping
Interviewed managerslinks with suppliers from outside of Antalya region, mostly for the needs of room and
housekeeping departments. While celaning tools, soaps&detergents and textiles are purchased from suppliers
fromİstanbul, Tekirdağ, Kocaeli, Bursa, Denizli and İzmir; services in housekeeping department are usually
purchasedfrom Alanya and Antalya city center.
Supplier firms in Alanya in terms of textiles are quite less than other housekeeping products. 13 of the
managers purchase textiles only from supplier fromAlanya; 3 of the managers purchase from Antalya and 7
of the managers purchase from other districts.Furtermore, some managers have indicated that they work with
suppliers located in Alanya or Antalya, as well as other provinces. Similar situation has been found for most
of products within the study. According to managers, there are some advantages about quality and cost when
purchasing the textile products from where they are produced.Denizli and Bursa are two provinces where are
provided production as well as distribution of textile products. As an expected situation, it’s observed that
when the product becomes specific,purchasings from production area of hotels increases.
It has seen that suppliers from outside of Antalya region supply products that also are produced in that
province. So, some advantages are taken through working with suppliers which are located which the
products are produced in (textiles from Denizli and Bursa, wines from Denizli, high volume alcoholic drinks
from Tekirdağ, etc.). However, it can be said that their preferences increase since these firms also distribute
the products by themselves and because they are large companies considering firm size.
When we have analyzed the housekeeping suppliers only for services, we have found that 26 of the managers
prefer periodic cleaning service suppliers only from Alanya, one manager prefers from Antalya, one manager
prefers both from Alanya and Antalya and the other one sometimes provides this service within the hotel’s
resources or purchases from supplier located in Alanya. Only one manager has said that they provide this
cleaning service within the hotel’s resources. In terms of laundry services, it’s observed that suppliers from
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Alanya are much more preferable. 7 of the managers have indicated that there is a laundry inside the hotel
and they don’t need out-sourced supply.
Figure 6. Supplier Geography of Housekeeping Products and Services
Technical Services and Expertise
Technical services and expertisesthat a hotel need are: Installiation maintenance, pool & SPA center
maintenance, gardening and landscapeing, transportation services, andsoftwares used by all hotel services.
It’s observed that most of the managers prefer suppliers located in Alanya in this category, too. There are
also some services received from Antalya and other provinces. For example, 16 managers purchase softwares
only from the supplier firm in Alanya, while 7 managers only from Antalya, 2 managers only from İstanbul.
One manager has indicated that they workwith the supplier firms in Alanya and Antalya simultaneously or
alternately. As an interesting result, there is not any software used in these three hotels.It is observed that
suppliers from outside of Antalya region usually provide software products to hotels of Alanya.
One of the significantresults in terms of technical services and expertises is that all other services except
software, are generally provided with existing staff and resources within the hotel. For example, in the
gardening and landscaping, 11 of managers have said that they maintain this service within their staff and
equipment while 11 managershave purchased it from supplier located in Alanya. 4 managers purchasethese
services from a firm in Alanya as well as do it themselves. Additionally, %41 of interviewed hotelsdoesn’t
have any transportation service.
All surveyed hotels have pool or SPA center. 8 of the hotels provide all of the services related with pool and
SPA only with their ownresources while 16 of them have linkage with a supplier firm in Alanya. One of the
managers has said that they purchase this service from a firm located in Ordu. In installation maintenance,
similar rates are observed. 7 managers conduct installation services with the resources of hotels, 17 of them
work with only suppliers from Alanya and 2 of them work both withAlanya and Antalya. In 3 hotels, this
technical service is sometimes conducted with hotel’s resources, and sometimes with supplier firm from
Alanya.
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Figure 7. Supplier Geography of Technical Services & Expertise
Support Services
In the hotel business, there are some other services which facilitates to conductcore services of hotel. These
services are called “support services” and they can be organized in a hotel or be outsourced from a supplier
firm. In this studyaccounting services, legal counselling, event organization, staff training services, customer
relationship, security services, entertainment services and marketing services are examined within the scope
of support services.
It can be said that supplier firms of Alanya can also provide the needs of hotels for support services. As well
as technical services, some requirements for support services can be conducted through the hotel’s resources.
In this context, hotels mostly prefer to provide the customer relationship services with its own staff and
resources. 69% of hotel managers (20 managers) have stated that these services are met within theirown
hotels.Except from customer services, many manager have mentioned that security services are conducted
with hotel’s own staff and resources. 59% of managers (17 managers) provide this service with the hotel
staff.
Some hotels do not have any services for marketing, entertainment, staff training and event organization. It’s
identified that these hotels are generally the small-scaled ones. Furthermore, some support services are
purchased from suppliers out of Antalya region. For instance, one manager has mentioned that they provide
staff training services from a supplier both in Alanya and in Ankara. In staff training services, 13 of other
managers work only with a supplier from Alanya while 3 of them work only with a supplier from Antalya.
One hotel purchases this service from a supplier located in Alanya and in Antalya at the same time.
Additionally, 4 of the hotels provide staff training service only with their own resources, 1 of them provide
both with its resources and supplier firm from Alanya and 6 of them don’t purchase or provide any training
service.
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In support services, suppliers provided fromAntalya are mostly about staff training and legal counseling.
Actually, these two services can generally be provided from suppliers from Alanya, according to interviwed
purchasing managers. The services least supplied from Alanya are customer relations and event
organizations. Customer relations are frequently conducted with hotel’s own staff while event organizations
are not served by the most of the interviewed hotels. For this reason, these two support services are supplied
less.
In terms of support services, the other provinces, except for Ankara, work with İstanbul. One of them
provides the accounting services, one provides marketing services, the other pne provides entertainment
services and two of themprovide legal counseling from supplier located in İstanbul.
Figure 8. Supplier Geography of Support Services
When we have analyzed the all supplier geographies according to hotel scale, it’s seen that hotels which have
linkageswithsupplier firms from Antalya or from other provinces are generally large-scaled(5 star, 4 star and
apart hotels) hotels. Because of the some advanteges that large-scale hotels have, for instance; enormous
amount of purchases can be carried due to having storage opportunities and bargaining chance accordingly
enormous amount of purchases, large-scale hotels don’t take into consideration the location of the supplier.
Owing to similar advantages, large-scale hotels are also able to work with large supplier firms and link with
head office of the supplier firm and purchase directly from the procuder firm.
Another advantage of large-scale hotel is that theyhave a corporate business disciplines.Because of this
business structure, purchasing actions are mostly guided by cost and quality criteria. Large-scaled hotel’s
managers are stated that they act to purchase a product with the most appropriate cost and the highest quality
in order to increase their profits. They compare offers of supplier firms in terms of cost and delivery time of
the product or services, therefore; the location of supplier firm is increasingly trivialized.In addition, through
the written aggrements and technical specification, large-scale hotels behave more professionally regarding
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commercial dealings, hence, the trust between supplier firm and hotel increases. However, some hotel
managers still consider the kinship and friendship relations, and they trust acquantiances more. All these
factors have led large-scale hotels to work with suppliers outside of Antalya region much when compared
with the small ones.
Small-scale hotels (3 star, 2 star, 1 star and municipal licensed hotels) meet their needs from suppliers that
located nearby area to hotel, due to their small bed capacity and low consumption rates compared to largescaled hotels, hence, they do not to purchase large amount of products and services. Therefore, these kinds of
hotels often prefer suppliers from Alanya. In depth-interviews, some small-scale hotel’s managers have
mentioned that their purchasing practices are guided by the kinship or friendship relations and face to face
relations. They have also stated that quality and cost are important criteria for such hotels, but their profits are
limited comparing to large-scaled hotels because they don’t have advantages as the large ones have. This
situations show that there is still the traditional socio-economic relations among small businesses.Due to
these factors, it’s identified that the small-scaled hotels are prefer a supplier from Alanya, and more
specifically from nearby location. However, it can be said that the supplier firms inAlanyaare able to meet all
needs of hotels on both scales when considering the all products and services.
When supplier geographies and scales of hotels are considered together, large-scale hotels generally prefer
Antalya or other provinces in terms of products which are purchased from producer. The needs of the
culinary product, such as high volume alcoholic drinks, wines, coffees&teas, pulses, canned&frozen foods,
fishery/sea products, meats and delicatessen and poultry meats and eggs are purchased from suppliers located
both outside ofAlanyaand in Alanya. Some of these products give advantages by buying them from the head
office of supplier, while others give these advantagesbeing purchased from producer firm. All of the smallscale hotels purchase their culinary needs from supplier of Alanya.
Within all housekeeping products, textiles are the most purchased ones from outside of the province. Denizli,
Bursa, Tekirdağ and Antalya have supplier firms that provide textile products to hotels located in Alanya.
Most of the managers haveexplained the reason by mentioning the development of textile industry in these
cities.Small and large scale hotels are distinguished in the categories of housekeeping. Large-scale hotels
conduct services, such as cleaning and laundry with their own resources, while most of the small-scale hotels
purchase these services from the supplier located in Alanya.
Large and small scaled hotels are distinguished in terms of technical services & expertise and support
services in the same way. While large-scale hotels provide these services with their own resources, smallscale hotels purchase these services from specialized firms. Large hotels conduct the support services with
their own resources, such asaccounting, legal counseling, security and entertainment; and technical services,
which areinstallation maintenance and gardening&landscaping. In this context, it can be concluded that
small-scaled hotels contribute service firms in Alanya much when compared large-scale hotels. However,
because some small-scale hotels don’t have any support services like entertainment, event organization and
transportation; their contribution to development of these kinds of firms in Alanyais expected to be limited.
Additionally, some managers of large-scale hotels have stated that they use hotel resources in terms of
providing support and technical services, as well as purchasing them from a supplier firm.
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CONCLUSION
The scope of the research are to evaluate the supplier geography of hotels in Alanya, to examine the changing
geography of these suppliers considering to products and services and to assess distribution of these supplier
firms in terms of the supplier selection criteria. As a result of the interviews with purchasing managers, it can
be said that Alanya has a strong structure of supplier firms that can provide the necessary products and
services to hotels. Besides, it’s identified that there are some differences in supplier geography in terms of
hotel scales and types of the products or services.
Results show that hotels in Alanya purchase products or services from several provinces of Turkey.
Nevertheless, the suppliers are concentrated frequently in Antalya city centre after Alanya. It has seen that
suppliers from outside of Antalya region supply products that also are produced in that province. In the
literature, results of the same studies emphasize that the effect of small-scale hotels on the local economy is
more comprehensive; however, large-scale hotel or all-inclusive hotel’s purchases are in greater quantities.
In addition, triggering the development of intermediate firms is one of the similar results with the literature.
Nevertheless, results revealed by Hawkins et al. (2006) that explain the difficulties in purchasing from local
suppliers, is not observed in Alanya. This result strengthens the site-specific nature of the subject of
relationship between hospitality sector and supplier firms.
When all answers are analysed, it can be seen that large-scale hotels consider the cost first, because of the fact
that their consumption rates are high, whereas small-scale hotels consider the quality criteria. Delivery time is
the third most important criterion for both sized hotels. According to information obtained from face-to-face
interviews, reliability and product range are considered by large-scale hotels; and kinship/friendship criteria
are considered by small hotels. Consequently, results show that supplier firms from Alanya provide the
products of good quality with suitable price and delivery time, afford the desired range of products and also
are able to establish trade relations based on trust. The common feature of similar studies in the literature is
that quality, cost, quantity and reliability are considered as important supplier selection criteria.
Suppliers from Alanya have the capacity to supply products and service that hotels need considering both the
scope of products that can be produced (like fruits&vegetables) and services. In addition, the urgent needs
that required rapid delivery (e.g. fresh water, installation repair and maintenance and laundry) are provided
from suppliers only from Alanya or conducted with resources of hotels. The advantages of working with
supplier firms from outside of Alanya are mentioned during the interviews, which are linking directly with
producers and being head office of supplier firm, and also cost advantages leaded by these situations. The
subject is that if there is any change in characteristics of supplier firm according to hotel scale, it requires
further research. Furthermore, one of the early results of the study is that large-scale hotels work more with
suppliers outside of the region.
Antalya city centre has supplier firms which are able to provide products and services from all of the
categories described. The reason of this situation is, Antalya is a developed tourism destination and has
enormous amount of accommodation supply in the district considering the whole province. Hotels outside of
Alanya need those supplier firms from Antalya, too. Therefore, having a developed structure of supplier firms
is an expected result for Antalya city centre.
Some purchasing managers indicate that all-inclusive system has negative impacts on supplier firms. The
reason has been explained by those as those types of hotels leave the supplier firms in a tight spot for
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payment, and it causes financial difficulties leading them to shut down of firms. Since all-inclusive hotels are
more concentrated in the region, there is a potential of causing adverse effect on the supplier firms in the
future. Nevertheless, according to an important result of the research, Alanya is the most preferred region by
suppliers; it shows that there isn’t such risk for the time being. More realistic information about this issue is
expected to achieve through the survey with the supplier firms.
Most of the studies in the literature are focused on the agricultural sector. In this study, food and beverage
industry are also observed as well as the suppliers of service sector in order to find out the geographical
distribution of them. Similar results from literature such as agricultural products are met mostly from local
suppliers,it is seen that service suppliers are available in local area, too. This case shows that accommodation
industry in Alanya has positive effects on different sectors.
A result of the study is that fishery products are provided from Konya, a city which is not a leader location in
terms of fishery products; it represents that the effects of different characteristics on purchasing practices.
Relations of purchasing manager with regional or local business, in terms of friendship/kinship relation or
even his personal characteristics can influence on the purchasing actions. Moreover, corporate business
discipline and quality requirements of hospitality industry as a service industry; personal characteristics of
purchasing manager such as experience, personal ability, business linkages, business discipline and even
devotion are effective variables on supply relations of hotels and are very difficult to measure. Similarly,
nationality of the owner of a hotel is an effective issue on purchasing preferences, which is stressed in the
literature by. Therefore, these kinds of studies should be evaluated by their own characteristics in terms of
context, location of the case study and the capacity of data obtained.
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SPIRITUAL HEALING AS A MOTIVE OF RELIGIOUS TRAVEL – CREATING A NEW
RELIGIOUS ROUTE IN SERBIA
Sanja Božić
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences
Novi Sad, Serbia
Bojana Spasojević
Novi Sad, Serbia
and
Nemanja Tomić
Novi Sad, Serbia
ABSTRACT
Since ancient times, there have been many stories and legends about mysterious healing and miracles
connected with numerous sacred sites throughout the world. These sacred sites recently have become
extremely popular tourist attractions as well as important centers of pilgrimage. Every year millions of people
travel to major pilgrimage destinations around the world, both ancient and modern in origin. It is estimated
that approximately 240 million people per year go on pilgrimages, indicating that religiously or spiritually
motivated travel has become widespread and popularized in recent decades. On the territory of Serbia there
are 55 locations that are marked as "miracles" because of beliefs that they contribute in different ways to
healing people from the various diseases. However, they mainly attract local visitors, while international
tourists are still quite rare. This is mainly because of the lack of promotion in terms of presenting Serbia on
international tourism market as a country with strong religious grounding and a wide array of interesting
sacred sites which have potential to attract significant flows of religious tourists.
The principal aim of this paper is to give a detailed overview of Serbia’s potential as a religious tourism
destination as well as to propose a unique religious route which would connect a wide array of sacred sites
(connected with the stories of miraculous healing) into a unique and complex tourism product. The route
would begin in the northern part of the country with the Holy Well of St. Maria in Doroslov (Sombor) and
Monastery Grgeteg in Fruška Gora Mountain, to the Church of St. Petka in Belgrade, leading further to the
monastery Vujan, near Čačak and Preobrazenje in Ovačar-Kablar Gorge and monastery Dečani in the
southern part of the country.
According to world successful examples of cultural and religious routes such as Santiago de Compostela and
other pilgrims’ routes in Europe, creation of new religious route in Serbia could significantly promote Serbia
on the world map of holy and religious places. Serbia, as a country where three big world’s religions –
Christianity, Orthodoxy and Islam, exist and live in peace in the same area have a great potential as a future
spiritual destination.
Keywords: Religious tourism, sacred sites, spiritual healing, religious route, Serbia
INDRODUCTION
Since ancient times, there have been many stories and legends about mysterious healing and miracles
connected with numerous sacred sites throughout the world. What is certain is that they remain under the veil
of mystery, but the healing effects of the people at these places were, and still are incredibly real. According
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to Krieger D. (1975) even the ancient people believed in a wide array of techniques of spiritual healing. In
connection with this he wrote that early Egyptian and Greek civilizations had the ancient healing practice of
laying on of hands and the evidence of this claim are pictures in their hieroglyphics, pictographs and
cuneiform writings. The Holy Bible also indicates the stories of spiritual healing and treatment by Jesus and
other Saints. In addition, numerous stories of people who were successfully cured at sacred places all around
the world, as well as legends about mysterious powers of certain Saints and holy objects, were the reason
why those sites became the largest places of pilgrimage and religious tourism in the world. This indicates that
spiritual healing has become an important motive which drives people to visit sacred places all around the
world.
One of the most remarkable sacred places known for spiritual healing is certainly Lourdes, situated in the
Pyrenees, where The Holy icon of Virgin Mary is believed to have the power to cure sick people. It annually
attracts about 5 million people, who come to pray in front of it, in belief that a miracle will happen (Gesler,
1996). Also, there are many similar examples around the world, including the Blessed Matrona of Moscow in
the Monastery of Protection of Mother of God in Moscow. People come in droves and wait for hours to enter
the monastery as the story tells that if people pray in front of her relics, they will be cured. Up to now, many
people have confirmed its miraculous powers (Fox, 2002). When it comes to “miracle places” we should
certainly mention Monastery Ostrog in Montenegro, dedicated to Vasilije Ostroški, in front of whose relics a
large number of people come to pray. People believe that his relics, stored in the Upper Monastery, are
miraculous, meaning they possess healing powers, which made this monastery one of the most visited in the
Balkans (Melton and Baumann, 2010). These are just some of numerous sacred places which legends and
stories about spiritual healing attract visitors who come in droves to pray for their recovery or sometimes, just
to satisfy their curious spirit.
Even though Serbia still hasn’t differentiated itself as a famous religious destination, it has an immense
potential which lies in numerous sacred sites, Orthodox, Catholic and Islamic. Moreover, 55 sacred places in
Serbia are designated as "miracle places" because of beliefs that they contribute in different ways to healing
people from various diseases. However, they mainly attract local visitors, while international tourists are still
quite rare. This is mainly because of the lack of promotion in terms of presenting Serbia on the international
tourism market as a country with strong religious grounding and a wide array of interesting sacred sites which
have potential to attract significant flows of religious tourists.
The principal aim of this paper is to give a detailed overview of Serbia’s potential as a religious tourism
destination as well as to propose a unique religious route which would connect a wide array of sacred sites
(connected with the stories of miraculous healing) into a unique and complex tourism product. The route
would begin in the northern part of the country with the Holy Well of St. Maria in Doroslov (Sombor) and
Monastery Grgeteg in Fruška Gora Mountain, to the Church of St. Petka in Belgrade, leading further to the
monastery Vujan, near Čačak and Preobraženje in Ovčar-Kablar Gorge and monastery Dečani in the southern
part of the country.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Religious tourism has become a very popular topic and it certainly is one of the tourism types that came at the
forefront of the scientific debate in the tourism field. There is a growing body of literature regarding religious
tourism, religious motivation as well as typology of religious tourists (Timothy and Olsen, 2006; Nolan and
Nolan, 1992; Blackwell, 2007; Smith, 1992, Collins-Kreiner, 2010b; Turner and Turner, 1978; Rinschede,
1992, etc.).
Religious travel is not a new phenomenon. Religion has long been an integral motive for undertaking
journeys and is usually considered to be the oldest form of non-economic travel. Every year millions of
people travel to major pilgrimage destinations around the world, both ancient and modern in origin. It is
estimated that approximately 240 million people per year go on pilgrimages, the majority of them being
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Christians, Muslims, and Hindus (Timothy and Olsen, 2006). According to Blackwell (2007) it is believed
that, since the dawn of time, human beings have defined some elements of the natural and built environment
as spiritual sites, regarding them as sacred and, in many cases, endowing them with supernatural qualities.
Sacred places and ceremonial events are among the most ancient of travel destinations. These shrines,
temples, churches, landscape features, and religious festivals, extraordinary linked with divine, are also
among the most complex attractions because of their appeal to a spectrum of visitors. Pious pilgrims on a
quest for a religious experience may cross paths with secular tourists who seek to satisfy their curiosity about
the holy place and, perhaps, about the pilgrims as well. Regardless of their motivations, all visitors to these
attractions require some level of services, ranging from providing for the most basic of human needs, to full
commercial development that rivals the most secular resort (Nolan and Nolan, 1992).
According to the officials of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe the term religious tourism is used to
describe the system that encompasses a range of holy places, from the grandest cathedral to the smallest rural
chapel, the service facilities associated with them, and the spectrum of visitors from the devout to the secular
(Lefeuvre, 1980). This definition also indicates the existence of different motivation of visitors visiting sacred
places.
So, the pilgrimage is not just a religious phenomenon. Collins-Kreiner (2010a, 2010b) declares that the old
paradigm of pilgrimage, predicated on religious elements, no longer holds. In its place two alternative forms
of pilgrimage are recognized: the religious and the secular (Hyde and Harman, 2011). Rinschede (1992)
claims that religious tourism is the type of tourism whose participants are motivated either in part or
exclusively for religious reasons.
Pilgrimages and other religious journeys are tied to other types of tourism, perhaps more closely today than
ever before. He also says that religious journeys are multifunctional journeys even when the religious factors
seem to dominate. This indicates that, nowadays, religious tourism refers not only to the form of tourism with
strong or single-minded religious motivation of pilgrimage, but also to people who take non-pilgrimage
tourist activities, such as travelling to religious sites for sightseeing, cultivation and recreation. A religious
tourist attraction may be a place that draws tourists by virtue of some aspect of site such as an architecturally
exceptional church building, an outstanding art collection, an important historical association, or, in some
cases, a spectacular view from the terrace (Nolan and Nolan, 1992).
Academics have long debated what constitutes the difference between a pilgrim and a tourist. Recognizing
that the experiences of the pilgrim often include non-spiritual activities (historical records are replete with
accounts of the earthly pleasures enjoyed by medieval Christian pilgrims), and that the experiences of the
tourist are sometimes spiritual in nature, Turner and Turner (1978, p. 20) declare, “A tourist is half a pilgrim,
if a pilgrim is half a tourist”. Fleischer (2000) states that for pilgrims, the travel motivation factors are rather
internal, with push factors being less important”.
In connection with the existence of religious and secular pilgrimage, Smith (1992) was one of the first to
identify the typology of religious tourists dividing them into five categories: 1. pious pilgrim; 2. more pilgrim
then tourist; 3. pilgrim and tourist; 4. more tourist then pilgrim; 5. secular tourist. This typology is based on
different motives which drive people to visit sacred places, from those deeply grounded in religion to those
secular.
One of the religious motives which certainly drive people to visit sacred sites is spiritual healing. Many
authors (Benor D. J (1990); Greenfield S.M (1992); Wirth D.P (1995)) wrote about spiritual healing, miracles
of healing many disease and importance of belief in curing some diseases. Throughout human history, certain
sites have achieved a reputation of healing places. The factors which contribute to this reputation are unique
to each place, but include such things as natural and human-made environments, historical events, cultural
beliefs, social relations and personal experiences. In many societies healing is closely tied to religion. In
particular, illness and cures are thought to have supernatural causes. Furthermore, divine intervention is
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believed to occur at certain specific sites; therefore, people make pilgrimages to these places to be healed
(Gesler, 1996).
Ancient legends and modern-day reports tell of extraordinary experiences that people have had while visiting
these magical places. Sacred sites have the power to heal the body, enlighten the mind, increase creativity,
develop psychic abilities, and awaken the soul to an awareness of its true purpose in life. Many of the visitors
travel to sacred places in strong belief they will be cured (religious tourists) but some of them are just curious
to see those miraculous places (secular tourists).
Whatever the motive for visit of these sites is, one thing is certain – they are becoming more and more
popular tourist attractions and important centers of pilgrimage, while religious tourism connected with these
sites covers the significant part of the global tourism market. These places are certainly Lourdes in France, St.
Matrona church in Moscow, Monastery Ostrog in Montenegro etc. Moreover, there is a plethora of similar
examples in the world: For instance, only 30 miles from Santa Fe, New Mexico is El Santuario de Chimayo
where 300,000 visitors each year come to scoop sand from a hole in the floor of the “Room of Miracles.” Its
walls are lined with letters and photographs from hundreds of thankful pilgrims who say they were healed
here (Ray and Farrell, 2008). One of the places famous for miraculous healing is also the Naag Mandir,
Vanua Levu (one of the Fiji islands) - based Hindu temple devoted to the snake god Naag which has been
gradually growing over the past 120 years. Visitors frequently seek out Naag Mandir to heal their fertility
issues, leaving offerings of foods, flowers and incense alongside prayers for children. Some even claim that a
trip to the temple eventually cured 20 years’ worth of infertility and impotence (Starnes and Lackham,
2009). We should also mention Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida in Brazil, as the
largest shrine dedicated to visions of the Holy Mother ever constructed. Around 5 million pilgrims travel
yearly to pay homage. The miracle associated with Lady of Aparecida involves performance of the healing
rituals. Even prayers intending to invoke her intercession often request relief from physical, mental and
emotional pain (Melton and Baumann, 2010). Motive of spiritual healing also drives people to visit the
Pilgrimage Church of Guadalupe in Spain which houses an incredibly mysterious statue of a Madonna with
skin as black as pitch. Some believe that the statue may serve as a physical conduit between the Holy Mother
and her ardent followers – an avatar on earth through which she stores her power and projects it where people
need it most. Unsurprisingly, the Pilgrimage Church of Guadalupe sees millions of visitors each year hoping
to seek Mary’s intercession (Brockman, 2011). All these examples show that spiritual healing is deeply
grounded in different religions all around the world, from Europe and America to the farthest islands in
Pacific Ocean, indicating the immense proportions of the religious market segment traveling for this purpose.
According to Radulović and Monašević (2011) Serbia is the country with 55 sacred places which gained a
reputation of miraculous healing places. Some of the most known are certainly Holy Well of St. Maria in
Doroslov (Sombor), Monastery Grgeteg in Fruška Gora Mountain, the Church of St. Petka in Belgrade, the
monastery Vujan, and the monastery Preobraženje in Ovčar-Kablar Gorge as well as the monastery Dečani in
the southern part of the country. This indicates the great potential of Serbia as a religious tourism destination
as well as the opportunity of creating the religious route connecting those sacred sites, just like some famous
routes in the world, such as, for instance, The trail of miracles, existing in Brazil.
DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA
Serbia occupies a territory known for its demographic diversity of intertwined cultures. Due to its turbulent
and dynamic history the religious structure of the population is very diverse. The majority of religious
believers in Serbia are Orthodox Christians, followed by Roman Catholics, Muslims and Protestants.
Many of the religious monuments dating back to the period of the Serbian Empire still exist today and are an
important part of the tradition and the cultural and historical heritage of medieval Serbia. There are over 700
Orthodox monasteries, churches and convents that are protected by the country. In addition, there are also
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more than 30 Roman Catholic churches, about 15 mosques and 3 synagogues, and many other religious
monuments. This proves that the immense potential of Serbia as a religious tourism destination is
unquestionable and provides a great opportunity for creating many religious routes with different themes
connecting these sacred sites into a unique tourism product that would attract visitors from all over the world.
The theme of the proposed route in this paper is related to the healing effects and miracles of sacred sites. The
route begins in the northern part of the country with the Holy Well of St. Mary in Doroslovo (Sombor) and
Monastery Grgeteg at Fruška Gora Mountain. Afterwards it continues towards the Church of St. Petka in
Belgrade, leading further south to the monastery Vujan, near Čačak and monastery Preobraženje in the
Ovčar-Kablar Gorge. The final destination on the route is the monastery Dečani in the southern part of the
country, in the province of Kosovo.
Holy well of the Virgin Mary
The “Sentkut” (holy spring in Hungarian) sanctuary with the chapel of Virgin Mary and its miraculous well is
located in Doroslovo, near Sombor, about 80 km from Novi Sad.
The clear cold water from the well helped many pilgrims of different religions who come here regardless of
the season. It is believed that the water has healing effects. According to legend, in the late 18th century, a
blind young man, Janos Zablocki, saw the Virgin Mary in his dream and she instructed him to go to
Doroslovo and wash his eyes with the water from the well. He listened to the voice from his sleep and visited
the well the next day. After praying and washing his eyes three times, his eyesight has returned miraculously.
Ever since then, this well is regarded as a holy place, attracting over ten thousand pilgrims every year.
Because of all the miracles that have happened here for a short time, the residents of Doroslovo built a chapel
as a symbol of gratitude towards Virgin Mary. The chapel was later burned in a fire and a statue of Virgin
Mary was erected in its place. It was only later that the modern day chapel, also known as “Sentkut”
sanctuary was built. It keeps about 80 covenantal medallions which were left behind by believers as a sign of
gratitude for their salvation (Dautbegovics, 2002; Tomić, 2006).
Monastery Grgeteg
Monastery Grgeteg is located between Belgrade and Novi Sad, 7 km from Irig, on the slopes of the Fruška
Gora Mountain very close to the village of Grgeteg. The monastery church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. By
passing through the gates of the monastery, the visitor leaves behind everything negative that he had in
himself which is taken care of by the saints that decorate the aisle.
According to popular tradition it was founded by Despot Vuk Grgurević (known as Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk)
sometime between 1459 and 1521 (before the Turks invaded Srem). Towards the end of the 17th century the
monastery was abandoned, then restored in 1708 by Bishop Isaija Đaković. The old stone church was
replaced in around 1770 by a new Baroque structure, which was then restored in 1901 to a project by
Hermann Bollé. The church had two iconostases. The first was housed in the church until its restoration in
1901, painted by Jakov Orfelin in 1774 and the second, now found in the church, painted by Uroš Predić in
1902. The iconostasis is mostly of marble – only the royal doors and two side doors are of wood. The interior
of the church is not painted, but the walls, vaults and interior of the dome are decorated with numerous floral
ornaments.
The church houses an icon of the Trojeručica (Three-Handed Virgin) and thus the monastery is visited by a
great number of pilgrims. This icon was brought to the monastery in 2002 and a miracle happened that very
first day. Two married couples who couldn’t have children and seeked professional medical help for years
prayed to the Three-Handed Virgin and their prayer was answered. Next summer, the couples returned to the
monastery with their babies to express their gratitude for this miracle. The Three-Handed Virgin also helps
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children to start speaking, stop crying and relieve their fears. She is proclaimed as a patron of Fruška Gora
Mountain and all of its monasteries. The residential buildings surrounding the church on all sides and the
iconostasis in the steeple chapel, the work of Pjer Križanić, were destroyed in the Second World War (Matić,
2008; Gorjanović, 2011).
The church of St. Petka in Belgrade
The church is located in the Upper Town of the Belgrade Fortress, very close to the Ružica Church. It was
built on top of a spring that is believed to be miraculous, on the site of an old chapel built after 1867. The
current chapel was built in 1937 according to the design of architect Momir Korunović. It was completed on
St Petka’s Day (also known as Paraskeva) and the spring waters are believed to be beneficial to women. Its
interior walls and arches are covered with mosaics, created between 1980 and 1983 by artist Đuro Radulović.
St Petka is considered as a protector of women and they are the ones that most often seek her help.
The holy and healing waters of the spring are mentioned in the middle ages but no one knows for sure the
exact age of the spring. However, it is a well-known fact that this was a holy place for Serbian people. It is
believed that the spring’s water heals all those who take it with faith and love for this saint. Bottles filled with
this water travel to all corners of the world and stories about its miraculous healing effects can be read
throughout the Internet (Lazić, 2007).
Monastery Vujan
Monastery Vujan is located half way between the cities of Čačak and Gornji Milanovac, deeply hidden into
the wooded mountain of Vujan. The easiest way to approach the monastery is by the 4 km-long country road
that branches off the Ibarska highway in the village of Brdjani (Glišić, 1994).
The history of the monastery Vujan is mostly unknown since there is a lack of written documents. It is
assumed that the first monastery was built on the place where an unknown saint monk had lived. The first
written documents about monks’ life in monastery Vujan date from the middle of 15th century.
Beside the tomb of unknown saint, the biggest treasure of the monastery Vujan is the wooden cross made by
Gojko Stojčević, later on his majesty Serbian patriarch Pavle. Gojko made this cross during his two-year-long
life and prayer in the monastery Vujan (1944-1946). Young Gojko suffered from tuberculosis and doctors’
diagnosis was that there is no cure for him. After he spent two years in prayers on the tomb of the unknown
saint, completely isolated from the other brothers, his disease mysteriously disappeared (Radulović, 2004,
2005; Radulović, Knežević-Monašević, 2011).
Monastery Vujan attracted huge number of pilgrims even before the miraculous healing of patriarch Pavle.
However, before patriarch’s death this monastery was known only to a limited number of believers and
pilgrims who tried to find their salvation near the tomb of the unknown saint. In 2009, when Serbian patriarch
Pavle died, all media published the story about his recovery in the monastery Vujan, which largely
contributed to the increase in the number of visitors.
According to the words of the abbot Jovan Nikitović, the principal of the monastery Vujan, around 5.000 to
6.000 people visit the monastery annually. A significant number of visitors come to the monastery Vujan on
recommendation of the monks from other monasteries, but on doctors’ recommendations as well. However,
no one can specify the exact number of the cured people, since the monastery’s monks do not keep this kind
of records.
Beside the large value of the monastery for those pious visitors, the monastery also attracts a lot of visitors
driven by the unspoiled nature of its surrounding, great historical importance, architectural value as well as
by interesting legends and stories about the monastery and miraculous spiritual healing.
Preobraženje monastery
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The old Preobraženje Monastery was situated on the left bank of the Zapadna Morava River, mentioned first
in 1525. It was blown up with dynamite, with the blessing of St. Sava, the Bishop of Žiča, for the purpose of
the construction of the railroad leading to the town of Užice. The today's Preobraženje Monastery was built in
1938 and is situated on the right bank of the Zapadna Morava River, on the northern hill sides of Mount
Ovčar, 160 km from Belgrade. Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović took an initiative to erect a new Preobraženje
Monastery in 1938. Today it is a building with a square ground plan and a low altar apse. The church was not
fresco – painted except for the dome and the altar area. According to the blessing of Bishop Saint Nikolaj
Velimirović, the life of the monastery has been organized following the rules of the Holy Mountain of Athos,
meaning its having neither property nor parish, but a solely missionary role. Near the monastery there is a
church in a rock known for its healing water of Sava. People have always believed that Sava’s water, as it is
called, heals from headaches and restores eyesight to the blind. Ever since it was founded, a large number of
people had visited it mainly due to strange and mysterious events in the old monastery. According to
tradition, in this place the prayers of famous Serbian leaders, Karadjordje and Miloš Obrenović have been
answered when they were hiding from Turks (Rajić, Timotijević, 2012).
Visoki Dečani monastery
Visoki Dečani Monastery is situated in the western part of the UN administered Serbian province of Kosovo
and Metohia. It was built between 1327 and 1335 by the Serbian medieval king St. Stefan of Dečani and was
dedicated to the Ascension of the Lord. The monastery is settled in the picturesque valley of the Bistrica
river, 17 km from the town of Peć, surrounded by the mountains and forests of the Prokletije mountain range.
It is the largest and best preserved medieval monastery in Serbia.
During its turbulent history the Monastery was an important spiritual centre with developed artistic and
intellectual activities. Although the monastery buildings suffered damage from the Turkish occupation, the
church has been completely preserved with beautiful 14th century fresco paintings. Today a young
brotherhood of 30 brethren lives in the monastery continuing the centuries old tradition of the past. The
brotherhood has developed various activities: wood carving, icon painting, book publishing and is also active
in the missionary work. The beautiful monastic services are served according to the typicon of Mount Athos
(Todić, Čanak-Medić, 2005).
Dečani Monastery is known for many holy and miraculous relics of the saints. The most important relics are
of St. King Stefan of Dečani, whose body has been preserved whole and incorruptible. In the treasury also the
incorruptible hand of St. Nicetas the Goth and the jaw-bone of St. Gregory of Nyssa are preserved and are
venerated on important feast days.
Belief in the healing effects of the Dečani Monastery is closely connected with the history of this shrine
erected in the fourteenth century, and the life of its founder, King Stefan of Dečani, whose relics are believed
to help those who are blind, barren, and those having neuropsychiatric problems. Success in the treatment of
the latter was so big that at one time in the Middle Ages, a hospital for the treatment of neuropsychiatric
diseases was opened here at the monastery (Radulović, Knežević-Monašević, 2011).
In 2004, UNESCO listed the monastery on the World Heritage List, citing its frescoes as "one of the most
valued examples of the so-called Palaeologan renaissance in Byzantine painting" and "a valuable record of
the life in the 14th century". Today believers and those seeking help from the monastery can unfortunately
only come accompanied by international peacekeeping forces KFOR.
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CREATION OF SPIRITUAL THEMED ROUTE IN SERBIA
As it was mentioned before Serbia is one of the still undiscovered tourism destinations for religious and
spiritual tourists. It was certainly the great potential of spiritual and religious tourism attractions as well as a
wide array of places of mysterious spiritual healing which inspired authors to come up with idea of creation
of spiritual healing themed route in Serbia.
Creation of thematic spiritual routes proved to be highly successful in world’s famous religious destinations
such as Santiago de Compostela or Holy Land. At the time when European medieval pilgrimage activity
reached its peak in the 13th century, approximately half a million people visited the shrine of Saint James at
Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Seven centuries later, between 4.5 and 5 million visited the same shrine in
1993 (Murray and Graham 1997). Religious tourism market is one of the fastest growing in the world, and
new and undiscovered destinations are always welcome. Long established shrines still continue to act as
magnets for those in search of spiritual goals, and new ones, such as Medjugorje in Western Herzegovina in
the former Yugoslavia (with its estimated 3,000 to 5,000 daily tourists) are also attracting pilgrims from all
parts of the globe (Vukonić, 1992).
Thematic routes have been proven as an extraordinary opportunity for the development of underdeveloped
regions that possess cultural resources. They can attract different visitors - international tourists who visit
these trails as a part of their vacation, local daily visitors, as well as tourists who are stationed in one place
but they partake in a route in form of daily excursions.
Routes vary widely in length, scope and the subject that connects the sites within them. Many routes’
objectives are related to attracting visitors, linking cultural attractions, heritage interpretation, engaging local
communities, protection and conservation of heritage and encouragement of sustainable tourism development
(Meyer, 2004).
There are a few benefits which all stakeholders in religious and spiritual tourism should bear in mind:
• thematic routes can be implemented at relatively low cost,
• thematic routes can meet all time and space demand's requirements
• thematic routes can utilize unexploited resources in the best possible way
• new requirements of tourism demand can be easily met by adding new attractions to existing routes.
The most famous and finest examples of creating thematic routes in Serbia are certainly "Serbian Wine
Route" and the cultural route "The trail of Roman emperors ". The "Serbian Wine Route” was launched by
Ministry of Economy and has defined nine wine trails. In addition to these routes there are also several tracks:
"Castles of Vojvodina", as well as numerous trails devoted to medieval castles, monasteries built in the
Raska, Moravian or Byzantine style.
The spiritual and religious route connecting places of spiritual healing in Serbia would be named “The trail of
miracles” and it would connect six most important monasteries known for spiritual healing miracles. The first
site on the route would be the Holy well of the Virgin Mary in Doroslovo, near Sombor at the north of the
country. Next site would be Monastery Grgeteg in Fruška Gora, Near Novi Sad. After these sites, the route
would continue south towards Belgrade and church of St. Petka. After that, the route would proceed to
Ovčar-Kablar Gorge and Monasteries Vujan and Preobraženje. The last point on the route would be
Monastery Dečani in the southern province of Kosovo. The proposed site order is optional and it doesn’t
have to be followed since every route’s point can be first or last destination for tourist.
Since, all of the mentioned monasteries have their own and specific spiritual healing stories, they should be
provided with interpretative panels containing basic information and stories about the biggest healing
miracles which happened there. For example, interpretative panel for Monastery Vujan should contain
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information of its mysterious history and first unknown saint whose tomb helped thousands of people
including former Serbian patriarch Pavle.
Moreover, one of the important steps in this thematic route creation should be marketing plan. All these
places are well known as spiritual centers among large number of local people, but they are still unknown to
the wider domestic and international tourism market. Creation of promotional Web site would certainly
improve their visibility on the religious tourism market. “The trail of miracles” Web site should be able to
give all information about monasteries’ significance, history and miracle healings. Besides that, this Web site
should present all additional attractions, accommodation, nearby restaurants etc. along the route, so that all
potential visitors can arrange their own travel route.
When it comes to the creation of new themed routes, it is quintessential to determine who are the stakeholders
in these areas and who is going to be a leading stakeholder? Maybe the most logical solution would be that
Tourism Organization of Serbia manages the whole project in cooperation with Ministry of Trade, Tourism
and Telecommunications and Serbian Orthodox and Serbian Catholic churches.
Figure 1. The proposed religious route “The trail of miracles”
Source: Adapted by Authors
All monasteries included in this spiritual route have quite well-ldeveloped tourism infrastructure, which could
already host its first tourists on the route. On-site accommodation is provided in small-capacity monasteries’
residences, but all cities near monasteries could provide good quality accommodation for all future visitors.
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Despite the fact that Serbian roads infrastructure does not satisfy European standards, Serbia has an enviable
transit position with lots of tourists passing through on daily basis. Interesting and quality info boards on
Serbian national boarder entrances, airports and along the highway would attract the attention of the huge
number of transit tourist who could be enticed to participate in this themed route.
Creation of this spiritual route would enhance tourism development of all mentioned areas, promote Serbia as
new religious tourism destination and would certainly help many people in finding their cure for whatever
ails them.
CONCLUSION
As it was mentioned before, there are 55 sacred places identified on the territory of Serbia. Furthermore, the
spiritual wealth of Serbia also lies in the fact that these places represents sacred places of three religions
Christianity, Orthodoxy and Islam. All of these places have its own primer sacred value, but one of the aims
of this paper was to present also their tourist value as a part of unique future themed sacred route. The
important things connecting all of these six places we proposed to include in the route are their spirituality
and miraculous possibilities for healing people. On the entire route pilgrims will be able to drink curing
water in Doroslovo, to make a prayer in front of the icon of Trojeručica (Three-Handed Virgin), to drink
water from the healing spring in church of St. Petka in Belgrade for which is believed that cures all who are
drinking it with faith and love, to make a prayer on the tomb of unknown saint at the Monastery Vujan, to
make a prayer, drink a water or eat healing honey in the Monastery of Preobraženje or to make a prayer near
the holy and miraculous relics of the saints in the Monastery of Dečani.
Creation of the themed spiritual route in Serbia will provide an opportunity for entire country to be
recognized on the world tourism map. “The trail of miracles” as a complete tourism product will be able to
satisfy both tourists’ curiosity and pilgrims’ spiritual needs. Future Serbian tourism development strategies
should provide more detailed and precise steps for “The trail of miracles” creation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
This research was supported by Project 176020 of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and
Technological Development
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RECONSTRUCTION OF TOURISM: TOURISM DETOX
Irfan Arikan
IMC FH Krems
IMC FH Krems University of Applied Sciences
Krems, Austria
Ilker Unsever
Boğaziçi University
Department of Tourism Administration
Istanbul, Turkey
ABSTRACT
Having the tourism industry as the only development model for a country with its natural and cultural
resources could not only destroy the social life but also the tourism industry itself. Although the equation
“more tourists=more tourism income” is so simple, it is not a sustainable approach for the development plans.
The prospects of even more income will cause an increase in the tourism revenue generation capacity of the
destination which often causes deterioration and devastation of the attractions at the destination and a
decrease of the tourism earnings in the long run.
This is what is meant by the concept of “tourism paradox”. In common usage, the word “paradox” often
refers to statements that are ironic or unexpected, such as “the paradox that standing is more tiring than
walking “. Tourism paradox is the name given to this phenomenon where industrial tourism deteriorates or
destroys natural and cultural environment which is necessary for tourism activities. Projects which focus on
and emphasize the economic and social benefits should be undertaken in order to protect these values in the
long run.
The balance, which does not change and disturbs the social and economic relations at the destination is called
“tourism equinox”. The name “equinox” is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because
around the equinox, night and day are about equal length. New projects and approaches to solve the problem
caused by the growth of urban populations and establish healthy sustainable tourism destinations are
becoming more important than ever.
“Detox” is a period when you stop taking unhealthy or harmful foods, drinks or drugs into your body for a
period of time, in order to improve your health. The process or period of time during which a destination
refrains from deterioration and devastation of the attractions at the destination, regarded as an opportunity to
protect the natural and cultural resources of the destination, is called tourism detox. Tourism detox is a
treatment that is intended to remove harmful substances from the destination.
This paper investigates the influence of tourism paradox and tourism equinox on destinations in relation to
tourism and the protection of natural and cultural resources with the help of tourism detox.
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Keywords: Tourism Paradox, Tourism Equinox, Tourism Detox, Tourism Development, Sustainability.
TOURISM PARADOX
The tourism product is developed, funded, managed and marketed by both private and public sector entities
such as government ministries, tourism authorities, hotels and Destination Marketing Organisations
(DMO’s), all having their own ways of dealing with the product, own limitations and resource-based
challenges. A tourism destination’s characteristics and industry are highly affected by regional and local
politics and policies, and are made up of a multidimensional conflation of macro- and micro-product features
that are developed and marketed to dynamic and heterogeneous markets (www.equinoxadvisory.com).
The proposal offered by today’s competitive paradigm that the more the number of tourists arriving at a
destination, the more the income for the destination sounds good at first. New buildings, new lifestyles,
foreign capital and new socio-economic relationships appear rapidly at the destination. The increased number
of tourist arrivals gives the appearance of increasing desirability of the destination. Is it, however a feasible
proposal for all cases? With the increased tourism activity, there is also an increase in problems faced by the
local people and tourists at the destination. Having the tourism industry as the only development model for a
country with its natural and cultural resources could not only destroy the social life but also the tourism
industry itself. Although the equation “more tourists=more tourism income” is so simple, it is not a
sustainable approach for the development plans. The prospects of even more income will cause an increase in
the tourism revenue generation capacity of the destination which often causes deterioration and devastation of
the attractions at the destination and a decrease of the tourism earnings.
The tourism paradox begins to appear at this stage since the natural and cultural resources that are worth
seeing are consumed by those who come to visit them. The destination could shrink and disappear in the long
run. Hence new projects and approaches to solve the problems caused by the growth of urban populations and
establish healthy sustainable tourism destinations are becoming more important than ever. Tourism paradox
is the name given to this phenomenon where industrial tourism deteriorates or destroys natural and cultural
environment which is necessary for tourism activities.
An analogy can be made of a scorpion stinging itself when surrounded with fire to local economies dependent
on tourism. For such destinations tourism is sometimes embraced as a lifestyle and everything there becomes
entwined with tourism, in effect tourism becomes the ring of fire causing “self-destruction” of the destination.
Although this metaphor is not novel, it expresses the notion where tourism itself causes a downward spiral as
put forth by previous tourism researches that have considered the phenomenon from different points of view.
Figure 1
Tourism Industry
TO
TRANSPORT
TA
TOURIST
Source: Unsever, I., 2004.
ACCOMMODATION
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As the number of tourists visiting to a destination increases so will the revenue generated. Then it inevitably
follows, facilities, roads, airports, and ports with the capacity to accommodate more people will be built for
more income (Figure 1). Tourism investments have been modified in such manner that negative natural and
social impact is the central focus of prohibitions regarding investments.
TOURISM EQUINOX
Among the positive effects of tourism are the creation of jobs and income, promotion of intercultural
relations and the possibility of recreation for the stressed urban citizens. Its negative consequences are everincreasing traffic, over-exploitation of natural resources and generally inappropriate use of landscapes. Due to
this, tourism sometimes endangers the sole grounds for its existence. Avoiding exploitation, increasing
intensity of traffic and pollution of landscapes is one of the main tasks for the future.
According to Hermann Hinterstoisser, Head of the Nature Protection Department, Salzburgerland, the great
variety of beautiful landscapes in Austria offers many different aspects of multifunctionality. The same
landscape may have productive, protective, recreational and ecological functions. The protection and
sustainable development of landscapes has to be a joint task for spatial planning, agriculture, forestry, nature
conservation and tourism as a whole in order to maintain the multifunctionality and diversity of the
landscapes.
It is expected that domestic and foreign visitors will in the future prefer greener, more serene, and more
natural destinations where they can easily find the values stated in the basic principles of sustainable tourism,
and they feel healthy, relaxed and secure. The balance, which does not change and disturbs these social and
economic relations at the destination is called “tourism equinox”. The name “equinox” is derived from the
Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, night and day are about equal length.
Local communities need to control and self regulate their tourist industries, and tourism offers the best
options in terms of environmental protection and long-term, sustainable economic growth in these
communities (Wearing, Wearing, and McDonald, 2012).
One of the best examples worldwide is Yamaguchi, located on the periphery of Honshu, the main island of
Japan. After the rural areas of Yamaguchi lost 32% of its population, the local people of this destination
understand that tourism equinox can be used to bring together a range of activities, products and experiences
to useful economic advantage. The Yamaguchi tourism policy aims to satisfy both residents in rural areas, as
well as visitors from urban areas. The travellers who prefer rural tourism have the desire to stay somewhere
for a longer period of time, to get to know a smaller place in the country, and close to nature, and to gain a
better understanding of what it means to live in a rural area. Rural residents are seen as important providers of
various services and products and the approach represents a form of neo-endogenous economic develpoment.
The interaction and economic benefit is supposed to generate mutual value and appreciation. This microeconomic activity is also designed to help bring extra income to rural households, and to female householders
particular (Murayama and Parker, 2012).
Tourism communities in Malaysia face also the problem of in-migration of labor from rural to urban areas.
Land use conflicts - e.g. logging of tropical forests in the Endau-Rampin region of southern Peninsular
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Malaysia and in the Liwagu-Labuk River Basin, Sabah, East Malaysia, still continue (Malaysia Leo
Conception, 2012). The strong risk of depopulation in rural areas, combined with the importance of rural
areas throughout the European Union’s (EU) geography, has induced several different programs that attempt
to encourage the development of these areas (Hernandez-Maestro, and Gonzales-Benito, 2013).
On the other hand, the growth of rural tourism have to be totally diverging with that of seaside tourism
development that, without control could create huge holiday resorts and artificial villages with no identity.
Many coastal regions in Portugal, Italy, Greece and particularly in Spain, have suffered this problem, and
coast line has been completely destroyed by blocks of apartments and huge hotels, without green or natural
areas. In some leading municipalities such as San Gimignano, Pienza, San Quirico d’Orcia or Radda in
Chianti the number of nights spent per capita is over 50 and the local governments are discussing about
constraints on visitor numbers (Randelli &Romei& Tortora& and Tinacci, 2012).
Laura Piriz, National Board of Fisheries and Dr. Karl Bruckmeier, University of Göteborg, mentions that
from the times – less than 100 years ago in Sweden – that “fishing community” was nearly synonymous with
“coastal society” to the present days when fishery is marginal, both in national, economic and social terms, a
dramatic change has happened, usually called modernisation. Today the Swedish archipelago areas are
discussed mainly in terms of negative demographic growth with real estate being appropriated by people
from urban areas and temporary overcrowding by tourists – indicators of cultural, social, economic and
ecological impoverishment and decline. Swedish rural and environmental development policies address the
questions of keeping alive the archipelago. Today the local governments try to create islands of projects and
experiments with local knowledge to take the advantage of diversity of knowledge (for example, in organic
agriculture and horticulture, local handicrafts, sustainable and high quality local fisheries, new consumption
styles).
In Mallorca however, in the tourism sector the damage is caused by sheer numbers and by the fact that tourist
are notoriously unconscious of their environmental behaviour when away from home. Tourism is a consumer
industry and it is difficult to impose better environmental standards on a transient population. For a long time
Mallorcans have bemoaned the degenerative impact tourism has had on society, language and environment
but have been happy to accept the considerable economic benefits. Many commentators advocate an
expansion of ‘new’ tourists at the expense of ‘old mass’ tourists through a policy of diversification. Highly
laudable providing total income from tourism remains constant or rises. If more ‘new’ tourists’ and fewer
‘old’ tourists results in a fall in GDP or per capita incomes, Mallorcans must accept a fall in their standard of
living or at least trade it against a possible increase in their quality of life. Such moves usually benefit the
higher social echelons and not the working class sector, already subject to vicious ‘seasonality’, who may not
find this sort of solution so acceptable. Are there enough ‘new’ tourists with sufficiently high disposable
incomes to fulfil this policy move? Golfers, cruise tourists, the conference trade etc have so far made little
economic impact, and mass tourist numbers continue to rise in any case! (Buswell, 2011).
TOURISM DETOX
We have previously analyzed the issue of tourism paradox which was mainly about the negativeness of
tourism and negative progress of tourism economy. The aforementioned tourism paradox was about regions
which become tourism destinations where relations of tourism industry has dominated roles over its
unplanned and uncontrolled economic and social structure with unbalanced funds.
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The concept of distortion through tourism followed by spoilage of tourism can be better observed in regions
where the early season is welcome. With the idea of having a share from the tourism industry in touristic
resorts such as Kuşadası, Antalya and Alanya where the season starts earlier and people commonly enjoy to
have an economic welfare in these regions in comparison to the other touristic regions, it is clearly observed
that the nature, environment, social structure in the province and dominant cultural elements are speedily
decreased. As a result some of them has become extinct and most of them have lost the identity.
Consequently, these destinations which have become favourite touristic resorts with their unique touristic
attractions have lost their characteristics. In 1980, 42875 beds were in Kusadasi and the rate for a 3 stars hotel
per person per night was USD 30. Today in a resort hotel the all-inclusive rate per person per night is USD 810 (www.kuto.org.tr). Because of the fact that they are well known and because of their accessibility in terms
of transportation, tourism industry has a tendency to use these destinations until they lose their unique
characteristics. This leads to a fast grow of paradox of expecting “cheap” tourists and tourism models day by
day. The people in these regions where the economy of the society based on tourism are in search for “more
tourists” in order to satisfy their economic expectances just like drug addicts.
Is analepsis possible? Dialectics are the reality: the treatment is within the disease! Just as in the case of drug
addiction, it is possible to be cured from the addiction. Certainly, the process cannot be easy and this requires
a large amount of time. Knocking the habit has a psychological, sociological and economic perspectives.
Self-control and consistency is the basic component. In order to succeed it is a must to support this
consistency with scientific methods.
Similarly, it is also possible for the regions with tourism paradox to disengage from this paradox, yet it is not
quite easy as it is expected. Tourism destinations can be disengaged from this paradox to reach to the natural,
historical, economic and ancient social positions through consistency in the society and with the help of
scientific methods. When succeeded there will be a more balanced and controlled tourism with respect to the
nature, environment and social structures even with the less number of tourists visiting the regions. With the
realization of “tourism equinox” and performing it balanced with other economic models, tourism’s
supportive quality will shine out.
The very first requirement to be disengaged from tourism paradox is to have a social consistency. This will
mean an implementation and politics which would not only be accepted by political, administrative and social
domains but also be approved by nongovernmental organizations, people in the regions and more importantly
by tourism operators. This is not easy, on the contrary it is difficult to operate, yet it is not impossible.
As mentioned before, Mallorca Island in Spain is maybe the first touristic region which has performed a
predominant tourism industry in the world. When this reconstruction on the island is examined, it would be
clearly seen that it is possible to disengage from tourism paradox.
Many of these have already been mentioned – environmental degradation and resource depletion, the
continuing rise in mass tourist numbers; the creation of foreign tourist enclaves unfamiliar or even unknown
to Mallorcan locals; seasonality; shifting of investment overseas by Mallorcan capital etc. In addition the
increase in Mallorcan population through inward migration with a higher birth rate than that of locals will
cause tensions unless employment opportunities are increased. Second homes and increased permanent
residents from north and west Europe will inflate house prices further. Both sets of population increases will
put new and difficult-to-sustain pressures on social services in the public sector at a time when it is difficult
to increase the tax harvest and invest in services. Changing patterns of household formation will increase
demands for new housing. Instability in other parts of the Mediterranean will increase the number of visitors
to Mallorca, if only in the short run. This may compensate for the drift of tourists to competing areas –
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Turkey, Middle East, North America, Caribbean etc. Of course, Mallorcan capital may prefer to follow these
shifts (Buswell, 2011).
The best possible way to refine the things that have been impaired is demolishing. Through collapsing the
buildings, the number of beds in Mallorca are decreased. As a result with the growth of natural environment
instead of beds tourism income on the island is increased. Tourism income has had a tendency to increase
together with the increase of natural environment necessary per bed. Decreasing the demand of the number
of beds in order to increase the income per bed and to disengaging the tourism region from dominant
economic activities by strengthening the social and economic structure is defined as Tourism Detox.
In the first place the best way to start is to perform a Tourism Development Plan. Having a plan shaped by
“Tourism Detox” would stop the corruption, and by determining the models and places of reconstruction, it
will initiate reformation. The idea of reforming by saving the existing would only increase the corruption. It
is nearly impossible and very difficult and even is against to the law to collapse the buildings that have been
constructed in the name of regulatory compliance and construction plans. Nevertheless, it is a need to have
some incentives like taxes as well as forming social determination and explaining the medium and long term
benefits of reconstructing the region to the stake holders of the tourism industry.
Tourism Detox does not work on the prominences which have no past history and has existed just for tourism
and because of tourism. Making a tourism plan and reconstruction on the regions which are existed by the
result of the mass tourism and have only facilities and nothing else is different from reconstructing the
tourism in regions which have its own texture. We use the term “Tourism Detox” only for such destinations.
CONCLUSION
New projects and approaches to solve the problem caused by the growth of urban populations and establish
healthy sustainable tourism destinations are becoming more important than ever. The opportunities to create a
new form of tourism practice that potentially reduces our environmental and social impacts, while
simultaneously enhancing our individual experiences, are the focus of a new approach called tourism detox.
A sustainable tourism is the only type of tourism that can offer an authentic countryside lifestyle area, where
it is possible to relax and enjoy nature and countryside atmosphere, like in Tuscany, Provence and Wachau,
without compromising the other local specialisation, first of all agriculture. Sustainability should be
substantiated through policy and legislation and should be primary objective in all decisions regarding
tourism. This covers a multitude of areas of study and implementation ranging from, but not limited to,
environmental, social, economic and urban development and design.
Sustainable tourism began to be used from late 80s and early 90s the term has become more commonly used
(Swarbrooke, 1999). Research on sustainable tourism has provided many ideas and tools in advancement of
sustainability in addition to defining and delineating the concept. Despite the theoretical contributions
provided by extent research positive, real-world examples of the concept of sustainability of tourism in
general and destinations in particular are necessary. But the remarks about the negative impacts of tourism
are intended to demonstrate and explain the tourism paradox.
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Tourism itself is not an environmentally and socially “negative” activity that should be avoided. The tourism
industry is worth developing and investing in and brings about negative impacts which sometimes outweigh
its associated positive economic impacts if undertaken sustainably. But there does exist a form of tourism that
is not destructive or paradoxical, and tourism has many positive economic and social benefits that are
indispensable.
The very activity of tourism should not necessarily consume the very cause of the activity. Tourism can
indeed not only provide the impetus for conservation, itself can be based on conserving or financing the
conservation of the destination in short, it can ensure sustaining of tourism. Common sense should prevail
over policy, lessons gleaned from mistakes of other destinations should direct destination development, and
most importantly tourism should not be conceptualized as a finite stream of revenue where profit
maximization is the logical course of action, but as a renewable resource that requires care and attention in its
utilization. Based on an understanding that is distinct from mass tourism, a new tourism destination where the
cultural and historical heritage is utilized needs to be created through investment, promotion and marketing
that is focused on sustainability. Activities necessary for strategic planning should be carried out, and the
cooperation of public and private sectors should be ensured after determining the applicability of slow
tourism approach.
The awareness of locals and visitors should be raised in order to prevent damage to the historical and cultural
environment, the carrying capacity of the region should be determined under sustainable principles, and local
governments, non-governmental organizations, universities and professional organizations should cooperate
against adverse environmental effects caused by tourism.
“Recommendatory” and “orienting” approaches rather than “prevention” should be adopted in legislations;
local authorities should be supported in their endeavors towards sustainability. In respect to structure of
tourism, "nonindustrial" scale and types should be subjected to a different set of rules different from the areas
and facilities of mass tourism. Rights and powers of local governments over implementations should be
expanded. Rural tourism must be promoted as a key driver of rural tourism development, and funds must be
devoted to supporting the development of rural lodging establishments.
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REFERENCES
Buswell, R. J., (2011). Mallorca and Tourism History, Economy and Environment. Channel View
Publications.
Hernandez-Maestro, R. M. & Gonzales-Benito, O., (2013). Rural Lodging Establishments as Drivers of Rural
Development, Journal of Travel Research, 53 (I), 83-95.
Malaysia Leo Conception, (2012). Tourism Impacts Presentation. Malaysia: Comm 515T, Global Tourism.
Murayama, M. & Parker, G., (2012), Fast Japan, Slow Japan: Shifting to Slow Tourism as a Rural
Regeneration Tool in Japan. S. Fullagar, K.W. Markwell and E. Wilson (Ed.) Slow Tourism: Experiences and
Mobilities (pp.170-185) Bristol: Channel View Publications.
Randelli, F. & Romei, P. & Tortora, M. & Tinacci, M., (2012). Rural tourism driving regional development
in Tuscany. The renaissance of the countryside. Department of Economic Sciences, University of Florence.
(http://www.disei.unifi.it/upload/sub/pubblicazioni/repec/pdf/wp11_2011.pdf) (downloaded on 07.05.2014 at
11.30 pm).
Swarbrooke, J. (1999), Sustainable Tourism Management. Oxon: CABI Publishing.
Wearing, S., Wearing, M. and McDonald M. (2012). “Slow’n Down the Town to Let Nature Grow:
Ecotourism, Social Justice and Sustainability”, S. Fullagar, K.W. Markwell and E. Wilson (Ed.) Slow
Tourism: Experiences and Mobilities. (pp.36-50) Bristol: Channel View Publications.
www.equinoxadvisory.com (downloaded on 05.03.2014 at 5.32 pm).
www.kuto.org.tr (downloaded on 09.06.2014 at 10.15 am).
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DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE RURAL TOURISM IN SAN ANTONIO, TX
Sedef Doganer, PhD
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas at San Antonio
College of Architecture
ABSTRACT
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. San Antonio is one of the Texas' top tourist
cities, and a major tourism destination nationally. The city has a rich and unique historic urban landscape
characterized by its river with its famous ‘Riverwalk’, historic neighborhoods and major landmarks such as
San Antonio Franciscan Missions which are on the U.S. “tentative list” as possible UNESCO World Heritage
Sites. San Antonio has emerged as a top tier destination for leisure travelers and convention planners. Each
year, millions of leisure visitors come to San Antonio to shop, play and enjoy the city’s unique history and
culture. Local government has completed a multi-year project to restore and enhance 13 miles of the San
Antonio River both north and south of downtown. It is expected that the river improvement project will
reinforce the connection to the San Antonio Missions, and encourage visitors to circulate along the river
beyond the downtown area.
Master of Architecture students of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) explored the sustainable
rural tourism alternatives in the Mission Historic District in the spring semesters of 2012 and 2013. The
Advanced Design Studio (ARC 6136) focused on research-based exploration and application of advanced
design theory relative to sustainable tourism. This course discussed the relationships between the design of
architecture, tourist city and the alternative practices of tourism. Students investigated the potential rural
tourism opportunities, and develop master plans for the selected sites. Students were also expected to plan,
program and design the proposed tourism activities and tourist spaces.
This paper discusses how to enhance the attractiveness of the destination for visitors and residents, expand
the rural tourism activities offered and provide maximum efficiency in the economical, historical, social, and
cultural dimensions of tourism through rural development practices and proposed design projects.
Keywords: architecture, design studio, sustainable tourism, rural tourism, rural development
1. Introduction
San Antonio has always been a tourist destination since 19th century. The Spanish Colonial Missions were
attracting tourists even when the missions were mostly in ruins. After the Missions were restored in the early
20th century they once again became active parishes in the midst of neighborhoods (Doganer & Dupont
2013).
Todays’ tourism economy in San Antonio mostly depends on leisure travellers and convention planners. For
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the sustainable development of tourism in the city, new concepts and alternatives should be considered as a
part of destination improvement process. This paper promotes rural tourism as a sustainable alternative, and
discusses the potential development proposals in the Missions Historic District of San Antonio.
Following the literature review on sustainable tourism alternatives and rural tourism, the economical impacts
of tourism in San Antonio, and current tourism activities and projects in the city are analyzed. After the
analysis, the necessity of destination improvement to enhance the attractiveness of the city is stated.
Lastly this paper discusses the rural tourism development proposals in the San Antonio Missions Historic
District that are designed by graduate students of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), College
of Architecture, in order to improve and expand the tourism activities offered, to attract more tourists and
increase the economic impacts of tourism, and to create significant benefits for the residents of the District
while preserving their unique rural culture which was developed by the Missionaries.
2. Sustainable Tourism Alternatives
The economical, political, social, and technological developments throughout the world have lead to
significant changes in tourism consumption models and during the early 1970s, the ‘cautionary platform’
emerged and attention was drawn to the more negative consequences of tourism. It is pointed that the costs of
tourism to the local economy, including environmental impacts in destination areas, pressure on local
facilities and changes in hosts' lifestyles are brought about by the presence of tourism and tourists. In the late
1970s Cohen (cited in Boyne 2003) argued that attention was being overly focused on tourism’s negative
effects. In the following years, several sustainable tourism alternatives such as, ‘cultural heritage tourism’,
‘ecotourism’, “culinary tourism”, “health and wellness tourism”, “adventure tourism” and ‘rural tourism’
were advocated as being less damaging to society and environment (Boyne 2003). They are all forms of
special interest tourism; they have grown rapidly since 1970 by responding to new markets, new lifestyles
and new product development opportunities and spurred by the rapid expansion of the mass media into niche
markets, by the internet’s ability to inform, by new transport facilities, and by the surge in individualism and
intellectual curiosity that society has seen (Lane et al. 2013).
Within this context, the aim of these sustainable tourism alternatives has been to improve the tourism
phenomenon in such a way to contribute the regional economy and local community without destroying the
environment, society, and historical, natural and cultural entities (Boyne 2003). Sustainable tourism
developments stimulate local economies, protect and enhance local resources and foster community pride.
Direct involvement of the local community in sustainable tourism development encourages an awareness of
community assets – the culture, heritage, cuisine and lifestyle – and this fosters community-based
conservation of the assets (Bhattacharya & Ganguly 2011).
2.1. Rural Tourism
In the 21st century, it is a common case of the sustainability of the tourism comprehension and the variety of
the tourism movements. The idea of sustainable tourism development is now a popular concept and refers to
allowing tourism growth while at the same time preventing degradation of the environment, as this may have
important consequences for future quality of life (Nijkamp & Verdonkschot 1996).
The Brundtland Report of 1987 defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The message here is that long-term
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preservation of the environment is essential for future use (Berry & Ladkin 1997). In this respect, the concept
of sustainability becomes important as it is frequently mentioned in economical, social, cultural, political
areas. As sustainability is a phenomenon formed to take basic the continuity of the sources in every field, it is
a combination of progress, planning and development that aims to remove some negative situations which
today’s consumption society can cause.
The OESD describes ‘rural tourism’ as ‘a dynamic concept, encompassing multiple objectives such as
equalization of incomes of rural and urban populations, equal access to social services, creation of equal
employment opportunities and protection of rural amenities’. It is typically characterized as small scale, wellmanaged, educational and frequently high-end market (Roberts, Mitchell & Hall 2003). Rural tourism not
only offers business opportunities to local residents, but also enhances local quality of life.
Rural environment is an essential requirement for many visitors, since rural tourism is ultimately a form of
escapism from everyday urban and suburban life. Rural life embodies all qualities that are missing from the
urban area and modern urban society (Bramwell 1994). Tourism literature often emphasizes the tourists’
quest for authenticity, which means that modern tourists are in search of unspoilt nature, landscapes and local
cultures with a distinct regional or local character (Midtgard 2003).
Long and Lane (2000) has mentioned that, in the face of homogenized globalism and what may be
increasingly impersonal and unsafe urban environments, rural tourism is often perceived as able to meet
growing demands for personal contact, individualism, authenticity and heritage, said to reflect increasing
levels of education, health consciousness, and the development of accessible high performance outdoor
equipment (Altun, Beyhan & Esengil 2007).
Rural tourism includes visiting a working farm or any agricultural facility for the purpose of enjoyment,
education, or active involvement in the activities of the “place”. Special interest nature holidays and
ecotourism, walking, climbing and riding holidays, adventure, sport and health tourism, hunting and angling,
educational travel, arts and heritage tourism are other types of rural tourism activities (Irshad 2010).
3. Tourism in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is one of the top tourist cities in United States. The city has a rich and unique historic urban
landscape characterized by its river with its famous ‘Riverwalk’, historic neighborhoods and major landmarks
such as San Antonio Franciscan Missions which are on the U.S. “tentative list” as possible UNESCO World
Heritage Sites (Doganer 2013).
San Antonio has emerged as a top tier destination for leisure travelers and convention planners. Each year,
millions of leisure visitors come to San Antonio to shop, play and enjoy the city’s unique history and culture.
In 2011, the city hosted 22.3 million leisure, 5.6 million business and convention visitors. More than half of
leisure visitors (13 million) were overnight visitors.
As a desirable destination, San Antonio has the advantage of a strong hospitality industry that is resilient over
the business cycle. According to the Economic Impact of San Antonio’s Hospitality Industry report, from
2001 to 2011, the economic impact of the hospitality industry increased from $8 billion to $12.2 billion.
Because visitors bring new dollars to San Antonio, their spending has a multiplier effect. Each dollar of
visitor spending generates approximately one additional dollar of income for San Antonio as the effects of
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this spending work their way through the local economy (Butler & Stefl 2012).
The value of investment in the visitor industry can be significant and broadly distributed. Efforts to increase
the average length of stay for visitors, increase overall visitation and attract added conventions can have a
significant financial impact. Based on “Destination S.A. Update 2011: Strategic Vision for Visitor Industry
Growth in San Antonio” (CSL 2012): “The visitor length of stay in San Antonio ranges from one day to over
7 days, with an average of approximately 4.5 days. Many of the recommendations contained herein are
designed to provide opportunities to extend the visitor stay. For every one‐half day that the typical visitor
extends their stay, hospitality industry impact could increase by approximately 11 percent. Given the reported
annual hospitality industry impact of approximately $9 to $11 billion and the share of this that originates
from overnight visitors, the one‐half day extended stay equates to an approximate $1.0 billion in added San
Antonio area economic impact.”
The comprehensive branding campaign encompasses San Antonio history, arts and culture, world class
cuisine and wine, family fun, romance, and sports and outdoor. Numerous investment and policy initiatives
have been implemented to support and enhance the visitor industry in San Antonio.
To enhance the attractiveness of the destination for visitors and residents, to expand the tourism activities
offered and to create significant economic benefits for the residents, the unique cultural and historical
characteristics of the San Antonio destination should be protected and intensified. As recommended in
Destination S.A. update (CSL 2012), new concepts and sustainable tourism alternatives should be considered
as part of destination improvement process.
4. Developing Sustainable Rural Tourism Alternatives in the San Antonio Missions Historic District
Master of Architecture students of UTSA explored the sustainable rural tourism alternatives in the Mission
Historic District in the spring semesters of 2012 and 2013. The Advanced Design Studio (ARC 6136) focused
on research-based exploration and application of advanced design theory relative to alternative tourism. This
course discussed the relationships between the design of architecture, tourist city and the alternative practices
of tourism. Students investigated the sustainable rural tourism potentials in the District, and developed master
plans for the selected sites. Students were expected to plan, program and design the proposed rural tourism
activities and tourist spaces on both master plan and building scales (Doganer 2014).
4.1. San Antonio Mission Historic District
The Missions Historic District, located along the San Antonio River in the south section of the city, includes
the lower four missions (Listed from north to south: Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan Capistrano, and
Espada), their acequias and fields. The Catholic Church and the Spanish government established five mission
compounds and a small military base in the 18th century that established todays San Antonio, Texas. San
Antonio River was the lifeblood of the missions located within easy reach of its banks. The area was
originally attracted both prehistoric Indian and historic Spanish and Anglo populations because of the
prevalence of unique natural resources. The area was utilized for agricultural purposes as well as local
industries after the establishment of the Spanish Missions (City of San Antonio n.d.).
148
Local government has completed a multi-year project -San Antonio River Improvements Project (SARIP)- to
restore and enhance 13 miles of the San Antonio River both north and south of downtown. In 2009, over 1.7
million people visited Missions Concepción, San José, San Juan, and Espada while 26 million people visiting
downtown San Antonio in total. It is expected that SARIP will also affect the area by restoring the river’s
natural features, re-creating and preserving the natural ecosystem for the enjoyment of the area’s residents
and visitors. The project will also reinforce the connection to the San Antonio Missions, and encourage
tourists to circulate along the river beyond the downtown area (UTSA & The Harbinger Consulting Group
2011).
San Antonio Missions are on the U.S. “tentative list” as possible UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The World
Heritage Site (WHS) nomination is expected to be reviewed in 2015. Recognition as a World Heritage Site
would put the missions in the company of fewer than 1,000 places around the world that are recognized for
outstanding historical, artistic, scientific, or natural values (UNESCO n.d.). WHS status can bring enhanced
resources for conservation and additional funding and investment, and benefit nearby communities from
increased visitation and tourist spending. These communities can also contribute to local economic
development and revitalization. The new report on potential economic impact of WHS designation funded by
Bexar community indicates that WHS designation could be both an outstanding promotional opportunity and
a high-profile catalyst for developing more significant cultural and heritage tourism in the area (The
Harbinger Group 2013).
The Harbinger Consulting Group (2013) states, “Cultural travelers, whether domestic or international, look
for experiences that are unique to a place. The World Heritage Site can be used to capture the attention of
these potential visitors, but they will be looking for other high quality, engaging, authentic cultural
experiences to augment their WHS visit. Use WHS designation as a catalyst for developing and connecting
other heritage tourism opportunities and local businesses.” In this sense, one of the significant projects around
the Missions is San Juan Demonstration Farm. As this demonstration Spanish colonial farming interpretive
program come online in the next few years, visitor activity is projected to steadily increase (UTSA & The
Harbinger Consulting Group 2011). Economic benefits will grow with collaboration, promotion, and use of
the WHS to catalyze additional tourism activities (Doganer & Dupont 2013).
149
Figure 1: WHS Buffer Zone Overlays (Ringenbach, Snow, Morris & others 2014, p.260)
4.2. Architectural Design Studio Content
Our semester long project was to design an alternative tourist environment in the San Antonio Missions
Historic District. We studied contemporary design theory, site planning, programming, functional
organization, spatial experience, structural considerations, material selections and applications, and
environmental concerns.
This interdisciplinary research studio focused on master plan and building scales, and considered the
relationship between tourist activities and architectural environments in both scales. “Architecture +
Tourism” studio designed with three parts: research (3 weeks), master plan (4 weeks) and building design (7
weeks).
Research
150
First part of the studio was to research and analyze the tourism activities and ongoing projects in San
Antonio, and explore potential rural tourism alternatives to increase sustainable tourism developments in the
Missions Historic District. One team of students studied current tourism activities in San Antonio while the
other team was analyzing and mapping the Mission Historic District and its unique culture. After the site
analysis, survey and exploration, studio discussions focused on:


how to enhance the attractiveness of the destination for visitors and residents,
how to provide maximum efficiency in the economical, historical, social, and cultural dimensions
of tourism through sustainable rural development practices,
 how to preserve and share District’s unique cultural culture with visitors,
 how to create significant economic benefits for the residents,
 how to expand sustainable rural tourism activities offered and develop alternative projects.
By the end of the third week and after their research, students decided to work on cultural heritage tourism,
recreational tourism, rural tourism and culinary tourism, and they teamed up.
Master Plan
Second part of the studio was to work on alternative rural tourism development plans in the Missions Historic
District. Based on their research teams decided their sites, developed their rural tourism plans, and planned to
accommodate rural activities for tourists and residents. Students were expected to engage social theories and
tourist behavioral studies as to contribute to the formation of tourist spaces. By the end of seventh week,
master plans were completed and students started to work individually.
Building Design
Last part of the studio was to work on building scale with students’ choice of program. Students selected a
site within the proposed master plan, developed a building program to enhance the alternative rural tourism
activities, and designed the building. Students were expected to improve complex programming and
contextual design methodologies, and integrate aesthetic and functional design principles in their designs
(Doganer 2014).
4.3. Rural Tourism Development Projects
Rural America is a popular tourist destination. According to a recent study, almost three out of four domestic
trips taken are for leisure purposes (77%), and rural activities is one of the top five leisure travel activities for
U.S. domestic travelers (U.S. TRAVEL 2011). Rural tourism involves activities such as tours of a farm,
picking fruit or vegetables on a farm, orchard or vineyard, guest stays on a farm or bed & breakfast, farmwork experiences, walking through a corn maze, petting and feeding animals, horseback rides, planting,
gardening, and harvesting (NTA 2013).
Even though Spanish Missions have a long history on agricultural activities and farming, there are not many
rural tourism development projects in San Antonio. The most important one is the “Spanish Colonial
Demonstration Farm”, which uses the rehabilitated acequia system, opened in August 2013 on the
approximately two hectares of labores (farmlands) closest to the Mission San Juan complex. Farming was an
integral part of the mission system and by mid-century, San Juan with its rich farmland and pasture-lands,
became a regional supplier of agricultural products to an area stretching from Louisiana to Coahuila, Mexico.
Spanish Colonial Demonstration Farm is on the same historic labores that were cultivated in the 18th century
(Los Compadres n.d.). The farm interprets the role of agriculture in mission life, and creates hands-on
151
learning experiences for visitors and community members. It is expected that the farm will increase the
visitation to Mission San Juan both for the general public and for specialized tour groups focused on
educational activities related to agriculture (Ringenbach, Snow, Morris & others 2014).
Another important project, which has potential to increase the visitation and rural activities, is opening of
Rancho de Las Cabras, the historic ranch that provided livestock to feed Mission Espada. Rancho de Las
Cabras is located 50 kilometers south of San Antonio, and the ruins were donated to the Missions National
Historic Park in 1995. There is only a guided tour every first Saturday of every month organized by the Park
Service. Tour participants learn about ranching in Texas, the roots of the American cowboy culture, the role
of ranchos in supporting the missions, and the archaeological investigations conducted at the site (UTSA &
The Harbinger Consulting Group 2011). Development of visitor facilities and provision of basic visitor
services at Rancho de Las Cabras will attract more visitors to the site and rural Texas.
4.3.1. Rural Tourism Project 1
Master Plan Team 1 (team of 4 students) designed a new destination in Southtown on the site, which is
known as Big Tex site, and located in between Blue Star Arts Complex and Lone Star Brewery, and across
from the historic King William neighborhood. The Blue Star Arts Complex was San Antonio's first truly
mixed-use project, and has remained a vital anchor for the arts community ever since. The complex is home
to San Antonio’s longest-running contemporary art space venues, shops, and studios. The triangular site is
defined by San Antonio River, Probandt Street and Lone Star Boulevard, and is divided by two with
extensive railway tracks. The old Big Tex Grain silos are located in the site along the River.
In an effort to enrich the community, the new master plan proposes a new land-bridge over the existing
railway tracks. The purpose of the proposed land-bridge is to unify the site and connect two sides were once
divided by the railway. It will also host active farming space, green houses, walking/biking paths, and light
wells and ventilation chambers. This design project creates a rich urban experience that is linked to the hike
and bike trails along the River through the land-bridge, plazas and courtyards. It also proposes a bridge over
to the historic King William neighborhood. The former granary’s iconic silo structures will retain artifacts
from its industrial days.
152
Figure 2: Master Plan: Big Tex (D. Klepak, B. Rosas, V. Ramirez, and S. Banihashemi)
The proposed master plan capitalizes on the recently completed San Antonio River Improvement project and
populates its west bank with farmers market, grocery market, multiple dining options, food museum,
localized cooking school, boutique hotel, and an educational paper recycling art facility (Doganer 2014).
Quarter Pavilion: the poetics of movement
Quarter Pavilion is designed to serve as an anchor upon Mitchell Boulevard to captivate both locals and
tourists. The design purpose of the pavilion is to stand as a permanent structure that will highlight the rich
and unique cultural heritage of Missions Historic District. Having carefully studied the neighboring
environment, the structure is located and shaped to enhance a variety of vantage points.
The open-air pavilion serves a variety of purposes for the enrichment of the community which include the
weekly farmer's market, community gatherings, festivals and other cultural events. Three sculptural roof
canopies will define the pavilion and provide protected space for different social, cultural, and touristic
activities.
153
Figure 3: Quarter Pavilion (A. Plascencia)
4.3.2. Rural Tourism Project 2
Master Plan Team 2 (team of 4 students) designed a new rural tourism destination in the southern part of the
Missions Historic District, along the Mission Reach section of San Antonio River Improvement Project. The
site is situated between Mission Espada and Mission San Juan, by the Demonstration Farm located just north
of the site, and is on foot traffic from mission-goers and locals using the existing hiking/walking/biking trails.
The proposed master plan promotes a destination that would complement the two landmarks in close
proximity, and help stimulate rural tourism, which would create a synergy within the community at large.
The proposed master plan provides a lawn area for community gatherings and rural festivals, educational
farmlands along with a farmers market, a beach and deck for fishing activities, a boutique hotel, a equestrian
center, and a rural museum. The huge green scape -farmland and lawn area- is located between the river and
Villamain road, surrounded by all other programs and activities offered.
This project promotes a healthier lifestyle for the surrounding neighborhoods. The community, along with
tourists, plays an active role in keeping the agricultural history of the missions alive.
154
Figure 4: River South Master Plan (K. Fitzgerald, I. Ojeda, J. Calzada, and R. Neighbors)
Farmers Market
The farmers market is located at the end of green scape, by the Villamain road, acting as the area that
connects the activities from the river and green scape to the neighborhood. The market is composed of a
series of stalls that allow for future expansion if necessary. The stalls are arranged to provide vehicular access
through the middle of the market for the farmers to bring in produce. The stalls also provide pedestrian streets
for the shoppers to walk down and access the markets and food stalls. The different types of structures
differentiate these areas: the wood structures are for pedestrian circulation, and the concrete and steel
structures are for markets, and food stalls.
Equestrian Center
The equestrian center is located on the east side of Villamain road, and connected to the rest of the project by
the proposed pedestrian bridge. The center offers one hectare riding arena, stables to house 14 horses, a
clubhouse, restroom facilities, and a restaurant.
Rural Museum
The rural museum is located by the farmlands, in a close proximity to the historic acequia. The museum
provides a learning environment to explore the historic rural lifestyles of the Missions. The project takes the
advantage of the existing acequia system, and integrates this irrigation system into the museum design. The
program includes a proposed gallery area providing a unique, pleasant space for displays of dioramas and
mock-ups demonstrating the colonial farming methods. The use of farmlands also provides a hands-on
learning environment of farming practices for locals and tourists.
155
5. Discussion
There is no doubt the daily benefits of these projects will breathe new life into the Mission Historic District
and help to boost the economy of the area. The proposed sustainable rural tourism development projects will
highlight the tourism potentials of the District, capitalize the public investments and improvements around
the San Antonio Missions, and encourage the revitalization of the Missions Historic District. The rural
tourism development projects will expand the activities offered for both tourists and locals, increase visitation
and overnight stays, and create a significant economic benefits for the residents of District. The Mission
Historic District will regain its sense of identity and share its treasures of history, culture and heritage with all
who visit and seek for authenticity.
Tourism can bring many benefits to a local economy but it can also disturb the quality of life of the local
residents, and cause gentrification. Throughout development process, if the Missions Historic District is not
well managed it may lose its authenticity and thus its attractiveness to visitors (Brooks 2008). In this respect,
the proposed development projects are very important in order to support and connect community small
business owners to the existing tourism economy while planning for the possible upcoming WHS designation
as well (Doganer & Dupont 2013).
In order to understand the potentials of the Missions Historic District fully, further studies of this research are
needed to examine other sustainable tourism alternatives.
References
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Directions in Rural Tourism, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Burlington, pp. 19-37.
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Rural Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development, Channel View Publications, Great Britain, pp. 1-6.
Brooks, G, 2008, “Exploiting the Benefits of World Heritage Listing: Evora, Portugal and Hoi An, Vietnam”,
City Spaces – Tourist Places: Urban Tourism Precincts, Elsevier, UK.
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29 2014, http://www.sanantonio.gov/historic/Districts/Mission.aspx
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Visitor Industry Growth in San Antonio, City of San Antonio, TX.
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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS FOR TRADITIONAL TRAVEL AGENCIES: THE SPANISH CASE
Sergio Moreno Gil
University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. University Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Development
(TIDES)
Teresa Aguiar Quintana
(TIDES)
and
Patricia Picazo Peral
(TIDES)
ABSTRACT
Despite the unquestioned importance of travel agencies in the tourism sector and the difficult situation they
face in the future, there is a lack of research on travel agencies and how to face the main trends influencing
them and possible actions to improve their situation. This research develops a qualitative study based on a
methodology with three complementary steps: 1) focus groups with the main segments of the travel agencies:
corporate and holidays, analyzing their motivations and perceptions, 2) interviews with managers and experts
to analyze the perception of the customers and then stress some of the main trends affecting this industry and,
3) finally, interviewees were asked to propose strategies to overcome future trends previously identified. This
research integrates both perspectives: demand and supply to be able to propose actions and strategies for
future scenarios, what is especially valuable due to the difficult situation of the travel agencies in Spain.
Finally, after identifying the main 14 trends of the industry and 23 recommended strategies, the study also
proposes some future research topics useful for the industry.
Key Words: Travel agency/ Spain / Qualitative study / Motivations/ Trends/ Successful strategies.
159
INTRODUCTION
The tourism sector in general, and the traditional travel agency in particular, are currently going through a
quite complex, dynamic and precarious situation (Yesawich, 1996). This is due to factors such as
technological innovations, increasingly demanding consumers, fiercer competition, possible terrorist attacks,
and changes in the tourist distribution system with conflicts between channels, and lower commissions being
paid to the agencies. Faced with this situation, travel agencies must study the market and its different
segments in depth to find possible alternative strategies
What are the feelings of the principal segments of the travel agency and how do they perceive the travel
agency? What are the main trends that travel agencies must face in the future? And even more important:
What can travel agencies do to confront an uncertain future and compete successfully?
This study goes in depth trough these questions, developing a qualitative research, trying to precisely
understand the actual situation facing the traditional travel agencies, the future scenarios they will have to
face and the possible actions to succeed in the future. Thus, the study integrates the different perspectives
from customers, travel agency managers and experts. The customer represents the demand and the desires of
the market, while the supply implies an internal vision of the business from the managerial point of view.
Finally, the experts represent a neutral and overall and well informed opinion of the travel agencies industry
that can integrate demand and supply perspectives.
The need for strategic change in this industry and the evolving role of the travel agencies is a key topic that
needs major research (Gharavi and Sor, 2006; Harris and Duckworth, 2005). This work aims to analyze
different important aspects of the travel agency industry in Spain, in an integrated manner, and from the
perspectives of the customers, professionals and experts. The work first studies the consumer and elements
such as the motivations of the travel agency user, benefits sought by the user, barriers to the consumer’s use
of travel agencies, travel agency image, and possible mental associations with travel agencies. These
psychological aspects are very important in order to understand the customer perspective. This analysis is
conducted both for the corporate travel segment, which is one of the most important in terms of travel agency
turnover and profit , and for the traditional holiday segment. This was followed by in-depth interviews with
sector experts and managers, who participated in drawing conclusions from the previously obtained
knowledge of the consumer to later identify the possible future trends that could mark the evolution of the
sector, as usually important gaps are found between customers and managers (Nick, et al., 2004). Finally,
different strategies for the success of travel agencies in Spain were put forward. These recommendations are
grouped in actions focus on marketing and actions focus on the organisational and management structure.
In Spain, the context of this study, the travel agency sector is highly fragmented and the situation is especially
perturbing since it is one of the European countries with the highest number of travel agencies (9172), with
the lowest ratio of sales by agency (Moreno & Celis, 2003). Moreover, research on travel agencies in Spain is
also scarce (Caro et al., 2008). Tourist distribution is according to Bigné et al. (2003), the variable of the
tourist sector marketing mix that has received least attention from researchers, who have shown little concern
with firms involved in the intermediation, creation and distribution of tourism offers, particularly in the case
of travel agencies (Esteban Talaya, 2000). Traditional travel agencies in Spain are still maintaining their
turnover, but the new on-line travel agencies are already taking an important market share (See Table 1).
Turnover growth of traditional travel agencies comparing to those of the new comers, indicates that new
strategies must be developed to successfully compete in the future.
160
Table 1. Ranking of travel agencies in Spain by annual turnover
AGENCY
TURNOVER 2006
(millions €)
TURNOVER 2007
(millions €)
% GROWTH
Viajes El Corte Inglés
1.785
1.950
10
Viajes Halcón-Ecuador
1349
1426
6
Marsans Viajes
844
1089
29
Viajes Iberia
670
803
20
Barceló Viajes
522
574
10
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
509
561
10
Viajes Eroski
266
287
8
eDreams *
119
210
76
Rumbo *
157
200
27
Lastminute *
87
200
229
Viajar.com *
80
120
50
Atrápalo *
42
101
140
Terminal A *
48
97
100
Source: Hosteltur
* On-line Travel Agency
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
The travel agency is still nowadays the principal tourist intermediary on a world scale (Middleton, 1997),
with its role as distributor perhaps more significant than that of intermediaries in other industries and
products (March, 1994) and representing a complex structure and organization (Caro et al., 2008). These
travel agencies are operating in a situation of almost perfect competition (Bull, 1994). In spite of the
importance of the travel agency in tourist distribution, scant attention has been paid by researchers to their
new challenges and possible strategies to succeed. According to authors such as Bitner and Booms (1982);
Booms and Kendall (1989); Ritchie (1996) and Oppermann (1999), attention is being diverted to the Internet
as the rising star of tourist intermediation, with few works accepting the challenge from the perspective of the
traditional travel agency, which is still the distribution leader.
Various studies have been conducted from the perspective of travel agency customers (Capella & Greco,
1987; Hruschka & Mazanec, 1990; Snepenger, Meged, Snelling & Worral, 1990; Le Blanc, 1992; Gee,
Makens, & Choy, 1997; Goldsmith & Litvin, 1999; Heide, Grönhaug, & Engset, 1999; Lam & Zhang, 1999;
Heung & Chu, 2000; Moreno & Celis, 2003; Nick, et al., 2004; Caro et al., 2008). These studies aim to
161
deepen knowledge of the customers and aspects such as motivations and attitudes, quality, and behaviour
toward travel agencies as a prerequisite of travel agencies to improve their service to customers. Other studies
analyze travel agencies from the supply or internal perspective (Butler, et al., 2002; Palmer and Dunford,
2002). Only a few studies have analyzed travel agencies from a geographic perspective, playing attention to
the industry of a particular place (Ng, et al., 2006), as the studies of Barros and Matias (2006) in Portugal,
and Köksal and Aksu (2008) in Turkey. In any case, those works only focus on determined parts of the
demand or supply from a quantitative perspective, and do not consider a more overall analysis of the sector in
a particular region, going beyond the customer side to analyze possible trends and strategies for success in the
sector from the supply side and also considering experts’ opinions about future scenarios. Therefore, it is
necessary to conduct qualitative research that examines these aspects in depth, as is recommended for a
regional perspective, when adopts a supply-side approach (Stuart, et al., 2005).
Moreover, an analysis of travel agency users must consider the different market segments and the differences
between them. In this respect, one of the most used criteria of segmentation in the tourist sector is that
addressing the purpose of the visit, or benefit sought. Some authors, such as Poon (1993), Cha and Uysal,
(1995), and Middleton (1997), highlight that criterion as the most important in the sector, while Haley (1968)
stresses that it is the basic reason that justifies the existence of consistent market segments. Therefore, it is
appropriate to differentiate between the holiday and corporate segments, as understanding tourists’ attitudes
is a basic need to design integrated strategies (Ilbery, et al., 2007).
The importance of acquiring a deeper knowledge of the customers and identifying the motivational and
psychological profiles of the different segments is justified by the complexity and range of the determinant
factors of the demand, depending on the motive for travelling (Crouch, 1994). Thus, this study analyzes the
customer perspective, assessing aspects such as: the benefits sought by using a travel agency, as those
benefits are forces prior to the behavior that permit a better understanding of the tourists’ real expectations,
their needs and perceptions (Mansfield, 1992) and are key in the process of decision to book and travel
(Awaritefe, 2004); image and perception over the barriers and reluctance to use a travel agency, the image of
different aspects of the service and the associations regarding the business and its services. There is a strong
link between perception and image, since image is just the result of the cognitive-perceptual process of the
information (Stern y Krakover, 1993).
Image is of great importance to the tourist industry since image is a mixture of positive and negative
perceptions that represent the reality facing individuals when they take the decision to travel and book their
holydays. Only when the positive image outweighs the negative will the potential tourist make that decision
(Milman and Pizan, 1995; Chen and Kerstetter, 1999; Hernández-Lobato et al., 2006).
However, the customer in depth perspective must be obligatory complimented with that of the managers and
experts, as the future decisions and strategies of the sector will be finally made by them.
METHODOLOGY
In order to undertake this study, three complementary methodological phases were developed (See Table 2):
For the first phase, 15 focus groups with customers were developed in order to identify their personal and
more psychological characteristics when using a travel agency. Individuals were chosen from different
contexts and sociodemographic profiles, to obtain an adequate representation of the Spanish population and it
was checked that individuals were participating in this type of dynamics for the first time. In any case, the
researchers sought a variety of comments and motivational contributions more than the representativeness of
the individuals.
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All the individuals voluntarily agreed to speak about their travel-related behaviour and motivations and were
offered the incentive of entry in a draw for a holiday. The number of participants in each group ranged
between seven and eleven, and some meetings contained a mix of present travel agency customers and noncustomers, while others exclusively comprised either corporate or holiday customers, given their special
characteristics. The average length of each meeting was 80 minutes. The 15 meetings were held during the
evening in hotel conference rooms in the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao, Palma de
Majorca and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
With regard to the second methodological phase, 30 managers of various travel agencies and 12 sector
experts were interviewed to obtain their opinions about possible future trends and scenarios of the sector.
After confirming that they had read the previously provided conclusions of the group studies, the 42
individuals (experts and managers) were asked (open questions) for their opinions regarding possible sector
trends. The proposed sector trends were grouped and sent back to managers and experts to achieve a certain
consensus. Each trend was rated from 1 to 10, about the possibility of that trend to become a reality. Authors
selected those trends obtaining an average rate higher than 7 by the interviewees. This level of agreement
guarantees certain agreement and realistic scenarios while it can drop emerging and uncertain trends.
In a second interview, after they had received by mail a summary of the principal trends identified by them,
managers and experts were asked (open questions) to identify the strategies they would recommend for the
future success of the sector in Spain. The length of the interviews varied between 34 and 108 minutes, the
average length being 65 minutes. Finally, they were mailed summaries of all the proposed strategies and
asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with each recommended action. It was decided that the
grouped actions recommended by over 70% of the interviewees would be included in this work as generic
strategies for the travel agency sector in Spain.
Table 2. Methodology of the study
PHASE
OBJECTIVE
1
Understand
internal and
psychological
characteristics of
the customer.
METHOD
15 focus groups with
customers: corporate
and holiday.
RESULTS
Benefits sought by using a travel agency
Barriers and reluctance to use a travel
agency
Image of different aspects of the service
Associations regarding the business and
its services
Other elements
Identify trends
and future
scenarios.
2
1. Send conclusions of
focus groups to
managers and experts.
2. Interviews with
14 Trends affecting the travel agency
sector
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managers (30) and
experts (12).
3. Interviewees rate
trends according to the
possibility to become
real.
Propose
1. Send conclusions of
recommendations trends to managers and
to succeed.
experts.
3
2. Interviews with
managers (27) and
experts (10).
23 strategies grouped into two large
categories, (1) actions focused on
marketing; and (2) actions centred on the
organisational structure and aspects of
management:
3. Interviewees
recommend the
strategies or not.
ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
There follows a presentation of the conclusions of the dynamics of the corporate and holiday segment focus
groups, followed by the results obtained in the analyses of the sector trends as reflected by the managerial and
experts interviewees, and concluding with the recommended proposed strategies to succeed in the future.
Group dynamics: Corporate segment
This section presents comments on the most significant results obtained from the focus groups with
individuals from the corporate segment, with descriptions of the benefits sought by using a travel agency,
barriers and reluctance to use a travel agency, an evaluation of different aspects of the service, associations
regarding the business and its services, and other important elements.
With regard to the benefits sought, the participants mostly considered that the benefits provided by using a
travel agency are convenience, security, peace of mind, freedom from worry, usefulness and trust. It was also
clear that young people highlighted price and offers, while older customers were more demanding and
attached more importance to time-saving and finding alternatives and solutions. This business segment is
very special since the desired benefits do not refer to an explicit expressed motivation or a wish for diversion:
in fact, the benefits are the consequence of the socio-economic system, which obliges one to travel although
one does not wish to. At this point, the controversy about whether a firm should consider its employees’
family situation before making them travel arises in the discussion. Contrary to what one might have
expected, many young, single people believe that the personal sacrifice that travel entails is the same for them
as for married employees, since they speak of the influence of business trips on their personalities. “You
become lonely and less sociable”; “You isolate yourself as if you are escaping from something”.
On the other hand, the corporate segment displays a more rational and objective component than other
segments, which may be due to the corporate traveller’s work and conditions, with a greater distance from the
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members of one’s ‘crowd’ and usual social circle, with the level of the intervening ‘ME’ being rational,
calculating, neither emotional nor impulsive, and oriented to reality. Thus, this segment makes comments
such as “The agencies mean time-saving, convenience and a certain security, although they must toe the
line”. Members of this segment always give priority to the component of time, both psychological and
chronological: “Time, punctuality, speed, gain, loose, effort, money”. Furthermore, they always express the
need to control in order to be sure, trusting neither the person nor the brand, so there is never total freedom
from worry. Consequently, their main motivation is the service, defined as attention, sensitivity, adaptability,
trust, security and flexibility to changes. The human element is highly valued: “They should be able to put
themselves in my place”, “They should know what I want”, “They should be interested in me”. Although
price is important, it is relegated to second place since “convenience must be paid for”.
With regard to the principal barriers and reluctance shown by corporate customers, while the open and more
conscious words have a more positive nature, the latent and subconscious words stemming from the
associations and projections made have a more negative nature, with signs of fear, insecurity and mistrust
regarding possible non-compliance, lack of concern for the customer, misinformation, evading responsibility,
rigidity and constant staff turnover. “They pass the buck from one to the other”; “They can’t take it for
granted that you know something”. Although most experiences are positive, the background debate is
negative and often the result of comments that one has heard, and the social influence of one’s social and
reference groups.
In relation to the comments and evaluation of determined aspects of the service, firstly, there is a clear
problem with the perceptions of the information provided: “there is too little, it is bad, misleading, confused,
superficial, standard and typical”, and is linked to a lack of professionalism and the low evolution of the
business concept. “They do nothing to make the sale, they just sit there” and “Price isn’t everything” and
“There are other needs to be met”. The cases of satisfaction with this aspect are true exceptions and are due to
relationships with specific individuals at the agency who are very highly rated. Customers consider that travel
agencies are convenient rather than useful: “The travel agency obliges the customer to adapt to it, rather than
the reverse”.
With regard to the evaluation of other service characteristics, technical knowledge of the reservations
process, as well as of the products and services is patchy and confused. They believe that the agencies could
do a lot for them since all that knowledge and information is available to them, but “the agent’s apathy does
not help”.
It is paradoxical that they suffer some anxiety when what they really seek is peace of mind and security, but
“Many times I use the agency because I have no other option”. Thus, the agencies are seen as mere dispensers
of tickets and separate services although they know that they can do much more. Customers do not want to
have to ask; they want to be informed, and they also want a more personalised service. “They know what I
want, and that is to receive real information, not be bombarded with surveys and leaflets. That’s not on”. The
lack of professionalism is seen as the most significant and conflictive problem and is understood as lack of
training and polish, scant attention in providing the service, reduced knowledge, without the correct attitude
or aptitude. They should know what they are selling and should “first be salesman and then technicians”,
because “that means putting themselves in your place and knowing what you want, not giving you brochures
they don’t even know about”.
Finally, the association that the customers make with various elements of the travel agency is quite
significant. For example, the location of the agency is of almost no importance to this segment; the size of the
agency is not very important although this segment normally works with large agencies whose brands give
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more security, professionalism, and choice of points of departure and arrival. “If they are large, at least you
know that you can complain and they will take notice of you”. This segment values the specialisation of the
agency very highly since they consider that a large agency adapts better to personal requirements. Moreover,
the person (the travel agent) is much more important than the organisation (the agency) and is really what
promotes loyalty; however he/she can be counterproductive insofar as “When they get to know you, they take
advantage and either ignore your needs or just sell you expensive products”. The image of the agency and its
brands is not obtained in a precise way; it is the products, airline tickets, hotels, etc., that play a leading role
and the agencies are seen as mere dispensers.
Other aspects highlighted by corporate customers is that they do not know their rights and attempt to take
precautions as far as possible by paying by credit card to protect themselves against what might happen. They
also show clear disapproval of the practice of many agencies of surveying firms or secretaries, etc. about the
agency that the firm works with, because “It shows little competence”, “It’s not a professional thing to do”, or
“I don’t like that”.
It can be concluded that the corporate customer’s behaviour is based on a rational, non-impulsive decision
where the customer seeks service and is risk-averse, and so is not interested in changing agency. The reason
for the choice of purchase normally lies in an established relationship, first with the person and then with the
agency, as well as in the specific offers of the agency or its products.
Group dynamics: Holiday segment
This segment comprises a homogeneous group of individuals. However, some differences were found that
were basically explained by the variables age and socio-economic level. This section presents the most
significant results obtained from the group discussions in which holiday customers took part. It describes the
benefits sought in using a travel agency, the barriers and reluctance to use a travel agency, their evaluation of
various aspects of the service, and the associations they make with the business and its services.
At the outset, it should be understood that, unlike the case of the corporate customer, the motivational context
of these customers is very emotional, as the need that gives rise to the wish to travel may be pleasure-based
but also frustrating (as shown in the case of many ex-users), and where many stimulating elements, such as
dreams, fantasies, associations, implications, imitation, prior knowledge, etc., play a part. In any case, the
stimulus for this segment is extremely intense.
With regard to the benefits sought, the homogeneity of this segment stands out, and pleasure-seeking,
enjoyment, play, fantasy, possession, knowledge, and a sense of the journey are all highly significant. In this
respect, the power of seduction lies precisely in those aspects and they are what the travel agency should
focus on. A holiday represents an important investment by the customer and involves significant economic
effort accompanied by conflictive decisions and elements of cognitive dissonance, which explains the
customers’ caution and reticence toward the agency, and their wishing “Let everything turn out as I have
dreamed”. The customer expects to remember that holiday for ever. It should be borne in mind that few
products are talked about and shared as much after their use as holidays are (showing photos and videos to
friends, giving presents and souvenirs, etc.), with the trip being a product with enormous social interaction.
Therefore, the basic needs that the agency customer wishes to satisfy are recreation and pleasure, security and
protection, comfort and well-being, contact and affection, and curiosity.
With regard to differences within this segment, no differences related to geographic area were detected while
there were differences related to age. The older people are moved mainly by price and offers, and are less
demanding, perhaps because of their having little experiences and low prior expectations. On the other hand,
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although price is still the priority factor for the younger segment, young people understand that the qualityprice relationship must be balanced, they are more independent and put price before the accommodation
quality: “It should be clean and decent, then, with a bit of imagination you can have a good time”.
As regards the barriers and resistance, the principal problem is that needs are not satisfied, with the
expectations related to trust, freedom from worry, compliance, useful, truthful information, professionalism,
attention, waiting time, flexibility and available alternatives not being met. Comments like “You contract a
certain quality and find you get a lower quality”, and “It’s as if you are annoying them when you ask for
more information”. There is enormous frustration with the service “Even when they give you the money
back”, and it is seen as a betrayal of one’s efforts and fantasies, leading to negative feelings toward the
agency, which is generalised to all agencies, and when the ‘word of mouth’ effect is considered, we can see
how the travel agency image is surrounded by an aura of rejection and deception.
It stands out that there is no clear perception of the usefulness of the travel agency, although its usefulness is
sometimes recognised. “There’s no option but to use them”. There is a widespread opinion that “they don’t
offer you all the possible alternatives and the type of contract and the small print are a trick” for the agency to
get out of its responsibilities. Moreover, many users prefer to ignore the services of an agency so as not to
lose what they value most: the desire for pleasure, freedom and independence. Therefore, they seek freedom
of movement, spontaneity and improvisation. “You learn much more if you travel without an agency”, “In
Internet you get what you want”, and those aspects can be satisfied better in national tourist offices, Internet
and directly with the service providers. Another group of customers that does not use the travel agency is
defined by the types of journey it makes: visits to family and friends, or to uncomplicated destinations within
one’s own country or a neighbouring one, which are easy to organise.
In relation to the evaluation of the service characteristics, the customers’ technical knowledge of the services
offered by the agency is quite limited. Moreover, they blame that situation on the travel agency, which gives
them insufficient, useless or irrelevant information, with the agency’s attitude toward information not being
the most appropriate. One complaint is that “brochures are not the same as information”, since, while they are
necessary, they are very thick and low quality. “I don’t want loads of brochures because I don’t have to know
more than them for them to help me”. Only rarely do users receive personalised information about the
customs or gastronomy of the holiday destination. The customer wants to be listened to and understood and
to receive detailed information with friendly treatment by the travel agency.
Finally, the customers made some comments about various aspects of the agency. In general, they are
satisfied with the location of agencies because of the great number of travel agencies and value some specific
attraction that draws them to the agency. They also mention that it is important that their travel and holiday
habits are considered. Knowledge of the contact person at the agency, rather than the size of the agency, is
the principal element. Anyway, the large agencies are associated with brand and seriousness, distance and
coldness. On the other hand, small agencies are seen, especially by young people, as being more human,
accessible and specialised and offering more illusion. With regard to technical quality, the technical
knowledge of the agency itself and its employees, and technical solutions are negatively evaluated, while
technology is assessed positively. In relation to functional quality, personalised attention, accessibility and
attitude are not evaluated positively, while staff behaviour is adequate. The travel agent, having the dual role
of technical management and relations management, is particularly weak in the latter factor. “It seems they
are not interested in keeping their present customers”.
With regard to the image of the agency and its brands, the general impression is that all agencies are the
same, with very little brand image. Although it is true that users prefer the agency to be well-known, they
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describe them as mercantilist, and as not being close to the user, with the contact person maintaining the
relationship and receiving the trust of the user. Users associate travel agencies with banks (mercantilist,
small print, and power), social security (queues, long waits, bad service) and supermarkets (you buying rather
than them selling). The users’ ideal image contemplates such aspects as “They should be specialists in you,
human quality, loyalty, comprehensiveness, fairness, personalisation, 24-hour service, protection and
professionalism”.
In conclusion, it can be said that, in the purchase process, there is a strong initial impulse to seek one’s
desires and gratification, with an attraction to hedonistic pleasure, while a significant initial barrier is price.
Thus, there are two opposing stimuli that lead to the search for information that justifies the decision and
even reinforces and rationalises it once it has been made.
Sector trends as expressed by the professionals and experts
The comments of the experts and travel agency managers based on their knowledge of the sector, and the
analysis of the customer comments in the previous sections permit a prediction to be made for series of trends
in the sector over the next few years. In general, the sector’s future is perceived as difficult, with many
changes within an evolutionary adaptation, requiring traditional travel agencies to make changes in their
management and actions to be able to compete successfully in the market. The following section presents the
14 most significant trends:
(1) A general increase in competitive pressure, which is basically due to factors such as the growth in the size
of the large tourism groups, the entry of companies from outside the tourist sector (banks, hypermarkets,
insurance companies) that aim to optimise their infrastructure and customer portfolios, the intensification of
direct customer contact that will be maintained by many tourist product supply companies offering the
customer special services at a lower cost to the company than travel agency commission, a wide range of
alternatives to the traditional travel agency (e-intermediaries, Internet, GDS changes, etc.) that are still in the
process of consolidation but mean significant changes in the sector. This leads to a marked competition in
prices that is basically due to the low differentiation in the sector.
(2) Greater market concentration and reduction in the number of travel agency branches, with large travel
agency groups considering its business minimum as a national level in order to be competitive. This will
mean that the large chains will enjoy a previously unknown negotiating power in the market. Moreover, these
large groups benefit from economies of scale that give them a considerable competitive advantage over
independent agencies. Finally, is very likely the entry of foreign capital into the sector. This will presumably
occur through the takeover of large national chains that will form part of large multinational groups.
(3) Associations of independent agencies and specialisation will become more common. For example,
Business Travel Contractors has been working for years in the United States to pressure service providers,
especially airlines, and to obtain better negotiating conditions. In Europe, GEBTA is an association for
corporate travel agencies that already carries significant weight in the sector. There will also be greater
specialisation among independent agencies, focusing on market niches.
(4) Lower margins and business profitability, which will be mainly due to two factors: (1) the lowering, or
even total elimination in some cases, of commissions paid by the supply companies, and, (2) the reduction in
the average price of tourist packages, together with the increase in discounted last-minute sales, will lead to a
drop in income per reservation.
(5) Regulation that is less restrictive, but more protective of the customer. Current Spanish travel agency
regulations impose significant entry barriers in the sector, although the trend is toward greater deregulation.
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Another aspect that is on the increase is the protection of the customer, with responsibility falling on the
travel agency and the supplier.
(6) Expansion of services provided via BSP (Billing & Settlement Plan) and GDS´s, which will form a wide,
integrated network of connections and systems among sector companies.
(7) Travel agents will become true specialists and travel consultants, in continuous training and improving of
their knowledge. Companies will try to avoid high staff turnover and loss of talent. It stands out that there is a
high turnover of agents, that companies devote little effort to training, that salaries are low, employees have
limited knowledge of the new technologies and are saturated with information by suppliers that they are
unable to assimilate.
(8) Changes in customers, where, apart from those identified in the group sessions, the managers and experts
have added that the new consumers are multi-consumers, who have a greater environmental conscience and
are accustomed to handling the new technologies. Moreover, while the seasonal character of their holidays in
Spain continues to be quite marked, the tendency seems to denote a steady but slow change to year-round
holidays.
(9) The expansion of the so-called “travel hypermarkets”. The main tourism groups will develop these large
centres in the city outskirts, where they will offer a wide range of services 7 days a week, free parking, etc. It
is estimated that each of these centres can attain the business turnover of 15 traditional agencies. Some years
ago, groups like Airtours, with its Holidayworld centres, and First Choice, with Holiday Hypermarkets,
started up already this concept outside Spain.
(10) The development of new technologies. Travel agencies have made high investments in computerised
reservations systems, CRM, marketing, etc. that will give them better knowledge of the customer. TIC`s
enhance the possibilities of communication with the customer through multiple devices. The new
technologies permit quick, economical access to the information while also bringing the agency closer to the
customer and the supplier.
(11) The spread of direct sales. This can be seen clearly in the campaigns run by many companies where the
customer is urged to contact the supply company directly. This will oblige travel agencies to act as
wholesalers, creating products and selling them direct to the customer, as well as to specialise in specific
segments or niches.
(12) New physical layout of the agencies. The zones of back office, reception, personal consultancy service,
the computerised services area, rest area with product demonstrations, etc. will be separate. Processes will be
redesigned to optimise space while best meeting customer needs.
(13) Major power to the customer and social nets that allow them to communicate and influence the rest of
travellers. Internet 2.0 means, in many cases, that customers become the most reliable information source for
other customers.
(14) Rise in sales of new products and new types of vacations, plus a high number of niche markets. Some
relative new products keep their incredible increase: cruises, nature-rural, etc. New circumstances such as
petrol prices, give rise to new types of vacation, with short haul destinations becoming more popular, all
inclusive packets, etc. Finally, there are a lot of niche markets (social responsible trips with nature and the
destination, learning vacations, etc.) growing in the market.
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Strategies recommended for the sector by managers and experts
Finally, after analyzing the conclusions of the group sessions and the identified trends, the different managers
and experts made a series of recommendations for future strategies for success to be undertaken by Spanish
travel agencies. There follows a presentation of the 23 proposals grouped into marketing-related actions, and
actions addressing the organisational and management structure.
1.
Actions focus on marketing.
(1) Make each different market segment aware of the advantages that the travel agency can offer, since there
is often total ignorance of those advantages. Agencies must develop a stronger market approach, publicising
the added value that they give the customer and actively using public relations tools.
(2) Strengthen brand awareness, so that the user is truly a customer of the agency and not of the tour
operator, or company providing the product, nor even of a specific employee of the agency, because of the
risk that staff changes would entail. The customer decides to go to a certain agency according to the value
received and effort made, and the agency brand should make a significant contribution to that. This action
will require reliable processes that guarantee the standard quality of the service provided.
(3) The independent agencies should remark their independence to the user, and ensure that the
customer knows the characteristics of their personal advice service with no third party interests since they do
not belong to any group or tour operator, which enables them to act more objectively. In turn, it would be
appropriate for them to be integrated into purchase groups, which would allow them to improve their
margins.
(4) Integrate into the distribution system some service elements which consider any psychological
factors of their customers that may have some effect, such as patriotism and the feeling toward local or
regional companies that may divert consumers to specific agencies and products (a common example is flagcarrier airlines).
(5) Exploit the new technologies, especially in the case of independent travel agencies, by. It should
be stressed that investments in technology must be undertaken with caution, with investments only made
when the smooth running and the profitability of the technology have been proven. TIC`s may also help the
agency to systemise processes by reducing paperwork and improving the management of customer and
supplier information, due to the use of multiple communication devices. In no case must the intensive use of
technology mean coldness and insecurity to the customer, quite the contrary, it must complement human
contact and enhance the warmth and trust contributed by the human touch. Develop regular, timely and quick
communications processes with customers, with support from alliances with other firms if necessary; this will
enable agencies to obtain a better knowledge of their customers. In this respect, it would be suitable for
agencies to develop more innovative window-dressing and merchandising, as well as improvements in CRM,
and especially in Internet 2.0, with newsletters, blogs, etc.
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(6) Develop better social relations with the immediate environment, for example, become the local,
village or club travel agency with a portfolio of members, friends, acquaintances and lifelong customers.
(7) Develop agreements with companies (that may already be corporate customers of the travel
agency) to capture their employees’ holiday business by making special offers; even personalised offers for
the specific periods when each employee takes holidays.
(8) Undertake more aggressive and creative sales actions. Imagination and the development of actions not
based on price have still not made an appearance in the sector. In simple terms, it is not necessary to put a
price on every element in the shop window. Also, the use and optimization of yield management (both by the
travel agency and the supplier) can help improve the management of discounts, rappels and offers. Travel
agencies should pay more attention to the overall sacrifice of the customer (not only the price) and the value,
services and experience received in compensation.
(9) Charge the customer transparent and fare management fees. This charged rates per operation or
service should be based on the contribution of real added value, such as information, consultations, offers or
any other added service.
(10) Reinforce the sale of more profitable products (e.g., cruises) and other related products, such as
travel insurance, guidebooks, or specific material, which can make additional profit for the agency. On the
other hand, increasing the number of services or functions that the agency currently provides may also be a
valid alternative.
(11) Obtain better performance in peak season: Christmas, Easter, summer and bank-holiday
weekends. These periods are sometimes “ignored” because high activity is guaranteed, but agencies do not
achieve the results that they could with optimum management.
(12) Design shop and point-of-sale layouts that facilitate the product sales process, with comfort for
the agent and customer, and work processes integrated with the physical layout of the furnishings and other
equipment. In this respect, an agent should not have to get up from his seat for anything and the customer
should not have to lean forward to see the agent’s computer screen.
(13) Become true specialists and travel consultants rather than providing travel at the customer’s
request. This makes it necessary to have a deep knowledge of one’s products. It must be stressed that being a
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travel consultant is not the same as being a travel agent. It is about transmitting better quality information
and, above all, keeping one’s promises and showing interest in the customer. The consultant must design the
travel experience absolutely tailored to the needs of the customer.
(14) Improve the employees’ training in attitude and aptitude, since some aspects, such as sales
techniques, reservations system management (Amadeus) and telephone technique assistance are crucial to the
agency. The employees represent the image of the agency and, therefore, are one of its most valuable assets.
(15) Reinforce the customer relations and contacts service where the customer is highly involved: the
level of customer involvement depends on the nature of the product purchased (it is not the same for longhaul holidays as it is for a simple airline ticket), the circumstances of the customer (e.g., a honeymoon), and
the personality of the customer. In low involvement situations however, quick, non-intensive, homogenised
service may be sufficient. In this case, automation is an interesting solution (e.g., automatic dispensers), since
it is in these services that the customer is not willing to pay a service fee, and the agency can avoid repetitive
actions. In high involvement situations, it is advise to promote differentiation through relations with the
customer (e.g., professionalism, availability, follow-up), structuring of the service (e.g., accessibility,
efficiency, speed), and offer highly specialised own brand products adapted to the customer, etc.
(16) Specialise, either in product (e.g., cruises, adventure, a specific destination), market (corporate,
singles, families) or both (adventures for young people), to be able to give better attention to customers. In
the case of large agencies, the specialist department must be intensified, with specialists for each product and
market. It is important to make the right choice of customers, focusing on those who generate high sales
turnover, with adequate profitability and consistent levels of loyalty.
2.
Actions focus on the organisational and management structure.
(17) Increase size to obtain economies of scale in purchases, image, training, and logistics. Growth
can be achieved through expansion, takeover, merger, franchising, associations or vertical development.
(18) Cut operating and structure costs. It is necessary to develop cost accounting and reduce some
costs, such as communications, messengers, etc. The application of other actions, such as reducing credit card
charges in favour of electronic payment, should also be considered.
(19) Increase sales per employee. Since employees represent one of the agency’s principal costs,
agencies should prevent employees spending time on administrative tasks that do not add value to the
customer so that they can devote time to sales.
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(20) Develop better management of products and stocks, with better planning and design of internal
processes. In many cases it is necessary to create own brand products that permit the agency to operate with
interesting margins.
(21) Concentrate sales on the most profitable suppliers, according to the commissions offered and
discounts for purchase volume. In return for those higher profits, agencies give preferential treatment and
support to the products offered by those suppliers. Strengthen collaboration with preferred suppliers, so that
they provide more brochures, front-page cover on the agency’s own catalogues, financial contributions for
advertising, etc. that facilitate the operating process or improve commercial assistance.
(22) Charge the supply companies and tourist destinations a fixed amount of money for the monthly
display of their brochures and promotion material, with an extra charge for eye-level display or for shopwindow space. Obviously, the commissions paid by these companies would be lower, but agencies would be
able to convert part of their variable incomes into fixed incomes.
(23) Sign exclusive distribution contracts with small, specialist supply companies and tour operators
that lack good opportunities in the large travel agency chains.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Given the difficult situation that the Spanish travel agency industry is currently facing, it was decided to
undertake a qualitative study to identify possible strategies for success in that sector. Initially, there was an
in-depth analysis using focus groups to know the perceptions of the main segments of the agency,
distinguishing the holiday customer from the corporate customer. Then, the principal trends of the sector
were identified through in-depth interviews with managers and experts and, after agreement was reached
about those trends, the recommended strategies for action in the travel agency sector in Spain were
established. This section highlights the most notable conclusions of the study, as well as some research
streams of interest to the travel agency sector in the future.
The focus groups revealed various internal aspects of the customers that refer to their motivations during the
relationship with the travel agency. Thus, it can be said that the customer seeks higher quality and better
quality/price relationship, as well as a wider variety of products and services, more assistance in different
aspects, trust, more information, convenience, freedom from worry, greater security and speed. The desired
service is characterised by high attention, sensitivity, adaptability, trust, security and flexibility, with the
human value being highly valued. Travel agencies are perceived better in their technical management role
than in their relations management with the customers. In the cases of both segments (corporate and
holydays), while the open and more conscious debate has a more positive character, the underlying,
subconscious debate was more negative, with mention of fear, insecurity and mistrust. Moreover, the
customers have no clear `perception of the usefulness of travel agencies, although such usefulness is
sometimes recognised. Finally, and regarding the image of the agency and its brands, there is a generalised
173
impression that all agencies are the same, with little brand image, while the brands of the products offered
have prominence.
The following differences between the two segments stand out. The corporate segment displays a rational,
objective, calculating, and neither emotional nor impulsive, component: they seek service and are risk-averse,
so are not interested in changing agency. On the other hand the holiday customer displays a much more
emotional motivational approach to the service, where the need that leads to the wish can be strongly
pleasure-based, but also frustrating due to the economic and emotional investment. The stimulus for this
segment is intense and involves a search for pleasure, and the elements of enjoyment, play, fantasy,
possession, knowledge and a sense of journey play a significant part. Therefore, there are two contrasting
stimuli: a strong initial impulse to seek one’s wishes and gratification, while price is a significant initial
barrier. Price is another differentiating element since, while the corporate customer’s purchase decision
originates in established relationships, first with the person and then with the agency, as well as in specific
offers by the agency or for its products, and finally in the price, the holiday customer, especially the elderly
and young segments, attach much more importance to price. Other differentiating factors refer to the
evaluation of service attributes by both segments, holiday and corporate. Thus, location is more important to
the holiday customer while size and degree of specialisation are more important to the corporate customer.
Moreover, based on their knowledge of the sector and the analysis of the results of the focus groups, the
experts and managers interviewed identified 14 principal trends that will affect the sector: A general increase
in competitive pressure, greater market concentration and reduction in the number of travel agency branches,
Associations of independent agencies and specialisation will become more common, Lower margins and
business profitability, Regulation will become less restrictive, but more protective of the customer, Expansion
of services provided via BSP and GDS´s, Travel agents will become true specialists and travel consultants,
Changes in customers and new behaviours, The expansion of the so-called “travel hypermarkets”, The
development of new technologies, The spread of direct sales, New physical layout of the agencies, Major
power to the customer and social nets that allow them to communicate and influence the rest of travellers
(Internet 2.0) and, Rise in sales of new products and new types of vacations, plus a high number of niche
markets.
The experts and managers also made a series of recommendations about generic strategies and actions to be
undertaken by travel agencies in Spain. Those 23 strategies fall into two large categories, (1) actions focused
on marketing: Make each different market segment aware of the advantages that the travel agency can offer,
Strengthen brand awareness, The independent agencies should remark their independence to the user,
Integrate into the distribution system some service elements which consider any psychological factors of their
customers, Exploit the new technologies, Develop better social relations with the immediate environment,
Develop agreements with companies to capture their employees’ holiday business, Undertake more
aggressive and creative sales actions, Charge the customer transparent and fare management fees, Reinforce
the sale of more profitable products and other related products, Obtain better performance in peak season,
Design shop and point-of-sale layouts that facilitate the product sales process, with comfort for the agent and
customer, Become true specialists and travel consultants rather than providing travel at the customer’s
request, Improve the employees’ training in attitude and aptitude, Reinforce the customer relations and
contacts service where the customer is highly involved, Specialise, either in product, market or both; and (2)
actions centred on the organisational structure and aspects of management: Increase size to obtain economies
of scale, Cut operating and structure costs, Increase sales per employee, Develop better management of
products and stocks, with better planning and design of internal processes, Concentrate sales on the most
profitable suppliers, Charge the supply companies and tourist destinations a fixed amount of money for the
174
monthly display of their brochures and promotion material, Sign exclusive distribution contracts with small,
specialist operators.
The better knowledge of the travel agency customer in Spain, plus the identification of the main trends
affecting the sector in the future, adds important and useful information for managers of travel agencies to
better make their decisions. Finally, the different strategies proposed pretend to offer a generic orientation to
the industry.
Finally, there are many interesting aspects of customer behaviour and perceptions that have come to light
during this research that require further study before suitable strategies for travel agencies can be defined in
greater detail in the future. There is a need of increase research in the different regions to facilitate managers
a better knowledge of the market that helps them in developing successful strategies. Some of those aspects
are: 1) the feeling of distance from one’s group and normal circle that creates isolation in corporate customers
when one travels; 2) the importance of both the psychological and chronological aspects of the time
component to the business customer; 3) the role of travel agents in their relationship with the customer; 4) the
sensation of a large number of non-users who do not use the services of the travel agency so as not to lose
freedom and independence, 5) the fact that many customers associate new technologies with coldness and
insecurity while human contact is associated with warmth and trust and, 6) the need to differentiate the
previously mentioned aspects between regions. Research should help to integrate these customers’ aspects
with future trends and be able to propose specific and practical actions.
175
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177
THE IMAGE OF THE CANARY ISLANDS AND MOROCCO AS DESTINATIONS FOR
NAUTICAL TOURISM
Yen E. Lam González
University Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development (Tides)
University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
Carmelo J. León González
Javier de León Ledesma
and
J. Andrés Dorta Velázquez
ABSTRACT
The present study was involved in a project denominated NAUCAM ¨Nautical Network of Cooperation
between the Canary Islands and Morocco¨, covering the evaluation of both nautical destinations; their image
and current nautical tourism products and services from a demand perspective. In addition, the knowledge
and market disposition to consume products and services from the other destinations or indeed joint ones is
also considered. The research was conducted to international tourists and yachtsmen during their visit to the
Canary Islands and Morocco in 2013 and 2014.
Key words: Nautical tourism, Destination image, Nautical destination
INTRODUCTION
Nautical activities have great potential for the socio-economic development of tourism because of the
multiplying effect they generate for the economy. The generation of stable and qualified employment, easy fit
with other tourism packages, lack of seasonality, inductor of other services, the impetus that they provide to
the qualification and diversification of the coastal infrastructures and their technological innovation are only
some of the attributes that reinforce this statement (Carrasco, 2001). It is also easy to observe the high
capacity the nautical recreational activities have to adapt to the new trends in tourist demands, as well as their
high level of attractiveness to a market segment with a high socio-economic level and purchasing power.
This, in turn, reinforces the high profitability potential, (Mateos, 2010).
Nautical tourism, still considered an under studied field in Spain (Gómez, 2012), has been defined as a
strategic sector with a significant role in the development of tourism in the country. There is wide recognition
among governments, universities, businesses and other agents of the need to improve and qualify the tourist
products and services on offer in the country, as well as other the potential factors that the nautical sector
offers, given the different studies carried out on a global level that demonstrate the economic impact on the
activity, its stimulating nature for the coastal areas and the business volume it generates (Carrasco, 2002 and
Vadell, 2005).
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The qualities that the Canary Islands possess as a nautical destination are widespread. Their strategic position
in the middle of the Atlantic, the natural conditions of the islands, the climate, the beauty of their coastal
landscapes and their positioning at a European level as a top quality tourism destination are all key elements.
The fact that some of the most important nautical events in the world, such as the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers
(ARC) (the longest transoceanic regatta in the world) take place here emphasizes the catalysing capacity this
segment possesses for the tourist sector in the archipelago.
The potential of the nautical sector, the qualities of the archipelago as a nautical destination and their need to
reinvent their offer as a mature destination turn this sector into an opportunity for the sustainability of the
Canary Islands as a tourist destination (Parreno 2008). Such is the conviction that the Canary Islands can be
positioned as a nautical destination of excellence that the local Public Administration has made a
commitment to specialise in nautical tourism with public strategies already in place to motivate the planning,
diversification of the supply and demand, the competitiveness of the destination and the international
promotion of the same.
Morocco on the other hand, despite the excellent natural conditions and materials it possesses (coastline with
high capacity to adapt to different uses, good climate and its strategic position in the pathway from the
Mediterranean to the Atlantic), is still considered to be an emerging nautical destination. This is mainly due
to the fact that the nautical sector was for a long time considered to be an activity reserved for a wealthy
social class. In recent years there has been an effort to revalue the sector and, essential for this to be so, there
is also a political desire behind this, which has provided new dynamics, particularly in construction and
modernisation of installations (ports and marines), the import and sales of recreational vessels, promotion for
the starting up of nautical companies and the concern for the professional training and communication, as it is
considered to be a sector with wide economic opportunities for the country.
For Spain and particularly for the Canary Islands, Africa is an attractive market considering the geographical
proximity and the political understanding of recent years. At the same time, the Public Administrations of
both regions are keen to undertake the desired transformation of the nautical sector on a mutual basis. It is
believed that joint nautical tourism packages widen the spectre of market opportunities for the Canary Islands
and represents a significant catalyst for the positioning of Morocco in the sector.
In addition to the above, the fact that the commercial relations and cooperation between the Canary Islands
and Morocco are growing provides a solid base for future commercial and economic strategies to developed
on. Morocco is publicly known as one of the priority objectives of the Spanish international trade policies,
ahead of the other Maghreb States and ahead of the countries situated in geographical areas considered as
priority, according to the public information from the Spanish Institute of International Trade (ICEX).
The renovation of nautical tourism is denoted as being a very complex process in academic literature, mainly
because of the large number of agents and factors that take part (Rebollo and others 2010). In this case, the
complexity is of course, duplicated because of the regional scope. To achieve the objectives, it is not
sufficient to have political disposition and economic promotion in place as the creation of tools and
knowledge are essential to allow the development of effective strategies based on the analysis, the suitable
interpretation of the problem and the objectives, the peculiarities and complexities of the sector and the
destinations. The present study covers the evaluation of both nautical destinations; their image and current
nautical tourism products and services of both regions from a demand perspective. In addition, the knowledge
and market disposition to consume products and services from the other destinations or indeed joint ones is
also considered.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The nautical sector is characterised as being multifunctional, as it covers a wide and forever growing number
of maritime activities. This multivariable nature means that the definition of nautical tourism may take on
179
different focuses in scientific literature (Lukovic 2007). The most global concept nowadays defines nautical
tourism as a segment of people motivated by leisure, recreation and sports related to the sea (Carrasco, 2001),
or indeed with intentions to carry out a tourist activity at the destination with a clear maritime component
(Lukovic, 2007).
Similarly, nautical tourism can take on different forms. The most studied in the academic and scientific fields
are cruises, nautical sports (sailing with or without one’s own boat) and chartering of boats (rental of boats
for recreation or diving, with or without the ship’s master). These are catalogued by many authors as key subsegments of tourism because of the high economic profitability that they generate.
One characteristic that these modalities have in common is that they are generally developed in ports, which
obviously vary considerably in their structures, services, magnitude and main activities. Even when the offer
of recreational nautical installations (RNI)3 is very wide and varied in Europe, it is the marinas that maintain
their role as the most important element and commercial capital of the nautical tourism industry (Besteiro,
2004 and Luković, 2012).
There are other modalities within the sector that are considered with certain interest in scientific production in
recent years, because of the role that they are taking on in the diversification of the nautical offer at tourist
destinations and the boom that they are experiencing in tourism preferences at a global level. This refers to
recreational nautical tourism, which are those tourists that travel to do water sports. These activities are
generally based at any type of RNI but also on the coast or beach, depending on their characteristics (Gómez,
2012).
A classification of the main modalities of nautical tourism is presented in figure 1. Various authors include
chartering as a recreational nautical activity (Gómez 2012), although because of the importance it is given in
the majority of the scientific publications it has been separated in the present classification as an independent
modality. Training, for any of these activities, but particularly those related to recreational nautical activities
has become part of the nautical services in many European destinations.
Figure 1. Main modalities of nautical tourism
NAUTICAL TOURISM
Cruise
tourism
Charter
Nautical
sport
Recreational nautical tourism
Underwater activities (scuba diving,
dives, apnea, skin diving, etc .)
Nautical activities
(kayak, waterskiing, sailing, jet
boating, sport fishing, paraseiling etc.
Source: Prepared by the authors
3
The different types of RNI in Spain were established in 1975, by the Ministry of Public Works and Urbanism. The RNIs
are classified as: Port, Marina or Maritime City, Dry Dock, Wharf, Maritime Base, Dock, Harbour and Marina Village
(Gómez, 2012).
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For now it is possible to conclude that the common characteristic between all the definitions of nautical
tourism is the direct relationship between the tourist and the sea. This relationship has lead to another
common denomination that emphasises the role of the sea as a resource, known as “maritime tourism” as well
as other more specific sub segments, referred to as ÿachting tourism¨ or ¨sailing tourism¨, that are directly
related to the activity being carried out (Lukovic, 2012). The clash or criticism of concepts, classification and
dilemmas is a topic, which is not greatly debated or agreed upon in scientific literature available on current
tourism trends (Lukovic, 2007).
Besides the sea, rivers and lakes, despite being considered as having attractive possibilities for the
development of nautical or maritime tourism, have not yet been studied as viable for the development or the
possibility of localisation and logistics of a specific activity (Kovačić, 2008).
Furthermore, the services offered at the recreational nautical installations (RNI) have been another of the
topics developed in scientific literature related to nautical tourism. In an RNI the services can be classified
using four criteria: A) Basic services, B) Peripheral services, which are the services directly related to the
boats (electricity, water) or the equipment (fuel, maintenance etc.); C) Basic derived services that are not
necessarily linked to the basic services (toilets, swimming pool, dry docks, training centres, etc.), and D)
Complementary services, those not linked to the nautical activity (e.g., the leisure and recreational tourism
activities away from the sea) (Chapapría, 2000).
Research has revealed that, generally, managers of nautical installations tend to prefer offering those services
that are directly related to the needs of the boat users (safe drinking water, toilets, electricity, fuel etc.), and
consider the rest as less important (Chapapría, 2000). In that regard, there are authors that believe that this is
the main problem in the design of the nautical products offered to tourists. They believe that it is often
conceived from a business perspective by the owners and not from the point of view of the nautical tourist,
and what they demand, which clearly has to be the key to success (Kovačić, 2008).
Correct structuring of what is on offer will allow existing demands to be addressed or at least to focus on a
potential demand (Chapapría, 2000). The diversity and combination of products and services are important
variables that affect the motivations behind the demand of nautical tourism, as well as the concerns for
environmental and sustainable management of the marinas (Carrasco, 2002 and Jugović, 2011). Some authors
have considered that not only the correct combination of nautical products and services, but also the
integration of tourist services offered at the nautical installations at the destination, constitute a determining
factor in the development of this type of tourism (Rivera, 2010).
With regards the above, scientific literature on tourism has revealed that the positive experiences that the
tourist has in general with respect to the other resources at the destination, can have an impact on the future
behaviour of the tourist as far as their intention to repeat the visit or recommend the destination to friends or
family members is concerned (Ching-Fu Chen, 2008). Therefore, a positive experience for the nautical tourist
with respect the offer of nautical tourism products and services is key in the growth and development of the
destination.
In a European context there are various studies that mention that the combination between the nautical
sporting offer, the recreational offer (especially underwater activities and fishing, training in sailing and
scuba diving), chartering and the tourist offer (e.g., celebration of events), are successful trends for some
destinations (Carrasco 2002). In Spain some studies indicate that the business models with greater economic
potential for the development of nautical sports are those that also include chartering, the Nautical Stations 4,
4
The concept of Nautical Stations was promoted within the framework of the Plan of Competitiveness of Spanish
tourism (1996), and motivated the creation of the concept of the ¨Nautical Stations¨ as an integrated a nautical product
(de la Muela 1998).
181
and the nautical recreational activities (underwater sports, sailing and sport fishing,) (Méndez de la Muela
1998). Furthermore there have also been studies in Spain into the relevance that the creation of nautical
products supported by complementary tourism activities at the destination could have on the development of
the sector (Chapapría, 2000).
All of the above denotes the importance that the study of the nautical tourism demand takes on because of the
role it plays in the development of the sector. Establishing policies for nautical tourism has to be oriented
towards the market, focused on the new trends and from the perspective of tourism packages being a natural
transition between land and sea, thus generating other activities of economic interest related to different types
of attraction and even with the inhabitants themselves (Mateos, 2010). There are few scientific publications
covering this idea.
By way of example some authors have indicated what negative factors are associated to the demand for
nautical tourism (for not choosing a destination) in Serbia (Jovanovic 2013). This study showed that based on
the three dimensions of the Crawford and Godbey model (1987). The first (intrapersonal) negative factor of
the demand for nautical tourism was related to fear (to the nautical activity, to the lack of ability to swim and
even to traveling alone), the second factor was considering nautical activities to not be of personal interest
(personal), or not having sufficient time or money (physical) to do them, these are considered structural
factors, and thirdly (interpersonal) the influence the person’s social circle has on them (travel agency, family,
friends etc.) (Jovanovic and others, 2013).
Other studies carried out in Croatia show that the security of the marinas has an influence on the satisfaction
of those seeking to do nautical tourism (Horak, 2013). Other factors such as loyalty and satisfaction, also
determine the behaviour of the nautical consumer (Znidar, 2010). This information is a useful tool for the
understanding of this market in a context albeit different to that studied.
Some investigations undertaken in Spain show that climate, culture and nature are the aspects that most
influence the tourists when it comes to choosing a destination for nautical tourism. It was determined also
that the transfer of the nautical tourists from the base port to other places related to the climate, diversity and
quality of the services and the distance itself (Carrasco, 2001) all played a key role. In the Canary Islands in
particular such discoveries related to the sector are scarce. The most recent publication shows that for nautical
tourists the fact of having done water sports in other places beforehand has a direct influence on their
motivations and decisions to return to the destination of Gran Canaria, valuing the attributes of the tourist per
se, and their link to the decision making process (Suárez and others, 2013).
In Morocco, the scientific publications on nautical tourism are almost non-existent. Summer is clearly peak
season for the coastal areas, which has a positive effect on the practice of nautical-recreational sports at this
time (Guibert, 2013).
It is more than obvious that the image perceived of the destination should also play a fundamental role in the
development of the nautical sector. Image is a determining factor in the decision making process and the
choice of a return visit by the tourist (Beerli, 2004 and Chi, 2008). However, until now there have been no
studies that have shown this to be the case. Furthermore, the image of the Canary Islands and Morocco as
nautical destinations and the evaluation of the marinas and the offer of nautical-tourist services and products
from the demand perspective is an area that has not been widely studied until now and that has no references
in scientific literature.
182
METHODOLOGY AND COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE
As seen, the enormous flexibility and integration that exists between nautical sports, recreational activities
and tourism at the destinations allows us to establish very wide concepts and profiles for nautical tourism
packages. The target market for nautical tourism was made into four sub-segments for the purpose of this
study:
 Port users with boats based at a port
 Port users in transit with chartered boats at a port
 Tourists that usually do recreational nautical activities
 Tourists in municipals close to the port
The real sample was built with three of the sub-segments above (owners of boats based at a port, owners in
transit and tourists that are sports lovers), and was then organised into two separate groups that hereon shall
be referred to as ÿachtsmen¨ and ¨tourists¨, for both regions. As can be perceived the study does not include
the segments associated with cruisers or tourists that charter boats.
Two types of questionnaire were developed:
I.
A structured questionnaire aimed at boat users based or in transit at the marinas of both regions
(yachtsmen).
II.
A structured questionnaire aimed at water sport lovers that do recreational nautical sports (tourists),
during their stay in the Canary Islands or Morocco. If the tourists interviewed had never done water
sports, the data was considered as null.
The structure of the questionnaire in both cases was the same in order to facilitate comparing common
aspects. As far as the yachtsmen are concerned questions referring to the type of boat, the type of sailing
qualification, place and type of training received among others were included. These aspects should also be
considered for wider study in the future. The port is only evaluated as a RWI, given that it is the only
installation that has been visited by the whole sample. However, the questionnaires were conducted at clubs,
sports centres, nautical equipment hire centres and at beaches in both regions. The aspects covered in the
questionnaire are grouped in four sections as shown in figure 2.
Figure 2. Questionnaire structure for yachtsmen and tourists in both regions
Organisation and characteristics of the trip
Evaluation of the marina and the complementary tourist products and
services on offer
The image of the nautical destination
The Canary Islands- Morocco as a combined nautical destination
183
With regards the method used for collecting the information, for this study we chose the exploratory sample
method and carried out direct and individual questionnaires because of the advantage the personal interview
has for obtaining information otherwise not directly observable. The data sheet corresponding to the
fieldwork, the moment and place of implementing the questions is presented in table 1.
Table 1. Data sheet corresponding to the fieldwork
Aspects
Yachtsmen
Questionnaire implementation Individualized and direct
Population
Tourists
Individualized and direct
No residents in the Canary Islands
No residents in the Canary
conducting or planning to conduct
Islands in possession of a boat
recreational nautical activities in the
moored in Canarian marinas
destination
Tourists conducting or planning to
Yachtsmen with a boat moored in
conduct recreational nautical activities in
the Souss Massa Draa Region
the Souss Massa Draa Region
Place of implementing
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Clubs and Sport Centers, beaches and
Mogán, Pasito Blanco and Puerto main rental points of nautical equipment
Rico Ports
in Gran Canaria
6 hotels in Souss Massa Draa Region,
Agadir coastline and Marina
5% (all sample)
Nov-Dec 2013 and May-Jun
Jul - Nov 2013
2014
Marina de Agadir
Sampling error
Date
For the case of Morocco the study was focused on a specific region given the possibilities of the fieldwork for
the development of the Naucam project mentioned above. In the Souss Massa Draa region there is only one
marina, which is situated in the city of Agadir. Finally, a sample of 433 personas - tourists and yachtsmen –
was obtained. The distribution and profile of the sample can be seen in table 2.
Table 2. Distribution and profile of the sample
Aspects
Size
Gender
Yachtsmen
Tourists
Yachtsmen
Tourists
Yachtsmen
Canary Islands
127
158
Men (85%)
Men (50,6%)
46-65 ( 51%)
Age
Marital status
Nationality
Tourists
Yachtsmen
Tourists
Yachtsmen
Tourists
Degree
Yachtsmen
Tourists
Employment status
25-34 (29,1%)
Married (67,2%)
Married (38,6%); Single (31%)
Spanish (47%)
German and British
British (29,75%)
Norwegians and Germans
Agadir
32
116
Men (96,9%)
Men (70,7%)
More than 40 (59,4%)
More than 64 (31%);
25-34 (19,8%)
Married (62,5%)
Married (62,9%)
Spanish (59%)
French and German
Yachtsmen
Middle & Higher education (66%)
University (48,7%)
47% (businessman, qualified
workers and technicians)
Higher education (59,4%)
University (62,9%)
Retired (28,1%)
Funcionary (25%)
Tourists
Worker-autonomous (46,7%)
Retired (34,5%)
184
The sample was composed mainly of European men with a high level of education, qualified or retired
businessmen above the age of 40. The scarce presence of women may be justified by the fact that nautical
sports are still perceived as a segment reserved mainly for men.
RESULTS OF THE STUDY
The results presented in this section have been organised in coherence with the structure of the questionnaire,
presented in figure 2.
Organisation and characteristics of the trip
The first aspects analysed in this phase was the compilation of the travel group. As a significant aspect we
can observe that said composition varies between yachtsmen and tourists that do recreational nautical
activities but it does have a very similar structure for both regions. The yachtsmen interviewed generally
travelled in a group, usually with friends or family members, where as the tourists in the sample chose often
to travel with a partner. In both regions and groups there was a low percentage of persons travelling alone
(see graphs 1 and 2).
Graph 2. Compilation of the travel group of tourists
Graph 1. Compilation of the travel group of yachtsmen
100%
100%
80%
80%
friends
60%
couple
friends
60%
couple
40%
40%
family
20%
20%
alone
family
alone
0%
Canaries
0%
Canaries
Agadir
Agadir
Secondly, the method of transport used by the travellers was studied. To reach their destination the tourists
almost always came by plane (98.7% for the Canary islands and 83.6% for Morocco). Only 1% of the tourists
interviewed came by boat to the Canary Islands. However, tourists visiting the Moroccan coasts also chose to
come by ferry (12% of those interviewed). The yachtsmen, however, use only their own boats to reach their
destination.
With reference to finding out about the destination (table 3), the Internet and recommendations from friends
were the most common means used within the sample for both regions. The results obtained show that the
yachtsmen tended to prepare their trip earlier than the tourists, even when they had the method of transport at
their disposition, given that in both regions there is a significant number of them that travel to participate in
different nautical events, which require various months of planning.
Table 3. Principal means to finding out the Destination
Yachtsmen
Tourists
Means
Internet
Events
Friends
Agence /TTOO
Canaries
41%
29%
Agadir
23%
31%
18%
Canaries
27%
Agadir
31%
28%
25%
35%
22%
185
Another aspect on the questionnaire was regarding accommodation. The results show that tourists typically
used hotels, given that 85% of them chose this type of accommodation in the Canary Islands and Agadir.
Some 85% and 94% of the yachtsmen in the Canary Islands and Agadir respectively, used their own boat as
the accommodation. In a few cases hotels were chosen (more so in the Canary Islands) (graph 3).
Graph 3. Types of accomodation
Canaries
Agadir
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
boat
50%
hotel
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
yachtsmen
tourists
yachtsmen
tourists
Finally, with regards the reason behind the trip, all of those questioned confirmed it was for nautical tourism.
The majority of interviewees had already had some previous experience in doing nautical activities at other
destinations. The results by segments denote that among the yachtsmen that travelled to the Canary Islands,
there were more amateurs (their first time) than those that travelled to Agadir. In the same way, among the
tourists that travelled to Agadir, there were a greater proportion of people that had never done recreational
nautical sports (see graphs 4). The majority of those interviewed revealed that their reason for travelling was
in order to do nautical sports and recreational activities. With regards the yachtsmen, in both regions, an
additional reason behind the trip was that of participating in programmed crossings or organised events
(regattas).
186
Graphs 4.
First time as yachtsmen
Canaries
Agadir
9%
20%
No
No
Yes
Yes
80%
91%
First time as nautical tourist
9%
No
No
Yes
Yes
91%
100%
Canaries
Agadir
Evaluation of the marina and the complementary tourist products and services on offer
As mentioned earlier, the port is considered the most important asset in the nautical tourism sector, given that
this is where the majority of the recreational and sporting nautical activities are carried out. The nautical
industry is of great importance to the ports and to the services offered there, given that they are key to the
generation of income for the sector. A nautical tourist, even when carrying out the activities at the beach,
generally tends to spend the evening at a port or marina, and even, a tourist, that for specific reasons does not
carry out nautical tourism, but would like to, tends to prefer areas around the ports or marinas when choosing
accommodation. It is for this reason that the majority of businessmen see the port not only as the base for
carrying out the sporting and recreational nautical activities but also as a tourist product per se.
The image generated by the marinas at the Canary Islands and Agadir for the sample of those questioned is
average. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is “very bad image” and 5 “very good image” the middle values mostly
chosen by the yachtsmen and tourists were 3.6 and 3.8 respectively for the Canary Islands and 3.4 and 3.3 for
Agadir. It is worth noting that for Agadir although the evaluations were slightly inferior, they were very
similar to those of the Canary Islands, despite the fact that they are considered an emerging sector with fewer
infrastructures and products and services on offer. This denotes, on one hand, that the conditions the marina
at Agadir presents are equal to those of any Spanish port and secondly, that there are factors that affect the
general image of the installations, given that they received values lower than 4, that is “good image”. As
regards the yachtsmen that give values lower than those given by the tourist for both regions, the image of the
187
ports may also be influenced by the basic services provided for the boats. Also, the more intensive use of the
services and the port could
also
generate
differences in the image Graph 5. Image generated by the marinas and ports
perceived.
5
4
3
2
1
Canaries
Agadir
Yachtsmen
Tourists
For this reason, we decided to include a question on some of the attributes of the port and the image
generated by the tourist and yachtsmen at both regions on a separate basis. The evaluation of the image was
carried out through a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 meant “very bad image” and 5 “very good image”. The
attributes considered were the situation and accessibility, the security, infrastructures, environmental
management and services. The selection of attributes was made based on those aspects that, initially, could
verify the hypotheses considered with regards Morocco. Firstly, it was decided to evaluate situation and
accessibility, given that the climatic conditions at the marina of Agadir were considered not to be ideal for
doing recreational sailing. Security was chosen given that it was estimated that the Canarian ports offered
greater security to the yachtsmen than those offered at the Moroccan ports, as was the case with the services
offered.
The results from this question showed that the for the Canarian ports the situation and accessibility (including
meteorological conditions, wind movements and quality of the waters) was the only attribute valued above 4,
that is “good image”, and was the best attribute valued by the yachtsmen. The “services offered by the port”
was the worst valued attribute and thus, that which most influences the general poor image perceived. For the
service attributes were valued only the activities derived from the basic services (toilets, swimming pool,
teaching centres, etc.), those that were not necessarily linked to the basic service (mooring) or to the
peripheral services (boats). This selection was made because for the comparative analysis, it was only useful
to have those services that could also be used by the tourists at both regions. It is worth noting that the
tourists also valued these aspects with a 3 and 4 (average) for the Canarian ports. None of the aspects were
given high estimations, which can be seen in graph 6).
Graph 6. Image generated by the Canarian ports considering some attributes
188
5
4
3
2
1
Situation and
accessibility
Security
Infrastructures
Environmental
management
Services
Yachtsmen
Tourists
The yachtsmen did not value the basic and peripheral services such as the price of the mooring, the supply of
fuel, electricity and water for the boats, etc., very positively. For the Canary Islands, 54% of those
interviewed evaluated them as “acceptable”, showing a lack of satisfaction with some services. For Agadir,
the yachtsmen were more conforming given that more than 42% indicated the mooring and water attributes as
being ¨good¨ and only 18% as äcceptable¨ (around 3). The electricity services were valued as being “good”
by 25%, and “bad” by 28% of the sample of yachtsmen in Agadir.
The rest of the attributes for the Marina de Agadir received lower values than those of the Canary Islands
(graph 7). The evaluation of the general image was improved mainly by the image perceived of the Marina by
the tourists, who constantly gave a higher value than the yachtsmen. The yachtsmen gave constantly below 3
for environmental management, services and situation and accessibility, arguing that for the last point sailing
around the Atlantic often requires training and that it is difficult for those with little experience but that on the
other hand it was very good for recreational crossings. These results verify partly the hypothesis considered
previously.
Graph 7. Image generated by the Marina de Agadir considering some attributes
5
4
3
2
1
Situation and
accessibility
Security
Infrastructures
Environmental
management
Services
Yachtsmen
Tourists
189
Finally, we have been able to confirm that the image generated by both the Canarian and Moroccan marinas,
is below average. This is influenced by a series of factors, among which the offer of services is seen as the
most negative aspect for both regions. The yachtsmen have a very different perception of image to that of the
nautical tourists because they use other services at the installations, the attribute “situation and accessibility”
is observed from the sea and not from land, and because the aspects related to security, infrastructures and
environmental management are also probably evaluated from other perspectives.
As far as the complementary tourist activities are concerned, questions regarding accommodation and other
activities were asked, giving the possibility to the interviewees to choose from which activities they preferred
doing during their stay and to evaluate them according to the experience lived. As mentioned above, with
regards accommodation the preference of the yachtsmen was to stay on their boats, whereas the tourists
preferred to stay at a hotel. The satisfaction for accommodation in the Canary Islands was on average 4 on a
scale of 1 to 5 where 1 was “not at all satisfied” and 5 was “very satisfied”. For Agadir, the level of
satisfaction for accommodation was 3 on average for the whole sample. In the study, the location of the
accommodation was not defined; it is not known whether the accommodation was at the port itself or in the
surrounding area.
With regards to the rest of the tourist products and services on offer at the destination we can conclude that
the yachtsmen at both destinations tended to go shopping or eat out. In the Canary Islands the yachtsmen also
tended to do sports and in Agadir make cultural visits. The average level of satisfaction of the yachtsmen with
regards the complementary tourist products and services on offer at the Canary Islands was medium to high.
By analysing the range of the evaluation, where 1 is “not at all satisfied” and 5 is “very satisfied”, the
yachtsmen that visited the islands were “quite satisfied” with the activities carried out. As far as Agadir is
concerned, the average level of satisfaction shown by the yachtsmen is very low, which may influence the
overall general perception of the image of the destination (table 4).
Table 4. Consumption and satisfaction with tourist products and services on offer at the destination Yachtsmen
Activities
Canaries
Agadir
Restaurants
89%
69%
Shopping
86%
59%
Sports
57%
Cultural visitis
38%
Level of satisfaction
3,8
1,7
With regards the tourists, swimming was the main activity carried out outside the nautical area, both for the
sample at the Canary Islands and that of Agadir. In addition, at the Canary Islands the tourists chose to do
more sporting activities in the sea, but different from those related to the reason behind the trip itself. In
Agadir however, the tourist tends to choose more to go on excursions and play golf as part of the
complementary tourist activities. The tourists at the Canary Islands are on average “quite satisfied” with the
activities carried out at the destination whereas, those at Agadir were “satisfied” at the time of being
interviewed (table 5).
190
Table 5. Consumption and satisfaction with tourist products and services on offer at the destination
Tourists
Activities
Canaries
Agadir
Swimming
38%
25%
Other nautical sports
27%
Scuba diving
20%
Excursions
16%
Golf
9%
Level of satisfaction
3,8
3,2
It is important to make note of the similarities that exist between the preference in activities for the
yachtsmen and tourists, regardless of the destination they chose. It can be assumed that generally, the tourists
that travel to do recreational nautical activities used their time also to enjoy a wide variety of other water
sports and activities on offer, whereas the yachtsmen tended to choose other types of perhaps calmer
activities.
The image of the nautical destination
The evaluation of the image of the destination for tourists and yachtsmen was carried out through two
questions in the questionnaire. In the first, the interviewees were asked to give a value to the destination
between 1 and 5, where 1 was “very bad image” and 5 was “very good image”, taking as a reference the
nautical activities carried out during the stay. In the second question the same evaluation was asked for but
this time taking into account their experience.
As far as the first question was concerned, data regarding which nautical recreational activities were most
used at the destination was collected. In table 6 we can see a ranking of these activities, per group
interviewed, and according to region. After sailing, the yachtsmen in the sample did sport fishing, chartering,
kayaks and scuba diving more often. The image of the Canary Islands as a destination for sailing is positive,
whereas the Moroccan waters were considered below average. Similarly, the islands had a good image
according to which were activities were most carried out by the yachtsmen. For Agadir, carrying out other
activities was perceived as having a below average image. The latter evaluation was mainly made according
to the yachtsmen because of the lack of quality services and the service experience offered by the nautical
companies, many claiming that they were emerging and improvised companies.
With respect to the tourists, the image projected by the Canary Islands for doing recreational nautical sports
was good. The most common activities at both destinations are presented in table 6, where we can see some
common areas between the two destinations. The image of Agadir as far as carrying out the specific activities
indicated is still average.
Table 6. Image projected by the destination for doing recreational nautical sports
Canaries
Agadir
Sailing
4,1 Sailing
2,6
Sport fishing
Sport fishing
Yachtsmen
3,9 Chartering
2,4
Kayaks
Chartering
Scuba diving
Tourists
Skin diving
Surf-windsurf
Water skiing
Boating
Surf-windsurf
Yachting
3,8
Jet ski
Boating
3,3
191
With regards the second question of this section, the interviewees were asked to indicate the most
representative attributes of the destination according to their experience and again using a scale from 1 to 5,
where 1 was “very bad image” and 5 was “very good image”. The results in table 7 show that the Canary
Islands has a very positive image, characterised by adjectives such as “stimulating, authentic and tranquil” for
the yachtsmen and “happy, healthy and active” for the majority of tourists. Agadir is seen as a “fun, authentic
and tranquil” destination by the yachtsmen and again the tourist coincides in considering it “happy, healthy
and active”. The image presented by Agadir shows once more a lower value than that of the Canary Islands,
with values being average for tourists and yachtsmen.
Table 7. Image projected by the destination for doing nautical tourism
Canaries
Agadir
Stimulating
Fun
Yachtsmen
3,9
Authentic
Authentic
Tranquil
Tranquil
Happy
Happy
4,1
Tourists
Healthy
Healthy
Active
Active
3,1
3,5
It should be highlighted that the yachtsmen in the Canary Islands have characterised the image of the
destination as being superior to that of the ports, which up to a point, indicates the influence that this has on
the evaluation of the destination for their positive experiences with other tourist activities at the destination.
As far as the yachtsmen in Agadir were concerned, where high evaluations for satisfaction were not given for
the complementary tourist activities on offer, nor for the sporting activities carried out at the destination, we
could suppose that the values of the image at the destination (around 3) were influenced by the sense of
security and infrastructures that had received the highest evaluations. It may be that the expectations of
Agadir have been completely overcome and this is where the acceptable image comes from.
For the tourists, there is coherence for both destinations, between the points given to the ports, the services,
the complementary activities on offer and the image of the destination. Even though they do not receive
maximum points, the image of the port, the satisfaction with the offer of accommodation or the activities
carried out at the destination, the values of 4.1 and 3.5 for the Canary Islands and Agadir denote certain
satisfaction and an average or acceptable image. We could also suppose however, that the evaluations suggest
that many aspects could be improved.
Another aspect evaluated at this stage was the intention of recommending the destination after the experience
had there and the satisfaction and image perceived by the tourist. The intentions of the yachtsmen and tourists
to recommend the destinations are high. As far as the Canary Islands are concerned, although 38.6% of the
tourists had visited for the first time, almost 98% of them were going to recommend the destination.
Similarly, but in less proportion (81.9%) the yachtsmen would also recommend the islands and 99% had
already visited the islands on a previous occasion. For Agadir, the number of visitors staying for the first time
was higher, particularly among the yachtsmen (71.9%). In the same way, of all the tourists visiting Agadir
39% were doing so for the first time. However, nearly 88% of the interviewees would indeed, recommend the
destination to other people (table 8).
192
Table 8. Intention of recommending the destination
Canaries
Agadir
Yachtsmen
Yes (81,9%)
To recommend
Yes (87,5%)
Tourists
Yes (97,5%)
Yachtsmen
Yes (1,0%)
Yes (71,9%)
First visit
Tourists
Yes (38,6%) Yes (39,0%)
The Canary Islands- Morocco as a combined nautical destination
During this phase of the study it was decided to formulate only one question with three parts for the whole
sample. As mentioned earlier, the questionnaires were implemented individually and in face-to-face contexts,
which allowed us to collect qualitative data. Firstly, the knowledge and use of the nautical products and
services on offer was questioned; secondly the difficulties perceived and thirdly, the willingness to participate
in any recreational or sporting nautical activity.
Also mentioned above was the fact that the present study was involved in a project denominated NAUCAM
¨Nautical Network of Cooperation between the Canary Islands and Morocco¨, which aims to make the
cooperation between both regions on nautical matters possible. Knowing the experiences of the visitors to
both regions, their perception of the installations and the services, their satisfaction regarding the activities
carried out and their knowledge and willingness to consider the other destination, help to avoid problems
when formulating strategies and new products.
The main results observed for the nautical tourists that visited the Canary Islands, was that Morocco was very
much known as a destination for nautical tourism. Firstly, all the tourists stated that during their stay in the
Canary Islands the most advertised destinations were Agadir and Tunis. Secondly, 75.6% of the yachtsmen
that were on the Canary Islands had already sailed in Moroccan waters. And thirdly, 13.4% of the sample in
the islands had already used a Moroccan port at some time in their lives.
As far as the tourists that visited Agadir were concerned, besides the fact that 60% of the sample chosen were
Spanish, the rest of the nationalities knew the Canary Islands very well, and had even visited, some as
nautical tourists and others as beach goers. The yachtsmen in Agadir also stated what their favourite places
for sailing were. Spain was in first position in the ranking, followed by Portugal and in third place, Agadir
itself. This extensive level of knowledge and use of what is on offer at the other destination suggests that
there is a common market for both regions, which should be evaluated in greater depth in future studies.
With regards the difficulty of doing nautical tourism given the particularities of the regions’ waters, the
Canaries is considered as a region with few difficulties by the majority of those interviewed at both
destinations (graph 9). Both yachtsmen and tourists indicate that it is an ideal destination all year round.
Graph 9. Difficulties for nautical sport given the particularities of the Canarian’ waters
by the sample in Canaries
by the sample in Agadir
4%
No
96%
Yes
100%
No
Yes
193
Morocco is considered by some nautical tourists that visited the islands (33%), as being a region with a
certain amount of difficulty for sailing because of the climate and the patrolling and controls placed on the
yachtsmen (graph 10). In relation to the climate, the tourists at Agadir stated that another difference between
the Moroccan and Canarian waters, was that the prior are not able to be used all year round, at least not
certain sports, but that in the summer months the waters were ideal. However, the yachtsmen stated that for
sailing the conception of ideal meteorological conditions is different and that the Moroccan coasts posed
certain difficulties in comparison with the Canary Islands, but that the climate was however favourable for
sailing all year round.
Graph 10.Difficulties for nautical sport given the particularities of the Moroccan’ waters
by the sample in Canaries
by the sample in Agadir
33%
No
67%
Yes
72%
No
Yes
These statements make us reconsider the theory behind the fact that nautical tourism has a seasonal effect for
the tourist economies, at least from a global point of view. As regards the Canary Islands, the climate favours
nautical tourism all year round but for Agadir the climate does have an influence and is key for doing
recreational nautical sports and sailing.
Once discovered the fundamental difficulties of doing nautical tourism at the other destination, the nautical
tourists were asked about their willingness to consume combined products (graph 11). More than 60% of the
interviewees in the Canary Islands said they would probably consume some type of joint product between
the two regions. For the yachtsmen, for example, combined regattas is a possibility and for the tourists
different packages or competitions. In the same way 48% of the tourists at Agadir stated they would be
willing to participate in joint initiatives. The willingness of the tourists that visited Agadir was notably
higher than those that visited the Canary Islands, therefore the initiative may be more successful in the
beginning if they are focused on the main international markets.
194
Graph 11. Willingness to participate in combined recreational nautical activities Canaries-Morocco
Canaries
Agadir
Very likely
14%
15%
4%
Quite likely
24%
58%
48%
32%
Unlikely
Not at all likely
Given the evaluations presented above we can assume that there are good market opportunities for the
development of the sector in both regions and with joint collaboration. What is currently offered at both
destinations should be redesigned to become more in and without forgetting the importance of the quality
and sustainability of the activity and the destinations themselves.
CONCLUSIONS
Correct market segmentation is key to an effective study of the demands of nautical tourism, as it is for any of
the sub-segments of the tourism industry. In the research carried out, it has been seen that the behaviour and
evaluation of the nautical tourists varies based on the type of activity that they are going to do at the
destination with clear profiles between a nautical tourist that sails and a nautical tourist that pursues
recreational activities being determined.
Taking into account the fact that the sample chosen for the study is statistically representative, from the point
of view of supply and demand at both destinations, it can be concluded that the ports and marinas in the
Canary Islands (Spain) and the Souss Massa Draa region (Morocco), do not currently generate an optimum
image for the nautical tourist. In the Canary Islands, the most negative aspect affecting the image was the
nautical and sporting installations offer. The tourists and yachtsmen found that their expectations with the
services offered at the port were not fulfilled, suggesting an existing lack of quality. The evaluations given
by the yachtsmen were indeed less positive than those of the tourists, seemingly because they are less
satisfied with the basic services at the port and the services offered for the boats. Other aspects such as
security, infrastructures and environmental management did not meet the expectations of the tourists or the
yachtsmen, which shows the necessity to study this aspect more in depth in order to improve it. Agadir,
however, considered an emerging destination with poorer infrastructures and products and services on offer
in comparison to the Canarian ports, is considered to have a similar image to that of the Canary Islands
according to the tourists and yachtsmen that have visited. This indicates that the conditions of the Agadir
Marina are similar to any of the Canarian ports. The image perceived of the services, infrastructures and
environmental management have been evaluated as acceptable or average.
As far as the use and satisfaction of the complementary tourist offer at the destination is concerned, it can be
seen that there is a clear segmentation between the preferences of the nautical tourists and the yachtsmen,
regardless of the destination they are at. Shopping and eating out are the favourite activities of the yachtsmen,
whereas the tourist, other than the main reason for their holiday (water sports), prefers swimming and other
sports related to active tourism, the sea and going on excursions. Likewise where tourists and yachtsmen
195
were satisfied with these activities on the their visit to the Canary Islands, they found that in Agadir the
products and services on offer required some improvement in order to increase the users level of satisfaction.
The Canary Islands, as a nautical destination, has a positive image, according to the tourists and yachtsmen
that have carried out sporting and recreational nautical activities at the time of the research. Along the same
lines, the general evaluation given by the tourist regarding his stay denotes that the region generates a
positive image as a nautical tourism destination. This would mean that almost 82% of the yachtsmen and
98% of the tourists that have visited the Canary Islands during the period of the study would recommend the
destination to family and friends. However, it should be taken into account that the destination did not receive
high evaluations for any of its attributes or services, which means that the market expectations have not been
met and thus the area related to ports and marines and the offer of tourist services needs to be developed.
Some 88% of visitors interviewed at Agadir would recommend the destination for nautical tourism, although
the image perceived for sailing and water sports is not very high, neither was the evaluation received for the
complementary tourist products and services on offer. It is necessary to improve the marina at Agadir, the
services offered there and redesign and define the range of services and products offered to the tourist in
order to satisfy the target market better. Security is seen as a positive attribute at Agadir and thus the initial
hypothesis is rejected.
For future research it would be interesting to identify the aspects and attributes that mostly influence the
image perceived of the nautical destination. By showing that it is the tourist products and services on offer
that determines the overall satisfaction of the tourist and their desire to repeat the visit or recommend the
destination, this could change the conception that businessmen have regarding the offer of services at the port
or of those businesses dedicated to nautical activities in general. Identifying the port or the recreational
nautical activity as the decisive element in the satisfaction of the client and the image of the destination
would mean concentrating efforts on an improved definition of the installations and the basic and
complementary services offered there.
The potential offered by both destinations for the development of combined nautical tourism is clear. During
the present study similarities have been confirmed as far as weaknesses of the sporting and recreational
nautical products and services on offer are concerned. With regards the tourist packages, the Canary Islands
has a long history of development in the sector particularly from small local companies, that could be used as
a basis for developing the African market. It has also been demonstrated that, from a market point of view,
there is a mutual recognition by both destinations and similar preferences on activities to be carried out,
which is directly related to the profile of nautical tourists that visit this part of the world.
The yachtsmen’s preference for organised crossings allows for the design of innovative products, such as
crossing the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and also, the fact that there are difficulties in Moroccan waters
could lead to the creation of professional circuits and competitions. Furthermore, the definition of both
destinations for nautical tourism will depend on the attention given to the port services and the mix of
nautical tourist services.
The generation of joint products should be developed after carrying out a market segmentation; yachtsmen,
tourist that currently do water sports, tourists with a tendency to do nautical activities and also by taking into
account the markets that have shown most interest in the consumption of these products. At the same time the
commercialisation policies should vary according to the destination offering them and the profile of the users,
their preferences and ways of organising their trip.
196
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233-239.
197
THE RECREATIONAL ECONOMIC VALUE OF AGRO TECHOLOGY PARK, CAMERON
HIGHLANDS, MALAYSIA: AN APPLICATION OF THE TRAVEL COST METHOD
Syamsul Herman Mohammad Afandi
Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
2
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Product, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor
Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
1
Zaiton Samdin
2
1
Sridar Ramachandran, S
2
3
Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, Putra Infoport, Universiti Putra Malaysia
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
1
2
Ahmad Shuib
3
Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, Putra Infoport, Universiti Putra Malaysia
43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
The increase in tourists demand for highland tourism experience is inevitable. Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
has evolved into a major highland tourism destination providing a cool climatic experience coupled with
scenic beauty in the midst of Tudor concept architecture which enhances the destinations historical value.
One of a popular tourist destination in CH is the Agro Technology Park (ATP). Realising the prospect in
tourism, ATP management has provided recreational facilities for tourist utilisation in its centre.
Nevertheless, the absence in imposing an entrance fee has left a vacuum in determining the recreational
economic value of this facility as the benefit of this agro-tourism product to tourists remains unknown. It
would be important for the management to identify the benefit since the development and maintenance of the
facility is costly. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to estimate the benefit of such establishment in highlands
area by applying the travel cost method (TCM). The study examines, explores and debates the issues in a
critical yet supportive environment especially highlands. The study obtained 179 usable questionnaires from
visitors during weekends, weekdays and public holidays. A multiple regression was employed where annual
visitation rate to ATP was formulated as a function of income, age, years of education, travel cost, and
satisfaction level. The result showed that only three factors were found significant at 5% confidence level,
which were monthly income, year of education and travel cost. From the regression result, the economic
value of ATP Cameron Highlands as recreational site was estimated at RM 9,977,665.00 (€2,336,999.13) for
the year 2011. Although the study was conducted post development, the finding indicated the benefit tourist
received under current management practise. Should the management change its style, it would also affect
benefit value ATP contributes. Since TCM is an established concept, the finding of the study reflects on the
opportunities, barriers and challenges inherent in embracing post-disciplinary approaches to research and
suggest ways to further enhance the approach.
Key Word: Highlands tourism, travel cost model, recreation demand model, recreation economics,
198
INTRODUCTION
The highlands are home to a plethora of agricultural farms and Cameron Highlands (CH) is one of the
popular places in Malaysia.It is a popular tourist destination, a collection of peaceful townships perched 1500
meters high on a nest of serene mountains, which located only four hours away from Kuala Lumpur, the
capital of Malaysia. The temperature on this hillside always varies between 22o-25o during the day and
between 15o-22o at night. Cooling resorts, tea plantations and strawberry farms is one of the perfect sites for a
relaxing holiday.
Cameron Highlands is the leading highland resort destination in the country, supporting a local population
close to 50,000 people which mostly Chinese spread over eight interconnecting areas. Far from rural, the
main townships of Tanah Rata and Brinchang are highly developed with a wide range of facilities and
services such as hotels, resorts, apartments, shopping blocks tower on landscape, accommodation and leisure
activities for its visitors. One the top tourism site in CH is the Agro Technology Park (ATP). It is under the
jurisdiction of the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), a governmental
agency in Malaysia.
ATP station was initially established by the British in 1925. It was then known as the Federal Experimental
Station. Tea was firstly introduced in the country in 1925 and these early tea bushes are growing healthy at
the station until today. The first tea factory built in 1935 is still capable of processing black tea. ATP was
officiated by His Royal Highness Duli Yang Maha Mulia The Sultan of Pahang on 14 June 2003. The idea to
turn the former research station opened in 1926 by the British to MARDI on 1971. The British handed over
the park to MARDI some 22 years ago. The park is actually MARDI's oldest research station in the country
and since Cameron Highlands is a popular tourist destination, ATP has followed through on the idea to turn it
into an Agro Technology Park.Since then, the park receives at about 100,000 visitors annually. The
brainchild the park is receiving increasing annual visitor arrivals (Table 1). ATP is divided into six main
areas comprising of English Garden, Herb Garden, Orchid Garden, Rose Garden, research centre and a
Visitor Centre. ATP is home to 40 varieties of roses, 10 strawberries, 100 citrus fruits, at least six types of
anthuriums, four varieties of apples, and pears and persimmons.
Realising the prospect in tourism, ATP management has provided recreational facilities for tourist utilisation
in its centre. Nevertheless, the absence in imposing an entrance fee has left a vacuum in determining the
recreational economic value of this facility as the benefit of this agro-tourism product to tourists remains
unknown. It would be important for the management to identify the benefit since the development and
maintenance of the facility is costly. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to estimate the benefit of such
establishment in highlands area by applying the economic principles and approaches. The absence of past
studies to assess recreational value and the demand of visitors making this study becomes the first study to
estimate the recreational value of ATP.
Methodology
The survey was conducted at ATP every weekend during the duration of the study, in the morning and
evening to ensure enough variation in the respondent’s preferences. Surveys were conducted for a period of 3
months in 2013. Respondents were selected from the leaders of the groups. It is assumed that the information
given by the leader of the group reflects the information for the entire family or group and not merely his/her
own (Ahmad, 1994), respondents were interviewed personally To ensure a complete questionnaire returned.
Following Kuosmanen et al. (2004), only respondents with the purpose of recreation are interviewed to
resolve multi-destination trip visitors. In avoiding an overestimated CS (CS), international visitor were
excluded in the survey.
199
Travel Cost Method
From an economic perspective, monetary valuation of the environment can be performed in many ways, by
either using market price information or eliciting consumer’s preferences or by applying a wide range of nonmarket valuation methods. In the absence of market prices for environmental services, value estimation is
concerned with a change in people’s welfare (Nijkamp et al., 2008). Under the Total Economic Value
concept, outdoor recreation is an example of a direct or tangible use of the environment (Kahn, 1995), where
outdoor recreation involves people’s participation in activities in natural areas.
An assessment of recreation use, measures the environmental value, which is derived from the recreational
usage of an area. The measure of recreational value is the measure of recreational activity that happens at a
specific location, for a certain recreational season or any standard period of time. The value here is the
estimation of benefit or welfare, which is derived from the actual recreational event that occurs at that
location. If there is no recreational activity, the estimation of recreational use value, is likely to be unfeasible
(Syamsul, 2010).
In the case of public areas,in this case the ATP, the resource for outdoor recreation is treated as a commodity.
In such cases, for the consumption of these commodities, consumers must be transported to the commodity
and not the other way around (Syamsul, 2010). Visitor who would like to have their outdoor recreation
activities in ATP, have to travel to the specific location. This characteristic of outdoor recreation
consumption, enables the estimation of a demand equation, because the costs that must be incurred to
consume the recreation services, provides surrogate prices with more variations in a sample than would
usually be generated by market phenomena observed either over time or space (Ahmad, 1994).Clawson
(1959), Knetsch (1963), and Clawson and Knetsch (1966) were amongst the early researchers who tested the
model empirically. They showed that zonal TCM can be used to construct a demand curve for a site. The
demand curve exhibits a negative relationship between aggregated visits and travelling costs, which is
consistent with the demand theory. The application of TCM in valuing recreational uses of the environment
in Malaysia include Willis et al. (1995), Awang Noor et al. (1999), Norlida Hanim (2000), Syamsul (2005)
and Syamsul (2010).
This study employed the travel cost method (TCM) has been used in achieving its objectives. TCM is based
on the notion that the money and time that people spend traveling to an outdoor recreation area indicates the
economic value of the recreational resources (Boyle, 2003). TCM recognizes that the total cost each
individual pays for his or her trip depends on the cost of travel to the site; this will affects an individual’s
frequency of the visitation. The demand model is then constructed by regressing visitation and the travelling
cost. Based on the estimated demand curve for outdoor recreation at the site, benefits to visitors could be
estimated by calculating the area under the demand curve that measures the CS of recreational resources to
users. In this study, other related independent variables were also included in the regression analysis, which
were traveling cost to alternative site, time cost and socio-demographic variables.
The specific model can be written as follows:
V = β0 + β1 TCij + β2 OSTij+ β3 SIij + β4EDLij + β5 AGij + β6 ICMij+ εi
Where:
TC
= Traveling Cost
SI
= Satisfaction Index
EDL = Year of education
AG
= Age
ICM = Income
εi
= Error Terms
β0, β1,……… β6 are parameters to be estimated and ε is random error, i is index of observation.
200
Measurement of Variables
Traveling Cost
Traveling cost measure the mileage cost in terms distance multiplied by vehicle maintenance per kilometer
(Syamsul, 2010). In this study, the traveling cost is measured by multiplying the cost per kilometer by the
distance from a respondent’s current residence to the study location. The unit of measurement is Ringgit
Malaysia (RM) per kilometer. In this study the cost per kilometer is based on the rate provided by the
Highway Planning Unit, Ministry of Road Transport, Malaysia.
On-site Time
On-site time measures the visitors length of stay. On-site time have been used to account for the effects of
recreation visitors taking relatively fewer trips but spending more time on-site (Shresta et al., 2007). In this
study, time of trips respondent states their stay in days and nights. On-site time is measured in hours.
Satisfaction Index
The Satisfaction Index variable measures respondent’s satisfaction of engaging outdoor recreation in natural
areas that extends from the environment setting (Syamsul, 2010). From the study, the average index for
facility is measured by creating a scale of satisfaction. If a facility is very satisfactory, it is given the value of
4, otherwise if the facility is very not satisfactory, it was given by the value of 1. The other value for
satisfaction level is 2 for ‘not satisfactory’ and 3 value for ‘satisfactory’ (Figure 4).
The valuing was given towards cleanliness of the area, crowd level, maintenance, washrooms, café, shops,
parking and recreational facilities. The satisfaction index is obtained by multiplying the intensity (Si) of
individual statements to the number of respondents having the same intensity (Xi). This total is divided by the
total number of sample (N). Satisfaction index is calculated by totaling the index for each statements and
dividing by the number of questions.
If = ∑k i=1 Si Xi
N
FSI = ∑ IF
Q
Where:
AI
:
IF
:
Si:
Xi
Q
:
:
The complete average index of satisfaction
The index for a facility
Intensity of individual preference taking discrete values of 1, 2, 3, 4 corresponding to ‘Very
satisfactory’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘not satisfactory’, very not satisfactory’.
Number of visitors having intensity preference Si.
Number of facilities ranked.
Education Level
Education level is measured in years of formal education attended. The years of education was based on
which level of education that the respondents attained. Education level is measured in years.
Age
Age variable measures the age of the respondent. It is a scale data and the measurement unit is in years.
201
Income
In this study, the income variable measures gross monthly salary or wage as reported by respondent. For selfemployed of respondents, the measurement based on their average monthly profit. The unit of income
variable is in RM.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Respondents Background and Visit Characteristics
Majority of the visitors were females (61.9%) and married (60.2%). Most of the visitors (73.9%) attained
tertiary education level, almost half of the visitors sample (47%) were middle age, between 21-30 years old.
Theaverage monthly income of was found to be RM2,720.04, with small deviation from the median value of
RM2,300 per month. Majority of the visitors (54%) were first timer. Almost half of the respondents (46%)
came from 101 km-200 km away from ATP.
Satisfaction Level
Table 1 showsthat in general, the respondents are satisfied with the recreational experience in the location. It
is shown by the values of satisfaction index (S.I) is 3.13; higher than the threshold value for being satisfied at
3.0. Visitors are satisfied with the attractiveness of ATP (3.28), the cleanliness (3.11), condition of the
facilities (3.06), quantity of information provided (3.01). On the contrary, level of crowd and activities that
can be done were ranked 2.97 and 2.94 respectively and suggestunsatisfactory to the visitors.
Table 1: Satisfaction Level of Selected Items of ATP
Mean
Score
Percentage of Ranking*
Factors
1
2
3
4
Cleanliness
1.70
7.40
68.20
22.70
3.11
Level of crowd
6.30
5.70
72.16
15.91
2.97
Condition of the facilities
2.27
11.36
64.77
21.6
3.06
Attractiveness of the location
1.7
5.11
56.82
36.37
3.28
Level of enjoyment attained
0.57
1.14
63.64
34.66
3.32
Quantity of information provided
2.27
14.2
63.64
19.89
3.01
Activities that can be done
1.14
19.32
63.64
15.91
2.94
Condition of environment
Satisfaction Index
2.27
3.97
53.41
40.34
3.32
3.13
202
*1 = Very not satisfied, 2 = Not satisfied, 3 = Satisfied, 4 = Very satisfied
**S.I = Satisfaction Index
Multiple Regression Analysis
From the result, three factors are found significant at 0.05 confidence level: traveling cost, year of education
and onsite expenditure. While age, income, satisfaction levels are found insignificant (Table 2). The
coefficient indicates the relationship between the independent variables and visits either inversely
proportional or directly proportional. In this study, travel cost is found to have negatively relationship with
visit and this confirms with demand theory. The r2 value is found 0.181 indicating that the visit was 18.1%
explained by the independent variables.
Table 2: Analysis of Regression for Variable Independents
Variable
(Constant)
b
3.588
Beta
p-value
0.023
t
2.296
Age
0.024
0.121
0.09
1.704
Income
.000
0.146
*0.045
2.02
Satisfaction level
0.528
0.117
0.104
1.635
Year of education
-0.199
-0.215
*0.004
-2.892
-0.003
-0.278
*0.004
-3.854
Travel cost
2
F= 4.273, R = 0.181
*significant at 0.05 confident level
The Effect of Independent Variable that Influencing Visit
The relationship between travel cost and visit is found inversely related as shown by the negative algebraic
sign in the multiple regression analysis. The result suggests that the higher the cost, the lesser trip visitors
make to ATP. It also means that visitors from further location would have lesser annual trips to ATP due to
the cost incurred. The inverse relationship between trip cost and visit per capita is consistent with demand
theory and have been found in many recreational demand studies (Syamsul, 2010).
Income is found to be significant at 0.05(confidence level). The positive relationship between income and
visit is anticipated. People with more income have higher purchasing power and a higher portion of
disposable income. In general, visit to ATP will increase if there is an increase in income level. However, the
coefficient value is relatively small and the effect of income towards visit is minimal.
Year of education shows a negative coefficient (b=-0.199) (Table 16). The result suggests that people with
higher education will have lesser trip to ATP. It is probably due to the awareness on environmental issue of
CH. In general, people with high education level are aware on environment. Since ATP is located in CH,
there were several environmental issues in CH that could have affected visitors’ choice for their recreational
site. Some of the might considered other locations to avoid sensitive areas.
Estimating the Consumer Surplus
In theory, CS involves incrementing the travel cost variable until zero visitation is obtained, thus identifying
the choke price for each zone (Fleming et al., 2007). By assuming other variables are constant (ceteris
paribus), the CS is estimated by taking the integration of the demand function as in Eq. 1 below :
203
V = - 0.03TC + 3.588
…………………
Eq. 1
The CS value is indication of willingness to pay (WTP) of visitor to the study area. The CS is estimated at
RM214.56 per year at zero cost. From the analysis, the individual benefit of recreational consumption of
ATP, the consumer surplus is averaged for per visit where RM214.56 is divided by the maximum visit
(3.588). The value of CS equal to RM59.80 / visit / year / person. The detail calculation of CS is shown
below:
CS = RM214.56 / maximum visit
= RM214.56 / 3.588
=RM59.80 / person
Estimation of Economic Value
The above consumer surplus values are estimated for ATP, Cameron Highlands directly to get the economic
value. From the analysis, the total numbers of visitors toATP were 178,560 person in the year of 2010 while
the value of 1.07 (Table 13) was getting from the average number of visits in the past 12 month. The total
number of visitor was assuming one visitor makes one visit per year. The average visitor to ATP in 2010 is
obtained by dividing 178,560 to 1.07 and equals to 166,878 visitors. To obtain the economic value of ATP,
the average visitors would be multiple with consumer surplus as (RM59.80). Finally the value of economic at
ATP Cameron Highlands was RM 9,977,665.00 for year 2010. The detail calculation for the value of
economic at ATP is shown below:
Total recreational value in 2010 = Average visit per year × consumer surplus (CS)
= 166,878 × 59.80
= RM9,977,665.00
In this study, the economic value of ATP was resulted as RM9,977,665.00 in year 2010 same with the
research of Syamsul (2005) at Gua Kelam, Perlis (RM12,081,396).
Conclusion
ATP is an agriculturalcentre which has attracted visitors to enjoy its recreational experience. The
management has realized the potential of the ATP recreational services to the public is also inline towards
agriculture and biodiversity conservation. Nevertheless, how much of the benefit generated by this centre in
terms of recreational experiences is unknown to the management.
This study determines the demand and recreational use values of ATP, Cameron Highlands. From the study,
it indicates that recreational economic value of ATP, Cameron Highlands is estimated atRM9,977,665.00
(€24,185,348.09). Although ATP is primarily focusing on research activities, it has recreational value due to
its attractions to visitors and also by the visitor management system applied. If the management changes its
visitors management style, it could affect visitor arrivals, thus, alter ATP recreational value, either positively
or negatively. The recreational use value, derived from the study, contributes to the related agencies of ATP
from several perspectives. While managing and maintaining a protected area is substantially costly, an
assessment of the intangible value of the area provides the economic value as a justification for the input cost.
The knowledge of economic value can be used as input in annual budget for maintenance and additional
recreational facilities.
In general the visitors are satisfied on the recreational experience they obtained from the visit to ATP. It is
shown by the satisfaction index value of 3.13. However, there are items that was ranked lower that
satisfactory which are the level of crowd (2.97) and activities that can be done (2.94). Some of the interviews
204
sessions were conducted during public holidays where the crowd was slightly high. This could have affected
the perception of visitors due to the crowd during peak hours. On the other hand, since ATP is a research
centre, most of the activities are passive activities such as sight seeing, photography and the like.
The economic value estimated from the study is relatively high. There is a possibility of overestimation in the
assessment of consumer surplus. ATP is one many tourist attraction in CH, the calculation of traveling cost to
ATP might have included other location in CH. This could possibly increase the total cost of traveling, hence,
resulting an overestimate consumer surplus. It is suggested future studies to consider multi-destination effect,
a problem usually associated with TCM studies.
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Nijkamp, P., Vindigni, G., & Nunes, P. (2008). Economic valuation of biodiversity: A comparative study.
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206
WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR THE CONSERVATION FEE IN KUALA SEPETANG: A
CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD
Zaiton, S.
Faculty of Forestry and Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products,
Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Hazandy, A.H.
Syamsul Herman, M.A.
ABSTRACT
Natural resources such as mangrove forests offer numerous benefits to society. These benefits are either
direct or indirect. Mangroves are important for ecological functions that provide coastal protection, nutrient
requirements for offshore ecosystems and water purification. The valuation technique is especially important
for environmental resources that cannot be inferred from market prices; the market for environmental goods
does not exist and is not expressed. Non-market valuation such as Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) is
one of the approaches that have helped to assign monetary value to non-use values for non-market goods.
This paper applies dichotomous choice Contingent Valuation Method to discover the visitors’ willingness to
pay for the conservation fee at Kuala Sepetang. Conservation is important to ensure the sustainability of these
resources for future generations. A total of 135 respondents completed the survey. Previous studies show that
WTP varies with the respondent’s profile includes income, education, occupation, demographic aspects and
psychographic profile. Furthermore, previous studies show that visitors are far more willing to pay if they
know that all their monetary contribution will be invested in conservation. The results indicate that visitors’
mean value for the WTP for the conservation fee was RM5.13. An initial estimation of the model using the
socio-economic characteristics as independent variables reveals that income and price are significant
variables in determining the WTP for conservation. Public preferences and broader economic values are
therefore likely to play an increasingly important role in the management of such environmental resources.
Therefore, economic valuation will have an important impact on the long-term sustainability of the
development of natural resources in the country.
Key Words:
Willingness to Pay, Contingent Valuation Method, mangrove, conservation fee
INTRODUCTION
Natural resources such as mangrove forests offer numerous benefits to society. These benefits are either
direct or indirect. Mangrove forests are important for coastal ecosystems serving numerous environmental
services and ecological functions. Mangrove forests also ensure the continuing flow of ecosystem services
including water quality maintenance, protection from strong winds and also acting as a carbon sink. Bouillon
207
et al. (2008) and Cahoon et al. (2003) asserted that mangrove forests are the major carbon sinks of the
tropics. These forests are also important in controlling and adapting to global climate change. From an
economic perspective, mangroves provide economic value for being able to offer timber and fuel wood
including charcoal, poles and firewood.
Mangroves are considered an important resource for socio-economic development and for mitigation and
adaptation to climate change. Mangrove forests provide important tangible and intangible benefits to local
communities in the form of socio-economic development opportunities such as fishing, eco-aquaculture,
ecotourism, fuel wood collection, biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration and shoreline stabilisation.
Aksornkoae (2000) asserted that the tangible benefits of mangroves comprise timber and non-timber
products. Macintosh (1996) added that the intangible benefits include ecological and social functions such as
coastal protection against wave and current abrasion, shelter and habitat for wildlife, and ecotourism.
The valuation technique is especially important for environmental resources that cannot be inferred from
market prices. We already know that the market for environmental goods does not exist and is not expressed.
This market is commonly known as ‘non-market goods’. As a result, these values are often disregarded or
have been given inappropriate weightings. We should not neglect the important impacts of these resources in
decision-making. In addition, the proper pricing and use of environmental goods will bring significant
benefits to society.To assure the sustainability of environmental resources, these resources need to be
conserved for current and future generations. In order to sustain these resources for future use, an allocation
of funds needs to be obtained. The funding will then be used to support miscellaneous costs such as
development, maintenance as well as conservation needs.
This paper applies Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to investigate the economic value of mangrovein
Kuala Sepetang. This can be achieved by accessing the willingness to pay for conservation fee inthat area.
This paper is organized into six sections. Section one is the introduction, followed by section two which
discuss the mangrove and the location of the study. Section threecovers methodologywhichdescribes
theContingent Valuation Method and also the Willingness to Pay. Section four discusses data analysis.
Finally, the last section offers several discussions and concluding comments.
MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM AND STUDY LOCATION
Mangrovesgrowinriverdeltas,lagoonsandestuarinecomplexes.Theyalsooccuroncolonizedshorelinesandislandsin
shelteredcoastalareaswithlocallyvariabletopography and hydrology (Lugo and Snedaker, 1974). Around 1980,
the total mangrove area in Southeast Asia totalled 6.8 million ha which is about 34-42% of the world’s total.
By 1990, however, this dropped to under 5.7 million ha, representing a decrease of about 15% or more than
110,000 ha per year. Between 1990 to2000, the annual loss decreased to 79,000 ha, but as the total area had
also decreased there was still a 13.8% decline in mangrove area during this decade. Figure 1 showsSoutheast
Asian mangrove areas.
208
Figure 1: Map of Southeast Asian mangrove areas (mangroves are indicated in green, coral reefs in red).
ThelargestextentofmangrovesisfoundinAsia(42%)followedbyAfrica(20%),NorthandCentralAmerica(15%),Oce
ania(12%)andSouth
America(11%).Approximately75%ofmangrovesareconcentratedinjust15countries(Table
1).Mangrove forests thriving along tropical and subtropical coastlines are ideal for investigating vegetation
patterns because their position along the intertidal zone is influenced by sharp environmental gradients,
resulting in different patterns of community structure and productivity (Lugo and Snedaker, 1974). On a
global perspective, the distribution of mangrove species and aboveground biomass is correlated with
gradients in climatic factors including temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation (Saenger and Snedaker,
1993; Twilley et al., 1992). Variability in the geophysical processes (river, tide, and waves) within a coastal
landform control the basic patterns in mangrove forest structure and productivity and determine in large part
the network in energy flow and material cycling.
Table1
The15mostmangrove-richcountriesandtheircumulativepercentages
Percentage
Country
Area (ha)
of global
total (%)
Indonesia
Australia
Brazil
Mexico
3,112,989
977,97
5
962,68
3
741,91
7
Cumulative
(%)
Region
22.6
22.6
Asia
7.1
29.7
Oceania
7.0
36.7
SouthAmerica
5.4
42.1
North& Central
America
209
Nigeria
Malaysia
Myanmar(Burma)
PapuaNewGuinea
Bangladesh
Cuba
India
GuineaBissau
Mozambique
Madagascar
Philippines
653,66
9
505,38
6
494,58
4
480,12
1
436,57
0
421,53
8
368,27
6
338,65
2
318,85
1
278,07
8
263,13
7
4.7
46.8
Africa
3.7
50.5
Asia
3.6
54.1
Asia
3.5
57.6
Oceania
3.2
60.8
Asia
3.1
63.9
2.7
66.6
Asia
2.5
69.1
Africa
2.3
71.4
Africa
2.0
73.4
Africa
1.9
75.3
Asia
North& Central
America
Source: Giri et al. (2011)
The role of mangroves and their ecosystem is divided into two categories, namely, tangible and
intangible benefits. According to Zamora (1989), the tangible benefits of mangroves comprises
timber and non-timber products. Intangible benefits include coastal protection against wave, habitat
for wildlife, a buffer against pollutants, climate regulation and ecotourism (Vantomme, 1995).
Needless to say, the mangrove forest provides local communities living around it with a wide
variety of goods and services which includes flora and fauna provision (Spaninks andBeukering,
1997). Past research has shown that local communities benefit directly from mangrove forests
through the utilization of forestry and fishery products (Shervette et al., 2007).
Mangrove forests are excellent nurseries for near shore fish and shellfish species (Little et al. 1988).
According to Hussain and Badola (2010), about 60% of local communities living close to mangrove
forests in developing tropical countries depend on fish for 40% of their protein intake. In the tropics,
it has been reported that small-scale wood harvesting is a commonplace practice with locals
(Awasthi et al., 2003). Therefore, mangrove forests are a valued source of wood for many coastal
communities (FAO, 1994; Uma Shankar et al., 1998). The preferred use of mangrove wood is for
cooking fuel, construction of fish traps, wharves, fences and roofing.
210
Kuala Sepetang is mainly known as one of the world’sbest managed coastal wetlands. The 40,000-hectare
Matang Mangrove Forest was gazetted as a Permanent Forest Reserve in 1906.This mangrove reserve
contains rich and diverse wildlife that provides nature lovers with a haven to visit and explore the wetlands
and resources. Close to this reserve are silvicultural programmes of the Rhizophora, Lenggadai and Seaward
berus forests carried out professionally by the Perak State Forestry Department. This is also regarded as the
breeding grounds for numerous species of marine crustaceans including crabs, shrimps, lobsters, horseshoe
crabs and prawns as well as fish. Kuala Sepetang is becoming a popular ecotourism foractivities such
as,walks through the Matang Mangrove Forest, bird watching at the Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary and a river
cruise to visit some fish farms, dolphin watching and firefly watching. Other attractionsinKuala Sepetang
includesthe seafood restaurantsand charcoal kilns. Refer Figure 2 for location of Kuala Sepetang.
Figure 2 Map of Kuala Sepetang
211
METHODOLOGY
There are various techniques available for estimating the value of non-market goods and services. It is
divided into two groups: Stated Preference Techniques (SP) and Revealed Preference Techniques (RP). The
SP technique is one that tries to discover an individual’s preferences and is based on a questionnaire (Bann,
2002). Bateman and Langford (1997) found that the Contingent Valuation is the most popular and frequently
used valuation tool in environmental economics. Other techniques in SP include the Contingent Rating,
Contingent Ranking, Choice Modelling and Paired Comparisons (Mitchell and Carson, 1989). The second
group is the RP technique. Mathews et al., 2001 asserted that it is called the ‘revealed preference’ technique,
since consumer preferences are ‘revealed’ in this technique through their consumption of goods and services.
RP techniques include the Hedonic Property Pricing, Travel Cost Method (TCM) Random Utility Modelling
and Averting Behaviour. The most common is TCM, which is normally used to estimate values for
recreational sites.
As mentioned before, one of the non-market valuation techniques is Contingent Valuation Method (CVM).
According to Mitchell and Carson (1989), it is the only method that can elicit the benefits of use value and
non-use value. Bann (2002) asserted that CVM is suitable for the valuation of public goods where no market
exists. In addition, Hanemann (1994), asserted that the main objective of CVM is to measure the economic
value of non-market goods such as recreational resources, wildlife, and environmental quality goods.
Mitchell and Carson (1989) also noted that in this method, respondents are asked to express their willingness
to pay for changes in environmental characteristics. Rendall et al. (1974), Hanemann (1984), Shackley and
Dixon (2000), and Loomis et al. (1993) have established the CVM as a technique for estimating WTP values.
McConnel (1985) asserted that Willingness to Pay (WTP) is defined as the amount of money that a person is
willing and able to pay to enjoy recreational facilities. The choice of whether or not to visit a nature-based
tourist site will depend on the relation between an individual’s WTP and the competing uses for their income
(Laarman and Gregersen, 1996). Studies show that WTP varies with the respondent’s profile. This includes
income, education, occupation, demographic aspects and psychographic profile. In general, studies show that
visitors are far more willing to pay if they know that all their monetary contribution will be invested in
conservation, improving park facilities and providing better quality services. Walpole et al. (2001) found that
visitors were willing to pay more if the extra revenue was used to improve park facilities.
In CVM, four types of elicitation techniques arenormally used. These are: (1) bidding game (BG), (2)
payment card (PC), (3) open ended (OE); and dichotomous choice (DC). Arrow et al. (1993) added that DC
is most frequently recommended form for CVM questionnaires. In DC format, a respondent is asked whether
he/she would be willing to pay a stated monetary value. A ‘YES’ answer will be given if the true WTP is in
excess of the stated monetary value and ‘NO’ for otherwise. The main advantage of this method is that it is
like a ‘take or leave it’ approach because the situation it presents is similar to when consumers make a
purchase of ordinary goods and services. In addition, this approach will reduce the biases occurred in CVM
such as strategic bias, design bias and interviewer bias compared to other elicitation approaches (Mitchell and
Carson, 1989).
Hanemann (1984) added that logistic regression technique was applied to estimate WTP. The probability of
saying ‘YES’ to a bid at different level of the independent variable is estimated as,
Z = b0 + b1 x1+ b2 x2 + ... + bk xk + ui [1]
Where:
Z = log (probability of Yes response/probability of if No response),
b0, ..., bk = are estimated coefficient parameters
212
x1 = BID (the Ringgit Malaysia amount posed to respondents in the WTP question),
x2, ..., xk = are independent variables hypothesized to influence WTP,
ui = a random disturbance term.
Predicted probabilities of YES/NO responses were calculated by
p=1
(1 + e-Z)
[2]
Where:
p = probability of a Yes/No responses
Z = logit prediction of a Yes/No responses.
Mean WTP estimates were derived based on a methodology proposed by Cameron (1988)using the following
equation:
Mean WTP = B0+ ( Σ B2 X2, ... , Bk Xk)
-B1
[3]
Where:
B0= estimated constant
Bk= estimated parameters of the coefficients
Xk= mean values of explanatory variables
B1 = estimated coefficient on the BID
The questionnaire was designed to gather information such as WTP and the socio-demographiccharacteristics
of respondents. The questionnaire was divided into three sections; characteristics of visit, CVM (WTP) and
socio-demographic characteristics. Before the actual survey, a pilot survey was conducted to test the
questionnaire, in order to ensure respondents’ understanding of the question and the range of the bids used in
the WTP questions. In terms of the bids, range of some modifications was made such as reducing the bid
range in order to avoid negative answers (‘NO’ saying problem) in CVM. Each of the respondents will be
briefed on the details of the purpose of the survey and the format used in the CVM techniques. Respondents
were asked the following question and required to respond either ‘YES’ or ‘NO’:
‘If the conservation fee are charge by RM x, would you willing to pay so that you could help us to conserve
this mangrove area?’
DATA ANALYSIS
This section will illustrate the core agenda of this study, which is to find out whether visitors are willing to
pay for conservation fee in Kuala Sepetang.
213
Willingness to Pay for Conservation Fee
The actual survey was conducted between 14August 2013 to 1 September 2013. In order to get a precise
sample, random sampling was applied and respondents are the people who visited Kuala Sepetang. The
average time taken for the survey was about 20-30 minutes. A total of 135 respondents participated in this
survey. Each of the respondents was briefed on the details of the purpose of the survey and format used in the
CVM techniques. Respondents were asked the following question and required to respond either ‘YES’ or
‘NO’:
‘If the conservation fee charge was RM x, would you willing to pay so that you could continue to use this
resource?’
In which x ranged from RM1.00 to RM15.00; x represents a ‘reasonable’ amount of conservation fee.
Figure 3illustrates that about three quarter of the respondents agreed to pay for the conservation fee. A total
of 104 respondents which made up 77.0% of the overall sample agreed towards the conservation fee while 31
respondents (23.0%) were unwilling to pay for the conservation fee.
Figure 3 Willingness to Pay for the Conservation Fee
Based on Table 2, 40% of the total respondents were willing to pay RM5 for the conservation fee. It is
followed by RM4,where 24% of the respondents agreed to, RM3 where 16% of the respondents agreed to and
finally 10% of the respondents agreed to pay RM 2. Table 2 provides further details.
214
Table 2
Willingness to Pay for the Conservation Fee in RM
Conservation Fee (RM)
Percentage (%)
Frequency (n)
1
3
3
2
10
10
3
16
17
4
24
25
5
40
42
8
3
3
10
2
2
15
2
2
Reasons Respondents are Willing to Pay
Referring to Table 3, 55 respondents (52.6%) out of the total who agreed to pay for the conservation fee are
motivated to pay to conserve and preserve the mangrove for future generations. 26 respondents (25.2%)
weremotivated by the satisfaction of being part of the preservation of the area. Another twenty-three
respondents (22.2%) were motivated by their perceived responsibility towards the local community.
Table 3
Motivations for Respondent’s Willingness to Pay
215
Reasons for Paying
Percentage (%)
To conserve and preserve this recreational forest for future generations
52.6
Satisfaction for being part of the preservation of the area
25.2
Responsible towards local community
22.2
Reasons for the Unwillingness to Pay
The top reasons of why respondents were unwilling to pay for the conservation fee is that they are of the
opinion that ‘the government should contribute’ with 24 respondents (75.5%) agreeing on the statement.
Other reasons where‘NGOs should contribute’ withtwo respondents (7.4%) and five respondents (17.1%) felt
that ‘major businesses should contribute’.Refer to Table 4 for the unwillingness of responsent to pay the
conservation fee.
Table 4
Reasons for Respondent’s Unwillingness to Pay
Reasons for Not Paying
Percentage (%)
The government should contribute
75.5
NGOs should contribute
7.4
Major businesses should contribute
17.1
Mean Value of Willingness to Pay
This study found that respondents’ mean value for the WTP for conservation feewas RM5.13. The findings
also revealed that respondents are far more willing to pay if their contribution/money will be invested into
conservation. This is most likely because the respondentswant the mangrove to be conserved for future
generations. Refer Table 5.
Table 5
Mean Value of WTP (in Ringgit Malaysia)
Mean WTP (RM)
Kuala Sepetang
5.13
216
Factors Influencing Willingness to Pay
An initial estimation of the model using the socio-economic characteristics as independent variables reveals
that income and price are significant variables in determining the WTP. Income was one of the most
important predictors, implying that the higher the income of visitors, the higher the registered WTP bids. This
outcome is consistent with earlier WTP studies such as that of Tisdell and Wilson (1999) who found that
income is statistically significant in identifying factors determined respondents’ WTP. Ollermann et al.
(1994) also found that the variable that influenced the WTP for conservation in Wakkerstroam Wetland,
South Africa was the annual income of household. Bateman and Langford (1997) also found that the
probability of saying ‘Yes’ to paying was influenced by income. Price is also an important factor that can
influence the WTP for the conservation fee. The coefficient of price had a negative effect, and indicated that
WTP will decrease as the price of the conservation fee increases. This outcome is consistent with Jamal and
Redzuan (1997). Refer to Table 6 for more details.
Table 6
Results of the Regression Model
Coef
Std Err
Intercept
1.40555
0.8208
Price
-0.53547
0.2433**
Income
0.00054
0.0002**
Log likelihood
84.6700
R2
0.1780
Percentageof right
prediction
76.8293
Note:
** Significant at 5% level
217
CONCLUSION
The objective of this study was to estimate the economic value of ecotourism resources in Kuala Sepetang by
using non-market valuation technique i.e. Contingent Valuation Method. This studymay assist decision
makers in terms of income generated by implementing conservation fee. The study has shown respondents
are willing to pay about RM5.13 for the conservation fee. Thus, this value could be used as an additional
support to the limited fund allocated for maintenance and conservation of the area.
In addition to that, this study is important for decision makers and may act as a guideline in terms of welfare
measures and estimation of economic values. The result of this study provides an economic ground for its
management’s efforts as well as the policy makers’ decision to continue maintaining the area. It also
important for determining the viability of conserving this area in the long run; thus promoting the
sustainability of these ecotourism resources for future generations.A better understanding of valuation of
environmental resources such as mangrovesin Kuala Sepetang will lead to good management pratice acts as a
guideline for the government and other policy makers who emphasize the ability of natural resouces in
providing ecosystem services. Finally, it is essential to sustain the health and diversity of the nation's forests
to meet the needs of present and future generations.
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220
PLANNING EXPERTISE, VARIABLES INFLUENCING PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AND
MANAGEMENT OF WEDDING ORGANIZATION FIRMS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA.
Christine Olanga
Kenyatta University,
Nairobi County, Kenya.
Bichage Gesage
Kenya Methodist University,
And
Charles Murungi
Kenyatta University,
ABSTRACT
Best practices are essential to the survival of Kenyan firms in tourism. Though diversification into wedding
organisation has attracted investment from Kenyan entrepreneurs, hardly any information has been
documented on them. This study evaluated wedding planning expertise, variables influencing performance
outcomes and methods used to manage constraints. Wedding planning expertise ranked highly among
wedding planning firms. Furthermore, the stepwise multiple regression model indicated that seven
constraints influenced 94.7 per cent of the variance in wedding planning. Based on these results, event
management firms can communicate performance and direct resources towards constraint elimination
resulting in enhanced business performance and firm survival.
KEY WORDS: Performance, Constraints, Expertise, Weddings.
INTRODUCTION
Tourism is arguably the world’s largest industry and contributes to global economic development and job
creation. In Kenya, the tourism industry enabled the realization of the Economic Recovery Strategy for
Wealth and Employment Creation goals between 2003 and 2007 and has since been recognized as one of the
six sectors that will drive economic growth towards the achievement of Kenya Vision 2030 (GoK, 2009).
Despite the importance of tourism to the Kenyan economy, the sector is faced with several critical issues
namely: increased wildlife and asset degradation, tired product offerings in need of upgrading and
diversification, constrained business environment with weak institutional backup and a work force with
limited capacity to consistently deliver quality tourism experiences (World Bank, 2010).
According to the Economic Survey of 2012, Kenya earned KSh 92.9 Billion from the tourism sector in 2011
alone (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2012) . This contribution though substantial can further be
increased. One of the strategies to deal with these challenges and increase tourism earnings has been the
diversification of tourism products to include ecotourism, sports tourism and cultural tourism (GoK,
2008).Additionally,entrepreneurs in the tourism industry can further expand their business interests by
planning and hosting events (Goldblatt, 2005). Though the Meetings, Incentives, and Conventions are an
addition to the traditional beach and safari products (GoK, 2007) offered by destination Kenya, personal
events such as weddings, funerals and initiation ceremonies have long been celebrated by many tribes across
the country(Sobania, 2003).
Nonetheless, it has only been in recent times, that the professional organization of special events particularly
weddings have grown in popularity among Kenyans (Noella, 2011).Of all events, weddings can be the most
complicated to organize as they involve friends and family and a wide range of service related activities
221
ranging from catering to entertainment as well as the formal aspect of the marriage itself (Goldblatt, 2005).
Pursuant to the elaborate demands associated with wedding planning an increasing number of couples are
turning to accredited wedding organizers (Shone & Parry, 2004). Therefore professional practices and a
premeditated design approach should be applied to maximize performance (Matthews, 2008).
Events need to be well understood given the significant contribution they make to travel and tourism(Getz,
2012). Since each event is unique in terms of management, settings and people involved an enquiry into best
practices is essential to attaining benefits associated with event tourism (Sven, 2010). For event planning
firms, susceptibility to failure has largely been attributed to lack of formalization, standardization,
accountability and continuous improvement practices (Silvers, 2004). Despite these vulnerabilities, research
into events has focused mainly on authenticity, socio-cultural impacts and effects of event tourism while
policy, planning, business and management have remained largely unexplored (Getz, 2008, p. 409).
Given that tourism activities including wedding planning are dominated by Small and/ or Medium
Enterprises(SMEs)(Jones & Haven-Tang, 2005) their performance is imperative for economic growth and
strengthening of economies (Alasadi & Abdelrahim, 2007). Distinctly, SME’s in Kenya struggle with
performance and stiff competition resulting in high business failure rates (KIPPRA, 2009). Consequently, the
Kenyan government has acknowledged the need to improve the SME sector so as to increase its contribution
to GDP and employment creation (KIPPRA, 2009).Notwithstanding,the profiles of event organization firms,
expertise in task execution and performance related issues were yet to be ascertained. Such enquiries have
been done in the United Kingdom (Gould, 2011), Singapore (Henderson, Foo, Lim, & Yip, 2010), Canada
(Lang Research Inc, 2006) and The United States of America (Litvin & Fetter, 2006).
Therefore, this study sought to fill this gap by profiling wedding planning firms, determining planning
expertise, variables that influence firm performance andmanagementof wedding organization firms.
Additionally, the study also sought to ascertain the impact of identified variables on the wedding planning
process.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Event tourism
The word “Event” is derived from the Latin word “eventus” which is translated as happenings out of the
ordinary (Sven, 2010). In the tourism context an event is defined as “a unique moment in time celebrated
with ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs”(Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001) According to the International
Special Events Society (ISES) events are one of the world’s fastest growing and economically lucrative
industries (Sven, 2010). In addition, events enable destinations to improve their tourism product offerings,
enhance attractiveness, expand the tourist season, spread tourism geographically and animate static
attractions and facilities resulting in urban renewal and development (Veres, Clark, & Golbourne, 2008).
This demonstrates the significant impact of special events to travel and tourism.
The number, diversity, and popularity of festivals and special events have grown spectacularly over the past
several decades(Getz, 2012). The growth of the special events industry can be attributed to increasing levels
of average disposable income, frequent, short-term holiday breaks and increased interest in experiential
travel, authenticity and culture(Jago, 1997). The interactions within the setting, people and management
systems are unique to every type of event (Getz, 2008).
Weddings
Weddings can be the most complicated events to organize as they involve friends and family and a wide
range of service related activities ranging from catering to entertainment as well as the formal aspect of the
marriage itself (Shone & Parry , 2004). Planning a wedding requires multiple tasks and times that may be
intertwined in ways that make both their representation and their execution highly complex(McKenzie &
Davies, 2010). Although the day of the actual event may consist of the wedding ceremony itself followed by
a reception and buffet the planning may take several months and involves large numbers of people (Shone &
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Parry, 2004). Because of such complications and also due to the growing length of days, size of budgets,
widened scope and limited time availability, people are turning to event planners to organize this important
milestone(Goldblatt, 2005).
Wedding planning stages
All successful events go through five critical stages namely, research, design, planning, coordination and
execution and evaluation (Goldblatt, 2005; Monroe, 2006). Wedding planners’ services offerings are usually
related to performing individual or combined tasks in the aforementioned stages. Research is the first stage
which involves determining goals, objectives, needs and expectations of event stakeholders thus forms the
background for decision making in all operations (Sven, 2010).
The second stage is design which entails the creation of an environment to satisfy stakeholder needs thus
achieving the objectives of the event. This is a creative process that brings together different ideas that
contribute to uniqueness of the event (Sven, 2010). At the end of this phase the planner puts together a
program, budget and concept proposal (Matthews, 2008). It is also during this phase that feasibility studies,
SWOT analysis, site and venue comparison and selection are done (Allen, O'Toole, McDonnell, & Harris,
2008).
Planning is the third stage in events management that involves the management of scarce resources such as
time, money and human resources. The amount of time available for planning and for actual production of
the event can dramatically affect the cost and success of the event (Silvers, 2004). The event manager must
allocate time for pre-event client meetings, site inspections, meetings with vendors, communication and
contact preparations, actual event time for arrival through to departure, and post-event billable time (Monroe,
2006). The more complex the event, the more likely it is to be labour intensive in organization and operation
(Shone & Parry, 2004).
Coordination and execution go hand in hand to bring the event to life. To orchestrate the event, the event
planner has to coordinate human resource volunteers, negotiate vendor contracts, coordinate logistics
integration between participants, service the stakeholders and monitor quality standards (Goldblatt, 2005).
The last stage is event evaluation which measures success and improves the organization of future events
(Monroe, 2006). Evaluation can take place during the planning process or at the end of the event(Reid,
2011). This gives the event organizer background, feedback and experience in human relations, counselling,
organization, financial management and negotiation (Allen et al., 2008). Eventually this will influence
organization of the next event (Goldblatt, 2005).
Wedding planning tasks
Determining Stakeholder Goals and Objectives
In planning a wedding there are lots of stakeholders other than the bride and groom who have varied goals.
There are several goals for participating in and organizing events including religious requirements,
demonstration of political power of a ruling class, social reasons that reaffirm ones status and membership in
social groups, educate people about history and culture and commercial reasons to generate funds(Goldblatt,
2005). Event managers are therefore required to identify and balance a wide range of stakeholders’ needs
and objectives (Berridge, 2007). Once this stage is concluded the event planner develops a statement of work
which is a document including the event objectives, list of stakeholders, the draft budget, the scope of the
event, schedules and outlines of responsibilities (Bodwin, Allen, Harris, McDonnell, & O'Toole, 2012).
Creating Customized Events and Proposal Development
Once the goals, needs and expectations of stakeholders attending the event are identified, the couple then
settles on the tone for the wedding as elegant, romantic, spiritual, casual, festive or themed(Bain, Gawne, &
Radford, 2011). The wedding planner can make creative suggestions to the couple that will increase the
cohesiveness of event (Lluch & Lluch , 2011). Once the tone for the event has been determined formal
aspects such as décor, the attire, the ceremony and the food are decided on by the couple under the wedding
planner’s guidance (Bain et al., 2011).
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All these ideas are then compiled by the wedding planner and represented in a way that will assist staff in
task performance. The use of project management tools, particularly the Work Break-Down Structure (WBS)
which aggregates the tasks to be performed under headings such as venue or site, finance, décor and catering
among others can ease event organisation (Bodwin, Allen, Harris, McDonnell, & O'Toole, 2012).
Subsequently, tasks that fall under each heading are then listed exhaustively. Once this has been done, this
information is then presented to the couple in the form of a proposal.
Budget Preparation
The budget is put together based on the style of the wedding, number of guests and they type of the reception
the couple intends to have (Bouchard, 2003). Wedding planners assist couples with budget preparations by
providing a budget summary illustrating the percentage and amounts allocated to each aspect of the wedding
such as music, entertainment, catering and transportation among others (Daniels & Loveless, 2007). In most
cases the largest portion of the budget is the reception which can take up as much as 40% of the budget
(Bouchard, 2003). The wedding planner also ensures that the couple indicates who will pay for what expense
as well as timelines for coming up with the money (Nixon, 2007).
Putting Together a Program
There are two types of programs required by an event manager namely the operational event program and the
program of events(O'Toole & Mikolaitis, 2002). The operational event program is a detailed document that
identifies tasks to be performed and assigns responsibilities within the event planning team. Additionally, the
WBS which was used in proposal development can also be used to identify tasks to be performed prior to,
during and after the event(O'Toole, 2007). Furthermore, this information can be represented in the form of a
Gantt chart which provides visually appealing, easy to follow schedule of tasks and performance
timelines(Shone & Parry , 2004).
The program of events outlines details of the day of the ceremony (DeLaubenfels, Weber, & Bamberg, 2010).
Specifically, it contains the order of the ceremony, names of the bride and groom, names of participants
according to their importance processional songs and hymns, directions to the reception and any additional
notes (Cox & Franz, 2007). Moreover the program thanks guests and contributors to the event, reiterates the
theme of the event using words, symbols, quotes and images, sets the mood before the event begins and
makes any announcements (Riley, 2008).
Time Management
Time management is critical to the planning process given that most events take place within a fixed time
scale (Shone & Parry, 2004). The wedding planner has to estimate the duration it will take to organize and
execute the entire event using available resources (Project Managment Institute, 2008). The average planning
period is usually 18 months in the UK and US wedding planning markets (2008 UK Wedding Industry
Statistics, 2009; The Wedding report inc, 2012). During this period the planner develops a time plan that has
to allocate time for specific tasks such as pre-event client meetings, site inspections and vendor meetings
(Goldblatt, 2005).
The wedding planner may meet the couple/ client an average ten times prior to the event (Contemporary
Bride). During preliminary meetings with clients the planner finds out clients details, the number of
attendees, aspects the planner should handle, when and where the client would like to hold the event.
Subsequent meetings that take place nine to six months before the event include tasks such as finalization of
guest lists, select and making deposits with vetted and selected vendors and service providers. During the last
eight weeks prior to the event, the planner finalizes and confirms all plans made with vendors and makes
necessary payments. The planner may also confirm guest attendance and tally the final guest list.
Site Comparison and Selection
The venue for the wedding is usually selected based on the size, style and ambiance; whether the couple
wants to have the ceremony at a special location or at the same site as the reception, commute time for the
couple and guests (Viau, 2011, pp. 68-70). The planner then advices the couples on venue selection based on
budgetary allocations and wedding packages that accompany shortlisted venues (Bywater, 2007). Wedding
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venues include ballrooms, mansions and historic buildings, private members clubs, art galleries, ranches
rustic farms, urban lofts, homes, gardens, beaches, boats and wineries (DeLaubenfels et al., 2010).
Negotiation of Vendor Contracts
Vendors are defined as “individuals or entities receiving payment for goods and services that pertain to the
implementation of the wedding”(Daniels & Loveless, 2007, p. 104). These include caterers, photographers
and videographers, musicians and Disc-jockeys, florists, transport coordinator and jewellers. Vendors should
provide a list of references that can vouch for their ability to deliver quality service based on performance
during past events (DeLaubenfels et al., 2010). Wedding planners should be able to negotiate discounts for
the couple and/or kick-backs for themselves with vendors they have worked with before (Daniels & Loveless,
2007). Vendors on the other hand aim to provide services and products of exceptional standards to ensure
wedding planners continue to recommend their services to future clients (Lluch & Lluch, 2010, p. 19).
Coordination Tasks
Prior to the wedding the wedding planner may perform coordination tasks such as helping clients select
vendors and confirm contracts and make down payments on time(Daniels & Loveless, 2007). During the
event, the wedding planner can oversee as many aspects of the wedding as the bride requires(Peragine, 2008).
This includes coordination of all vendors and their employees by directing them on how and where to set up,
transportation of guests and participants and directing the couples relatives and friends in activities such as
taking photographs (Wilkolaski & Phillips, 2006).
Post Wedding Evaluation
Evaluation enables the wedding planner to (1) obtain feedback on tasks carried out successfully or poorly (2)
prioritize package deals to include necessary services or eliminate unnecessary ones (3)criticism can help the
planner’s products stay fresh based on current needs (4) provides information on the target market (Daniels &
Loveless, 2007). Information on event success can be achieved by debriefing with the client at the end of the
event (Moran, 2009). The client can provide information that will assist in planning future events and
feedback can be shared with vendors the planner works with regularly to improve performance. The wedding
planner can also request for feedback from the vendors who collaborated on the event (Daniels & Loveless,
2007).
Theory of constraints
Organizations are always striving to attain goals, do better in the future and surpass client expectations(Reid
& Cormier, 2003). TOC is a management philosophy that is used to understand and improve business
performance (Boyd & Gupta, 2004)resulting in increased efficiency and responsiveness to customer demands
in a competitive and dynamic marketplace (Reid, 2007). TOC views every business as a chain of interrelated
processes that are geared towards that attainment of an organizational goal. The weakest link within the
process can limit the performance of an entire operation (Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001). Consequently,
firms need to identify the constraint, decide how to exploit the constraint, subordinate everything else to the
constraint, elevate the system constraint and return back to step one to prevent inertia.
Identification of Constraints
It is important to identify constraints and prioritize them according to their impact on the goals of an
organization (Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001). Initially, constraints fell under two categories: either physical
or managerial(Rahman, 1988). While physical constraints occur when a given activity, operation or process
in the system has insufficient capacity to fully satisfy market demand, managerial constraints occur in the
form of policies, procedures, rules and methods that limit an organizations operational capability or restrict its
flexibility in meeting the system goal (Reid, 2007). Constraints were further classified into seven basic
categories: market, resource, material, supplier, financial, knowledge, competence and policy
constraints(Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001). Though two or more constraints often appear to be acting
concurrently, there is usually only one single restriction or limiting factor that is often caused by constraint
(Boyd & Gupta, 2004).
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Market Constraints
Market constraints are concerned with lack of demand for a product or service (Schragenheim & Dettmer,
2001) 2001). Demand is defined in economic terms as the quantity of a commodity or service that a
community is willing and able to buy during a given period(Archer, 1980).Demand for tourism products and
services may be determined by factors in the macro business environment such as economic factors,
demographic factors, geographic factors, socio-cultural attitudes, mobility, government regulation, media
communications, information and communication technology, environmental concerns and international
political developments and terrorist actions(Middleton & Clarke, 2012). Expressly, demand for event
tourism is driven by social and psychographic factors including the need for social integration, interaction
between individuals and communities, mutual support, bonding and reinforcement of social norms(Shone &
Parry , 2004).
In addition to the aforementioned determinants of demand, service features have a strong influence on
demand(Pfister & Tierney, 2009). While demand for basic services results from customers having no choice,
anticipated, augmented and possible services attract customers due to superior service offerings and value
(Pfister & Tierney, 2009). Events by the very nature of their description offer unique experiences that appeal
to a variety of people (Goldblatt & Nelson, 2001). Wedding planners therefore have to ensure that they offer
superior, customized service offerings and orchestrate events that are of value to stakeholders and surpass
client expectations (Bain et al., 2011).
Resource Constraints
Entrepreneurs combine factors of production to create products and services that meet market demand (Tribe,
2012). In economics these inputs include natural resources, labour, capital and entrepreneurship (Gitman &
McDamiel, 2008). Resource constraints are concerned with lack of people, equipment or facilities to satisfy
demand or services (Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001). Though tourism demand often fluctuates, resource
supply is relatively fixed (Evans, Campbell, & Stonehouse, 2003). Lack of resources due to unavailability or
unaffordability can hamper growth and expansion of the business (Nissanke & Aryeetey, 1998).
The shortage of skilled personnel in the tourism and hospitality industry can be attributed to the challenge of
attracting and retaining staff (Leigh, Webster, & Ivanov, 2012). This challenge is caused by characteristics of
the tourism industry including low wages, unfriendly shift patterns, poor or non-existent career structures,
informal recruitment practices and lack of trade unions(Keep & Mayhew, 1999).
Wedding ceremonies and receptions can be held in one or more locations including religious grounds, hotels,
inns, aquariums, resorts, members clubs, ballrooms, parks, gardens, country clubs, historic estates and
atriums (Bain et al., 2011). The wedding planner advises the couple on venue selection based on the capacity
of grounds, rental costs, service charges and taxes and restrictions and special requirements of hiring a venue
(Daniels & Loveless, 2007). Despite the availability of a large number of venues that may meet the
aforementioned criteria, some are available only to couples who belong to associated communities (Daniels
& Loveless, 2007). Additionally, the array of venues is further limited when a large number of venues offer
packages including catering and sound which further limit the ability of the couple to customize the event
(Bouchard, 2003).
Poor access to prime materials by firms is a major cause of business failure in the SME sector(Smith &
Smith, 2007). Material constraints are a result inability to obtain required materials in the quality or quantity
required to satisfy the demand for products and services. Material constraints result from a shortage of
materials seasonally, during peak times or at all times and/ or as a result of unforeseen events(Ronen, Pliskin,
& Pass, 2006).
Access to materials is further aggravated by poor cash flow to obtain materials of the
quality and quantity required.
Supplier Constraints
Tourism suppliers operate independently but are highly dependent on each other (Inkson & Minnaert, 2012).
Suppliers in wedding planning include caterers, calligraphers, balloon artists, décor companies, entertainment
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companies, florists, invitation designers, lighting companies, linen specialists, makeup artists, power
suppliers, rental companies, tent companies, transportation providers, videographer and wedding cake
designers (Moran, 2009). The wedding planner selects suppliers based on service specifics, pricing, and
quality of goods, inventory selection, references, client list, and years of experience in business, service area,
staffing capabilities, professionalism and responsiveness to inquiries (Moran, 2009).
Supplier constraints are caused by unreliability of a supplier in responding to orders (Schragenheim &
Dettmer, 2001). This may be attributed to financial, quality or internal control problems within the suppliers
company(Sadgrove, 2005). Firms should therefore not rely on one supplier and institute a warning system.
Wedding planners are encouraged to archive brochures or information on all vendors, maintain a list of
vendors who can support varied themes and request for references when working with new vendors(Moran,
2009).
Financial Constraints
According to TOC, financial constraints are defined by insufficient cash flow to sustain an operation
(Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001). Cash flow is defined as money flowing into a business through sales
revenue, debt or equity financiers and money flowing out of the business through purchases and operating
expenses(Longenecker, Moore, Palich, & Petty, 2006). Cash flow problems may be attributed to insufficient
over drafts; delinquent debtors, overinvestment, underinvestment, delinquent suppliers and buyers credit
(Reid, Jacobsen, & Anderson, 1993). Other causes of financial constraints include the inability to obtain
outside funding, insufficient capital, heavy operating expenses, poor money management, inability to obtain
trade credit, insufficient trade credit and inability to meet financial obligations(Lownes-Jackson, Olorunniwo,
Flott, & Ellzy , 2003). Businesses in the tourism sector are susceptible to financial constraints given the
fluctuations in demand, deferred payment by clients and economic fluctuations in the macro business
environment (Getz, Carlsen, & Morrison, 2004).
Cash flow forecasts can be used to anticipate surpluses or deficits in finances (Tassiopoulos, 2008). Notably,
cash flow forecasts should be done after carefully analysing competitors, markets and determining profit
margins (Getz et al., 2004). Additional ways of improving cash flow include: collecting payments cash on
delivery, issuing invoices on time when credit is given, giving viable discounts for prompt or advance
payments, facilitating use of credit card and online payments, management of debtors, leasing and hiring
equipment rather than purchasing it, reducing personal drawings and matching repayment schedules to
receipt of funds (Tassiopoulos, 2008).
Knowledge Constraints
Knowledge is an important asset for all business as it provides a strong platform upon which firms can gain
competitive advantage by enhancing organizational capabilities (Schiuma, 2012). Knowledge constraints are
caused by lack of information to improve business performance (Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001). Despite
the vast amount of trade-related information available and the possibility of accessing national and
international databases, many small enterprises continue to rely heavily on private or even physical contacts
for market related information. This is due to inability to interpret the statistical data (Muteti, 2005) and poor
connectivity especially in rural areas. According to the Economic Commision for Latin America and the
Caribbean SMEs need to team up and partner with larger organizations to promote and facilitate knowledge
sharing for improved performance(OECD, Economic Commision for Latin America and the Caribbean,
2012).
Competence Constraints
Competence constraints are defined by limited skill levels necessary to perform tasks required to remain
competitive. Skill requirements for wedding planners include: the ability to coordinate and consolidate
resources, creativity and vision, calculated risk taking, tolerance for ambiguity, problem solving skills, strong
management and organizational skills (Peragine, 2008). Planners coordinate and supervise the activities of
interns, friends and relatives, professional organizations and trained staffing agencies (Moran, 2009).
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There are numerous institutions providing training and advisory services that aim to bridge the skill
gap(Kayanula & Quartey, 2000). However some entrepreneurs cannot afford to upgrade their skills while
others do not find it necessary due to complacency (Abor & Quartey, 2010). In addition to these factors, staff
poaching, inability to diagnose competency needs and low employee enthusiasm for skill upgrades are
contributors to lax competence development in firms(Panagiotakopoulos, 2011). Consequently, management
opts to employ skilled employees rather than develop their in-house competence base.
Policy Constraints
Lastly, policy constrains are rules, regulations and business practices that inhibit progress of a system by
restricting the systems productive capacity (Watson, Blackstone, & Gardiner, 2007). Policies rules,
regulations and guidelines direct an organization towards achieving its mission and vision by providing a
framework for decision making and action plans with an organization (Policies and Procedures, 2013).
Policies also relate set objectives to personnel and physical resources (Sekhar, 2010). Policies may be
formulated at various levels of the organization either by top management, owners of the enterprise or at
departmental level by supervisors or heads of department (Agarwal, 2008).
There are five types of policies that originate from various sources namely: originated policies, implied or
traditional policies, policies by fiat, appealed policies and externally imposed policies(Agarwal, 2008).
While originated policies are formulated by top management, implied or traditional policies are not formally
sanctioned but guide decision making based on a precedence. On the other hand, a policy by fiat is a policy
announced by the top manager in a capricious manner and can be changed as often as is suitable.
Additionally, appealed polices result from decisions made by superiors in the organization in the absence of
or inadequacy of existing policies. Lastly, policies may be imposed on a firm by external sources including
the government, trade unions, chambers of commerce and community.
Exploitation of Constraints
Deciding how to exploit the constraint ensures management focus on eliminating all waste or non-productive
time and activities at the constraint (Reid, 2007). Managers exploit the constraint by making every minute
that a constraint is operating, as effective as possible in moving the system toward its goal. Exploitation is
further achieved through changes in organizational procedures and policies that are currently used to manage
the constraining factor rather than making changes that involve significant monetary outlays (Schragenheim
& Dettmer, 2001).
Subordination of everything else above the Constraint
Subordination focuses on managing the non-constraining system elements or resources so that their behaviour
is synchronized with and fully supportive of the strategy being utilized in the management of the constraint
(Reid, 2007). Subordination of non-constraints focuses managerial attention on utilizing their capabilities to
support performance increases in the constraint. This involves changes in practices or policies and can be
implemented without incurring major increases in expenses (Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001). Another
approach to subordination is to operate the non-constraining resources in such a manner as to assure that the
constraint will never be without something productive to do (Reid, 2007).
Raise Constraint Capacity
The constricting resource may be elevated by increasing its amounts which involves an outlay of capital to
acquire and/or operate additional manpower and/or equipment to enhance the constraint’s capability (Reid,
2007). Performing a careful situational analysis before implementing action plans to alleviate an existing
internal constraint because a new constraint might surface that is more difficult and/or expensive to manage
than the existing one(Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001).
Preventing Inertia
Once the constraint has been eliminated, it is important to go back to step one and identify a new constraint
(Reid, 2007). Preventing distractions from goals and focusing resources on managing constraints assures
sufficient leverage to attain the desired performance outcomes (Reid & Cormier, 2003).
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METHODOLOGY USED
The study adopted a cross sectional survey research design that allowed the researchers to test for existing
differences among wedding organisation firms with regard to their expertise, constraints and constraint
management methodologies. Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya was purposefully selected as the study
location. The target population consisted of all wedding organisation firms in Nairobi. Given that there is no
formal data base of wedding planning firms in Kenya, the researcher obtained a listing of wedding planners
in Nairobi from KenyaWeddings.co.ke. This directory was selected as the sampling frame because it offered
a comprehensive and fairly credible list of service providers for weddings.
Based on the normal approximation to the hyper geometric distribution in the formula for small populations a
total of 30 firms out of the 31 listed in the sampling frame were included in the study sample. Out of the 30
firms sampled, 2 firms were randomly selected to pre-test the research instruments while the remaining 28
managers from wedding organisation firms were sampled as respondents. Event managers were purposefully
selected to participate in the study as respondents given that they oversaw and coordinated all aspects of the
event management process and had required information on the study objectives. Purposively sampling
experts ensures that the research efforts are focused on gathering rich data on the topic under
study(Blankenship, 2010, p. 86).
An interview schedule containing open ended and closed ended questions was administered to respondent
event managers. The interview schedule contained questions on the company profile, stage of event
organization at which clients approach the firm, the firm’s ability to carry out wedding organization tasks,
variables that influence performance and methods used to manage performance issues. The responses from
the interviews were then coded, tabulated and edited for analysis. All quantitative data was analysed using an
electronic statistical package. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize quantitative data using
frequencies. Multiple regression was then used to establish the impact of constraints on wedding planning.
Qualitative data was organized into themes and analysed manually and conclusions drawn.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The results and discussions of the study were presented in six main sections namely: firmographic profile of
wedding planning firms, expertise in wedding organisation, variables influencing performance outcomes,
impact of variables on the wedding planning process and constraint management methodologies adopted by
wedding planning firms.
Firmographic Profile of Wedding Planning Firms
Firmographic data on wedding planning firms was represented under the following subtopics: age, employees
within firms, and demand forwedding organization services offered (Table 1).
Table 1
Firmographic Profile of Wedding Organisation Firms
Firmographic Variable
Firm age/ Duration of operation
Number of employees
Categories
Less than two years
2-8 years
Over 8 years
Permanent
Less than 10
More than 10
Temporary
Less than 10
More than 10
Percentage
4
87
9
91.3
8.7
56.5
43.5
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Demand for wedding planning
services offered
Research
Design
Planning (resource management)
Coordination and Execution
Evaluation
56.5
87
73.9
95.7
52.2
Firm age/ Duration of operation
Firstly, the findings in table 1 indicate that 4 per cent of wedding planning firms had been in operation for a
period of less than one year. This implied that the wedding organisation industry could still attract new
entrants. Markedly, industries that are able to consistently attract new players offer lucrative revenues.This
may be attributed to increased popularity and demand of special events offering unique experiences by
Kenyans (Noella, 2011). This increase in local demand corresponds with the trends in developed and
developing countries for events to fill up leisure time (Pfister & Tierney, 2009). If this assertion is anything to
go by, the number of new entrants may continue to rise over time.
This finding was consistent with
forecasts by the Bureau of Labour Statistics in United States of America that project an increase in the
number of wedding planners from 71,600 in 2010 to 102,900 by 2020(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012-13).
Secondly, the study revealed that majority of wedding organization firms (87 per cent) had been in operation
for between 2 and 8 years. This implied that between 2003 and 2010 businesses in Kenya may have had a
supportive operating environment. Markedly, it was between 2003 and 2007 that economic growth
accelerated from 2.9 percent in 2003 to 7.1 percent in 2007 before the political crisis of December 2007
(KIPPRA, 2009). The factors that contributed towards a stable business environment during that period were
informed by the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS). Evidently,
favourable economic conditions strongly favour business start-up(Kumar, Poornima, Abraham, & Jayashree,
2003).
Conversely, the number of firms that had been in operation for over 8 years was conspicuously low (Table 1).
This implied that a large number of firms were likely to reach the decline stage at the 8 year mark. This
decline can be attributed to a number of factors ranging from compromised learning abilities, profit reduction
and loss of market share and stiff competition. Arguably, firms that managed to avoid the decline stage had
implemented transformative changes resulting in superior financial performance and increased market share
relative to competitors. However, factors such as entrepreneurial burnout which occurs overtime has largely
been touted as the main cause of loss of interest and divestment by entrepreneurs in Kenya(Bowen, Morara,
& Mureithi, 2009).Consequently, entrepreneurs instead look for other ventures that capture their interest
(Longenecker, Petty, Moore, & Palich, 2006)
Number of employees
Wedding planning firms employed staff on a permanent and temporary basis. Consequently, firms were able
to operate the business with staff who handled routine and/or long term business activities while casual staff
were engaged to handle one-off tasks with short and fixed timeframes. This suggested that wedding planners
were able to create a stable yet adaptable working environment that suited the labour demands of individual
weddings. The combination of models in the correct ratio are likely to influence performance of firms in the
long run(Lepak, Takeuchi, & Snell, 2003).
However, the number of casual staff was almost twice that of permanent employees. This suggested that
wedding planning firms relied heavily on external employment models. This can be attributed the very
nature of weddings which may take a long time to plan but require a sizable number of staff to execute tasks
simultaneously on the day of the event. On one hand, this increased the firms’ flexibility to labour demands
for weddings, yet it also posed challenges for firms in retention of core skills and competences that had been
developed in casual staff. Notwithstanding this challenge, numerous firms continue to rely on temporary
employees, independent contractors and consultants (Matusik & Hill, 1998; Rousseau, 1995; Tsui, Pearce,
Porter, & Hite, 1995) citing the main benefit of external employment models as enhanced resource and
functional flexibility, without the costs associated with permanent staff.
230
Demand for wedding planning services offered
The study also revealed varied demand for wedding organisation services (Table 1). In descending order,
couples contracted planners to coordinate and execute the event on the wedding day (95.7 percent of
couples), design the event (87 percent of couples), plan the wedding (73.9 percent of couples), evaluate event
success (52.2 percent) and conduct research on stakeholder goals (56.5 percent). The reasons that have
influenced the demand for these services individually were illustrated in Table 2.
Table 2
Reasons for Demand for Varied Wedding Organisation Services
Wedding organisation
service
Coordination and execution
Reason for demand for planners
-
Design
-
Planning (Management of
time, human resources and
finances)
Evaluation of event success
-
Research into stakeholder
goals, need and expectations
-
-
Numerous tasks to be performed sequentially on the wedding day
Coordination of logistics among volunteers, guests and vendors
Main stakeholder (couple) is unable to perform tasks on the
wedding day
Demand for unique, memorable and themed weddings that reflect
individual personality, lifestyle, values, attitudes and occupations
Fixed timeframes to bring together a wide array of elements
Use of standardized tools and procedures to manage scarce
resources
Accountability of resources used
Benefit from expert advice to start the wedding organisation
project correctly
Majority (95.7%) wedding planning firms indicated that they signed contracts with couples to coordinate and
execute the event on the final day. This indicated that there were clients who felt that they were likely to
benefit from the planners expertise in managing the wide array of tasks, logistics and coordinating suppliers
and human resources on the final day. Notably, wedding days are usually abuzz with activities that at times
need to be handled simultaneously and in a timely manner. Interestingly the main stakeholder of the event
(the couple) is usually unable to perform any of the tasks personally on the final day.It is against this
backdrop that couples largely opted to contract planners who were involved in planning, had experience and
resources to effectively carryout crucial tasks. These findings are similar to those of a survey by The Knot on
over 21,000 American couples who got married in 2009 (The Knot Unveils 2009 real weddings survey
results, 2010). The survey revealed that 48% of brides who hired wedding planners did so to ease
coordination and execution of the event on the final day.
Secondly, 87% of wedding planning firms indicated that couples also contracted them to design the actual
event. This implied that a large percentage of couples valued a unique and memorable event. This may partly
be attributed clients expectations that a wedding should be a reflection of an individuals’ personality,
lifestyle, values and attitudes and even occupation. This is supported in literature by the black box model of
consumer behaviour which acknowledges the impact of consumer characteristics on service or products
purchase decisions (Keegan, Moriarty, & Duncan, 1992, p. 183). Certainly, wedding planners are usually
creative (Monroe, 2006) and are therefore able to theme events that reflect consumer characteristics. This
finding was similar to that of the Wedding Market Survey by the Bridal Association of America which
indicated that though majority of brides prefer traditional weddings, over 24% aim to create unique weddings
(Bridal Association of America, 2006).
Thirdly, 73.9% of wedding planning firms indicated that couples contracted them to manage time, financial
resources and human resources. This implied that clients placed a great deal of importance on taking a
planned approach to resource management by contracting a wedding planner. Failure to deliberately adopt a
231
planned approach to resource management for projects with high levels of complexity (such as weddings)
could result in substitutions, additions and deletions which consume time, finances and effort (Goldblatt,
2005). Since wedding planners organized weddings regularly, they developed standardized tools and
techniques to manage various elements of the event.
Notably the use of checklists and project management tools such as Gantt charts and Work Breakdown
Structures enabled planners to identify all elements required to host the event, determine human resource
requirements for the event, and assign timelines for the performance of tasks. The adoption of these tools and
techniques was necessary given that planning may take several months, and involve large numbers of people
including families, friends, venue management, caterers, florists, dress hire companies, musicians, care hire
companies, religious authority and civil registrar among others (Shone & Parry , 2004). In the United States
of America, couples and their planners usually have between 12 and 16 months after announcing the
engagement to plan the wedding with a budget of between $70,000 and $13,000 (Jaeger, 2011). Accordingly,
the management of resources is paramount.
Fourthly, measuring event success ranked poorly (52.2%) in comparison to other planning tasks that clients
contracted wedding planners to perform. This finding suggested that couples felt that weddings were one-off
occasions and therefore they did not need to go over the outcomes given that they assumed they were only
consuming the services of the wedding planner only for the one wedding. For that reason any information
garnered from measuring event success would not be used by the couples for future purchasing decisions as
weddings were regarded as one-off milestones in society. That said, clients were reluctant to meeting the
planner after the wedding. The planners therefore carried out this task in the clients’ absence. Unfortunately,
lack of input from the client on the outcome of the event may influence the ability of the firm to assess its
performance and work towards improving events in the future (Daniels & Loveless, 2007).
Lastly, only 56.6% of wedding planners indicated that they were contracted by couples to set goals and
determine needs and expectations prior to planning a wedding. This implied that almost half (43.4%) of the
couples set their goals disjointedly from the wedding planner. Though this seemed disconcerting, this sort of
behaviour is common when consumers purchase infrequently used, expensive and unfamiliar services(Pride
& Ferrel, 2007). By their very nature, event planning services fall into this category given that weddings are
special events. In this case a substantial amount of research was done by the couple on their needs and
expectations as well as the alternatives available for fulfilling those needs and expectations. Consequently,
majority of the couples approached the wedding planner after informally determining the needs, goals and
expectations for the wedding. The outcome of this stage largely determined the tasks the couple contracted
the wedding planner to perform.
Notably, failure to formally communicate set goals to the wedding planner can have a negative impact on
subsequent stages of planning the event. It would likely result in low morale among the planning team and
challenges in evaluation and control of the event. Additionally, failure to collectively set goals with the
wedding planner and the planning team can lead to an imbalance in meeting the wide variety of goals for
wedding attendees. Furthermore, couples lack expertise that comes with organizing weddings, they were
likely to set inappropriate goals that are not specific, measurable, attainable and realistic or time bound
(SMART). Collectively, the adverse effects of informal goal setting can result in failure on the day of the
event.
Expertise in performing wedding planning tasks
The findings on expertise in task performance by wedding planning firms were summarised in Figure 1
below. Overall, the study revealed a high adeptness in the performance of majority of wedding planning
tasks. Markedly, tasks whose performance was below par were identified as debriefing and monitoring of
standards after the event. The findings and discussions on task performance were presented under the
following subtopics: determining stakeholder goals and objectives, creating a wedding environment tailored
to clients specifications, putting together a proposal, budget preparation, putting together a program, site
comparison, site selection, creating time for pre-event client meetings, creating time for site inspections,
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creating time for vendor meetings, negotiation of vendor contracts, coordination of logistics and integration
among participants and coordination of human resources.
Figure 1
Expertise in Performance of Wedding Planning Tasks
Debriefing staff and clients after the…
Monitoring standards
Coordination of human resources
Coordination of logistics and integration
Wedding Planning Tasks
Negotiation of vendor contracts
Creating time for vendor meetings
Creating time for site inspections
Creating time for pre-event client…
Site selection
Site comparison
Putting together a program
Budget preparation
Putting together a proposal
Creating a tailored wedding environment
Determining stakeholder goals and…
0%
Above Average
20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Percentage of Respondents
Average
Below Average
Identifying stakeholder needs, goals and expectations
Majority (81%) of wedding planners exhibited above average proficiency in identifying stakeholder goals,
needs and expectations. This implied that the planner worked closely with the couple during this first stage
and was therefore able to tailor the event to their needs. Getting the couples perspectives assures customized
service output(Bitner, Faranda, Hubbert, & Zeithaml, 1997). Ideally, planners utilized preliminary sessions
with the couple to determine what they expected from the event, why they were hosting the event, who was
likely to attend and where and when the event would be held. The high level of expertise exhibited in the
performance of this task can be attributed to the ability of planners to articulate the couple’s needs and use
experiences from past events to develop and prioritize goals and objectives. Subsequently, wedding planners
were able to establish direction, identify expected results and enhance teamwork and individual performance.
Failure to adequately perform this task may be caused by the inability of some planners to get clients to
articulate all their needs. Notably, in the identification of stakeholders wedding planners included questions
on the needs, goals and expectations of other stakeholders attending the event other the couple. These
included the couples families and network of friends. It is important to identifyall stakeholders’ needs for
event success and acknowledge the role of the planner in balancing a wide range of needs and
expectations(Berridge, 2007).
233
Design
Creating a wedding environment tailored to the couples’ goals was also performed very well by majority
(80.6%) of the planners. This implied that wedding planners were able to create weddings that were unique
for each couple based on their vision. This may attributed to the strong creative abilities of wedding planners.
Wedding planners have an array of creative skills based on past careers as florists, scenic designers and
display artists(Monroe, 2006). In addition, successful completion of this task was enabled by firms involving
clients in the development of goals and objectives and the tone and theme of the event that were then
included in the proposal prepared by the wedding planner (Bain et al., 2011; Lluch & Lluch , 2011). Other
studies on designing and delivering captivating experiences at conventions reiterate the need for event
planners to employ creativity and innovation in order to create enjoyable experiences and gain competitive
advantage(Kale, Pentecost, & Zlatevska, 2010).
Proposal development
Majority of firms (86.9%) also indicated that they developed proposals for weddings exceptionally. This
implied that wedding planners were able to use the statement of work developed during preliminary meetings
with clients to determine the elements required to deliver the event. Wedding planning firms developed and
used standardized templates which captured the tasks that needed to be performed for each of the elements.
The statement of work from the client should inform the development of the WBS for the event which
identifies and groups’ tasks that need to be performed in order to deliver the cited elements of the
event(O'Toole & Mikolaitis, 2002). Notably, the use of wedding planning templates can ensure that all
elements of the event are covered. However, heavy reliance on templates can in the long run stifle creativity
which is an essential part of special events.
Budget
The study also revealed that majority of the firms prepared budgets exceptionally (95.6%). Firstly, this
implied that planners were well acquainted with how to develop, categorize and track changes in expense
categories, and handle contingencies and unexpected expenses. The high level of proficiency can be
attributed to exceptional performance of preceding tasks particularly proposal development which informed
the development of expense categories such as décor, entertainment, lighting, tenting and temporary shelter
and catering among others. The contents of the proposal developed in the design phase ease the allocation of
funds to each aspect of the wedding(Bouchard, 2003). Moreover, the use of standardized templates developed
over time may be able to guide the planner in ensuring that an adequate percentage of the budget is allocated
to each aspect of the wedding(Nixon, 2007). Alternatively, the use of software packages enabled planners to
track changes in expense categories while the planning process progressed.
Program development
The high level of expertise in program development (95%) implied that planners were able to assign
responsibilities to teams and individuals and put in place action plans that prioritized and scheduled activities
to be held prior to the wedding, on the day of the wedding and after the event. The high level of expertise in
program development was also attributed to exceptional performance of preceding tasks particularly proposal
development which indicated key elements needed to deliver the event in the WBS. The use of project
management tools such as the WBS inform the development of an operational events program(Bodwin,
Allen, Harris, McDonnell, & O'Toole, 2012). The operational events program lists the activities to be
performed by the event planner and his team in the form of a Gantt chart which is also another project
management tool. Therefore, it followed that preparation of the program of events which is distributed to
people attending the wedding was derived easily from the operational program. Once more, the use of
standardized templates whether in soft copy or hard copy ensure that the details of the program are captured
accurately (Riley, 2008; DeLaubenfels et al., 2010).
Site comparison and selection
Site comparison and selection for weddings were also ranked highly as tasks that were performed particularly
well by majority (80% and 88.9% respectively) of wedding planners. This implied that wedding planners
were familiar with a range of venues that differed in location, cost of using facilities and size. Certainly, a
234
large percentage of event venues in the city utilized various platforms to showcase what their facilities had to
offer. Information on space dimensions, payments required and additional facilities available in a range of
venues was accessible from the venue management’s website and from adequate representation at bridal fairs.
Additionally contact information on a range of venues was available from telephone directories and could be
used for further inquiries regarding dates when the venue was available, policies on caterers, security, refunds
and cancellations.
Large cities offer a variety of venues to host events(Veres, Clark, & Golbourne, 2008). These include
ballrooms in hotels, mansions in the suburbs, historic buildings, private members clubs, art galleries and
gardens (DeLaubenfels et al., 2010). These venues differ in size, style and ambiance (Viau, 2011) and offer
additional products and services related to aspects of the wedding such as sound, catering and security
(Bywater, 2007). With these four factors in mind and the availability of information on venue offerings,
wedding planners could easily advice couples on the venue best suited for the wedding.
Time management
The findings also indicated that majority of wedding planners were able to allocate enough time for pre-event
client meetings, site inspections and vendor meetings (87%, 91% and 91% respectively). This implied that
planners were able to accurately prepare and adhere to time plans therefore got tasks such as guest list
preparation and finalization, site comparison and selection, vendor vetting, selection and payment done
within the set time frame. Certainly the use of checklists indicating the time and assigning responsibilities
largely assisted in management of time in wedding planning. The use of checklists ensures that all tasks are
performed in good time for the event to be a success(McKenzie & Davies, 2010). Markedly, the timeliness
of the wedding planner in meeting these deadlines could determine whether the preferred vendor or venue for
the event is secured.
Negotiation of vendor contracts
Majority of wedding planners (81.9%) were also able to negotiate vendor contracts readily on the clients’
behalf. This implied that there was a cordial working relationship between members of the wedding industry
supply chain. This relationship may have been enhanced when a planner recommended a client to the vendor
or in the event that the vendor gives the planner a commission for channelling clients in their direction.A
pleasant business relationship is beneficial to both the planner and the vendor(DeLaubenfels, Weber, &
Bamberg, 2010). Arguably, poor relationships within the supply chain could result in event failure.
Coordination of human resources, logistics and integration among participants
Though more than half of wedding planners showed above average performance in coordination of human
resources and logistics and integration among participants (73.9% and 59% respectively) the remaining
percentage struggled with these tasks. This implied that the wedding planner and his/her team likely faced
challenges on the day. Given that multiple tasks are carried out simultaneously on the day of the event,
foresight in the assignment of tasks and responsibilities was paramount. Tasks on the day of the event may
individually be coherent when documented however, the tasks become unduly complex when the need to be
managed together within a fixed time frame as the event proceeds(McKenzie & Davies, 2010). This
indicates the need for struggling planners to have a wider skill set to facilitate coordination (Allen et al.,
2008). Wedding planners therefore need to revamp their skills in communication, stress management,
leadership, conflict resolution and multitasking (Goldblatt, 2005).
Evaluation
Tasks associated with evaluation namely monitoring of standards and debriefing of staff and clients presented
challenges for majority (60.3% and 95.6% respectively) of wedding planners and who consequently recorded
a below average performance. This implied that wedding planners are not able to obtain feedback on tasks
carried out successfully or poorly, stay abreast by identifying trends and needs of the target market. These
firms have poor mechanisms used to obtain feedback from key stakeholders namely: the client, guests,
vendors and staff.
235
First and foremost, obtaining feedback from clients and guests was challenging given that weddings took
place within a fixed time frame and it was difficult to access them for post event evaluation. In a study on
event stakeholder management in rural events time for a thorough consultation was usually limited(Reid,
2011). Moreover, it is unethical to carry out evaluations on these two stakeholders during the event they are
in the process of participating in (Daniels & Loveless, 2007).
Secondly, obtaining feedback from staff was also challenging given that majority of staff who execute
weddings are temporary staff. These employees show low commitment to improvement of business processes
given that they are only in the establishment for a short time.(Lepak, Takeuchi, & Snell, 2003). Therefore
getting them to participate in an evaluation process to monitor standards and improve task performance is
highly unlikely.
Variables influencing performance outcomes
The variables influencing performance outcomes were represented in Figure 2 and discussed individually
under the following subtopics: demand for products and services, availability of staff, equipment, facilities,
materials in the correct quality and quantity to satisfy demand, reliability of suppliers in responding to orders,
cash flow to sustain the operation, availability of information to improve business performance, staff skills to
carry out set tasks and firms rules and regulations.
Figure 2
Variables influencing performance outcomes
Firms rules and regulations
Staff skills to carry out set tasks
Availability of information to improve
business performance
Cash flow to sustain the operation
Reliability of suppliers in responding to
orders
Availability of materials in the correct
quality
Availability of materials in the correct
quantity
Availability of facilities to satisfy demand
Availability of equipment of satisfy demand
Availability of staff to satisfy demand
Demand for products and services
0%
Inadequate
20%
60%
Adequate40% Abundant
80%
100%
Information to improve business performance
The findings of the study indicated that majority (69.6%) of wedding planning firms lacked adequate
information to improve business performance. This suggested that decisions regarding productivity, market
236
access and strategic planning were usually poorly informed and could result in business failure. Respondents
indicated that they mainly obtained information from customers, competitors, business associates, print and
broadcast media and electronic sources. However competitors were unwilling to share information on best
practices as they felt they would be disclosing their secrets to competitiveness. Furthermore, planners were
unable to evaluate the outcomes of the event with clients and guests and consequently had difficulties in
determining whether clients’ expectations had been met. Subsequently, continuous improvement was a
challenge.
A study on SMEs in neighbouring Uganda revealed a consistency in lack of information in SMEs across all
sectors which was consistent with previous findings on information constraints plaguing a large percentage of
businesses in developing countries (Okello, Minishi, Cloete, & Ikoja, 2008). In addition Okello-Obura et al.
(2008) noted that information was difficult to access given that there were few sources, information was
limited in scope, cumbersome to access and was available in a non-integrated manner. Wedding planners also
indicated that the absence of a formal industry association for wedding planners and suppliers has contributed
to the current vacuum in information. The absence of this formal industrial association has the potential to
hamper market development and strategic planning and can negatively influence growth and survival of
wedding planning firms (Bowen et al., 2009).
Cash flow to sustain operation
Secondly, 30.4% of wedding planning firms attributed challenges in wedding planning to lack of cash flow.
This finding implied that money flowing into the business from sales revenue or financers was insufficient to
cover purchases and operating expenses. The interviews revealed that tension existed between planners and
clients when it came to payment for services. As one wedding planner stated:
“When you work with a couple for six to twelve months on an event that is as personal as a wedding, a
relationship other than the business kind is created. The planner therefore believes the client is operating in
good faith when he asks for an extension on payments.”
In most cases planners stated that clients prioritized tangible products higher than they did intangible ones.
Consequently, most of couples preferred to pay for intangibles such as planning services after the event once
the outcomes of service offerings were experienced. The financial tension was further aggravated by the
reluctance of couples to meet up with the planner after the events conclusion. Consequently, wedding
planners were unable to secure balances due to them as a result of unavailability or inaccessibility to clients
after the event.
Reliability of suppliers in responding to orders
Despite the symbiotic relationship between wedding planners and suppliers 26.1% respondents indicated that
they had problems with supplier reliability. This implied that wedding planners could not guarantee
consistency and quality services from suppliers. The interviews revealed that planners occasionally had to
deal with suppliers sourced for independently by the client or a wedding committee. One planner observed:
Some of our clients independently source for suppliers on the recommendation of a friend or relative.
Unfortunately the output of these suppliers is unpredictable and we cannot guarantee our client the best.
This statement revealed the frustration for the wedding planner when he or she was not involved in merging
specification of tasks and expected output from suppliers with the clients’ goals, needs and expectations.
Given that the output of the event is dependent on cohesiveness of all planning aspects (Daniels & Loveless,
2007) the outcome of the event can be compromised when all parties in the planning process are not actively
involved in laying out terms for product and service provision by suppliers. Notably when wedding planners
have not worked with a supplier before, it is difficult to ascertain whether their internal constraints will
present challenges in product or service provision for the wedding the planner is organizing. In order to
counteract uncertainty when dealing with suppliers an inquiry into supplier reliability based on the output
they gave past clients in their database(DeLaubenfels, Weber, & Bamberg, 2010).
237
Availability of facilities to satisfy demand
The findings of the study indicated that 22.7% of wedding planners felt that facilities that could host
weddings are largely unavailable. This implied that the venues were in short supply in relation to the demand
that existed for them. Respondents indicated that couples were still fixated on hosting weddings at churches,
schools, hotels and recreational gardens. Unfortunately, the number of these facilities has not been increasing
in response to demand for them. This finding was in contrast to the assertion by the Kenya Tourism Guide
(1999) that tourist facilities have been increasing at 4% annually in order to meet demand.
Wedding planners need access to a range of destinations that can cater to individual couples wedding themes
for both the wedding ceremony and reception(Bain, Gawne, & Radford, 2011). Therefore it fell on planners
to recommend alternative venues to host weddings such as country clubs and members clubs. Challenges in
accessing facilities such as country clubs and members clubs were attributed to mandatory requirements by
venue operators that facilities can be used by members only(Daniels & Loveless, 2007). Furthermore, some
facilities only allow couples to use their venues for events when they pay for additional packages that include
catering services and sound(Bouchard, 2003). This limited the appeal of some venues to couples who intend
to customize their event.
Demand for products and services
Additionally, 21.7% wedding planning firms had challenges related to attracting demand for services. This
implied that firms were unable to consistently attract the clients and generate revenue throughout the financial
year. With regard to attracting clients, respondent firms indicated that Kenyans perceived their services as a
luxury that could only be afforded by a few. This finding concurred with statistics from UKAWP in 2011,
where only 11% of brides sampled indicated that they would use a wedding planner while 33.89% of brides
felt that planners were expensive(Gould, 2011).
In reality, couples did not understand the benefits of hiring a wedding planner such as: saving time (spent on
sourcing for quotations, vetting and selection of vendors), saving money (planners can negotiate discounts
and enforce budget restrictions set by the couple), creating schedules and handling crises(Daniels & Loveless,
2007). Unless the benefits of contracting a wedding planner are appreciated by couples, the demand for their
services will continue to remain low. This assertion is in stark contrast to Pfister and Tierney (2009)
affirmation that augmented service features can stimulate demand.
Seasonality of demand was another market constraint to wedding planning. This implied that the flow of
business and financial earnings was lopsided. Planners indicated that couples mainly got married in the
months of December and August when family and friends were available. Furthermore, weddings took place
mainly on Saturday and Sunday and rarely on weekdays. This confirmed Shone and Parry’s(2004) assertion
that special events are usually organized when people are available to offer mutual support and reinforce
social norms. Similarly seasonality of demand was also experienced in the United States where June (10.8%)
was the most popular month for weddings followed by August (10.2%), May (9.8%), September (9.6%) and
October (9.4%). Seasonality challenges are synonymous to businesses in the tourism industry that deal with
fluctuations in demand (Mok, Sparks, & Kadampully, 2009).
Availability of staffs to satisfy demand
Markedly, 95.7% of respondents indicated that their firms had access to an adequate number of staff for
events. This implied that the labour market was highly saturated and provided requisite manpower during
both peak and trough wedding seasons. According to KIPPRA though Kenya has a rapidly growing labour
force, few employment opportunities exist and particularly for the youth (KIPPRA, 2009). Consequently
wedding planning firms fill the void by creating short term employment opportunities for youth in the labour
market. Short term employment opportunities were viable from events given that the smaller events such as
weddings are short lived(Bodwin, Allen, Harris, McDonnell, & O'Toole, 2012). A study in Australia
revealed that the events industry in Australia at the time was a viable creator of employment
opportunities(Lockstone, Junek, & Mair, 2008).
238
Material constraints
The findings of the study indicated 82.6% and 91.3% of wedding planners were able to access equipment and
materials in the correct quality and quantity respectively. Notably, the remaining 17.4% and 8.7% of
respondents who were unable to access equipment and materials respectively were likely to face challenges in
event execution which may result in business failure. This finding implied that planners could orchestrate
events of different themes due to the availability of a wide range of materials. Consequently, customization
of events to suit the couple’s demands was easy to realize. For firms that faced material constraints, the
planners acknowledged that materials were available but the firm lacked sufficient cash flow to obtain them.
Similarly, lack of resources due to unavailability or unaffordability has an adverse effect on business
growth(Nissanke & Aryeetey, 1998).
Firm rules, regulations and policies
Majority of the respondents (95.7%) indicated that the firms’ policies, rules and regulations were suitable
which implied that current rules, regulations, guidelines and procedures that wedding planning firms
employed facilitated the achievement of organizational goals. This finding was in stark contrast to TOC
which identifies policy constraints as the largest factor that prevents firms from achievement of goals
(Rahman, 1988). Policies though difficult to identify were usually the main cause physical constraints that
limited operational capability within organizations(Goldratt, 1988).
Abundant staff skill levels to carry out set tasks
Majority of respondents (91.3%) indicated that their staff possessed skills to perform requisite tasks. This
implied that wedding planners and their staff were creative, able to coordinate and consolidate resources,
work in an ambiguous environment and solve problems because they had strong management and
organizational skills. The possession of multiple skills is essential to planning successful weddings(Peragine,
2008). Respondents indicated that they recruited operative staff who had prior experience with event
execution. Furthermore, managerial staff were required to have obtained vocational training from an
accredited programs such as Certified Wedding Specialist. Evidently staff skill sets were assessed by
wedding planning firms during the staff recruitment stage.
Impact of constraints on the wedding planning process
The variables influencing performance outcomes of the wedding planning process were then entered into
regression analysis to determine the relative impact on the overall wedding planning process (dependent
variable). Stepwise multiple regression was selected because it took into account the exploratory power of
more than one independent variable simultaneously. The F statistic for the regression model was 54.814 with
a p value of .000.
Table 3
Impact of Constraints on the Wedding Organisation Process
AdjustedR2/ Sig
.947/.027
Constraints
Financial constraints
Resource constraints
Competence constraints
Supplier constraints
Material constraints
Policy constraints
Market constraints
Knowledge constraints
β
.445
.306
.247
.238
.231
.170
.109
.035
T
8.180
7.071
3.739
4.414
4.185
2.470
1.619
.613
Sig T
.000*
.000*
.002*
.001*
.001*
.027*
.129
.550
As it can be seen, constraints proposed by TOC explained 94.7 per cent of variance in the overall wedding
planning process. Significant factors in the model were identified in descending order as: financial (β=.445;
239
p=.000), resource constraints (β=.419; p=.000), competence (β=.247; p=.002), supplier (β=.238; p=.001),
material constraints (β=.231; p=.000) and policy constraints (β=.170; p=.027). The higher the β coefficient
the larger the impact the constraint had on wedding planning. Consequently we reject the null hypothesis
given that several constraints had a significant impact on the wedding planning process. This finding
concurred with TOC which postulates that only a few factors prevent a system from achieving its goals (Boyd
& Gupta, 2004). Notably 5.3 percent of the variance in the wedding planning process can be explained by
other factors, thus prompting the need for further research.
Financial constraints (β=.445; p=.000) accounted for the largest percentage of variance in the overall wedding
planning process. Financial constraints are caused by lack of sufficient funds to cover purchases and
operating expenses. This shortage can have adverse effects on the first three stages of the wedding planning
process namely research, design and planning. The tasks carried out during these stages such as program
preparation, site comparison and selection as well as securing vendors and other service providers require a
significant capital outlay. Consequently, setting timelines for raising finances to meet costs stipulated in the
budget should be followed strictly both by the client and the event planner(Nixon, 2007).
Secondly, resource constraints (β=.419; p=.000) also contributed to variance in the overall wedding planning
process. Resource constraints are caused by lack of staff, equipment or facilities to satisfy demand due to
unaffordability or unavailability. Firstly, permanent and additional temporary staff members are required
during the planning and execution phases of the wedding organisation process. Human resources are
required to perform multiple tasks that are entwined and at times need to be performed concurrently.
Principally, it is the performance of these tasks brings the event to life as represented in the event
proposal(McKenzie & Davies, 2010, p. 788). Additionally, unaffordability or shortage of equipment for
specific elements cited in the event proposal and availability of facilities to prepare for and host the event can
influence interpretation and execution of the event theme developed during the design phase. For this reason,
planners and couples should holistically evaluate shortlisted venues and packages offered to determine
whether these fit the event proposal requirements(Bywater, 2007).
Thirdly, competence constraints (β=.247; p=.002) accounted for the third largest percentage of variance in the
overall wedding planning process. Competence constraints occur when the wedding planning firm has
limited skills to perform tasks. The skills gap affects every facet of the wedding organisation process from
research to evaluation. Wedding planners should have a skill set that includes creativity, calculated risk
taking, tolerance of ambiguity, problem solving and strong managerial and organisational skills(Peragine,
2008).
Supplier constraints (β=.238; p=.001) also accounted for the fourth largest percentage of variance in the
wedding planning process. Supplier constraints occur when the vendors and service providers are unreliable
in responding to orders. These inconsistencies hinder wedding planners from guaranteeing quality products
and services to their clients. Ultimately, the execution of tasks on the day of the wedding and the attainment
of goals set for the wedding at the beginning of the event planning process may be compromised.
Consequently, wedding planners are encouraged to maintain a list of vendors and service providers who are
reputable and can support varied themes(Moran, 2009).
Material constraints (β=.231; p=.000) also contributed significantly to the variance in the wedding
organisation process. Material constraints occur when the quality and quantity of materials needed to execute
a wedding are unattainable. Failure to get materials that meet the specifications set out during the wedding
design and planning stages can result in challenges in actualisation of the wedding theme and specific tasks
on the day of the event given that not all elements of the event can be realised in the manner in which they
were stated in the wedding planners’ proposal. Accordingly, the material shortages compromise the ability of
SMEs to meet set goals(Smith & Smith, 2007).
Lastly, policy constraints (β=.170; p=.027) accounted for the smallest percentage of variance in wedding
planning. Policies constraints occur when the rules, regulations and guidelines for procedures within an
240
organisation inhibit the attainment of the event and organisational goals. Implicitly, firms needed to develop
policies rules and regulations for administration, design, marketing, operations and risk management domains
identified in the EMBOK model. This will ensure that tasks carried out within the domains and phases facet
are supported by an efficient framework.
Essentially, policies and procedures inform the processes facet of the EMBOK model which enable event
planners to keep up with the evolving nature of events by facilitating assessment, selection, monitoring,
communication and documentation of tasks(Silvers, Bodwin, O'Toole, & Nelson, 2006). According to TOC
the absence of this framework can result in physical constraints that limit operational capability within firms
(Rahuman, 1998; Goldratt, 1988).
Constraint management methodologies
The causes of action adopted by wedding planners to counteract the impact of constraints on the event
planning process were organised and discussed under the following subtopics: access to information to
improve business performance, financial constraint management, supplier constraint management, market
demand, staff competencies constraint management, resource constraint management and policy formulation.
Access to information to improve business performance
Wedding planners indicated that they accessed information to improve business performance mainly from the
internet. This implied that wedding planners were able to access information on trends and industry practices
from practitioners all over the world. The internet is an important source of information that can inform new
product development for existing and new markets(Walters & Lancater, 1999). The internet has been used
for researching information in 80 companies located in six European countries(Dutta & Evrard, 1999).
In addition firms carried out market research when funding was available with the aim of identifying current
trends in wedding planning. This finding implied that wedding planning firms were unable to consistently
carry out research and gather information to improve performance. According to the Economic Commission
for Latin America and the Caribbean, partnerships between small firms can overcome this challenge and
facilitate knowledge sharing (OECD, Economic Commision for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2012).
Financial constraint management
The study revealed several ways in which wedding planners managed financial constraints. Firstly, firms
took bank overdrafts and used personal savings to keep the business afloat during the low seasons. Secondly,
wedding planners supplemented their income by organizing additional events such as corporate events,
meetings and conventions. This implied that wedding planning firms acquired additional financial resources
to enhance the constraints capacity given that financial constraints were attributed to insufficient cash flowing
into the business during low seasons. This constraint management methodology was a replica of step four of
the TOC model that requires the constraint capacity to be elevated in order for a system to reach its set goal
(Dettmer, 1997). In this case, for the event to have a successful outcome, wedding planning firms need to
have sufficient cash flow.
Supplier constraint management
In order to overcome supplier constraints, wedding planners used two approaches. Firstly, planners kept a list
of suppliers with whom they had worked with before. These suppliers had a previous relationship and good
rapport with the planners. Moreover, they had a track record and the planner therefore felt confident in
recommending them to the couple. Suppliers should be vetted by planners on the basis of references, years of
experience and professionalism(Monroe, 2006).
Secondly, the planners ensured that contracts between the supplier and the couple were drawn up and the
parameters for delivery set. This indicated that wedding planning firms instituted a policy on supplier
management to safeguard the firm and couple from delivery problems with suppliers. This constraint
management mechanism also follows the TOC model which requires that organizations policies and
241
procedures regarding constraints be changed or implemented to fully support the strategy behind constraint
alleviation (Goldratt, 1988).
Market demand
The interviews revealed the approaches currently employed by wedding planners to overcome market
constraints were related to demand and seasonality of business. In order to increase demand for their
services, planners opted to market themselves aggressively at local bridal fairs and exhibitions such as the biannual Samantha Bridal Fair. The aim of participating in these fairs and exhibitions was to showcase service
offerings which would stimulate demand. The demand for augmented products and services can be stimulated
by increasing awareness on product or service features(Pfister & Tierney, 2009). However wedding planners
who participated in these fairs and exhibitions still indicated that despite increasing their presence at these
fairs, demand for planners is still relatively low.
In addition to fairs and exhibitions, planners also generated articles and features in local bridal magazines
targeting couples who were yet to take their nuptials such as The Eve Bridal Magazine and The Samantha
Bridal Magazine. Also firms attempted to increase their presence online through websites, pages in social
networking sites and blogs. In the United States over 80% of couples do their weddings research online and
over 7.5 million bridal magazines are purchased each year (NMOA, 1999). When these two media are
combined, wedding planners are likely to reach a wide audience.
With regard to seasonality of demand, wedding planners advised clients to select off-peak seasons citing
favourable discounts from suppliers and availability of materials during those periods. As a result planners
noted an increase in the number of weddings in Nairobi being held on Fridays and during the month of
February. It therefore holds that there is enhanced value for money experienced by people who opt for
tourism experiences during low seasons(Baum & Lundtorp, 2001). For instance in the United States, couples
could save as much as 10-20 percent when they held weddings during off peak season (November 1 and
April 30)(Harrison, 2008).
Staff competencies constraint management
The study revealed that constraints related to staff competencies were overcome by having a standard staff
list which consisted of employees who could be trained prior to the event. Moreover, wedding planners
evaluated the performance of staff after every wedding to determine who was eligible to participate in the
next event. This finding implied that though firms relied heavily on external employment models, wedding
planners still remained committed to building skills for competitive advantage regardless of whether staff
were employed on a temporary or permanent basis. Notably, in some cases, firms that employed a large
percentage of staff on contract illustrated low commitment towards development of skills(Lepak, Takeuchi,
& Snell, 2003).
Resource constraint management methods
The study revealed that wedding planners attempted to access more facilities, equipment, and staff before
competitors when demand was at its peak. Facilities and equipment were usually acquired by lease or on
short contracts for staff by making reservations before the peak season begun. With regard to material
resources whose supply is usually fixed, wedding planners encouraged couples to host events during off peak
seasons when materials such as flowers were readily available. Resource constraint management methods
coincided with TOC assertion that all constraints should be utilized to maximum capacity so long as they are
available and that all other functions in the business should facilitate the functioning of that constraint
(Schragenheim & Dettmer, 2001).
Policy formulation
Respondents indicated that once the cause of failure for a particular event was revealed after monitoring and
evaluation, policies were revised in order to ensure all events in the future yielded the desired outcome.
Policies that were periodically reviewed and modified helped firms remain dynamic and responsive to
changes in the business environment(Agarwal, 2008).
242
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This study revealed that wedding organisation firms exhibited above average performance in wedding
planning and were therefore able to meet the clients’ expectations and event goals. Despairingly,failure to
evaluate the event upon conclusion was likely to be an impediment to continuous improvement. Performance
was further aggravated by inadequate information, insufficient cash flow, unreliability of suppliers in
responding to orders, unavailability of facilities to satisfy demand and low demand for products and services.
In spite of these challenges, full utilization of existing resources and sourcing for additional finances,
alternative suppliers, unconventional event facilities, aggressive promotion and continuous revision of
internal policies, wedding organisation firms were able to plan and execute weddings.
Nonetheless this study recommends the revision of internal policies within wedding planning firms that will
focus on the elimination of financial, resource, competence, supplier and material constraints. This follows
TOC’s assertion that rules and guidelines for procedures create a framework that can prevent the
aforementioned constraints from limiting wedding planners from planning and executing the wedding as per
the client’s expectations. Notably, exploring this strategy calls for continuous review and revision of policies
where necessary to keep up with changes in the business environment and prevent complacency.
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A BALANCED SCORECARD APPROACH TO MEASURING PERFORMANCE OF FIVE STAR
HOTELS IN NAIROBI, KENYA.
Methuselah Bichage Gesage
Department of Hospitality and Tourism
Kenya Methodist University, Nairobi, Kenya
And
Job Kuira
Department of Hospitality and Tourism
Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract
Traditional models for determining the performance and effectiveness of employees rely heavily on financial
accounting indicators. This study sought to measure the performance of five star hotels in Nairobi County
using the balanced scorecard approach.
The findings of the study revealed that 36% of the respondents used a balanced scorecard as a method of
measuring performance. The use of a balanced scorecard for measuring performance resulted in improved
quality of guest profiles for 73% of the managers in five star hotels in Nairobi County whereas 67% of the
managers experienced an increase in training hours per employee.
Key Words: Balanced Score Card, Performance Measurement,
Background Information
A hotel can be described as a commercial establishment providing accommodation, meals, and other guest
services. For an establishment to qualify as being a hotel, it should have a minimum of six guest rooms, of
which three should be attached to bathroom facilities (Jatashankar, 2009). The history of hotels can be traced
back to the era of civilization and early biblical times. Hotel existence has also been associated with the
development of transportation and growth of cities (Dittmer, 2000). On the global scale , hotel revenues have
grown tremendously from USD 370 billion in 2006 to USD 457 billion in 2011. This growth is projected to
continue up to USD 550 billon in the year 2016 (Grant, 2012).
248
Hotel business in Kenya has continually improved over the years. The industry grew by Ksh. 24.2 billion
(32.8%) in the year 2011 as compared to the year 2010. Revenues from this industry increased from 73.7
billion in the year 2010 to 97.9 billion in 2011. The sector also experienced an increase in both local and
international visitors. Arrivals grew from 1.61 million in the year 2010 as compared to 1.8 million in the year
2011. That is an increase of 13% (GOK, 2012).
Profitability of hotels is determined by several factors amongst them location, marketing strategies, image,
taste and quality of food and beverage, safety, subsidiary facilities and amenities on offer. Ability to
maximize sale of rooms at premium rates also significantly improves profitability (Park, 2012). Hotel
managers, operators and proprietors have a fundamental responsibility to optimize the long-term profitability
of the assets they oversee. This is through increasing rates during busy periods and dropping them during
slower times to sustain occupancy (Haley, 2004).
Measurement of performance in the hospitality industry is of paramount importance for success as it monitors
and assesses the effectiveness of an organization. It is also important to note that without any form of
measurement, a business does not have control over whatever takes place in the organization (Singapore
Spring, 2011). A successful measurement system will focus on financial, customer efforts, internal processes,
and human resources (Preston, 2011; Matarneh, 2011).
A balanced scorecard is a tool used to communicate the mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of
performance measures. It retains an emphasis on achieving financial objectives but also includes the
performance drivers of these financial objectives (Kaplan, 2004; Cheng, 2008).The balanced scorecard as a
performance measurement system guides, manages, and directs an entire organization towards achieving
common goals in the future. It also emphasizes that financial and non-financial measures are all part of a
system that gives information to every part of the organization (Chavan, 2007; Brewer et al, 2000).
Traditionally, organizations measured their performance on short-term financial measures; however, the
balanced scorecard approach extends this to include measures of performance relating to customer, internal
processes, and learning and growth needs of their people (Pedro, 2010; Latshaw, 2002).
Statement of the Problem and Justification
Motivating a workforce and precisely monitoring their performance remains a key challenge of any
enterprise. Over the years, a host of measures have been used to determine the effectiveness of workers.
These include Economic Value Added (EVA), Market Value Added (MVA), Total Shareholder Equity
(TSE), Cash Flow, Return on Investment (Parthasarathy, 2006; Empuero et al, 1998; Harper, 2005).
However, of all measures, financial measures have received more attention than the other measures which are
equally important for overall analysis of a business. They have been regarded as the most important basis of
assessing performance for a long time (Banker, 2004). The financial measures, however, do not give a true
picture of the overall performance because they do not enable managers to view performance in several areas
simultaneously (Mohamed, 2010; Calhoun, 2004). Legitimate opinions have been raised based on the fact
that financial measures are not a fitting benchmark since they neither sufficiently single out best practices in
an organisation nor reflect its various dimensions that contribute to its performance (Gesage,Mburugu K,
Mukwate M., 2012). There is therefore a need for a study that allows for an aggregated performance
249
measurement system and which also monitors the strategic objectives of an organization using a system such
as the balanced scorecard approach ( Huang, 2007; Park, 2005 ).
The balanced scorecard combines financial measures with operational measures on customer satisfaction,
internal processes and the organizational innovative and improvement activities. Other than in the Americas,
studies show that there is still a predominance of financial and past oriented dimensions (Janota, 2008;
Paggios, 2009). It appears that no documented studies have measured performance of hotels in Kenya using
this methodology. For that reason, the actual performance level of the five star hotels in Nairobi is not clear.
Due to these shortcomings, there is, therefore, a need for a study that allows for a different method of
performance measurement and permits one to identify the obstacles to hotel operations and suggest possible
ways to enhance the hotels’ performance. The distinctiveness of this study is that it provides a different
approach and enriches the area of study for future research (Gachanja, 2008).
Delimitation of the Study
The study confined itself to departmental managers in five star hotels in Nairobi County. Given the high level
of the standards, five star hotels were likely to give a better representation on the usage of the balanced
scorecard in the hospitality industry (Caribbean Tourism Organization , 2002). The departmental managers
included in the sample were those on duty in the respective hotels at the time of study.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Methods of Measuring Performance
The methods of measuring performance are discussed under the Economic Value Added, financial statements
and ratios operational measures and lastly the balanced scorecard.
Economic Value Added (EVA)
Economic value added is a measure of performance which heavily relies on financials. Measuring of
performance using this tool is based on fixing a capital charge against the total value of assets employed in a
firm in relation to the risk that will be involved.
Financial Statements and Ratios
Financial statements and ratios provide a quick and relatively simple means of assessing the financial health
of a business. These include profitability, efficiency, liquidity, gearing and investment ratios. However, ratios
and statements are only meaningful if compared against past periods, similar businesses, or planned
performance (Calhoun, 2004). Profitability is the most regularly used base for defining success. Gregory,
(1995) includes room yield, hotel profit contribution, occupancy rates and labour costs to turnover as other
forms used in measuring financial performance in the hospitality industry.
Non-Financial Performance Measures/Operational Performance Measures
A variety of methods are used to measure the non-financial performance aspects of hospitality
establishments. These include putting emphasis on customer satisfaction, sales growth and quality of service.
However, in a study carried out in United Kingdom hotels, most managerial energy is directed toward
achieving customer satisfaction over all other non-financial measures (Atkinson, 2011). Other forms of
measuring non-financial performance include competitiveness, quality of service, innovation, community
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social responsibility, supplier performance resource utilization, and flexibility (Wandogo, 2010).Nonfinancial measures of performance used in the hospitality industry and a corresponding department majoring
in specific performance measures which are deemed important for their success are illustrated in table 1.
Table 1: Non-Financial/Operational Measures
MEASURE
Guest Satisfaction
Service Quality
DEPARTMENT
Front Office
Front Office, Food and Beverage
Employee Satisfaction
Food and Beverage and Accounts
Use of the measures in the table above in a way that is not managed by a specific tool that involves gauging
each measure leads to a situation where some measures are given more emphasis than others and at the end of
the day making other measures irrelevant or obsolete when measuring performance. The balanced scorecard,
however, combines financial measures with operational measures on customer satisfaction, internal processes
and the organizations innovative and improvement activities. This eventually makes it possible for managers
to view performance in several areas simultaneously (Mohamed, 2010).
The Balanced Scorecard
During the 1990s, the balanced scorecard was introduced by Kaplan and Norton. At the time, the balanced
scorecard was thought to be about measurement, not about strategy. By the year 2000, some surveys
indicated that majority of firms in the United States, and Scandinavia used scorecards or at least intended to
do so soon (Nils-Göran Olve C. Johan, P. Jan, S. Royl, 2003). Other surveys indicated that over 64% of
organizations were measuring performance using perspectives in a similar way to the balanced scorecard.
The balanced scorecard approach employs four distinctive perspectives in order to articulate and monitor an
enterprise’s strategy properly and completely. They are financial perspectives with a focus on profitability;
customer perspective focusing on customer satisfaction, retention and acquisition; internal business process
focusing on quality and innovation and, lastly, learning and growth perspective, which identifies the required
development in areas of the employee capabilities, and productivity (Kaplan, 2004).
The crux of the balanced scorecard is the relating together of the measures of the four areas in a causal chain
which passes through all four perspectives (Jyoti, 2006).
Financial Perspective
The founders of the balanced scorecard do not dismiss the traditional need for financial data. Timely and
accurate provision of data will always be a priority, and managers will ensure they provide it. In fact, there is
more than enough handling and processing of financial data. It is noteworthy that the current emphasis on
financials leads to the "unbalanced" situation with regard to other perspectives (Lloyd, 2006; Balanced
scorecard basics, 2011).
Traditionally, performance measurement has been based on financial indicators. Financial indicators have
been about past performance and do not take into account future performance. The financial
perspectivegauges the contribution of the strategies in place in as far as the outcome of the bottom-line is
251
concerned. This perspective communicates the financial impact on plans executed, plans and decisions made
by management. It is the outcome of how other measures in the scorecard are performing(Preston, 2011;
Matarneh, 2011).
The financial perspective investigates on how much the operating income and capital employed results in
reduction of costs and increase in sales. It represents the long-term strategic objectives of the organization
and thus it incorporates the tangible outcomes of the strategy in traditional financial terms (Agarwal, 2003;
Mooraj et al.,1999.
Increase in average room rate, inventory control, utilizing fixed costs to the fullest, maximizing on revenue
per available room andnon-room revenue,control of variable costs,reduction in fixed costs and reduced
collection period will form the basis of financial measures in the hospitality industry (Quitano, 2010; Razalli,
2008; Armitage,2006).
The Customer Element Perspective
This perspective provides a view of how the customers see the company. For the balanced scorecard to be
effective, companies should clearly have goals for time, quality, performance, service and then translate these
goals into specific measures. Customer focus and customer satisfaction are vital in any business. These are
the leading indicators: if customers are not satisfied, they will in the long run find other sources that will take
care of their needs (Hall, 2008; Granados, 2004). Generally, satisfied customers will lead to repeat business.
The consequences of customer dissatisfaction are costly. These will include recovery costs to appease
dissatisfied customers, replacing non-return customers, the impact ofnegative word of mouth and low staff
morale caused by working with unhappy guests. The customer perspective can also be divided into market
share and customer retention and acquisition. Market share relates to the ratio of sales of a specific product
with total sales of that product in a particular segment. It can be measured in terms of sales revenue, sales
volume and the number of customers. On the other hand, customer acquisition refers to attraction of new
customers. It enables an organization know to what extent their product is attractive. This is measured by
comparison of new clients to total clients (Ahmed, 2009).
The Internal Business Process Perspective
The internal process perspectiveis concerned with the processes that create and deliver excellence. It focuses
on all the activities and key processes required in order for the company to excel at providing the value
expected by the customers both productively and efficiently. These can include both short-term and long-term
objectives as well as incorporating innovative process development in order to stimulate improvement
(Mohammed, 2009). It also dwells with operational management. This is measured by the quality of the
operational processes and dependability of the delivery process. Managers are able to know how well their
business is running and whether the mission is being achieved in as far as products and services are
conforming to customer expectations (Bergen, 2004; Chen-Yuan Chen, 2010).
Learning and Growth Elements
This perspective drives improvement in the financial, customer and internal process performance. It involves
employee training and corporate cultural attitudes related to both individual and corporate self-improvement.
In a knowledge-employee organization, people as the only repository of knowledge, are the main resources.
In times of change in technology, it is important for workers to be in a continuous mode of learning.
Measures should be effected to guide managers in directing training funds where they can help the most.
Learning and growth constitute the essential foundation for success of any knowledge-worker organization
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(Howard, R. 2008).Founders of thescorecard emphasize that 'learning' is more than 'training'; it also includes
things like mentors and tutors within the organization, as well as that ease of communication among workers
that allows them to readily get help on a problem when it is needed. It also includes technological tools; what
the Malcolm Baldrige criteria call high performance (Gnanapoo, 2013).
Developing a Balanced Scorecard
The balanced scorecard as a management tool enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and
translate them into action. The balanced scorecard suggests a series of linked performance measures covering
the four perspectives, namely; financial, customer, internal process, and learning. It also develops metrics,
collects data and analyses it relative to each of these perspectives (Niven, 2006).
A strategy is basically a theory on how to achieve the organizational goals (DiBeradinis, 2004).It is the
transition from the mission and values to the world of strategy. Strategy involves blending a selected set of
activities different from that of competitors to produce customer value. The selected activities may be aimed
at customer intimacy or product leadership or operational excellence. The balanced scorecard as a tool
reflects this strategic direction.
The process of developing a balance scorecard begins with senior management translating their
organizational strategies into specific strategic objectives. This enables mangers in the organization to have
an understanding concerning the vision and strategy. The vision is made clear and communicated to all
employees inform of goals and targets (Olve, 1999). An effective scorecard has measures selected by top
management to represent strategic objectives of the organization (Albright et al., 2010). This can be
illustrated as follows:
Figure 1: Development of a Balanced Scorecard
Mission/Vision
Strategies
The desired future.
For the vision to succeed, how will I be different?
253
Financial
Customer
Internal Processes
The four perspectives.
Learning and Growth
Key Result Areas
How strategic success is measure
Financial
and tracked.
Customer
Internal Process
Learning and Growth
BALANCED SCORECARD
Summary of Literature Review
For a business to run effectively, it is of paramount importance for its assets to be measured and managed
efficiently. Traditional financial models can no longer measure and manage these assets. For this reason
evolved the balanced scorecard. In modern business entities, intangible assets such as worker skills and
awareness levels, client and contractor relations, and an innovative culture are grave in providing the much
needed revolutionary to the organisation. This is where tools such as the balanced scorecard method hold
significance for an establishment (Isoraite, 2008). The balance scorecard gives an even view of how a
business is performing. This is done through the financial perspective, the customer perspective, the internal
business perspective and the learning and growth perspective.
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Other researchers report that despite the balanced scorecard being a success in most instances, there have
been several unsuccessful implementations as well (Dent, 2005). This has mainly been associated with
inappropriate selection of measures, using too many measures, lack of thorough implementation by
management, delay in giving feedback and over reliance on financial measures (Pforsich, 2005;
Venkatraman, 2000). Critics of the balanced scorecard also claim that it fails to address some issues relating
to the employees, the environment and the role of the community within. It also tends to be biased towards
the shareholders (Adams, 2002, Smith, 2005). The balanced scorecard dictates the top- down approach; it
limits the involvement of lower levels management. It means that contribution to the balanced scorecard is
manipulated by top level management (Okumu, 2003).
Research that has supported the balanced scorecard is of the opinion that it provides a solid base for
managing the implementation of strategy and at the same time allowing the strategy itself to evolve in
response to changes in the company’s competitive market and technological environments. It acts as a
powerful link between strategies and operations. The balanced scorecard improves co-ordination amongst all
personnel in the organization. It helps in everyone taking ownership either as an individual or as a group in
attaining organizational objectives (Aaltonen,2002; Okfalisa, 2009; Nooreklit, 2000). From a human
resources point of view, the balanced scorecard enables senior management and frontline managers to
effectively assess their subordinate’s performance. Employees on the other hand, are able to know how their
decisions impact on the profitability of the organization (II-woon, 2005; Ping, 2006). Further research based
on a review of the balanced scorecard for 12 years after its introduction concluded that it is an effective tool
for communication and leads to strategic alignment (Olve , 2004).
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study used a cross sectional survey design. The sample was a complete census of all the eight five star
hotels which are located in various locations in Nairobi (GOK, 2003,2004). Given the level of the standards,
five star hotels were likely to give a better representation on the usage of the balanced scorecard in the
hospitality industry. ( Caribbean Tourism Organization , 2002) The five star hotels in Nairobi were
purposively selected. All the five star hotels were included in the study because the population was small and
study intended to cover all five star hotels.
The respondents were 8 managers in charge of Food and Beverage, Finance, Housekeeping, Front Office,
Sales and Marketing, Human resources, Purchasing and Supplies, and Training from each of the eight-five
star hotels in Nairobi making a total of sixty-four respondents.
Descriptive statistics were carried out for both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and Kruskal Wallis test statistics were used to compare the performance of the selected indicators
in the five star hotels in successive years. The Chi-square test statistic was used to establish the relationships
between knowledge and use of balanced scorecard approach of performance measurement
The Conceptual Framework of the Study
The following is a conceptual framework that shows the inter relationships of variables used in the
construction of the balanced score card.
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Figure 2: Conceptual Framework
Financial perspective
To Succeed financially, how should we appear to
our shareholders?
Dependant Variables
Internal Business Perspective
Customer Perspective
To achieve our targets, how
should we appear to our
customers?
Overall performance
of five star hotels
To satisfy our shareholders and
customers,
which
business
processes should we excel at?
Learning and Growth Perspective
To achieve our vision, how shall we
sustain our ability to change and
improve?
256
Source: Adapted from (Kaplan R. N., 1996a, p. 9).
As per the conceptual framework, the overall performance of five star hotels is the dependent variable as it
represents all the performance measures that are generated by the balance score card. The independent
variables are the four perspectives that make up a balanced score card.
These include:
i). Financial Perspective: This relates to how shareholders perceive a business to be performing financially.
Measures included cash flow, return on capital invested, and return on investment, improved shareholder
value and asset utilization. These were measured against turnover realized, the operating income and net
operating margins. Results from the study showed that daily budgets, revenue per available room and return
on investments are among the measures used to weigh the financial perspective.
ii). Customer Perspective: This relates to how we appear to our customers in order to achieve our mission.
Measures used in this perspective were delivery and performance to customer, customer retention, customer
loyalty, customer satisfaction rate. For these measures to be achieved they were gauged by number of
customer complaints, guest feedback, return guests. Findings showed that performance of the customer
perspective is measured against guest questionnaires, the customer satisfaction index and number of guest
feedbacks.
iii). Internal Business Processes: This entails exceeding shareholder and customer expectations in delivering
business processes. This revolves around maximizing efficiencies in the various activities within the work
place. This will call for innovative ideas to improve the systems in place so as to achieve measures in this
perspective. Findings in five star hotels revealed that timely check in and check of guests was a major
procedure that falls under this perspective and was monitored through frequent audits of the activity.
iv). Learning and Growth Perspective: This focuses on sustaining our ability to change or improve in order
to achieve our vision. Factors that matter here include employee capabilities; reduced staff turnover;
Information system capabilities; Motivation and empowerment. These will be measured against the
percentage of employees satisfied with the work environment and possessing the required qualifications,
ability of the organization to retain staff..
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FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
Figure 3: Gender of Respondents (n=55)
Figure 3 shows that 39 (71%) of the respondents were male while 16 (29%) were female. The ratio of male to
female was almost 2:1. Using the chi-square test statistic, there was a significant difference in the gender of
the respondents at 5% level of significance since the p value was 0.002. This shows that male managers were
more than their female counterparts in the five star hotels in Nairobi County. This finding implies that for
every three managers in five star hotels in Nairobi, only one was female. The Kenyan constitutional
requirement of at least 30% representation of women in public and private positions appears to have been
achieved in the management of five star hotels in Nairobi. However, opportunities in the hospitality industry
tend to suit male workers than their female colleagues. The presence of more males than females in
managerial positions in five star hotels concurs with Holst (2010) who says that women tend to work at lower
hierarchical levels than men. This has been attributed to among other things age differences between women
and men in management positions thus making the catching-up process difficult for women. Also,
management positions are usually combined with long working hours that hardly allow the combination of
demands of work and family. This is mainly a problem for women and might also be a reason why the young,
well-educated generation of women is moving into these higher and better-paid jobs so slowly (Busch, 2011).
Additionally, Nickson (2007) says that better remunerated, higher position and more skilled jobs are filled by
men, pointing to undeveloped equivalent opportunity policies in the hospitality industry. Table 2 shows
gender distribution by departments of five star hotels in Nairobi County.
Table2: Gender Distribution in Departments (n=55)
Male
Department
Food and Beverage
Female
Frequency
Percent
Frequency
Percent
4
67
2
33
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Finance
5
83
1
17
Housekeeping
2
29
5
71
Front Office
3
50
3
50
Sales and
Marketing
3
38
5
63
Human Resources
3
43
4
57
Purchasing and
Supplies
6
75
2
25
Training
7
100
0
0
Total
39
71
16
29
The distribution of gender by departments shows that 4 (67%) of food and beverage department respondents
were men and 2 (33%) were women, 6 (75%) of the purchasing and supplies department respondents were
men and 2 (25%) were women, 5 (83%) of finance department respondents were men and 1 (17%) were
women, and 2 (29%) of housekeeping respondents were men and 5 (71%) were women. These results
indicate that in five star hotels in Nairobi County, substantially more men than women work in the food and
beverage department and in the finance department, but the gender differential is not significant in the front
office department (p=0.067) and human resources department (p=0.073). These findings are consistent with
Pinar (2009) who says that in the Turkish hospitality industry, there is an indication of a stronger inclination
towards a gender effect in certain departments. This means that there is a trend of some departments having a
dominance of a certain gender than other departments. Working in hotels is characterized by being on duty
during odd hours, working in split shifts and the societal dishonour of working in the hotels. As a result, this
discourages many females from joining the industry (Taylor, 2002).
The study further sought to establish if there was a relationship between performance using balanced
scorecard approach and gender of the managers. Pearson Correlation was used to establish this relationship
and the results obtained are tabulated in Table 3.
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Table 3: Relationship between Performance and Gender of Managers
Financial
Gender
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Customer
Internal
Processes
Learning and
Growth
-.056
.131
.829
.836
.633
.731
.563
.281
55
55
55
55
Table3 indicates that the null hypotheses that there is no relationship between performance of the hotels using
balanced scorecard approach and gender of the managers was accepted at 5% level of significance since the p
values (Finance = 0.633, Customer = 0.731, Internal Processes = 0.563, Learning and Growth = 0.281) are
not significant. This implies that there is no significant relationship between performance using balanced
scorecard approach and gender of the respondents. This indicates that performance of managers is relatively
similar irrespective of gender.
Experience of the Respondents
The research sought to establish the period the respondents had been in the positions held. The information is
presented in Table 4.
Table 4: Experience of Respondents (n=55)
Period
Frequency
Percent
0-2 years
28
51
6-10 years
14
25
3-5 years
8
15
Over 10 years
5
9
Total
55
100
Results in Table 4 show that 28 (51%) of the respondents had worked in their current positions for a
minimum of two years. Although the analysis gave an implication that most managers were relatively
260
experienced for positions held, it can also be argued that there was a high staff turnover because only 5 (9%)
of respondents had worked in their current positions for more than ten years. These results suggest that
managers used in the sample were conversant with the departmental operations and could, therefore, provide
the required information on performance measurement indicators. This concurs with Norris (2004) and
Rahman (2011) who say that the hospitality industry has by tradition had high staff turnover and it has been a
major challenge to retain highly skilled managers. Despite some of these being associated to the recurrent
nature of the industry, there are human resource practices and programs that employers can implement to
achieve greater success in retention of employees. Research studies on a global level have revealed that there
has been a rapid increase in management-level turnover in the hospitality industry. These include 29.5% in
the USA, 86% in Hong Kong, 57.6% in Japan and Singapore and 66% in Malaysia (Birdir, 2002; Ramley,
2008; Hemdi, 2006).
The study additionally sought to establish if there was a relationship between performance of hotels using
balanced scorecard approach and experience of the managers. Pearson Correlation was used to establish this
relationship and the results obtained are tabulated in the Table 5.
Table 5: Relationship between Performance and Experience of Managers
Financial
Experience
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Customer
Internal
Processes
Learning and
Growth
-.041
.103
.428**
.182
.769
.454
.001
.183
55
55
55
55
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Table 5 revealed that the null hypothesis that there is no relationships between performance using balanced
scorecard approach and experience of the managers in five star hotels in Nairobi was accepted at 5% level of
significance since the p values are not significant that is, Finance = 0.769, Customer = 0.454, Internal
Processes = 0.001, Learning and Growth = 0.183. However, there appears to be a significant weak positive
correlation between the performance of internal process indicator and experience of the managers at 1% level
of significance with a p value of 0.001. This suggests that as the experience of the managers increases,
managers are likely to exhibit improved performance in the internal processes in terms of improved guest
profile quality, inflow of new ideas from their staff and reduction in matters related to supervision. This
concurs withOkfalisa (2009) who says that the balanced scorecard improves co-ordination amongst all
personnel in the organization. It helps in everyone taking ownership either as an individual or as a group in
attaining organizational objectives.
It is, therefore, important for management in hospitality establishments to ensure that enough measures are
put in place to ensure labour retention which in turn enables its employees to be well-conversed and
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specialized with internal processes. This eventually leads to improved results in matters relating to guest
satisfaction. The retention of staff can be achieved through such ways as having better terms than
competitors, having transparent polices on promotions and being flexible on matters relating to cross training
in sister departments within the establishment.
The study also determined the regression model of the mean performance of various indicators on experience
of the managers. A linear regression model was used to establish this relationship and the results obtained are
tabulated in the Table 6.
Table.6: Regression Model Summary
Model
1
R
.321
R2
.103
Adjusted R2
.101
S.E of the estimate
1.001
The regression is not a good fit i.e. majority of the points are far from the best fit since the coefficient of
determination, R2=0.101 is small. For a best fit, R2 approaches a value of 1 (Black, 2008). The results show
that there exists a weak positive linear regression relationship (R=0.321) between the mean performance of
various indicators and experience of the managers as indicated in Table 4.6. This relationship indicates that
effective performance of the various indicators improves with increase in experience of the managers.
Professional Qualification of the Respondents
Information was also obtained about the professional qualification of the respondents. The results were
summarized in Figure2.
Figure 2: Professional Qualification of Respondents (n=55)
The findings as shown in Figure2 reveal that majority of the respondents 38 (69%) were degree holders. This
is followed by diploma and higher diploma levels of qualification accounting for 8 (15%) and 6 (11%)
respectively. Lastly, only 3 (5%) of the respondents had attained a post-graduate level of training. The
education level of managers is representative of the Kenyan hospitality industry considering that the
hospitality vocation is relatively young compared with other vocations. For instance, the Kenya Utalii
College, which started in 1975, has been for many years the only institution offering a 4-year diploma in
hotel management. However, in the recent past, particularly from 2002, several public and private
262
universities have started both undergraduate and post-graduate programs in hospitality management. The
influx of hospitality degree programme has led to an increase in the minimum requirements of most hotels
requiring that their managers possess a degree so as to be considered for a managerial position. As a result of
this, Kenya Utalii College has introduced degree programme to keep pace with it academic competitors.
The study further sought to establish if there was a relationship between performance using balanced
scorecard approach and professional qualification of the managers. Pearson Correlation co-efficient was used
to establish this relationship and the results obtained are tabulated in the Table 4.7.
Table 7: Relationship between Performance and Professional Qualification
Financial
Professional
Qualification
Customer
Internal
Processes
Learning and
Growth
Pearson
Correlation
.204
.115
.361
.699
Sig. (2-tailed)
.001
.022
.043
.038
55
55
55
55
N
Table 7 revealed that the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between performance using
balanced scorecard approach and professional qualification of the managers in five star hotels in Nairobi was
rejected at 5% level of significance since the p values were significant that is, Finance = 0.001, Customer =
0.022, Internal Processes = 0.043, Learning and Growth = 0.038. This implies that the performance using
balanced scorecard approach is directly influenced by the professional qualification of the managers. The
higher the professional qualification of the managers, the better the performance using the balanced scorecard
approach.
Age of Respondents (n=55)
The information obtained from the study revealed that 35 (63%) of the managers were aged between 30-39
years, 11(21%) were aged between 20-29 years, 6 (10%) were aged between 40-49 years and 3 (6%) were
aged at least 50 years.
The relationship between performance and age of the managers in summarized in Table 8.
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Table 8: Relationship between Performance and Age of Managers
Age of
managers
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Financial
.371
Customer
.613
Internal
Processes
.247
Learning and
Growth
.098
.020
.005
.001
.037
55
55
55
55
Table 8 shows that using the Pearson Correlation, the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship
between performance using balanced scorecard approach and age of the managers in five star hotels in
Nairobi was rejected at 5% level of significance since the p values were significant that is, Finance = 0.020,
Customer = 0.005, Internal Processes = 0.001, Learning and Growth = 0.037. There exists a significant
positive relationship between performance and age of the managers of five star hotels in Nairobi .This implies
that the higher the age of the managers the better the performance of the indicators. The results reveal that as
managers age and get on the job experience, their performance improves as well. It can however be argued
that hiring young managers is not cost effective for a hotel in the short term but as the managers gain
experience, their performance improves and as a result the hotel gains in the long run. It is therefore
important for a hotel to ensure it puts much emphasis on retention of its managers so as to reap from the
results of their experience.
Performance Measurement
The study sought to find out the information about performance measurement used by the five star hotels in
Nairobi County. The information received from the managers is presented as follows:
Vision and Mission Statements
All the hotels had vision and mission statements. These statements gave a summarized view of what the hotel
was all about and its aim in as far as provision of services was concerned. One mission statement included To
provide management and staff with an environment that enables us all to deliver a level of operating
standards, which will both exceed the level of our guests' expectations and result in satisfactory returns to
our stakeholders.Others had statements that created an impression of where the hotel was headed to and what
it wanted to achieve in relation to ownership, management and target markets. Additionally, other hotel
mission statements communicated how they would relate with their shareholders, what standards they wanted
to achieve and the impression they would like their guests to have about them. This implies that all the hotels
had a guide to measure its performance.
Vision statements state where the owners of a company foresee the business to be in outlying growth, values,
employees and giving back to the society. When used properly, vision and mission statements can be very
influential tools (Ebben, 2005).Virtanen (2009) states that having a vision and mission is a key requirement
for implementing a balanced scorecard.
Respondents’ Understanding of Performance Measurement
The study sought to find out the respondent’s understanding of the term performance measurement. The
results obtained from the study are presented in table 9.
264
Table 9: Definition of Performance Measurement
Respondents’ understanding of Performance
Measurement
Frequency
Percept
Regular appraisals.
48
88
Evaluating targets achieved at a given period of time.
7
12
Total
55
100
The results as presented in table 9 indicate that a majority of the respondents 48 (88%) understood the term
performance measurement to mean regular appraisals whilst the other 7 (12%) understood it as an assessment
of targets achieved over a period of time. This implies that respondents were conversant with what amounts
to measuring performance in the organisation. Although there were different descriptions of what
performance measurement was, the respondents generally had an understanding on what performance
measurement was all about. This is important for an organization in the long run as it ensures accountability,
assists in budgeting efforts and acts as a medium for improved operations.
The descriptions given by the respondents are consistent with the findings of Lichiello (2012) who describes
performance measurement as analysing the accomplishment of a work group or organization's efforts by
comparing information on what really happened to what was planned or projected. Appraisals on the other
hand, can be described as performance evaluations conducted on employees. This involves an assessment of
an employee’s performance, potential and development needs. Experience has shown that employees’
understanding of goals and procedures can be extremely efficient performance-driving, accountabilityenhancing tools (Metzenbaum, 2006; Ammons, 2007).
Managers opinion on their Staff’ Knowledge about Performance Measurement.
The opinion of the managers regarding their departmental staff knowledge about performance measurement
was also received. This is presented in figure 3.
Figure 3 Management opinion on their Staff’ Knowledge about Performance Measurement (n=55)
265
It emerged that 89% of the managers said that the staff in their department knew about performance
measurement. A minority (11%) however, were not aware about performance measurement. This is an
implication that an average of one in every ten staff was either unconcerned or ignorant about performance
measurement. This can adversely affect the efforts made by other staff that are aware of performance
measurement and as a result fail an otherwise good team of employees. There is, therefore, a need to
emphasize that for teams to work towards achieving common goals, it is important for all of them to
understand the implications of their actions to the organisation.
Communication of Performance Measurement
The study sought to find out how respondents communicated about performance measurement. The results
obtained from the study are presented in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Major Ways of Communicating Performance Measurement (n=55)
The knowledge about performance measurement was communicated to the staff through departmental
meetings accounting for 34 (61%), training 16 (30%) and briefing sessions 5 (9%). This shows that there was
generally a good flow of information between managers and the junior staff members on performance
measurement. This is an indication that employees were constantly kept informed about what was taking
place in their organisation through the different forms of communication. This result is consistent with that of
Bamporiki (2010) who says that internal communication between employees or departments across all levels
within an organization takes numerous forms including team briefing, interviewing, employee or works
councils, meetings, memos and newsletters. Organizations can avert the majority of performance problems by
ensuring that shared dialogue occurs between the manager and the employee, resulting in a comprehensive
understanding of what is required, when it is required and how the employee’s input measures up
(Sagepub.com, 2010).
Measurement of Performance
Respondents were asked to explain how they measured performance under the following indicators:
Financial, learning and growth, customer perspective and internal processes. Table 10 shows the results for
Finance indicator.
266
Table 10: Measurement of Financial Performance (n=55)
Indicators
Measure
Daily Budgets
Targets and forecasts
Profit and loss statements
Revenue per available room
(REVPAR)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Total
Frequency
Percent
18
15
9
8
33
27
16
16
5
55
9
100
Financial Perspective
The findings in Table 10 revealed that 18 (33%) of the respondents measured performance under financial
perspective through budgets. This implies that performance is measured against an already documented guide
which in the end will be used to ascertain whether the results achieved are favourable compared with what
was expected. Haberler (2006) states that a budget a tool of control meant to offer direction to departments.
It also acts as guide to analyse the business and assists in making a plan for the future. However, some studies
claim that the budget is a too rigid tool of measuring financial performance, difficult to handle and expensive
(Robin, 2003 ; Haberler, 2006).
Only 5 (9%) of the managers were of the opinion that their hotel measured performance under financial
perspective through return on investment. Return on investment shows the proficient use of assets invested
against returns achieved. It reflects the value of the organization’s business process improvement initiatives
(Westcott, 2008). Return on investment as a measure of determining financial performance may be of
minimal use by line managers but is of great importance to the business owners as it measures returns against
their investments. For instance, Revenue per available room (REVPAR) shows the average daily room
revenue taking into account the hotel’s total room capacity. This form of measuring performance is affected
by among others the season and competition.
The findings about the financial perspective concur with Agarwal and Mooraj (2003) whose results indicated
that the financial perspective investigates on how much the operating income and capital employed results in
reduction of costs and increase in sales. These findings are also consistent with Wöber (2010) who
emphasisizes that on financial matters, every investor expects a certain association between the investment in
assets and net profit, between net sales and net profit, between rooms available and rooms occupied. The
findings about measuring financial performance imply that all five star hotels in Nairobi County used
different methods but the end result was more or less the same. Wang (2012) further states that the financial
perspective basically contains the traditional financial measures that are related to profitability.
Use of daily budgets and targets appears to be easy and effective ways of measuring the financial perspective
on an everyday basis. By using daily budgets and targets, employees are constantly kept informed about
performance of their department and by so doing any corrective measures required are undertaken well in
advance. This ensures that at the end of the financial accounting period, results achieved will be a true
reflection of the input of every individual in the organisation.
267
This is the second perspective in the balanced scorecard and mainly relates to how customers or guests
perceive an organisation. The results obtained are presented in table 11
Table 11: Measurement of Customer Performance (n=55)
Indicators
Customer
Total
Measure
Customer satisfaction index
Guest feedback
Questionnaires
Frequency
26
13
16
55
Percent
47
24
29
100
The findings in Table 11 revealed that 26 (47%) of the respondents measure the customer perspective through
customer satisfaction index. Customer satisfaction indices emerged to be the preferred mode of measuring
performance in the customer perspective. It is the overall satisfaction rating for the services rendered by the
hotels. A customer satisfaction index is basically a result of a rating conducted after guests stay in a hotel.
This is usually administered by front office back staff, marketing, or the training and quality department.
Guests are contacted after departure or just before departure and asked to fill a checklist of service/guest
experience’s information. These are rated at a scale of 1-10. The total number of results from different guests
are tabulated and then weighted against the total number checks so as to arrive at the average index. This
finding concurs with Chakrapani (1996) who states that a majority of large corporations these days carry out
customer satisfaction studies. They also have emerged by far as the best means of occasionally assessing the
customer satisfaction (Bhave, 2002).
On the other hand, 16 (29%) of the respondents reportedly used questionnaires. Questionnaires are usually
found at guest contact areas and mainly come in form of tent cards. Information in the cards usually has
closed ended questions. The questions are mainly based on the guests experience during their stay in the
hotel. Ogle (2005) states that questionnaires are the oldest form in which hoteliers use to elicit guest
feedback. Response rates have however been dismal. Cochran (2001) attributes this deficiency to the general
unwillingness of guests to take part in surveys, their time constraints, and a notion that the aim of the
questionnaire is more about obtaining marketing information than measuring satisfaction. Schall (2003)
however states that unlike customer satisfaction indexes, hotel questionnaires target all hotel guests and
therefore represent the whole research population.
Also, 13 (24%) of the respondents reportedly used guest feedback. Guest feedback though similar to
questionnaires entails communication involving the hotel and their guests in the service delivery process
(Berwick, 2003). Guest feedback is obtained during informal meetings with guests during their stay. This is
mainly done by employees who have direct contact with the guests. These include front office staff, waiting
staff and butlers. Information solicited from the guest is similar to what is contained in the questionnaires.
Such information includes feedback on service quality, attitude of staff, quality of restaurants and meals,
quality of hotel supplies and facilities and suggestions for improvement.
Internal Process Perspective
This perspective involves activities or processes that contribute to the performance of the financial, customer,
learning and growth components in the balanced scorecard.
268
Table 12: Measurement of Internal Processes (n=55)
Indicators
Internal Process
Measure
Standard operating procedures (SOP’s)
Creating new ways of carrying out activities
(innovation)
Audit of processes
Total
Frequency
34
Percent
62
13
24
8
55
14
100
A significant majority representing 34 (62%) of the respondents were of the opinion that the hotels measured
performance under the internal business processes through standard operating procedures as shown in Table
4.12. These are written directions that document a scheduled or recurring activity followed by an organization
(UNEPA, 2007). The use of standard operating procedures is consistent with McGregor (2003) who states
that the internal business process perspective concentrates in excelling in long and short term measures that
will consistently enable it achieve both financial and customer perspective objectives.
On the other hand, 13 (24%) of the respondents measured the internal business process perspective through
innovation. Innovation is normally perceived as new products or services. It can be described as the process
of coming up with new ideas that impact on the bottom-line of specific departments. Innovation may also
permit changes in managing, business model, promotion, organizational structure, processes, or supply chain
(Hamel, 2006).Innovation in the hotel industry is of great value, as it is in any other service linked industry.
Increased competition calls for hospitality establishments to continually innovate in an endeavor to compete
with new destinations, new enterprises and new services and increase guest loyalty and spending (Chalkiti,
2007).
Auditing of processes which represents 8 (14%) of the respondents involve bringing out the best out of every
measure or policy. This will involve maintenance of standards and innovativeness.
This is the last perspective in the balanced scorecard and mainly dwells on human resources. The measures
used in by respondents to determine effectiveness of this perspective are presented in Table 13.
Table 13: Measurement of the Learning and Growth (n = 55)
Indicators
Learning and
Growth
Measure
Developing career succession
Performance development review (PDR)
Contribution to the society (CSR)
Training courses
Frequency
36
6
Percent
66
11
5
4
4
9
7
7
55
100
Facilitating retention of work force
Total
269
Table 13 indicates that 40 (73%) of the respondents measured performance under learning and growth
perspective through development of career succession and employee training. According to Bolívar (2010),
continuous employee training is important for the learning and growth perspective. This practice must be
supported both theoretically and in empirically practice to facilitate the workforce to attain the most excellent
achievable training to carry out their job. Additionally, training serves as an instrument for employees’
professional improvement and, hence, is connected with systems of employee promotion. In this regard,
continuous employee-training programmes play a role with the processes of internal promotion and
organizational career development.
Another 6 (11%) of the respondents measured performance through performance development reviews.
Performance development reviews according to respondents usually take the form of yearly appraisals where
matters relating to performance are discussed. The findings are consistent with those of Ryerson (2012) who
asserts that performance development reviews are designed to assist managers and their staff in
communicating about performance. Constant use of reviews ensures that employees know what is expected
of them, how they are performing and what can be done to support performance.
Result of Performance Measurement Indicators
The results of the performance measurement indicators using the balanced scorecard approach are discussed
in this section under the following sub topics:
Finance Perspective
Respondents were asked to give results of financial indicators after application of the balanced scorecard.
Results obtained are presented inTable 14 and Figure 5.
Table 14: Measurement of Financial Perspective
Measurement year
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
Target (%)
100
100
100
100
100
Mean Achieved (%)
91
86
83
78
70
270
Figure 5: Results in the Financial Perspective Indicator (n=55)
Table 14 indicates that using the balanced scorecard approach, the mean achieved target performance
increased from 2007 to 2011, with the highest target being 91% in the year 2011. This is as a result of
improved gross operating profit per employee as reported by 34 (62%) of the managers in Figure 4.5.
Another 13 (24%) reported reduction of costs, while 6 (11%) observed reduction for debtor days. Results also
indicated that, a minority 2 (3%) of the respondents of the opinion that the hotel realized accurate statistics in
the financial perspective through use of the balanced scorecard. Results obtained from the respondents imply
that well defined forms of communicating about measurement of financial performance in the hospitality
industry lead to significant results that eventually improve the financial bottom line of the organization. The
results obtained are an implication that constant use of the balanced scorecard to measure financial
performance has positive yields in as far the bottom line of an organisation is concerned.
Table 15: ANOVA for Financial Indicator
Finance
Sum of
Squares
df
Mean
Square
F
Sig.
Between Years
3817.977
2
1908.989
8.595
.000
Within Years
28874.549
130
222.112
Total
32692.526
132
From Table 15, the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the mean performance of financial
indicator in the successive years was rejected at 5% level of significance since p=0.000 implied significance.
There appears to be a significant difference in the mean performance of the financial indicator. This is an
implication that as years advanced and the balanced scorecard was used to measure performance. There was
continued improvement in the mean performance of the financial indicators.
271
The study also sought to determine the results of performance using the balanced scorecard approach under
customer perspective indicator. The mean achieved targets were summarized in Table 16 and Figure 6.
Table 16: Measurement of Customer Perspective
Measurement year
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
Target (%)
100
100
100
100
100
Mean Achieved (%)
93
78
73
68
65
Figure 6: Results in the Customer Perspective Indicator (n=55)
Table 16 indicates that using the balanced scorecard approach, the mean achieved target performance
increased from 2007 to 2011, with the highest target being 93% in the year 2011. This is as a result of
accurate analysis of guest preferences as mentioned by 29 (53%) of the managers (Figure 4.6). Another 20
(36%) realized increased trip advisor reviews, while 6 (11%) observed improved customer satisfaction. One
such positive comment indicated that the hotel was great, service exceptional, excellent bar, pool and rooms
well maintained and appointed. Using Kruskal Wallis test statistic, the null hypothesis that there was no
significant difference in the mean achieved targets of performance based on the customer perspective
indicator in the successive years was accepted at 5% level of significance since p = 0.398 implying no
significance. The results obtained are a reflection of how continued concern about the guests comfort and
offering the best possible service to guests leads to better customer satisfaction, more positive reviews which
in turn leads to a greater market share , and an even better understanding of our guests through knowing their
preferences. This finding concurs with Quitano (2010) who says that effectiveness in the customer
perspective in the hospitality industry will lead to an increase in market share, repeat business, guest
satisfaction, customer profitability and brand awareness.
Internal Process Perspective
The respondents were asked to give the results of measuring the internal processes perspective using the
balanced scorecard. The results obtained are summarized in Table 17 and Figure 7.
272
Table 17: Measurement of Internal Processes
Measurement year
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
Target (%)
100
100
100
100
100
Mean Achieved (%)
89
83
70
67
65
Figure 7: Results in Internal Processes Indicators (n=55)
Table 17 shows that using the balanced scorecard approach, the mean achieved target performance increased
from 2007 to 2011, with the highest target being 89% in the year 2011. Figure 7 shows that an improvement
in the achieved targets is due to an improved guest profile quality as reported by 40 (73%) of the managers.
Another 11 (20%) of the managers observed an inflow of new ideas from their staff. Such ideas included use
of minimal electric light during daytime and recycling of various forms of stationery. Only 4 (7%)
experienced a reduction in matters related to supervision. The information given by the respondents implies
that with consistent monitoring of activities through use of tools such as standard operating procedures within
departments in the hotel, the outcome is more accurate guest profiles which in turn lead to minimal
supervision. Using the balanced scorecard as a tool to measure performance also promotes the urge for staff
to come up with new ideas that will improve operations within the hotel. Such ideas, if well researched and
implemented, lead to reduction in costs consequently leading to improved financial results.
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to compare the mean performance of the internal processes
perspective indicator. The results obtained are summarized in Table 18
273
Table 18: ANOVA for Internal Processes
Internal
Process
Sum of Squares
df
Mean
Square
F
Sig.
Between Years
1404.779
2
702.390
13.281
.000
Within Years
3966.400
75
52.885
Total
5371.179
77
Table 18 revealed that the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the mean performance of
internal processes in the successive years was rejected at 5% level of significance since p=0.000 implying
significance. There appears to be a significant improvement in the mean performance of the internal process
indicator. This is an implication that use of the balanced scorecard during the years indicated led to improved
results in the internal business process perspective. According to Chen-Yuan Chen (2010), when the quality
of the operational processes and dependability of the delivery process are measured, managers are able to
know how well their business is running. They are also able to know whether the mission is being achieved in
as far as products and services are conforming to customer expectations.
The study sought to examine the results of performance using the balanced scorecard approach under learning
and growth perspective. The information obtained from the study is presented in Table 19 and Figure 8.
Table 19: Measurement of the Learning and Growth Perspective
Measurement year
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
Target (%)
100
100
100
100
100
Mean Achieved (%)
94
89
83
78
77
274
Figure 8: Results in Learning and Growth Indicator (n=55)
Table 19 established that using the balanced scorecard approach, the mean achieved target performance
increased from 2007 to 2011, with the highest target being 94% in the year 2011. Performance improved due
to increased training hours per each employee as mentioned by 37 (67%) of the managers in figure 8. Another
9 (17%) reported the presence of an employee of the month programme, while 5 (9%) of the managers
reported no industrial unrest. Only four (7%) of the respondents experienced an enhanced relationship
between management and other employees. The results obtained from the respondents imply that when a
balanced scorecard is used to measure the effectiveness of human resources, then the outcome is more time
being dedicated to training which results in more knowledgeable employees who carry out their duties as
required. This in turn leads to happier guests as they are accorded better service and in return they spend
more and are eager to return to the same hotels again thereby bringing in more income for the hotels. This
shows how interrelated the perspectives of the balanced scorecard are to each other. On the same note,
employees appreciate the importance of being singled out for good service through recognition in the
employee of the month programme. This motivates staff to pay more attention to their work and yearn to
perform best so as to be recognized.
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to compare the mean performance of the learning and growth
perspective indicator. The results obtained are summarized in Table 20.
275
Table 20: ANOVA for Learning and Growth
Learning
and Growth
Sum of
Squares
df
Mean
Square
F
Sig.
Between years
1066.169
2
533.084
4.401
.014
Within years
14534.514
120
121.121
Total
15600.683
122
The information in Table 20 shows that the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the mean
performance of learning and growth indicator in the successive years was rejected at 5% level of significance
since p=0.014 implying significance. There appears to be a significant difference in the mean performance of
the learning and growth indicator. This is an implication that through use of a balanced scorecard,
performance of the learning and growth perspective in the five star hotels improved over the years.
Knowledge of the Balanced Scorecard
The respondents were asked to state if they were aware of the balanced scorecard as a method of measuring
performance, whether they used it and if they did, how often. Varied responses were obtained and results are
tabulated in Table 21.
Table 21: Knowledge of the Balanced Scorecard
Awareness in n and %
Use in n and %
How often in n and %
Yes
No
Yes
No
<6 months
1-2 years
49 (89%)
6 (11%)
34 (62%)
21 (38%)
31 (56%)
24 (44%)
The study established that even though majority 49 (89%) of the 55 respondents were aware of the balanced
scorecard as a method of measuring performance, only 34 (62%) used it to evaluate performance and in
additional to this , only 31 (56%) used it at least on a quarterly basis as shown in Table 4.21. This is an
implication that whilst the balanced scorecard is known to a majority of the respondents, a smaller proportion
applies it and an even smaller group of respondents use it frequently.
A Chi-square test was performed to determine if there was a significant difference on the knowledge of the
balanced scorecard. The information obtained is as shown in Table 22.
Table 22: Chi-square Test Statistics on Knowledge about the BSC
Chi-Square
Df
Asymp. Sig.
Knowledge about the balanced scorecard
33.618
1
.000
276
The findings in Table 22 revealed that using the Chi-square test statistic, the null hypothesis that there was is
no significant difference on awareness of the balanced scorecard as a method of measuring performance was
rejected at 5% level of significance since the p value is 0.000 implying significance. There was a significance
difference on awareness of the balanced scorecard as a method of measuring performance. This is can be
attributed to the fact that the use of the balanced scorecard as a method of measuring performance has not
been fully implemented in many organizations.
In 1997, Kurtzman found that 64% of the companies questioned were measuring performance from a number
of perspectives in a similar way to the balanced scorecard. Balanced scorecards have been implemented by
government agencies, military units, business units and corporations as a whole, non-profit organizations, and
schools (Kurtzman, 1997).
Application of Balanced Scorecard
Information about further application of the balanced scorecard in terms of preparation and use was also
received from the study. This information is indicated in Table 23
Table 23: Preparation and Review of the Balanced Scorecard
Preparation of BSC in n and %
Superior
Self
Both Self and
Superior
39 (70%)
7 (13%)
9 (17%)
Review of BSC in n and %
Monthly
Quarterly
17 (30%)
27 (50%)
Semiannually
11(20%)
The findings in Table 24 revealed that majority of the balanced scorecards are prepared by senior managers.
This is confirmed by 39 (70%) of the managers who said that the balanced scorecards were prepared by their
superior who are the senior managers. On enquiring about how long the balanced scorecards were reviewed,
27 (50%) of the managers said that the balanced scorecards were reviewed quarterly. The scenario might be
attributed to the process of developing a balance scorecard that begins with senior management translating
their organizational strategies into specific strategic objectives. This implies that the process of constructing
balanced scorecards in five star hotels is mainly influenced by senior management and therefore, junior
employees are left with very little room for influencing the parameters to be used in the balanced scorecard.
Use of the scorecard on a monthly and quarterly basis concurs with Virtanen (2009) who indicates that the
benefits from the balanced scorecard are realized when the balanced scorecard is used in daily operations.
This enables mangers in the organization to have an understanding concerning the vision and strategy.
CONCLUSION
The study established that the five star hotels appeared well organised in addressing performance problems
through shared dialogue between the manager and the employees. Performance hiccups were addressed in
time and this may have led to better results. Performance of the various balanced scorecard indicators
improved as the professional qualification and age of managers advanced. More professionally qualified
managers exhibited improved performance in terms of improved guest profile quality, inflow of newideas
from their staff and reduction in matters related to supervision. Older managers also proved to yield better
results in the hotels sampled.
The use of the balanced scorecard resulted in minimal supervision of staff by managers in five star hotels and
as a result, managers were able to have bigger span of control in their work stations. This is because staffs
working for them were well-informed about their expectations and this enabled managers to have ample time
to sort out other issues in their departments.
277
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THE COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF THE OJUDE-OBA AND THE OSUN OSOGBO
FESTIVALS IN SOUTH WEST NIGERIA.
OluwafemiOlubukola
Yaba College of Technology
Department of Leisure and Tourism
Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria
and
Anyafulu Latifat
Yaba College of Technology
Departmentof Hospitality
Management
Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
The research evaluates and compares the social-economic impact of Osun Osogbo and Ojude-Oba Festivals
on the lives of the host communities. The data gathered from the questionnaire were analysed using SPSS
version 16.0 for all frequency distribution and percentages in order to provide more accurate information on
the study. The festival has won the support of some multinational companies like MTN, Globacom, UAC
amongst others leading to host community development. Also these festivals are symbolic to the indigenes of
the community because they exhibit their rich cultural heritage, these festivals are definitely good tourism
products as they always bring about socio-economic development such as international peace and the boom
in foreign exchange earnings which is as a result of people flying into the country from all over the world.
Findings revealed that 100% of the respondents strongly agree that the Osun Osogbo festival is recognised by
people all over the world and as such has brought about appreciation of local customs and culture, 82% and
92% of the respondents agree that administrators of these states use the festivals Osun Osogbo and OjudeOba respectively to address issues that will lead to the development of the state. Based on these findings it
was recommended that continuous infrastructural maintenance and upgrades be made to accommodate the
ever increasing number of tourists. It was also recommended that records of festival impacts be documented
by the states to enable further studies to be carried out.
Keywords: Tourism, socio-economic, impact, host community, culture, festivals.
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INTRODUCTION
Tourism is a broad and complex concept and as such easier to describe than define, however some scholars
have been able to provide definition to the term “tourism”.Obayi (2000) sees tourism as the business of
satisfying the most diverse aspirations, which invites man to move out of his routine environment and may
include purposes of intellectual, religious, cultural or business exploration with relaxation as its principal
purpose, this was in line with Ayodele's (n.d) submission that tourism is an activity that voluntarily and
temporarily takes a person away from his usual place of residence in order to satisfy a need of pleasure,
excitement, experience and / or relaxation. World tourism organisation define tourism as the activities of
person traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive
year for leisure, business and other purposes.This definition corroborates tourism definition as given by
Okpoko and Okpoko(2002) who define tourism as any temporary movement of people, either individually or
in groups from one place to another for specific tourism purposes. They stressed further that before a traveler
could be regarded as a tourist, he or she must consumetourism productssuch as tourist sites,festivals,
accommodation, transport services etc. Tourism is a widely acknowledged global activity resulting in the
accrual of millions of dollars for several economies of the world including Kenya, South Africa, Malaysia,
Nigeria etc because it is an expenditure driven phenomenon, not a receipt driven one, it was in line with this
that Anyafulu, Okunlola and Anyafulu (2013) submitted that tourism is recognised by many countries of the
world as a tool for economic development. The tourism sector is one concerned with providing services for
tourists or visitors and catering for them while on tour.
THE CULTURE OF NIGERIA
Nigeria is a country with a large expanse of land, populated by about 140 million and over 250 ethnic groups.
Each ethnic group despite being endowed with unique cultural heritage, i.e different dressing, arts and crafts,
occupational heritage and customsstill exist as a single nation and through these ethnic groups comes a
plethora of festivals which are unique in themselves.
In the past, most festivalsin Nigeria were used to pay obeisance or homage to dieties for fertility, economic
prosperity, health, favourable weather condition, bountiful harvests etc. all these were good enough reasons
for the communities to celebrate. However, recently, these festival have become means of forging unity
amongst the people and promoting the spirit of oneness in the community, also these festivals have become
more interesting because of the diversity and because they are avenues for ethnic groups to showcase their
culture in order to prevent their cultural identity from obliteration.
To do this, each ethnic group stages its festival at a particular period of the year as directed by their cultural
rites and other peculiar reasons. The time frame avails local and international tourists the opportunity to go on
excursions round the country and capture the rich and entertaining festivals that take place at different times
and parts of the country.
AN OVERVIEW OF TOURISM IN NIGERIA
Tourism is one of the growing sectors of the Nigerian economy. The sector was accorded priority in 1990
when the nationalpolicy was launched and the main objectives of this policy on tourism were to generate
foreign exchange earnings, create employment and wealth, and promote rural enterprises and national
integration amongst others.As a follow up to the policy launch in 1990, the country’s vision 2010 set the year
2020 as the nation’s year of tourism when Nigeria would become the ultimate tourism destination in
Africa.However, currently Nigeria is still struggling to meet up 2020's vision of becoming the ultimate
tourism destination in Africa despite its great tourism endowments and potentials. Nigeria today offers a wide
variety of tourist attractions such as extended rivers, beaches, wild life, unspoiled nature ranging from
tropical rain forests, magnificent water falls, traditional way of life preserved in local customs, arts and crafts
and according Oluwafemi, Anyafulu and Koya (2013), these attractionscan be grouped into natural
attractions, game and reserves, historic monuments and cultural festivals.However, many of these attractions
are still largely untapped because of the nation's mono economic dependency on crude oil, lack of required
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modern infrastructure, acute conditions of under development in some parts of the country, lack of adequate
investment in the tourism sector amongst other reasons. All these constitute impediments to sustainable
tourism development in the local communities and the nation as a whole.
CULTURAL TOURISM
Culture and tourism have a beneficial relationship which can strengthen the attractiveness and
competitiveness of regions and countries. Culture is increasingly an important element of tourism product,
which also creates distinctiveness in a crowded global market place. At the same time, tourism provides an
important means of enhancing culture and creating income which can support and strengthen cultural
heritage. Cultural tourism involves having experience and in some cases participating in a lifestyle that lies
within human memory (Afolabi, 2012). Cultural tourism is described as people's movements particularly
forcultural motivations which include study tours, performing arts., cultural tours, travels to festivals, visits to
historic sites and monuments (WTO - World Tourism Organisation, 1985). Festivals are therefore classified
as a type of cultural tourism.There are copious evidences in literature on the benefits of cultural tourism such
as festivals to host communities as it is a source of new employment opportunities (Esu and Arrey2009).
They further submitted that festivals encourages the development of a kind of infrastructure which is visitor
friendly and sustainable as well asenhancing residents learning, awareness and appreciation of community
pride, ethnic identity, tolerance of others and brings about the opening of small sized tourismbusinesses. It is
also believed that cultural events like festivals foster cross-cultural communication that can promote
understanding between the hosts and the guests Sdrali and Chaz (2007).
Cultural festival is a periodically recurrent social occasion in which through a multiplicity of forms and series
of coordinated events are participated in directly or indirectly and to various degree by all members of a
whole community, united by ethnic, linguistic, religious, historical bonds and sharing a world view. These
different communities have values and expectations for staging various festivals.
BRIEF HISTORY OF OGUN STATE
Brief History of Ogun State: In February 1976, the territory now called Ogun State was carved out of the
old Western state by the then military administration of General MurtalaMuhammed and General
OlusegunObasanjo. The new state was made up of the former Abeokuta and Ijebu provinces of the former
Western state, which itself came into being when it was carved out of the former western region in
1967.Ogun State otherwise known as the Gateway State for reasons of its pioneering role in education,
medicine and law on one hand and its strategic position as the link by road and rail to the other locations in
the country and other west African countries. Apart from Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun State, there are
also other major towns and communities like Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode etc
LOCATION AND SIZE OF OGUN STATE
Ogunstate is entirely in the tropics. It is located in the south west zone of Nigeria with a total land area of
16,409.26km2. It is bounded in the west by the Republic of Benin, on the South byLagos State and the
Atlantic Ocean, on the East by Ondo State and on the North by Oyo andOsun States.
ETHNIC GROUP AND TRADITION
Ogun State indigenes belong to the Yoruba ethnic group, comprising mainly of the Egbas, the Yewas, the
Aworis, the Eguns, the Ijebus and the Remos. The people are hospitable and accommodating, hence
Nigerians from other parts of the country live peacefully among them. The indigenes speak various dialects
of the Yoruba language and they all share a common lifestyle, including culture, traditions and customs
CULTURAL FESTIVALS IN OGUN STATE
Ogun state is one with variety of festivals such as Agemo, Lisabi, Ogun, Igunnuko, Orisa-OkeEgungun,
Obirin-Ojowu, Gelede, Oro, Ojude-Oba, Sango festivals amongstothers. However, in ogun state
particularlyin ijebu land two festivals are the most notable. These festival are ojude-oba and Agemo festivals.
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AGEMO FESTIVAL: Agemo is a mat masqueradewhich signifies the unity of the Ijebus. There are 16
Agemos in various parts of Ijebu-ode before moving to a town called Imodi-mosan, where the Agemo festival
takes place. Women are forbidden from seeing the Agemo on their way to the place where it would be staged.
OJUDE-OBA FESTIVAL:According to Adedoyin, Kehinde, Sodunke (2011), Ojude-oba is staged inIjebuOde andit takes place two days after the Muslim Eid-El-kabir festival.Ijebu ode is a local government area
and city located in the located in the south west of Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located
within 110 km by road North-east of Lagos and possesses a warm tropical climate. It is the second largest
city in Ogunstate after Abeokuta. It is the largest city inhabited by the Ijebus, a sub-group of the Yoruba
ethnic group who speak the Ijebu dialect. It is historically and culturally the headquarters of Ijebu-Land.The
ruler of Ijebu Kingdom, known as Awujale of Ijebu land resides in Ijebu-ode which is also afarming region
where yam, cassava, tobacco and cotton are grown.
OJUDE-OBA FESTIVAL
The festival known as the ojude-oba is held in ijebu-ode every year, usually on the second day of Eid-Elkabir or Ileya as the Yoruba people call it. All Ijebu people are expected to come home for the festival, kill a
ram even if they are notmoslems and attend the Ojude-Oba to dance with their age groups (Regberegbe)
before the Awujale, the king of Ijebu land. According to Sote (2003), Ijebu people are noted for their love
forflamboyant display and this festival allows the various groups to show off their wealth and prosperity.
Historically, the festival started with an Islamic cleric, along side members of his members of his family
paying a courtesy call on the Awujale as a way of showing appreciation to the traditional ruler for allowing
Islam to grow peacefully in Ijebu-Ode. The festival which has survived for almost a century has emerged as a
dominant cultural festival anticipated by the people.Corporate organizations too have added values to the
celebration with their different promotional strategies tuned at putting their brands at a vantage position.
Hugh (2006) and Quadri (2007)submitted that the festival had grown in importance and scope and has
emerged as a melting point of culture, glitz, fashion and panache,adding that it has afforded the Ijebu people,
home and abroad the opportunity to contribute to the development of the land
FEATURES OF OJUDE-OBA FESTIVAL
Early on the day of the festival,in anticipation of the commencement of the festival which usually starts by
10.00am.indigenes both home and abroad, invited guests, spectators etc, start trooping into the arena causing
heavy traffic obstructions which is one of the challenges associated with this festival nevertheless, this
festival has emerged a rallying point for not only the sons and daughters of ijebu land but to non-natives alike
as they converge in the ancient city to rejoice and felicitate with the most powerful king in Ijebuland, Oba
SikiruAdetona, the Awujale of Ijebu land.Elegant dance steps, different shades and colours of fabrics, elegant
horse riders, clothing accessories, colorful canopies etc are the order of the day during Ojude-Oba Festival
and according to Lasisi (2007), at the Ojude-Obafestival, even a chameleon would get buried in the maze of
colours on display.
From Exotic Lace fabrics to assorted shoes and bags and other fashion accessories, the venue of the
celebration is always sparked with a display of colours, also the traditional Etu,Aso-Oke also comes alive. It
is usually a mixture of the ancient and modern as the celebration is usually display of tradition and culture
wrapped in modernisation. A 5,000 capacity pavilion which looks like a modern sports arena is now the new
venue of the fiesta. In this pavilion guest are comfortably seated and a lawn separates the king and his guests
from the crowd. The age grades also called regberegbe which are 8 in number also have their allocated space
to sit while guest are also comfortable accommodated.
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SOCIAL IMPACT OF OJUDE-OBA FESTIVAL
The development of tourism in any given area cannot be discussed in isolation without mention of the impact.
This refers to the effect the festival has on various people particularly indigenes of the host community which
happens as a result of participating in the activities relating to the festival. The impact of this festival could be
negative or positive and the social impact of ojude-oba festival cannot be over–emphasised because it is of
high significance in many respects:
 It teaches the Ijebu people about tolerance and encourages international peace, good will and fosters
unity.
 It promotes the rich cultural heritage of this country and portrays the nation in a good light to tourists and
other foreigners.
 It also portrays the fact that the Ijebu people are religiously tolerant. This is because Muslims and
Christians and even traditional worshippers also participate in the festival other factors, such as dressing,
language, food, music, the mode of greeting, and family reunion of the ijebu people are also promoted
and showcased.
ECONOMICAL IMPACT OF OJUDE OBA
The festival which has survived for almost a century has emerged as a dominant cultural festival anticipated
by the public and corporate organizations too, Prominent among these organisations is the
Globacomcompany, this telecomgiant has made it a target to elevate the Ojude-Oba festival to an enviable
cultural fiesta capable of attracting investments in tourism in Ijebu land. Globacom donated a block of fully
equipped classrooms to Ijebu Muslim school in 2012. Other corporate organisations contributing to the
success of this festivalinclude the First City Monumental Bank (FCMB), Nigeria Breweries, UAC amongst
others. Many of the residents of the host community, Ijebu-Ode also benefit from the festival as business
owners and artisans. Below are businesses that benefit from the Ojude-Oba festival:
TRANSPORTERS
It has been noted that during this festival transporters make a lot of money. All the means of transportation
including air planes, taxis and buses from all over Nigeria make a lot of money during this festival. This is
because indigenes and non-indigenes, home and abroad come for the festival and they need to be conveyed
to the venue of the festival.
CATERERS
The People of Ijebuland are regarded as social beings and as such they invite lots of guests to celebrate the
festival with them. For this reason, they require the service of caterers to prepare an array of dishes for their
guestto give the festival a touch of class and the caterers are usually well paid for it. As the age groups tend
to compete with one another during this festival by trying to outdo each others efforts in so many areas.
HOTELS
The days prior to the staging of the festival and days after are usually peak periods for hotels and other
tourism lodgings in Ijebu-ode and its immediate environs.Foreigners/ Tourists who enjoy watching the
festival every year fly in from all over the world and they lodge in hotels. Nigerians who also want to
participate or experience the festival also fly in or board buses to be at the venue and they also lodge in
hotels. Nigerians abroad also fly into the country and lodge in the hotels. The hotels in Ijebu-ode and its
environs benefit immensely from lodgingsduring thisperiod.
BUREAU DE CHANGE
This business also benefit by getting lots of customers e.g. foreigners who want to change the currency used
in their countries to naira for the various expenses they make.
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FAST FOOD OUTLETS
These people provide food and drink for people who are willing to patronise them before, during, and after
the festival. They also experience a large turnover during this period.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Various artisans also make different souvenirs like local mats, sculptures, beads etc and they sell them to
tourists who want to take something of value back to their countries as a reminder of the good times they
had in the community.
PETTY TRADERS
Petty traders in Ijebu-ode experience a lift in sales during the time of the festival, this is largely because of
the influx of tourists and other festival participants
PHOTOGRAPHERS/CAMERA MEN
This group of professionals also benefit from the Ojude-Oba festival because they provide photos and videos
of the event for interested people and the media.
BRIEF HISTORY OF OSUN STATE
Osun state was created following series of pressure mounted on the federal military government over a long
period of time by the founding fathers, most of whom are traditional rulers and community leaders. The state
came into existence on the 27th of August, 1991, the state was carved out of the old Oyo State by General
Ibrahim Babangida’s administration. Like Ogun State, it is one of the 36 states in Nigeria. Osun state
popularly regarded as the state of the living spring has a considerable number of highly urbanised
settlements. Some of the major towns are Osogbo, Ile-Ife, Ilesa, Ikirun, Iwo, Ede, Ila-orangun and Ikire etc.
The name of the state is derived from the river Osun the venerated natural spring hence the state's nickname
"the state of the living spring".
LOCATION
Osun state covers and area of 8,700km2 it is boundried in the North by Kwara State in the East partly by
Ekiti state and partly by Ondo state in the South by ogun state in the west by oyo state.
ETHNIC GROUPS
The main ethnic group in Osun State is the Yoruba people and Yoruba is the only indigenous language
spoken in the state. The major sub-ethnic group in osun state are Ife, Ijesha, Oyo, Ibolo and Igbomina of the
Yoruba people although there are also people from other parts of Nigeria living in the state. Yoruba and
English are the official languages.
RELIGION
Christianity and Islamic religion are the two major religions in Osun state although there are people who are
still practising the traditional religion. Osun state is home to many Christian and Muslim leaders who are
well known in the country. Examples include the Londonbased muslim cleric Sheikh Doctor AbuAbdullahiAdelabu and Pastor Enoch Adeboye who is the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian church
of God.
THE PEOPLE AND THEIR CULTURE
The state is blessed with highly literate and articulate populace who constitute a virile and productive work
force, traditionally the people engage in agriculture and they produce enough produce for both subsistence
and commercial farming. Other occupations of the people are mat-making, dyeing, soap making, wood
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carving amongst many others. The people have a rich cultural heritage which is eloquently demonstrated in
all spheres of their lives. Their culture is deeply expressed by their arts, literature, music and other social
activities.Touristattractions abound in the state, some of the popular ones are the staff of Oranmiyan, ife
Museum, ObafemiAwolowo University zoological gardens, Ile-Ase, Erin Ijesha Waterfalls, Yeyemolu
shrine,Oduduwa shrines and Osun Osogboshrine which is the venue of the internationally
recognisedOsunOsogbo festival. The state government accords great importance to tourism in the state and a
lot is being done to develop and sustain tourism in the state.
CULTURAL FESTIVALS IN OSUN STATE
Osun Osogbo festival is the most important festival in Osun State. Recently it has become a world class
festival. Despite the growth of Christianity and Islam and their influences which has led to the decline of
traditional religions all over Nigeria. The people of Osogbo still cherish their age-old cultures and traditions.
The crowd pulling festival shows that the people of osogbohave preserved their cultural identity. Other
traditional festival includeEgungun festival,Ifa festival,Sango festival, Oya festival etc.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TOWN WHERE OSUN OSOGBO FESTIVAL IS BEING HELD
(OSOGBO)
Osogbo which is know as the capital of Osun State according to Icomos (2005) is believedto have been
founded about 400 years ago. The early history of the Osogbo people is founded on mythical and spiritual
beliefs, along the lines of the traditions of the Yoruba people.The osun river goddess is credited with the
founding and the establishment of Osogbo town, some accounts describe her as Oso-igbo, the queen and the
original founder of Osogbo town. Thus, the Osun Osogbo festival, which has been celebrated for many
centuries, was built around a relationship between the river goddess, Osun and the first monarch of Osogbo
Kingdom, Oba GbadewoluLarooye. It is believed that many centuries ago, hunters from a nearby village
called IpoleOmu namedLarooye and Latimehin and their subject migrated in search of water. They finally
settled at a place very near the Osun river in present day Osogbo. Later.Laraoye become the first Ataoja
(king) of Osogbo as one of the initial builders of the settlement. According to history these men and their
subjects knew nothing about the administration of the goddess of the osun river. As time passed by the new
community started tilling the ground for readiness for a planting season, when a tree fell into the river and
according to legend a mysterious voice was heard from the river Osun saying in the Yoruba dialect
“Larooye,LatimehingbogboIkokoaro mi letifo tan” meaning Larooye and Latimehin, you have destroyed all
my dyeing pots,Haven heard this mysterious voice they were afraid as they could notunderstand how the
mysterious voice knew their names.They later pacified the river goddess by saying in yoruba dialect "OsoIgbo pele, Oso-Igbo rora" meaning the gate keeper of the forest we are sorry, the gate keeper of the forest
accept our apology.Icomos (2005) submitted that the dense forest regarded as the abode of Osun, the goddess
of fertility and waters of life was recognised by UNESCO in 2005 as a world heritage site.
HISTORY OF OSUN (THE FERTILITY DEITY)
OsunSEGESE in the Yoruba traditionalreligion is an orisa (a deity) who reigns over love, intimacy, beauty,
fertility, wealth and diplomacy. She is worshipped also in Cuba and Brazil with the name spelled Oxum in
the latter. As the Yoruba myth depicts Osun is beneficiently generous and very kind, she does however have
a horrific temper, one she seldom loses because when she loses her temper, it is believed to cause untold
destruction. According to Odugbose (2013), historyforetold that Osun,a female human had gone to a drum
festival one day where she fell in love and married the king-dancer Sango (the god of lightening and thunder),
Sango was married to three wives Oba, Oya, and Osun, though Osun is said to be considered as his principal
wife.
ABODE OF THE OSUN DIETY
The dense forest of the Osun sacred groove on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo is traditionally believed to
be the abode of the goddess Osun, one of the pantheon of the yoruba gods. The landscape of the groove and
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its meandering river is dotted with shrines and sanctuaries, sculptures and artwork in honour of Osun and
other dieties. The new art works installed by the late Austrian born Osun priestess, Susanne Wenger
rechristened as AdunniOlorisha by the other indigenous priests and priestesses differentiates Osun shrine
from others. The groove is an active religious site where daily, weekly and monthly worship takes place. In
addition, an annual processional festival to re-establish and appreciate the mystic bond between the Osun
goddess and the people of the town occurs every year over the period of twelve days in august (Probst, 2011).
IMPORTANCE OF OSUN SEGESE IN YORUBA CULTURE
According to Yoruba elders, Osun is the "unseen mother present at every gathering" because Osun is the
Yoruba understanding of the cosmological forces of water, moisture and attraction. Therefore, she is believed
to be omnipotent and omnipresent. Her power is represented in another Yoruba proverb which reminds us
that "no one is an enemy of water" and therefore it is believed amongst her worshippers that the goddess
should be respected and revered.
Osun according to ancient myths was the only female deity amongst the original 16 deities sent from the
spirit world by Olodumare(God) to create the world. As such, she is eulogized as "Yeye"the great mother of
all.She is called many names "lyalode" - Chief of the market, she is also called Laketi, she who has ears,
because of how quickly and effectively she is believed to answer prayers.
SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE OSUN OSOGBO FESTIVAL
The social impact of Osun Osogbo festival cannot be over-emphasized. It is of high significance
in many respects:
It teaches the Osogbo people about tolerance, peace and good will to one another in Nigeria as well
as internationally.

It promotes the rich cultural heritage of this country and portraysOsun state in a good light as very
accommodating people to tourists and other foreigners.

It also portrays the fact that the Osogbo people are religiously tolerant. This is because Muslims and
Christians and even traditional worshipper also participate in the festival thus creating a social
cohesion between the 3 major religions of the state.

The Osun groove being a world heritage site attracts the largest number of international tourists in
Nigeria allowing for a vast showcasing of dressing, language, food, music,mode of greeting etc.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF OSUN OSOGBO FESTIVAL
Osun Osogbo festival has tremendous economic impact on the states and its citizenry. The festival
contributes to the community in the following areas:
Generation of income: This festival is a great economic force as it is a source of revenue generation. This
revenue could be direct or indirect, direct revenue in form of taxes on income of companies generated by
tourism businesses, indirect source of revenue mainly comprises of duties on goods and services supplied to
tourist. Hence, three basic ways itcontributes to government revenue generation are by taxes on personal or
company incomes, duties on imports and by government charges for the services it provides.
Creation of employment: Direct employment is one of the vital roles of tourisms for any state because of the
existence of many tourism enterprises. These enterprises are defined business units which provide direct
services to the tourist in a given tourist destination. These includes service such as hotel service, night club,
souvenir shops, tour guides and special transport services (such as horse riding, boat, taxis etc). The festival
also generates indirect employment through the supply of goods and services needed by tourism related
business.
Foreign exchange earnings:Tourism expenditures and services generate income for Osun state and this can
stimulate the investment necessary to finance growth in other economic sectors. Some countries seek to
accelerate this growth by requiring visitors to bring in a certain amount of foreign currency for each day of
their stay.
Stimulation of infrastructure investment:Tourismhas induced theState and Local government of Osun
State to make infrastructural improvements such as provision drinking water, better drainage and sewage
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systems, good roads, electricity systems, telephone and public transportation networks, all of which has
improved the quality of life for residents of the local community.
Below according to Odugbose (2013) are some businesses that also benefit economically from the festival:
 Hotels: Hotels and other tourist accommodation facilities experience a boost in sales in the periods
before, during and after the festivals.
 Assistance from corporate organizations:Due to the fact that festivals has been sustained for many
centuries, it has emerged a dominant cultural festival anticipated by the public, tourists and corporate
bodies. These corporate bodies such as MTN, Nigeria Breweries employ the youthsof the host
community for promotional programmes during the period of the festival.
 Transporters: During the periods of the festival, transporters benefit from the increase in business. From
the airlines to road transport providers.
 Petty Traders: Petty traders in the state also benefit from the festival as more purchases are made of
their wares.
 Artisans: These people also benefit from the osunosogbo festival by selling carved articles and other
souvenirs
Other businesses that benefit from the festival are caterers, photographers, fast food outlets, bureau de
change etc.
Table 1 Socio-Economic Impact Ojude Oba festival on the host community
V
a
r
i
a
b
l
e
s S A
A S D
Do you think that paramount ruler uses the Ojude-Oba festival to address issues that leads to the development of ijebu land.
82 (82%) 10 (10%) 5
(5%)
Does ojude-oba festival attract tourists from all over the world as a result of Nigerians abroad inviting their friends thereby generating income for the state.
30 (30%) 39 (39%) 19 (19%)
D
3
(3%)
1 2
(12%)
Does the festival portray the Ijebu’s as social beings, tolerant of people from other states and country. 49 (49%) 42 (42%)
5 (5%)
4
(4%)
Does the participation of the corporate organisations in the festival impact on the host community 45 (45%) 42 (42%)
8 (8%) 5
Does the festival stimulate infrastructural development in the community. 40 (40%) 25 (25%)
20 1
5
(2%)
(15%)
Is foreign exchange boosted during the festiva l 40 (40%)
39 (39%)
19 (19%) 2
(2%)
Is the Ojude-Oba festival internationally recognised thereby creating awareness and appreciation of local customs and culture 3
8 1
8 3
2 1
2
(38%) (18%) (32%) (12%)
Does the festival foster unity, promote peace and social cohesion
55 among
30 different
10 religions
5
(55%) (30%) (10%) (5%)
Table 1 above shows that 82% of the respondents strongly agree that paramount ruler of ijebu land use the
festival to address issues that will lead to the development of the state, 10% also agree to this point, 5% of the
respondents strongly disagree that paramount ruler of ijebu land uses the festival to address issues that will
lead to the development of the state, and the remaining 3% also disagree to this point. 30% of the respondents
strongly agree that the festival attracts people all over the world and as such leads to the generation of income
for the state, 39% also agree to this point, 19% of respondents strongly disagree that the festival attracts
people all over the world, while the remaining 12% also disagree. 91% of the respondents agree that the
festival portrays the Ijebu’s as social beings, tolerant of tourists while the remaining 9% disagreed that the
festival portrays the ijebu’s as social beings. Also the table shows that 87% of the respondents agreed that the
participation of corporate organizations in the festival has economic impact on the host community while
13% of the respondents disagree. 65% of the respondents agreed that the festival stimulates infrastructural
development. 40% of the respondents strongly agree that foreign exchange is boosted during the festival,
39% also agree to this point, 19% of the respondent strongly disagree that foreign exchange is boosted during
(5%)
292
the festival, while the remaining 2% also disagree. 56% of the respondents affirm that Ojude-Oba is
internationally recognised thereby creating awareness and appreciation of local customs and culture while the
remaining 44% disagree. 85% 0f the respondents agree that the Ojude-Oba festival fosters unity, promotes
peace and social cohesion.
Table 2 Socio-Economic Impact Osun Osogbo festival on the host community
V
a
r
i
a
b
l
e
s
Do you think that the state government uses the Osun Osogbo festival to address issues that leads to the development of Osogbo.
S A
72 (72%)
A
10 (10%)
S D
10 (10%)
Does Osun Osogbo festival attract tourists from all over the world thereby generating income for the state.
30 (30%)
Does the festival portray the Osogbo citizens as social beings, tolerant of people from other states and country.
60
(60%)
45 (45%)
7
(7%)
9 (9%)
Does the participation of the corporate organisations in the festival impact on the host community
49 (49%)
Does the festival stimulate infrastructural development in the community.
50 (50%)
38
(38%)
40 (40%)
Is foreign exchange earning boosted during the festival
60 (60%)
25 (25%)
Is the Osun Osogbo festival internationally recognised thereby creating awareness and appreciation of local customs and culture
38 (38%)
1 0 0 0
(100%) (0%)
8 (8%)
8
(8%)
10(10%)
0
(0%)
D
8
(8%)
3
(3%)
8
(8%)
5
(5%)
2
(2%)
5
(5%)
0
(0%)
Does the festival foster unity, promote peace and social cohesion
65 among
25 different
5 religions
5
(65%) (25%) (5%)
(5%)
Table 2 above shows that 82% of the respondents agree that the state government uses the festival to address
issues that lead to the development of the state, while 18% disputed this fact. 60% of the respondents strongly
agree that Osun Osogbo festival attracts many tourists to the state thus generating income for the state, 30%
of the respondents also agree to this point, while the remaining 10% of the respondents disagree. 83% agreed
the people of Osogbo are social beings and tolerant of visitors, while 17% of the respondents disagree. 49%
of the respondents strongly agreed that the participation of corporate organizations in the festival impacts
economically on the host community, 38% of the respondents also agree to this point, while 13% of the
respondents disagree. 90% of the respondents agree that the Osun Osogbofestival stimulates infrastructural
development. 85% of the respondents affirm that Osun Osogbo festival boosts foreign exchange earnings.
100% of the respondents strongly agreed that Osun Osogbo festival is recognized by people all over the
world and as such it creates awareness and appreciation of local customs and culture. 90% of the respondents
strongly agree that the festival creates a social cohesion among all the types of religion practised in Osogbo
town while the remaining 10% of the respondents disagree.
Comparism of the impacts of Ojude-Oba and Osun Osogbo festival
Comparism between the two festivals is hard in its real sense as there are not enough records on the actual
impacts of the festivals, however from the study, it is evident that both festivals impact significantly on the
host communities and its residents in the areas of income generation, employment creation, Stimulation of
infrastructural development and boosting foreign exchange earnings. The two festivals portray the customs
and culture of the host communities, however while Ojude-Oba is purely a social gathering, Osunosogbo is
more of a religious gathering despite its few social features. Ojude-Oba is an internationally recognised
festival but on the other hand, Osun Osogbo festival is an internationally recognised one whose site has been
named a world heritage site.Ojude-Oba impacts more on the dressing culture and social nature of the Ijebu
citizens but, Osun Osogbo has more of its impact in the area of religious beliefs of the people. Foreign
exchange earnings are boosted during both festivals, although Osun Osogbo festival brings about a slightly
293
higher foreign exchange earning. The Ijebu indigenes however are regarded as being more social compared to
the Osogbo indigenes, also both festivals experience strong corporate organisations participation. There is
noticeable infrastructural development in both communities as a result of the existence of these festivals, also
peace and unity is promoted in these host communities.
Conclusion
The culture of a group of people is identified as the unifying factor in any given society. It is their identity,
memory, pride and achievement. Both festivals have symbolic meaning to the people of the host communities
because these festivals exhibit their rich cultural heritage. Since these two festivals are recognised cultural
festivals and have the capacity of attracting tourists, it therefore means that they are good tourist attractions
capable of boosting foreign exchange earnings and impacting greatly on the lives of the members of the host
community.Taking into cognisance the international appeal and increasing popularity of the Osun Osogbo
festival, Osun state has been positioned as a world tourist destination with potentials for further expansion
and exploitation. Ojude-Oba festival, though internationally recognised still needs more publicity to attain
world recognition.
Recommendations
In the light of the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made:
 Ojude-Oba festival should be given more publicity to increase its popularity internationally.
 There is need for provision of more security personnel during these festivals
 There is the need for continuous maintenance and upgrade of the states' infrastructure to prevent and
reduce wear and tear.
 The Osun priestess and her followers should be given monthly stipends to enable them live
comfortably as most of them work at the shrine full time without other means of livelihood.
 Multi-lingual tour guides should be made available on site the osun groove considering the fact it
draws lots of international tourists.
 Although this study highlighted only the positive impacts, however the possible negative impacts
should be anticipated and possible preventive measures preconceived and implemented
 Records of impacts should be documented by the host communities to facilitate future researches
regarding these festivals.
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Afolabi, M. (2012). Harnessing tourism potentials for sustainable development : A case of Owu water falls in
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Anyafulu, A., Okunlola, G., &Anyafulu, L. (2013). Sustainable tourism: An option for transformation in
Nigeria. Presented at the 2nd national conference of the school of environmental studies, Yaba College of
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Ayodele, T. (n.d).Tourism in Nigeria.In Anyanwu, O. (2005).Nsukka Journal of Humanities, 15.
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Lasisi, A. (2007 ). Ojude-Oba :Carnival of drama and colours. Retrieved
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Oluwafemi, O., Anyafulu, L., &Koya, E. (2013).Tourism : A vital tool to the transformation in Nigeria.
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RESTAURANTS AS NON-R&D INNOVATOR: INTEGRATING TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE
ASSETS TO ENCOURAGE INNOVATION AT RESTAURANTS
José L. Ballesteros Rodríguez
Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Desiderio J. García Almeida
and
Nieves L. Díaz Díaz
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this work is to develop a theoretical model for the analysis of innovation at restaurant
companies,in which the training is linked to knowledge assets in order to improve innovative performance.
Most restaurant companies lack of resources necessary to cope with innovation development through R&D
units and can be considered as non-R&D innovators. These issues make restaurants turn their attention to
internal knowledge assets as a key element of its innovative process. If it is properly oriented, training can
help to increase the exploitation of knowledge assets by employees, so they can generate innovations.
Keywords:restaurant, innovation, non-R&D innovators, training, knowledge assets,
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INTRODUCTION
Restaurants compete in mature markets, and they need to innovate in order to attract new customers and to
retain old ones. Innovation help restaurants to generate or maintain their competitiveness in the market place
(Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007). The generation of new products, processes and services aresome of the
most evident consequences of innovation at restaurants. These consequences, in turn, help restaurants to meet
market demands, keeping market shares but also to enter in new market segments (Ottenbacher and
Harrington, 2007; Andries and Czarnitzki, 2014). Through innovation, restaurants can gain higher levels of
reputation and foster customer’s loyalty (Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007). Nevertheless, they can also
foster higher levels of efficiency in the production and service areas of the restaurant (Andries and Czarnitzki,
2014).
For some authors, the food service industry does not have a good reputation in terms of innovation neither for
having a culture of a learning organization (e.g., Rodgers, 2007). However, at the restaurant industry
innovation seems to be difficult to protect against the competitors efforts to copy it. The new products and
services launch by innovator restaurants can be quickly imitated; this can be the cause why “commercial
restaurants have a higher degree of product and service obsolescence than many other industries”
(Harrington, 2004:36). For this reason it has been suggested that restaurants need and ongoing innovation
process (Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007). In this sense, the key issue is to develop a system that could lead
to a continuous flow of new menu items, new traits of the delivery process, new forms to increase the
efficiency at the production units, etc. Therefore, the system itself will need to be copy by the competitors
and not a single aspect if they want to achieve the same levels of competitiveness (Ottenbacher and
Harrington, 2007).
However, innovation at hospitality business, in general, and at restaurants in particular, are understudied
areas (Rodgers, 2007; Chang, Gong and Shum, 2011). And as several authors suggest, because of this lack of
knowledge about innovation at restaurants, managers often take decisions on this issue based on intuition and
on their limited experience (Ottenbacher and Gnoth, 2005; Chang et al. 2011). These thoughts raise the doubt
of the suitability of the academics effort in other to study innovation at the restaurant industry. In this sense,
in one hand, it must be considered that restaurants in many cases can be labelled as small-medium
enterprises, even a lot of them can be considered microfirms (having less than ten employees). Much of the
research on innovation on services business has been conducted in big size organizations and alluded the
presence of a R&D unit. Normally, at service SMEs an R&D department or unit is not affordable (Sundbo,
1997; Rammer, Czarnitzki and Spielkamp, 2009; Hervas-Oliver et al., 2011). These arguments lead to the
search of a model of innovation that could better fit the characteristic of restaurants. In this sense, there has
been a tendency within research that tries to study the innovation activities of those organizations that do not
do R&D activities. This kind of organizations have been labelled “non-R&D innovators”.
On the other hand, is important to have in mind that much of the research on innovation at restaurant has been
focused on the culinary innovation at haute-cuisine restaurant (e.g., Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007).
These efforts have treated mainly the new product/menu item as the outcome of the innovation process,
overlooking the existence of many other types of innovation (process, organizational, marketing, etc.). In
addition, the role of the chef, as the unique innovator, has been the main studied aspect. In sum, these efforts
fail to present a systematic model that help restaurants to foster any type of innovation. Therefore, in order to
give a new perspective to the analysis of innovation at restaurant it is necessary to include the perspectives
297
and thoughts of other well-developedareas. In this sense, building on the literature on new product
development, Andries and Czarnitzki (2014) point out that the new product introduction rate is a function of a
firm’s ability to manage, maintain and create knowledge. A critical portion of this knowledge required for
innovation resides with individuals. This lead to consider the knowledge management and the human
resource management as to important areas that need to be include in the study of innovation at restaurants.
Therefore, the aim of the present paper is to develop a theoretical model for the analysis of innovation at
restaurant business according to two important issues: in first place, the “non-R&D innovator” could fit well
to the characteristic of innovation at restaurants, given that they usually are small business with low
technological intensity. In second place, and in order to adjust to that previously mentioned model of “nonR&D innovators” the analysis will be done using two important knowledge areas like knowledge
management and human resource management. This will give a new conceptual scheme for the analysis of
innovation at restaurant as “non-R&D innovators”.
INNOVATION AT RESTAURANTS
Restaurants' long-term success is highly dependent on the innovation capacity, in terms of new products
introduced in the market, but the problem is that "the failure rate of new products of all types is excessively
high" (Harrington, Baggs and Ottenbacher, 2009:74). The absence of a clear model for innovation at
restaurants can be explained through two arguments. In one hand, the starting points of the researchers how
have studied innovation at restaurants have been highly disconnected between them. In this sense, some
studies have considered restaurant business as an industrial activity, while other have considered a craft
activity (Albors-Garrigos et al., 2013). On the other hand, much of the research done has been aimed to
analyse how innovation is achieved at haute-cuisine restaurants ruled by well-known chefs, focusing on the
culinary innovation mainly (e.g., Bouty and Gomez, 2013). This focus has caused that many aspects related
with creativity has been very well analysed, but has ignored more systematic approaches to innovation at
restaurants. All these questions make difficult the generalization of the findings of this research efforts to
small restaurant business that do not work neither on the franchised business of fast food industry nor in the
haute-cuisine business, creating a gap of knowledge that deserve to be studied.
As Ottenbacher and Harrington (2007:13) state, "the innovation development process can be defined as a
formal blueprint, roadmap or thought process for driving a new project from idea stage through to market
launch and beyond”. According to these authors if restaurants are able to develop this process in a
disciplinedmanner, they will take advantage on their limited resources while achieving higher levels of
effectiveness and efficiency of their innovations. So innovations are the result of an organizational
development process that has to be properly manage because it requires the combination of
“entrepreneurship, quality, leadership, employee management and critical market considerations”
(Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007:10).
Nevertheless, as it has been previously stated, much of the innovation process has been done focusing on big
companies that use to have an R&D unit or department, where most of the innovations came from. These
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R&D units are perceived as an extremely costly and uncertain process that demands many resources to be
invested on it and that, in most of the cases, cannot be afford by SMEs at the restaurant business (Barge-Gil,
Nieto and Santamaría, 2011). According to these authors, this cannot be the way to observe innovation at
small restaurant companies because this emphasis on R&D as the main source of innovation can discourage
them to try to enter into the innovation process. In a similar line, Harrington (2004) considers that there are
certain elements that do not align with the normal circumstances that can be present at restaurants: absence of
R&D unit; the sequential phases of the process do not have such a clear distinction and there is not such a
level of carefulness and secrecy before and during the innovation introduction.
Several authors have pursued the developing of a new model for innovation better fitted to the special
characteristic of the restaurant business (e.g., Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007; Harrington et al., 2009;
Albors-Garrigos et al., 2013). In this sense, Ottenbacher and Harrington (2007) proposed a new model for the
culinary innovation processas they consider that it has certain traits that makes it different from the traditional
model of product development process. Moreover, although their efforts concentrate in Michelin awarded
restaurants, these authors show the need to deep in the analysis of the way restaurants can innovate. In a
similar line, Albors-Garrigos et al. (2013) found that most of the haute-cuisine restaurants showing an
innovative behaviour and whose chefs said to develop internal R&D, hardly devoted a physical space for this
activity neither they dedicate an specific time- schedule for it. Most of chef confirmed that they deploy the
innovation activity within normal working hours, with the usual human resources team and with the standard
production equipment. This finding shows the confusion that haute-cuisine chefs do have when considering
what R&D activities are.
Santarelli and Sterlacchini (1990) consider that innovation processes in SMEs tend to have a low level of
formalization, and many of the innovation activities are done at different units within the organization
(mainly design, production and sales) and not in R&D units. According to these authors, much of the
innovation done al SMEs is an incremental innovation (not radical) that do not require the existence of an
organizational structure characterized by the presence of an R&D unit. This bias in innovation research
towards activities in R&D units, and in its way to measure it has made researchers to think that SMEs had a
lower level of innovation activity that the actually may have (Santarelli and Sterlacchini, 1990).
In this same line, Santamaría, Nieto and Barge-Gil (2009) consider that even today there is an imbalance in
the academic field toward the research of innovation based on R&D activities. This makes these authors to
suggest the necessity to deep in the analysis of those innovative activities not related with R&D. Specifically,
Barge-Gil et al. (2011) believe that if those activities more close to the daily routines of the firm could be
viewed as sources of innovation, more managers would be more willing to get involve with innovation
processes. Moreover, Santamaría et al. (2009) consider that in order to innovate R&D activities could even
not be necessary under certain circumstances. These authors consider that the businesses that do not have
R&D activities could innovate because they perform other innovative activities not based on R&D: design,
use of advance technologies, training and technological monitoring. According to these authors, these
activities could foster innovation because they facilitate the adoption of new technologies, encourage the
generation of incremental innovations on already existing products and processes and help to the
recombination of pre-existing knowledge. In the same line, Rammer et al. (2009) found that organizations
that innovate without having R&D unit do integrate technology and knowledge from outside, just as hautecuisine chefs do, incorporating knowledge from outside as their source of inspiration.
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NON-R&D INNOVATORS
The arguments previously exposed justify the interest on non-R&D innovators to study innovation at
restaurants.The non-R&D innovators are those organizations that do innovate without having an R&D unit,
but do perform other innovation activities (Hervas-Oliver et al., 2011). Therefore, non-R&D innovators do
not undertake any formal internal R&D activities or do not acquire them externally. It seems logic to found
that R&D innovators do have a greater performance at innovating than non-R&D innovators, but this cannot
lead to underestimate the level of innovations achieved by the non-R&D innovators, which is certainly
considerable (Barge-Gil et al., 2011).However, it is necessary to remember that for non-R&D firms,
traditional measures of innovation such as patents and R&D expenditures are less relevant (Moilanen, Østbye
and Woll, 2014).
Non-R&D innovators are firms that use to innovate more on processes than on products and they found this
innovation activity in units like design or marketing. Another important feature of non-R&D innovators is the
efforts deployed to develop knowledge flows coming from outside the organizations. These knowledge flows
can be have their origin on suppliers, customers, external advisors, trade organizations and personal networks
(Hervas-Oliver et al., 2011; Moilanen et al., 2014).Participating in business-specific networks, co-operation
with R&D institutions, personal networks and collaboration with competitors give the non-R&D innovators
important knowledge that help to build de absorptive capacity of the organization (Moilanen et al., 2014).
This trust on external knowledge sources make the non-R&D performers better innovators. Other traits are
that non-R&D innovators do formally plan their innovation efforts and that focus on hiring highly qualified
human resources (Hervas-Oliver et al., 2011).
Hospitality business and restaurants in particular seem to share many of the features of non-R&D innovators.
In this sense, as Rodgers (2007:901) point out, in general, in the foodservice industry R&D laboratories do
not exist and as a result, “suppliers often mediate between the latest developments in engineering (equipment)
and food science (ingredients) by offering new or improved products to sell to the food service industry”.
This author highlight the fact that in the case of restaurants, the R&D unit is located outside the firm, even
more this unit belongs to the organizational structure of the suppliers. To stress this point, Rodgers (2007)
identify a number of significant breakthroughs originated at the restaurant business because of the interface
between different fields (for example HACCP systems for risk reduction at the production process being
created originally for the NASASpace Program). Moreover, according to Rodgers (2007), at the back-of-the
house operations of restaurants knowledge from different fields like engineering, biology, microbiology and
chemistry are used. However,this author indicated that this kind of knowledge is not normally master by the
restaurant staff and this make restaurants to be dependent on food and equipment manufacturers experts that
can help restaurant’ employees to have the necessary knowledge in order to gain excellence in the
management of this kind of operations.
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Regarding to the type of innovations done at restaurants, Rodgers (2007), consider that restaurants try to
innovate using variation of ingredients and production methods, and also making changes in decor, theming
and branding, but rarely use radical innovations, in concrete, this author point out that restaurants rarely
innovate through the introduction novel technologies in food production.According to this author, even large
fast-food chains make gradual evolutionary improvements in order to retain customer interest, and these
innovations in marketing concepts are the most prevalent in the foodservice industry. This could be consider
a reflection of the low technological sophistication of the restaurant industry.
Innovation at hospitality business seems to have a greater level of incremental changes. In this sense, Chang
et al. (2011) asked to their respondents to give concrete examples of innovations at their operations and
respondents use to mention more incremental innovations, like changes in administrative work and minor
customer services practices, than radical innovations.
In sum, as Rammer et al. (2009) suggest, those firms without R&D activities can achieve a similar success in
terms of innovation than those firms that do have R&D activities as far as they can be able to develop the
appropriate strategy and to create an adequate system for the management of innovation. So, having in mind
that “the lack of scientific expertise and research laboratories in the majority of food service establishments
impedes the increase in sophistication of this industry” (Rodgers, 2007:910), it seems necessary to consider
other variables coming from the knowledge management and human resource management field. The
inclusion of these fields could help to create a systemic approach to the management of innovation that help
to overcome the barriers for innovation at restaurants.
The arguments above show the major challenge that restaurants have to engage successfully in innovation
processes. Restaurants must be able to foster incremental innovations based on the combination of internal
knowledge assets with the external flows of knowledge while trying to imply in this activity all employees of
the firm. So, in the next section of the paper theoretical considerations that could justify this innovation
model will be presented: Knowledge assets as inputs to the innovation process and training as training as a
way to get employees to take full advantage of the knowledge assets in order to innovate.
INTEGRATING KNOWLEDGE ASSETS AND TRAINING
According to Harrington (2004), the innovation process in restaurant operations must be interdisciplinary in
nature, integrating the perspectives of strategic planning, marketing considerations, the science of food and
culinary knowledge. The systemic approach to innovation consider this process is a consequence of a
diversity of activities and “many of them do not belong to the formal research process” (Hidalgo and Albors,
2008:115). Even in relation to the innovation process most studied, the Michelin-starred chef's innovation
process, it has been found that it is hardly formal; does not include a business analysis stage and do not even
reflect on the organization' competence requirements needed to be able to develop products that can have an
advantage over competition (Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007).
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Innovation management has as one of its main challenges to manage employees’ capacities in a strategic way,
trying them to have knowledge regarding the main advances in their respective operation areas (Hidalgo and
Albors, 2008).However, according to De Saá-Pérez, Díaz-Díaz and Ballesteros-Rodríguez (2012), there are
few studies that have considered the involvement of the processes of human resources management in
achieving the knowledge that is necessary for the organization. Furthermore, there is a significant lack of
research in the knowledge practices of SMEs. The vast majority of SMEs do not have formal plans regarding
their knowledge management (Hidalgo and Albors, 2008). For these reasons in this work is considered
crucial to include in the planning and analysis of the innovation process, aspects regarding training and
management of knowledge assets as key elements to the success of innovation activities.
The introduction of training and knowledge assets in the analysis of innovation processes respond to various
justifications that must be clarified before proceeding to address the specific way in which this two elements
can be deployed within the innovation process.First, most studies of innovation in the context of the
restaurants with Michelin stars, or haute cuisine, have focused on the figure of the chef as the core of the
innovation process. Many of these studies have shown that innovation process at haute-cuisine restaurants is
too individualistic. For example, Ottenbacher and Harrington (2007) in their study observed that chefs from
fine dining restaurants generate new ideas in an individualistic way, or at least very selective. These authors
highlight the limited role of employees in this kind of restaurants in the innovation process. In this sense,
Andries and Czarnitzki (2014), focusing on the intellectual capital, remember that it is well known that the
capability to innovate in any organizations is closely link to its ability to use its individual knowledge
resources. Moreover, these authors stress the importance of the link between individual knowledge and
innovation and point out that there are evidences suggesting that non-managerial employees do have the
potential to contribute to small firm innovation.However, they also remember that small firms tend to rely
mainly on the CEO’s individual knowledge for developing innovations, which is largely consistent with the
findings of authors such as Ottenbacher and Harrington (2007) or Albors-Garrigos et al. (2013). This lack of
involvement of employees on value creating activities like the innovation process is also linked to the low
interest in human capital development programs observed at SMEs (Andries and Czarnitzki, 2014).However,
this approach to innovation “is inefficient since it underutilizes other employees’ knowledge” (Andries and
Czarnitzki, 2014:21). Therefore, restaurants, as small businesses, should try to use the talent and knowledge
of all employees, managerial and non-managerial. Thus, restaurant managers should make efforts to
incorporate the contributions that other non-managerial workers can make the process of innovation. The
involvement of all employees becomes more important if it is taken into account that in much of the
restaurant industry chefs lack the deep knowledge and experience thatMichelin stars awarded chefs have.
Thus, the role of the chef as the heart and engine of innovation is diluted and the knowledge may have other
employees becomes more important. However, it cannot be ignored that there is a low level of understanding
of how non-managerial employees can contribute to the innovation process since most of the work done on
the subject have focused on large corporations (Andries and Czarnitzki, 2014).
Second, the underutilization of the knowledge of front-line employees of restaurants as a source of innovation
is one of the aspects that differentiate culinary innovation processes at restaurants with the general new
product development process. In the new product development process“front-line staff can be viewed as a
logical source of ideas because of their understanding of the operation and customer needs” (Ottenbacher and
Harrington, 2007:13). And it is important to have in mind that according to Duverger (2012) firms that are
able to build a system to conduit the voice of the customers are better at being innovative, this is especially
important in the case of dissatisfied customers.“Customer's innovative service ideas are triggered either by
their unmet needs and/or by their knowledge of an analogous service at an alternative provider that was most
likely acquired via switching behaviour and motivated by variety seeking tendencies” (Duverger, 2012:541).
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For that reason, it is important that restaurant's frontline employees can be able to participate in the
innovation process, as otherwise restaurants could be losing valuable knowledge coming directly from
customers.
Third, many of the efforts made to specify new models of the innovation process at restaurants do not reflect
the importance nowadays organizations are given to knowledge management in order to create new
knowledge that could lead to new product and process.In this line, Díaz-Díaz, Aguiar-Díaz and De Saá-Pérez
(2008)highlight that the creation of knowledge (as it can happen in an innovation process) can generate
potential new incomes for the organization, but these will only be true when an efficient implementation of
that new knowledge occurs. So firms need to translate their resources and capabilities into good working
business processes, otherwise they will fail to take advantage on this resources. For the restaurants this will
mean that having chefs with great experience and knowledge will not be enough unless restaurants employee
are able to develop in an efficient an effective manner the new production and services processes.Thereby,
Ottenbacher and Harrington (2007) point out that the high qualifications, knowledge and experience of hautecuisine chefs is the main driver of innovation in these restaurants with Michelin stars and warn of the
difficulty that subordinates could have to understand the creative ideas of his superiors. Chefsgenerate the
new knowledge in a highly tacit way that makes it difficult to transfer to subordinates.
Fourth, Ottenbacher and Harrington (2007) found that training is used at haute-cuisine restaurants as a mean
to consolidate the new cooking creation so that a production process is obtained with the highest level of
consistency in the final product. This is not a strategy for knowledge generation at lower levels, nor does it
seek toempoweremployees to participate in the innovation process. In this sense, there is a lack of studies that
address the role of training not only to build new knowledge and skills in employees, but also, in view of the
increased connection that restaurants have with individuals and external networks as a source of innovation,
to prepare front-line employees to absorb the new knowledge that may come from these external channels.
Knowledge assets and innovation
Knowledge assets may reside in the “individual, group, organization, book or machine” (Wilkins, Van
Wegen and De Hoog, 1997:62). In this line, Carlucci (2012:73) consider that at the organization may coexist
several kinds of knowledge assets like, for example, “employee’s motivation, brand, image, database, routine
and practices, relationships among colleagues, and so on”. So the knowledge assets could be found in
different forms within anorganization, it can be a manual, a machine, a system or even an employee, but the
relevant issue is how they are used and deployed within the organization, and which are the objectives being
pursued with its use. However, it must not be forgotten that participation in professional networks,
cooperation with academic and research institutions, collaboration with competitors etc., can also be a way to
achieve knowledge assets within the company, which can be especially useful for many small businesses
(Moilanen et al., 2014). Specifically for the case of SMEs, Rammer et al. (2009) consider that they need to
complement the internal technological resources and knowledge assets with external sources of knowledge to
increase opportunities to generate new products or processes.
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Knowledge assets are characterized in that its value is determined by the utilities that they can provide to
solve problems, help in completing tasks, etc. In this same line, Wilkins et al. (1997) note that the value of a
knowledge asset largely depends on the use the organization give to it. Thus, two companies may have the
same access to databases on potential customers, and make a completely different use of this knowledge
asset. Finally, knowledge assets normally require maintenance to avoid becoming obsolete (Wilkins et al.,
1997). Specifically, in the restaurant business, Ottenbacher and Harrington (2007) find that the main sources
of innovation mentioned by chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants are visiting restaurants colleagues,
reading texts on development culinary and the availability of a new cooking technology. In particular, the
latter two elements are clearly knowledge assets.
Nowadays, knowledge assets are recognized as fundamental elements for value creation strategies within all
types of organizations and whose effective development and deployment can have an important impact on the
organization’s performance (Carlucci, 2012).To such an extent that the lack of knowledge assets has been
identified as one of the main barriers to innovation (García-Vega and López, 2010; Meroño and López,
2013). According Hidalgo and Albors (2008) the traditional idea of an innovation based on a scientific
research with a high technological component has evolved to models in which knowledge management plays
a key role in fostering innovation. As Thornhill (2006) point out, knowledge assets, whether stocks of
knowledge and/or knowledge flows, whether internally generated or externally acquired, can increase the
chances of firms to generate innovations because it is a resource that can be used by multiple people within a
firm. According to Meroño and López (2013:92) “the development of innovations in a company is a scenario
that demands the adoption of knowledge management systems”. In fact, these authors believe that knowledge
management is essential for SMEs to the extent that they perceive even greater obstacles to innovation than
large, and therefore, to overcome them they must rely on knowledge management. SMEs can adopt
knowledge management systems as a solution to be able to perform the innovative behaviour that pretend to
have. In many cases, innovations have they roots not in the latest scientific or technological knowledge, but
on the knowledge that already exist at the organization (Santamaría et al., 2009; Barge-Gil et al., 2011). That
is, instead of having a unique emphasis on knowledge generation, innovation requires a major effort of
exploitation of knowledge.
Accordingto several authors (e.g., Hidalgo and Albors, 2008; Meroño and López, 2013), innovation activities
are so closely link to the traditional knowledge management processes, that the latter can be consider a very
helpful tool in order to manage innovation. So in order to take advantage of the existing knowledge in terms
of the innovation process, first the organization must be able to identify the relevant knowledge, the
possibilities to combine and integrate that knowledge, and to adapt to the peculiarities of the organization
(Santamaría et al., 2009). There is a need to understand how knowledge assets can be transformed into “value
creation mechanisms”, this will help organizations to avoid misallocation of resources and to take the
appropriate decisions in terms of knowledge management and innovation. (Carlucci, 2012:70).
Thus, a first step to integrate knowledge assets in the innovation strategy of the restaurants is necessary to
systemically identify current knowledge assets, but also try to advance what knowledge assets will the
company be able to incorporate the outside, trying to define the knowledge architecture of the firm in relation
with its intentions in terms of innovation. Both aspects, the architecture of knowledge assets and the
innovation plans, have to have a parallel development (Popadiuk and Choo, 2006). In this sense, Carlucci
(2012) emphasizes the development of a knowledge assets value creation map. This tool would allow the
identification of the knowledge foundations of the firm' strategy, while allowing the identification of relevant
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knowledge assets that may be needed to achieve the desired performance in specific work processes. This
work of identifying knowledge assets that add value to the firm requires a careful reflection on those business
processes that are truly strategic for the development of the value proposition of the company.
The question that arises is whether in restaurants, which mostly have a very small size, knowledge
management activities could be conducted. In this sense, there is a generally held belief that small companies
mostly use informal processes to adopt knowledge management. Hutchinson and Quintas (2008), echoing
views of other authors that consider that micro (those with less than 10 employees) do not have the resources
(time, human, financial, etc.) nor the inclination to become involved in formal programs of knowledge
management, preferring a scheme of more informal learning. However, in their study, these authors found
that small companies conduct knowledge management activities but without defining a formal knowledge
management program and, in many cases, without using the specific terminology of this area. In fact, these
authors describe how some of the companies interviewed conducted structured and deliberate knowledge
management activities, such as membership in certain groups and associations in order to capture new
knowledge and yet, when asked specifically if they performed some formal knowledge management activity
said they did not. Finally, these authors find that in many cases the knowledge management behaviour
discovered in these SMEs who said to have no plans for formal knowledge management was more complex
than it might appear at first sight.
Training and innovation
In the context of SMEs having in mind that much of the training in this type of business is informal,
unplanned, reactive and short-term oriented is understandable to question the adequacy of training as HR
practice in order to lead to higher levels of innovation (De Saá-Pérez et al., 2012). Nevertheless, there are
several studies that have shown how innovation can be foster by the use of human resource management
practices (e.g., Chang et al., 2011). According to Duverger (2012:538) “the challenge of becoming
"innovation oriented" depends in part on key organizational characteristics such as employee competency”. In
the restaurant business training can be a key element to generate innovation capacity. The type of
environment in which they move and the importance of customer opinions for the innovation process are
some of the reasons that lead attention to the training of front-line employee.
In this sense, Santamaría et al. (2009) find that innovation activities not based on R&D are especially
important for innovation processes in SMEs, especially those of lower technological intensity and especially
for process innovations. In the same vein, Thornhill (2006) finds that when companies move in environments
where the pace and extent of change are less extreme, innovations do not require a high level of innovation to
succeed. According to this author, in such less technological context, having a workforce that has learned
how to learn, sensitive to the market and well trained may be sufficient to generate innovation and contribute
to the level of performance of company.Formal training of employees can improve their abilities, which in
turn enhance relevant capabilities for innovation (capability to identify relevant knowledge and capability to
synthesise and integrate external knowledge) (Barge-Gil et al., 2011).
Training is a key activity in updating employees’ knowledge and skill; it can increase the human capital
inside the organization; increase the repository of tacit knowledge, and can positively affect to its absorptive
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capacity (Barge-Gil et al., 2011). Because much of the technical and commercial knowledge that lead to
innovation is tacit and idiosyncratic, training through the updating of employees' skills, plays a key role in
enabling the emergence and implementation of that tacit and idiosyncratic knowledge (Santamaría et al.,
2009).In addition, training can foster employee's intrinsic motivation, which in turns can encourage their
creativity and innovative performance (Chang et al., 2011). Despite this, several authors when developing
models of innovation process in the restaurant business have very slightly addressed training; sometimes it is
included as a prelude to the launch of innovation but not studied as a preliminary element necessary for the
generation of ideas by employees of the restaurant (e.g., Harrington, 2004).
In the case of hospitality business, Chang et al. (2011:812) show that "training core customer-contact
employees for multiple skills can have significant and positive effects on incremental and radical innovation
among hotel and restaurant companies". In this way, front-line employees can be the creative personnel that
substitute the activity of the R&D department that restaurant business cannot usually afford. This employees
that work on the production and delivery of services could have the newest and useful ideas that could lead to
successful innovations because they are rooted in core customer-contact employees (Chang et al., 2011).In
concrete case of new products, it is widely accepted that its success is mainly dependent on customer
acceptance and the performance of this new product dependence in turn in how the firm had previously
understand what the customer wants and need (Andries and Czarnitzki, 2014). According to Chang et
al.(2011) innovation success in the restaurant industry could largely depend on the attitudes and skills of
employees due to the intangible nature of services. In this sense, these authors highlight that the success in
hospitality innovations is closely link to the excellence of the HRM practices, but also highlight that “while
there is wide agreement on the importance of HRM practices, little empirical research has been conducted of
the effects of HRM practices on hospitality innovation” (Chang et al., 2011:812). In the context of non-R&D
innovators, training can gives the hybrid qualifications needed innovate in products and processes, although
Barge-Gil et al. (2011) found that this influence seems to be stronger on the process innovation. Training can
be very useful to generate incremental innovations within firms, and this issue is especially important for
non-R&D innovators.
Integrating knowledge assets, training and innovation
Meroño and López (2013), in their study of innovative behaviour, try to identify the main barriers to
innovation related with knowledge and they find that the lack of qualified personnel is seen as one of the
main obstacles. These authors found that the lack of qualified employees can be more harmful for innovation
than the lack of information technology, lack of market information and the difficulty in finding cooperation
partners for innovation. In this same line, Thornhill (2006) suggest that throughout its life, firms capture or
generate knowledge assets that in a simple way can be observed as what a company knows in a given
moment of its life. However, these assets would turn obsolete unless the company invests in its update,
generating new knowledge flows. The way to achieve these flows of new knowledge would be through
training, acquisition of external technologies or hiring expert staff. According to Thornhill (2006:692)
“training stimulates internal flows of knowledge and guide future actions, without constraining them”. This is
why it can be considered that if training builds on the knowledge assets that the firmalready has, such actions
will better guide innovation, as it will build on existing knowledge without leaving gaps that may preclude
innovation and without redundant overlaps.Harrington (2004) in his analysis of the implementation process
of the culinary innovations also proposes an iterative process in nature, that involve the exploitation of
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existing knowledge; and draws attention to the need to create a continuous flow of organizational learning
and knowledge development.
Specifically, within the restaurant industry Rodgers (2007) provides a clear example of how a company can
have inside a technological knowledge assets but do not know how to use and consequently do not fully take
advantage on it. This author mentions that many catering companies that installed the equipment necessary to
implement the sous-vide technology abandoned their use, when chefs that joined the company abandoned.
Specifically, the author says that this technology was banned by the health authorities of the city of New
York in view of the low level of mastery on the technology and its peculiarities in health terms due to a poor
training effort. This example highlights the need for training to be integrated with knowledge assets that the
restaurant have or will have in future. SMEs need to use ongoing training as a way to promote the application
of knowledge captured from outside (Hutchinson and Quintas, 2008).
According to Hidalgo and Albors (2008), companies seeking to develop organizational competitiveness in
innovation require knowledge management skills to learn fast. According to these authors, companies must
improve their management skills of innovation to be able to apply their knowledge in order to improve their
internal activities and its relations with external actors. In a similar line of thought, Hernández, Salinero and
Yáñez (2013) point out that acquiring new external knowledge itself does not affect performance but does so
through learning and the effective application of that knowledge. Training can provide context for the
acquired knowledge and connect with existing knowledge, and thus increase the absorption capacity of the
company as a source of external knowledge and the internal knowledge complementarity. Furthermore, these
authors consider that training is to be expressly aimed to try to meet the gaps that may be in the absorptive
capacity of the company. Training increases the degree to which members of the organization have access to
knowledge and makes more individuals may be involved in the work of innovation, sharing common
meanings. In addition to provide a new knowledge and integrate with the one the company already owns,
training creates synergies between new and old knowledge and wide spectrum of solutions to problems
(Thornhill, 2006).
In her work, Carlucci (2012) highlights the importance of identifying knowledge assets that can contribute in
a major way to the creation of value for the company. In a second moment, these knowledge assets need to be
integrated with the training efforts to increase the capacity for innovation company. In this sense, if it is
intended that training help to improve the innovation capacity of the firm is essential that managers plan the
training content , and even their methods of instruction, according to the knowledge assets that can support
the innovation capacity of the firm (De Saá-Pérez et al., 2012).
CONCLUDING REMARKS
This paper has tried to design a theoretical model for the development of the innovation process within
restaurants. Due to the characteristics of these businesses (resource scarcity, small size, etc.) many of the
research on innovation in the service sector are of limited applicability. For this reason, the intention of the
present work was to frame the innovation process at restaurants within the concept of "non-R&D innovators,"
which have much more similarity with the features of this kind of business.
307
The non-R&D innovators usually perform incremental type innovations.This type of innovators recombine
the internal knowledge with knowledge from outside. Innovation takes place in different business units and
by different types of employees. However, this type of innovators take care of the planning of the activities
related to the innovation process.In this sense, human resource practices such as training are also aligned to
contribute to innovation. For this reason, it has been developed a theoretical model that links, in a deliberate
and planned manner, knowledge assets with training efforts in order to maximize employees' ability to
generate innovations.Has therefore been made use of literature related to innovation in SMEs, to innovation
at hospitality and restaurant business, plus literature related to training and management of knowledge assets
in SMEs.
At a practical level, the work provides restaurant managers a model of innovation management that departs
from traditional models based on R & D units. The proposed model is closer to operations usually developed
inside restaurants, leading managers to feel more attracted and committed to innovation. The proposed model
warns restaurant managers on the need to identify knowledge assets that exist at present in them, as well as
those intended to incorporate in a future, and which may have value for the generation of all type of
innovation in the restaurant. These knowledge assets will be taken into account when planning training
programs, regarding the content and methods of instruction, in order to increase not only the mastery of the
assets of internal knowledge but to improve their capacity to assimilate knowledge coming from outside. This
could help the restaurant employees to be able to contribute more to the firm in terms of innovation, so as to
enable to take advantage over the competition.
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309
REGIONAL BRANDING SCALE
Popy Rufaidah
Universitas Padjadjaran, Faculty of Economics & Business
Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to validate empirically a multiple-item scale for measuring regional branding. It
has applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and validation through the use of confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) and structural equation modeling. The validity and reliability tests have shown that the regional
branding is a seven-factor construct. The results of the CFA on the individual constructs testifies strong
scales of unidimensionality and convergent validity. Results from this study suggest that the concept
of regional branding provides an attractive avenue for better understanding of how buyers of the fashion
products perceives its region. This research is one of the first to investigate simultaneously the measurement
of regional branding.
Keywords: regional branding, scale measurement, place branding
INTRODUCTION
Regional branding is an emerging topic for the last decade, it enhances the conceptual development of the
studies on place branding i.e. city branding, regional branding, and country branding. However, growing
interest amongst academics as well as practitioners in publishing the topic of regional branding itself remains
as a hypothetical construct. Branding places is different from branding products (Anholt 2003, Rufaidah
2006). A major difference between regional brands and ordinary brands is that, while the scope of actors
involved in constructing ordinary brands is limited, those involved in regional branding are very diverse
(Ikuta et al 2007). This paper examines the concept of regional branding, and the dimension that formed the
development of the construct.
Regional branding measurement has increased academic attention In defining regional branding, Winfree
and McCluskey (2005, p. 206 in Bruwer & Johnson 2010) recognised that regional and/or specialty products
like wine "often share a collective reputation based on aggregate quality" and "if the collective reputation of
the product is good, the designation will be a powerful tool to signal quality". They argued that California's
wine grape farmers have used the geographic branding of their wine grapes as a key collective strategy for
several decades (Warner 2007 in Bruwer & Johnson 2010). Hence their study focused on place-based
marketing and regional branding perspectives in the context of several California wine regions.
Thus, what is regional branding? A region generally refers to an area of land occupied by a province, while
Fan (2006) defines nation generally as refer to a large group of people of the same race and language. Whilst
branding concerns in applying various tangible as well as intangible elements that create distinctiveness of
the object in doing so regional branding concerns upon applying diverse elements that could create
distinctiveness of the region. Thakor and Lavack (2003 in Bruwer & Johnson 2010 ) found that “the place
where the product is actually made is not important, but where consumers think it is made, is important”.
Henchion and McIntyre (2000 in Bruwer & Johnson 2010) examines in terms of the place-based marketing
concept, three types of places have been identified, namely actual, generic and fictional places. Because
products i.e. fashion product produced by region originates from an actual place, therefore this study contend
that fashion products could be associated withe regional branding of West Java province. So this study
focuses on place-based branding perspectives in the context of fashion products marketed in cities and
regencies of West Java province area in Indonesia.
310
This study posits that the regional branding should be the focus of research as it is the key determinant of
consumers in regional brand evaluation. A corresponding scale needs to be developed to evaluate the regional
branding from the customer's point of view. Considering that managing the regional branding is a priority for
provincial government, developing its measure addresses the call for researchers to study on those issues and
making a difference in the practice of regional branding. However, to develop the new measure, it is
recognized that scale development must go simultaneously with conceptual development of the construct [i.e.
regional branding] itself (Brakus et al. , 2009, p. 52 in Klaus & Maklan 2012). Therefore, the measure should
be based on a broader and more comprehensive conceptualization (Verhoef et al. , 2009 in Klaus & Maklan
2012). This conceptual model of regional branding aims to examine construct of regional branding based on
the customers' perception.
The study adopted the development and validation of a multiple-item scale from Klaus & Maklan (2012) and
Voon & Lee (2009). Their steps was adopted and modified for regional branding scale development and
testing. This study finally provides conceptualization that captures the domains of the construct; a measure
from the customers' point of view; and a validation of the psychometric properties of the scale.
The subsequent section summarizes the existing literature on place branding and nation research. Drawing
from the literature, the study conducted a qualitative study that generates attributes of regional branding. The
proceeding section describes the purification and validation of a scale and its psychometric properties. The
article then validates the scale to generate an empirically founded definition of regional branding. The final
section discusses the limitations of the study, offers directions for future research and discusses managerial
implications.
REGIONAL BRANDING
In this section, it discusses the key literature relevant to the development of the regional branding scale.
Regional branding research
Regional branding has its roots in many disciplines including economics, management and marketing. Hence,
The growing body of knowledge on regional branding is somewhat fragmented and lacks a universally
accepted way of integrating the different perspectives. Over two decades ago, academics exploring the role
of branding plays in the marketing of the locations. Hankinson (2001) reports on a qualitative study of 12
"cities" in the UK by exploring the role of branding plays in the marketing of these locations. By providing
insights into the four main factors which affect the development of locations as brands, namely,
organizational complexity and control, the management of partnerships, product complexity and the
measurement of success; he concludes that, nevertheless, that the branding of locations is not impossible and
recommends an agenda for future research to address the key factors identified.
Despite acknowledging that location represents a sufficient criteria to develop location as a brand; Hospers
(2004) arguedd that at the present time, more and more European regions are trying to "market" their area by
developing strategies in the field of place marketing. By exploring the what, how and why of the process of
seeing regions as products being sold in the market; then, he analysed the policy trend, reviewed relevant
theories and explored experiences in the Oresund area. He concluded that the theoretical case for place
marketing can be linked to the idea of seeing regions as being engaged in a process of "territorial
competition".
Rufaidah (2006) examined various terminology about place branding, nation branding, city branding, country
branding, location or region branding, and destination branding from the period of 2001 (i.e Hankinson), the
period of 2002( i.e. Gilmor, Papadopoluos and Heslop), the period of 2004 (i.e. Lau and Leung; Gertner &
Kotler; Papadopoluos; Caldwel and R Freire; Boyne and Hall), the period of 2005 (i.e. Wanjiru; Skinner;
311
Quelch and Jocz; Parkenson and Saunders; Merriles, Getz, O’Brien; Kerr and Johnson; Gudjonson; Freire;
Florek; Dooley and Bowie; Blichfeldt; Anholt). Rufaidah believed to what Hankinson mentioned in his
publication in 2001, 2003, 2004 that most writers use different terms to refer to nation branding, and most of
the writers have similar objectives and believe that the application of branding to locations such as cities and
towns is regarded as at best complex and at worst, some would say, impossible.
Early place branding theorists insisted on explaining a brand building effort from different sub-brands would
also probably encourage the development of a common identity, which, in turn, would make brand building
easier (Anderson 2007). According to Anderson (2007), that examines the potential for the Baltic Sea
Region with ten countries, places could engage in brand-building in creating and maintaining a brand. He
argued that a brand is something that has to be built and actively managed, particularlty for a place brand,
where there are a number of impediments to overcome in this regard i.e. lack of a decision-making authority,
multiple stakeholders, multiple identities. He expands his view suggesting that building a place brand will be
easier to embark on if the integration of the region continues and all the collaborative efforts, both private and
public are continued also.
Researchers like Ikuta, Yukawa & Hamasaki (2007) have present case studies of 12 major prefecture and city
governments in Japan that have made efforts in creating regional branding. They focus towards the
examination of regional branding measures comprehensively from the perspective of their subjects, goals,
and differences in regional images. They convinced that it is possible to organize the measures of regional
branding into four types: the regional image/individual brands integrated pattern, the regional image
measures/individual brands ripple pattern, the individual brands measures/regional image ripple pattern, and
the specialised individual brands pattern.
Shifting from the study of the place and region, researchers i.e. Hanna & Rowley (2008) explore how the
application of the term 'place' and it associated vocabulary by discipline using the sample population of placebranding case-study research through content analysis to elicit place brand terms and geographical entities
within various articles published in various disciplines. This literature spans affirmed that a 'destination'
indicates tourism only, articulated in various geographical entity forms, while the absence of 'town' as a
possible place brand term became apparent as did the lack of case-study research relating to towns; countries
and cities commanded the majority share of the case-study research. The results of the study of Hanna &
Rowley (2008) depict the application of place brand terms in a generic manner from which guidance for the
specific application of place terms may provide future consensus either implicitly or through the formation of
distinctive place term definition.
Another perspective on nation branding from Youde (2009) who argued that a brand is only believable if it
resonates with a state's actions; South Africa's 'quiet diplomacy' in Zimbabwe has widely been interpreted as
coddling the Mugabe regime; and South Africa cannot change its geographic location on the globe, and this
may limit its ability to engage the world community. He discussed how South Africa has attempted to use its
Brand South Africa campaign, a public-private programme administered by the quasi-governmental
International Marketing Council of South Africa, to achieve specific foreign policy objectives. In other word,
he claimed that state branding draws on the ideas of public diplomacy and soft power, but extends them
through its explicit use of marketing and public relations to achieve particular political aims.
Definition and domain of regional branding
This paper provides a background on regional branding by reviewing relevant literature and attempts to
propose an operational definition of regional branding. During the last two decades, the topic of regional
branding has been of interest to marketing academics as well as practitioners i.e. Hankinson (2001); Hospers
(2004); Fan (2006); Andersson (2007); Ikuta, Yukawa & Hamasaki 92007); Hanna & Rowley (2008); Youde
(2009); Kavaratzis (2009); Bruwer & Johnson (2010); Syssner (2010); Gertner (2011); Fan (2010);
Hankinson (2010) and Metaxas (2010).
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Kavaratzis (2009) raises several issues involved in place branding that need further theoretical and practical
clarification. One of these issues, there is a need to address the differences between branding a nation and
branding smaller geographical entities, like regions and cities. However, this study adopted a working
definition of regional branding that concern in applying branding strategy to build a regional dinctiveness. In
similar vein, nation branding concerns applying branding and marketing communications techniques to
promote a regional image (Fan 2006).
Hankinson (2010) examined articles and books on place branding, and found that the published works on
place branding published in all three domains, but represent places in different ways. “In the tourism domain,
places are represented as destinations to visit; these can be countries, regions, cities and towns. In the urban
policy domain, the focus is on the economic development of towns and cities based not only on tourism, but
also on other areas such as retailing, financial and cultural services. From a marketing perspective, place
branding can be applied to any one or all types of locations and activities. This diversity in the interpretation
of place branding can sometimes cause confusion over the use of terms and associated vocabulary” (Hanna
and Rowley 2008 in Hankinson 2010).
Kavaratzis (2009) examined the link between corporate and city branding and marketing by outlining their
similarities and attempting to extract lessons from corporate branding theories that can inform city branding.
By exploring a recent stream of publications that specifically dealt with the concept of corporate branding, he
argued that Rainisto (2003), Trueman and Cornelius (2006), Ashworth and Kavaratzis (2007), Hankinson
(2007), Trueman et al, (2007) attempting to adjust its basic elements and specific methodologies in place
branding.
Kavaratzis indeed outlines evident similarities between these two forms of branding. His valuable work
provides a review of the frameworks of place brand management and attempt to synthesis them. These stream
of publications are from Ashworth and Kavaratzis (2007, review city branding and corporate branding),
Rainisto (2003, proposed a framework that consists of nine success factors of place marketing and branding
practices), Anholt (2006, describes a framework for evaluating city brands, called the city brand hexagon,
which is used to create the Anholt-GMI City Brands Index), Kavaratzis (2004, suggests a framework of citybrand communication by distinguishing between intentional and unintentional communication), Hankinson
(2004), Hankinson (2007, distinguishes between four branding perspectives, namely (a) brands as perceptual
entities, (b) brands as communicators, (c) brands as relationships and (d) brands as value enhancers);
Trueman and Cornelius (2006, suggest a 'five Ps’ of place branding: presence, purpose, pace, personality,
power).
Bruwer & Johnson (2010) explored different levels of place-based marketing in the form of region of origin
strategies used by wineries in their branding efforts. By recognising specialty products produce by region like
wine so that its "often share a collective reputation based on aggregate quality" and "if the collective
reputation of the product is good, the designation will be a powerful tool to signal quality" (in Winfree and
McCluskey 2005 p.206).
This study supported Warner (2007 in Bruwer & Johnson 2010) that products produced in the region have
been used as geographic branding for several decades i.e. California's wine grape farmers have used the
geographic branding of their wine grapes as a key collective strategy for several decades (in Warner 2007).
Then, Bruwer & Johnson’ study focused on place-based marketing and regional branding perspectives in the
context of several California wine regions. Regional branding efforts were targeted at high wine product
involvement consumers rather than their low involvement counterparts, as high involvement consumers are
likely to be more influenced by brand-based cues.
Syssner (2010) proceeds from the basic assumption that place branding is a place-creating process; her main
argument, however, is that these acts of place creation must be understood from a multi-level perspective
313
(few place-branding initiatives are about the branding of a single place). By providing data from four
interrelated cases, she demonstrate that place-branding actors at all levels use two particular techniques namely, spatial positioning and spatial anchorage - in order to communicate the space they wish to promote.
She provides empirical evidence from four spatial levels, namely, a neighbourhood, a municipality, a
functional region and a county in Sweden.
Gertner (2011) analyzed 259 articles published between 1990 and 2009 by screening publications dealing
with 'place marketing' and 'place branding'. He concluded that the articles on these subject matters actually
treated a multitude of different topics, qualitative approaches predominated (typically taking the form of an
essay, editorial or case study), only a very small fraction of the articles analyzed were quantitative (quite
often, the analysis was limited to the presentation and discussion of simple descriptive statistics), very few of
the articles assessed were based on empirical research, included hypotheses tests, or applied more
sophisticated statistical methods. Moreover, after examining 211 articles published between 1990 and 2009,
his study failed to find evidence that the 'place marketing' and 'place branding' literature has reached a point
where we can say that a hefty theory is under construction.
Metaxas’ (2010) conceptual article aims to present, the foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction through
the use of place marketing process in order to provide answers in three critical points: (i) how important and
effective is place marketing as a tool in FDI’s attraction; (ii) what are the prerequisites for place marketing
implementation so that FDI attraction becomes successful; and (iii) how important is branding on overall
place marketing effectiveness. He claims that place marketing can comprise an effective tool to attract FDI.
Thus, in order to be effective, place marketing should be supplemented and supported by place branding.
Especially in the case of attracting FDI, a place brand equity is necessary to be developed. Host place should
have values and assets that will form an attractive competitive image which will convince the final decision
of potential investors.
Hankinson (2010) assembled an agenda for future research into place branding based on three separate
approaches: a thematic review of the mainstream and place branding literatures, field research among place
branding practitioners and a comparative analysis of the results of these approaches with recently published
research agendas. Thus, he stated that articles and books on place branding are published in all three domains,
but represent places in different ways: in the tourism domain, places are represented as destinations to visit;
these can be countries, regions, cities and towns; in the urban policy domain, the focus is on the economic
development of towns and cities based not only on tourism, but also on other areas such as retailing, financial
and cultural services; from a marketing perspective, place branding can be applied to any one or all types of
locations and activities. These diversities in the interpretation of place branding can sometimes cause
confusion over the use of terms and associated vocabulary (in Hanna and Rowley, 2008). As a consequence,
there is little consensus between the domains about what branding consists of, and how it should be applied
(Skinner, 2008). This seems likely to continue as long as authors in the different domains work in isolation
and interpret place branding from their own academic perspectives rather than from a practitioner-based
perspective. The outcomes of these analyses are a 12-point agenda for research based on the themes.
When choosing the elements of branding, two key issues emerges, focusing on the place brand’s strategic
objectives. First, at what point in the branding process should it be used in? Should all elements be used to
attract and assist potential and existing target market in perceiving the place? The second objective relates to
the level of relationship the place wants to have with a particular target market. Much have been written
about the elements of branding and the extent to which customers and place want relationship with each
other. Table 1 provides the results of meta analysis on the topics of corporate branding, rural branding, city
branding, region branding and country branding from the latest publications.
This study classifies a large number of existing literature on branding for organization (corporate), rural area,
city, region and country and group them into fewer categories. This provides a guide for organization
(corporate), rural, city, region and country to conduct branding elements audit of their current practices to
314
ascertain the extent to which they are successfully building the desired level of brand building through the
elements of visual, verbal, media, behaviour, culture and event.
Table. 1
Element
s
Corporate
branding
Extant Literature : Branding Elements
Rural
City
branding
Branding
Event
Culture
Gyrd-jone,
Merrilees
& Miller
2013
(corporate
brand as
internal
branding
approache
s)
Mittilä &
Lepistö
2013
(atmosphe
re)
Behaviou
r
Gyrd-jone,
Merrilees
& Miller
2013
(corporate
brand as a
values-
Mittilä &
Lepistö
2013
(entrepren
eurs)
Björner 2013 (oniline city branding)
Sevin 2013 (destination marketing)
Gelders & Bart van Zuilen 2013 (city
event)
Chunying 2013 (advertisment)
Wang, Xiaokaiti, Zhou, Yang, Liu, et
al 2012 (Shanghai expo)
De Carlo, Canali, Pritchard, & Morgan
2009 (Milan rebranding for Expo 2015)
Govers 2013 (place branding)
Boland 2013 (spatial planning as city
branding)
Hakala & Lemmetyinen 2013 (cultural
capital as city branding)
Zenker & Beckmann 2013 (brand
association)
Braun, Kavaratzis & Zenker 2013
(general marketing, human geographu,
collborative governance)
Hernandez-Garcia 2013 (social
urbanism)
Halachmi & Meng 2013 (citizen
participation)
Alonso & Bea 2012 (cultural heritage)
Muratovski 2012 (architecture &
integrated design)
Torres 2012 (museum)
Hospers 2010 (migration flows)
Russell, Mort, & Hume 2009
(campaign and social change)
Kavaratzis 2009 (vision, culture,
communities, synergies, infrastructure,
cityscape, lifestyles, communication)
Kazançcoglu& Dirsehan 2013
(experience)
Hakala & Öztürk 2013 (visionary
people)
Region
Brandin
g
Country
Branding
Heslop,
Nadeau
& O'reilly
2013
(country
branding)
Bruwer
&
Johnson
2010
(product
produced
in the
region)
Rufaidah
et al
2006a
(national
brand)
Bruwer
&
Johnson
2010
(product
produced
in the
Rufaidah
et al
2006a
(national
brand)
315
based
approach)
Rufaidah
et al 2003,
2006b,
2012
(corporate
identity,
visual
identity)
Media
Rufaidah
et al 2003,
2006b,
2012
(corporate
identity,
visual
identity)
Verbal
elements
Gyrd-jone,
Merrilees
& Miller
2013
(corporate
brand as
corporate
communic
ation)
Rufaidah
et al 2003,
Mittilä &
Lepistö
2013
(unfold
stories)
branding)
association)
Halachmi & Meng 2013 (citizen
participation)
Kemp, Childers & Williams 2012
(brand association)
Merrilees, Miller & Herington 2012
(multiple stakeholders)
Kaplan, Yurt, Guneri, & Kurtulus
2010 (brand personalities)
Hospers 2010 (migration flows)
cityscape, lifestyles, services,
communication)
Jacobsen 2009 (the investor-based
place brand equity framework)
Zavattaro 2012 (media analysis)
communication)
Zenker 2009 (place marketing and city
branding)
association)
region)
Ikuta,
Yukawa
&
Hamasak
i 2007
(individu
al brand)
Rufaidah
et al
2006a
(national
brand)
Bruwer
&
Johnson
2010
(product
produced
in the
region)
Ikuta,
Yukawa
&
Rufaidah
et al
2006a
(national
brand)
316
2006b,
2012
(corporate
identity,
visual
identity)
Visual
elements
Gyrd-jone,
Merrilees
& Miller
2013
(corporate
brand as
differentiat
ion)
Rufaidah
et al 2003,
2006b,
2012
(corporate
identity,
visual
identity)
Mittilä &
Lepistö
2013
(artifacts)
Vuorinen
& Vos
2013
(landscape
)
Element
s
Corporate
branding
Rural
branding
integrated design)
Zavattaro 2012 (media analysis)
Russell, Mort, & Hume 2009
(campaign and social change)
Ashworth & Kavaratzis 2009 (design,
logo slogan, promotional campaign)
communication)
branding)
branding)
(spatial planning as city branding)
association)
Hernandez-Garcia 2013 (social
urbanism)
Alonso & Bea 2012 (cultural heritage)
integrated design)
Torres 2012 (museum)
Hospers 2009 (photogenic features /
graphic image)
Ashworth & Kavaratzis 2009 (design,
logo slogan, promotional campaign)
communication)
branding)
City
Branding
Hamasak
i 2007
(individu
al brand)
Bruwer
&
Johnson
2010
(product
produced
in the
region)
Rufaidah
et al
2006a
(national
brand)
Region
Brandin
g
Country
Branding
317
The above mentioned results shows the lack of a coherent conceptualization on regional branding, however it
has not prevented the literature from positing on its consequences. To incorporate the wide range of possible
assessment of regional branding criteria arising from the literature, this study uses the theoretical foundation
that allows the exploration of the attributes and dimensions of regional branding. The study proposes specific
concrete attributes that shape regional branding, which trigger perceptual attributes. Hankinson and Cowking
(1995) argued that brand definitions can be categories into six mainstream of thought. These are visual/verbal
triggers, positioning, added value, brand image, personality, and perceptual appeal approaches.
Similar to the predecessor who studied place branding:
(1) using visual element i.e. Björner 2013 (oniline city branding), Sevin 2013 (destination marketing),
Govers 2013 (place branding), Boland 2013 (spatial planning as city branding), (spatial planning as city
branding), Hakala & Lemmetyinen 2013 (cultural capital as city branding), Zenker & Beckmann 2013 (brand
association), Braun, Kavaratzis & Zenker 2013 (general marketing, human geographu, collborative
governance), Hernandez-Garcia 2013 (social urbanism), Chunying 2013 (advertisment), Alonso & Bea 2012
(cultural heritage), Muratovski 2012 (architecture & integrated design), Torres 2012 (museum), Hospers 2009
(photogenic features / graphic image), Ashworth & Kavaratzis 2009 (design, logo slogan, promotional
campaign), Kavaratzis 2009 (vision, culture, communities, synergies, infrastructure, cityscape, lifestyles,
services, communication), Zenker 2009 (place marketing and city branding), De Carlo, Canali, Pritchard &
Morgan 2009 (Milan rebranding for Expo 2015);
(2) using visual element i.e. Björner 2013 (oniline city branding), Sevin 2013 (destination marketing),
Govers 2013 (place branding), Hakala & Lemmetyinen 2013 (cultural capital as city branding), Zenker &
Beckmann 2013 (brand association), Braun, Kavaratzis & Zenker 2013 (general marketing, human
geographu, collborative governance), Chunying 2013 (advertisment), Muratovski 2012 (architecture &
integrated design), Zavattaro 2012 (media analysis), Russell, Mort, & Hume 2009 (campaign and social
change), Ashworth & Kavaratzis 2009 (design, logo slogan, promotional campaign), Kavaratzis 2009
(vision, culture, communities, synergies, infrastructure, cityscape, lifestyles, services, communication),
Zenker 2009 (place marketing and city branding), De Carlo, Canali, Pritchard, & Morgan 2009 (Milan
rebranding for Expo 2015);
(3) using media/marketing communication tools i.e. Björner 2013 (oniline city branding), Sevin 2013
(destination marketing), Govers 2013 (place branding), Hakala & Lemmetyinen 2013 (cultural capital as city
branding), Braun, Kavaratzis & Zenker 2013 (general marketing, human geographu, collborative
governance), Chunying 2013 (advertisment), Zavattaro 2012 (media analysis), Kavaratzis 2009 (vision,
culture, communities, synergies, infrastructure, cityscape, lifestyles, services, communication), Zenker 2009
(place marketing and city branding), De Carlo, Canali, Pritchard, & Morgan 2009 (Milan rebranding for Expo
2015).
Govers (2013) argued that places i.e. region, are much more complex and often mistakes are made by treating
the city or region as products; regions offer environments that allow for product offerings to be brought to
international markets; such as fashion products in Milan and cultural offerings in the island of Bali. He
contended that places are spaces where people live, in which they move around, bring up their children,
enjoy their work and have leisure time, so “by the use of a logo or slogan seems to be rather naïve, to put it
mildly”. However, pragmatism and expediency prompt this research to modified the definition of visual
identity’s conceptualisation from Rufaidah, Razzaque and Walpole (2003). Their paper provides a brief
background on corporate identity structure by reviewing relevant literature and attempts to propose an
operational definition of corporate identity structure, a conceptual definition of corporate identity and the
variables constituting corporate identity. This study modified their components of visual identity as part of
regional branding component; where they defined (2003, p.2433) “visual identity as an integral part of
corporate identity which consists of the design of products/ services (e.g. corporate name, logotype,
typography and colour), corporate communication’s tool (e.g. slogan and visual communication), and
318
physical environment of the organisation (e.g. spatial design)”. The perceptual attributes, i.e. product design,
marketing communication tools and physical environment of the organisation, that combine to assess more
abstract dimensions of regional branding. The evaluation of attributes, and the resulting dimensions, generate
a higher-order abstraction (e.g. overall assessment of regional branding). So that if a region has an identity,
the region can be branded through several regional distinctiveness i.e. product produced in the region. In this
study, West Java province as a region produced fashion product.
So that, based on the aforementioned extant literature review, this study defines regional branding as various
ways to form the distinctivenss of the region through product/service design (i.e. region name, logotype,
typography, colour and other visual element), various communication tools (i.e. printed media, electronics
media, and social media), physical environmental atmosphere (i.e. environmental design of the business
activities). These perceptual attributes, and the resulting dimensions, can be evaluated on a scale, while
technical aspects could be judged on an existing or non-existing basis. Hence, perceptual-based dimensions
of the regional branding would likely deliver assessments of all dimensions.
METHODOLOGY
Descriptive statistics
The background information of the surveyed respondents is shown in Table 2. The female respondents
outnumbered the male respondents (50.2% and 49.8%). More than 58% of them are aged above 25 years old,
as 53% of them are working. More than 73.4% of them are highly educated in their educational background
i.e. diploma graduate, college graduate and postgraduate. Online questionnaires were distributed to the
respondents and they were asked to give their answer on a five-point Likert scale (ranging from 1, indicating
very strongly disagree to 5, indicating strongly disagree).
Table 2
Respondent Characteristics (N=208)
Demografi
F
(N=280, Missing Number=1)
Male
103
Gender
Female
104
20-25
88
26-30
16
31-35
22
Age (years)
36-40
24
41-45
31
≥ 46
26
High School Graduate
55
Diploma Graduate
5
Education
College Graduate
56
Posgraduate (Master)
86
Posgraduate (Doctoral)
5
Students
97
Work Status
Working
110
SCALE DEVELOPMENT
(%)
49.8
50.2
42.5
7.7
10.6
11.6
15.0
12.6
26.6
2.4
27.1
41.5
2.4
46.9
53.1
319
This study presents a validated multi-item scale based on the underlying construct of regional branding that
extends previous research on regional branding literature. The measure is called the regional branding scale.
The research determines its dimensions by analysing customer perceptions on regional brand. The study
conducted exploratory research to develop a new multi-dimensional regional branding. In order to validate
empirically the regional branding scale, this study adopted scale development that was performed based on
the suggestions of Churchill (1979). Churchill’s concept has been adopted by many scholars in marketing as
one of the most comprehensive steps for scale development (Rufaidah 2006, 2012). Churchill outlines eight
basic steps for developing self-report measures of marketing constructs. However, this study combines the
first seven steps proposed by Churchill to develop the required scales. These steps are:
 specify domain of construct,
 generate a sample of items,
 questionnaire scaling and questionnaire development,
 collect data, assess the reliability, and
 assess validity.
In order to assess the reliability and validity, next section explain four steps.
Stage 1 articulates the meaning and domain of regional branding based on insights from the literature and a
comprehensive qualitative study. It results in a preliminary scale containing 37 items that represent three
dimensions. Stage 2 describes the administration of the scale to a representative sample of repeat customers
of fashion products from West Java provinces. Using exploratory factor analysis, the scale is purified that
represent four regional branding dimensions. In Stage 3, the study conducted confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) to validate the purified scale based on 208 collected questionnaires from a representative sample,
which confirms the scale's reliability and validity. Stage 4 introduces the final scale and the conceptual
framework of regional branding. To direct the research, the following hypotheses were tested: H0 :  = 0
Loading factor (validity coefficient) equal to zero and H1 :   0 Loading factor (validity coefficient)
different with zero
Stage 1: the qualitative study
To articulate the meaning and the domain of regional branding, and its measure, the initial stage of the study
explores the perceptual attributes of regional branding through in-depth interviews. Using personal in-depth
interviews where respondents are restricted as little as possible in their natural flow of speech and is an
accepted method for assessing consumers' cognitive structures and underlying purchasing motivations.
Generating an initial item pool through qualitative research, according to Churchill (1979, p. 67 in Klaus &
Maklan 2012), "a judgment sample of persons who can offer some ideas and insights into the phenomenon";
so the objective is to create an initial pool of items, which are then scrutinized thoroughly through other tests.
After conducting individual in-depth interviews with 30 customers from West Java provinces area over a
four-week period: each interview lasted between 30 and 60 minutes. The sample consisted of customers who
had purchased one or more fashion products in the previous six months in West Java province area.
Customers were recruited by representative lecturers in representatives universities in West Java province
areas. The sample was randomly selected from undergraduate and postgraduate students of that higher
education institutions in West Java province ares.
Three marketing academics, postgraduate students and five business fashion product owners assessed the
readability of the items. To maximize the content and face validity of the items generated from the
exploratory research, a panel of expert judges reviewed the retained item pool. The expert panel comprised
three marketing academics who familiar with the scale development process performed the tasks, firstly, in
commenting the clarity, conciseness and labeling of the items and defined their own labels for the items. The
three marketing academics were asked about the similarity of items, the clarity of phrasing and the
terminology used in the scale. Then, the panel members rated each item with respect to its relevance to the
320
item description. Ratings were given on a five-point scale. Finally, the panel members were asked what
dimensions and sub-dimensions evolved from the research model and items. This procedure resulted in all 37
items from the three dimensions namely visual branding, marketing communication tools and physical
environment of the organization as dimensions of regional branding. The three dimensions representing 37
items are: product design (PD 1-20) consist of 20 item, marketing communications tools (MCT 1-8) consist
of 8 items and physical environment of the organization (PEO 1-9) consists of 9 items.
Stage 2: scale purification through exploratory factor analysis (EFA)
The scale was purified through a subsequent phase of quantitative research conducted amongst fashion
products consumers using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). EFA is particularly appropriate for scale
development or when there is little theoretical basis for specifying a priori the number and patterns of
common factors (Hurley et al., 1997). Data were collected through an online questionnaire accessible through
a link sent by university representatives that located in cities and regencies in West Java area to a sample of
respondents who had purchased more than one fashion products and the most recent products within the
previous six months. The data test the appropriateness of the 37 items for generating the dimensions of
regional branding, hence refining the scale. The corresponding survey generated 208 qualified responses,
which were subsequently analyzed utilizing the software packages SPSS and LISREL.
For the EFA, the principal component analysis was used as the extraction method and the factors were rotated
using the varimax rotation method with Kaiser normalization. Prior to that, reliability test was performed and
only items with an index greater than 0.4 were considered for factor analysis. The EFA provides a 7-factor
solution with 66.165% Total Variance Explained (TVE). The Bartlett Test of Sphericity shows a very small
p-value (0.000), indicating that there is a statistical probability that the correlation matrix has a significant
correlation among at least some of the variable (Hair et al., 1998 in Klaus & Maklan 2012). Furthermore the
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy is also very high, 0.906, indicating that the latent
constructs can predict the variability in the responses on the observed variables. Both the test provides
evidence that support factor analysis. Table 3 displays the results of the EFA. Only items with factor
loading greater that 0.4 were used for the final run of the factor analysis.
Tabel 3
Result of EFA
Component
CommuItem
nalities
PD1
PD2
PD5
PD6
PD13
PD14
PD15
PD16
PD17
PD19
PD20
0.586
0.612
0.636
0.668
0.573
0.586
0.650
0.687
0.738
0.533
0.531
Physical
Familiarity
Knowledge Visual
Product
Environ
Service
on
Perceived
on Social Design
Design
ments
Accessibilit
Advertising Design
Media Attractive
Uniqueness Atmosphere
y
Media
Quality
Usage
ness
Quality
Usage
PDU
PEAQ
SA
KOSMU
VDA
FOAMU
PDQ
0.497
0.615
0.759
0.725
0.692
0.605
0.642
0.778
0.806
0.584
0.542
321
PEO5 0.689
PEO6 0.681
PEO7 0.703
PEO8 0.740
PEO9 0.534
PD10 0.574
PD11 0.643
PEO1 0.759
PEO2 0.665
PEO3 0.703
PEO4 0.736
MCT2 0.713
MCT3 0.808
MCT4 0.761
MCT5 0.759
MCT6 0.777
PD4
0.521
PD8
0.645
PD12 0.652
PD18 0.672
MCT1 0.648
MCT7 0.719
MCT8 0.670
PD3
0.645
PD7
0.677
PD9
0.584
Variance
Explained
0.615
0.755
0.797
0.821
0.669
0.491
0.668
0.701
0.550
0.716
0.582
0.561
0.804
0.696
0.775
0.804
0.627
0.775
0.751
0.669
0.665
0.792
0.754
16.740
11.052
10.151
10.047
6.494
6.433
0.616
0.573
0.464
5.247
As suggested by Klaus & Maklan (2012), prior to conducting the exploratory factor analysis, several tests
were consulted to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis. The Bartlett Test of Sphericity tested
the overall significance of the correlation matrix and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling
adequacy to establish the suitability of the data for factor analysis (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2001; Hair et al. ,
1998). The correlation matrix was examined to ensure that inter-item correlations were substantial (>0.30)
and the anti-image matrix was assessed for low values (Hair et al. , 1998).
Reliability Analysis. The results of the factor analysis were assessed in conjunction with the results from scale
reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha and item-to-total correlations. The purpose of the EFA is to
summarize the data into a minimum number of factors for prediction purposes. The resuls posits regional
branding as comprising seven primary dimensions (Tabel 4). The validity and reliability tests have shown that
the regional branding is a seven-factor construct. Reliability refers to the capability of the instrument in
producing consistent results if it were to be repeatedly administered to a homogenous group of respondents,
other words it is the measure of consistency of a particular instrument. The results of the factor analysis were
assessed in conjunction with the results from scale reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha and item-tototal correlations. In this study, the internal-consistency was used to evaluate the consistency of the responses
for each item within the instrument. A Cronbach alpha factor of 0.724 and the fact that each of the items of
the scale displays an item-total correlation of at least 0.735, support the validity and reliability of the scale.
Nunnally and Bernstein (1994 in Klaus & Maklan 2012) mentioned that the Cronbach Alpha values for the
factors are satisfactory at more than the required level of 0.7.
322
The study used the CR (Construct Reliability) to get the result of reliabity of each item that is used in this
research. Said, Badru & Sahid (2011:1099) stated that construct Reliability (CR) is intended to determine the
consistency of construct validity indicator.
Table 4
Reliability Test Results of The Regional Branding Scale
No
Dimension,
TVE & CR
Item
PD1
PD2
PD5
PD6
PD13
PD14
1
Product Design
Uniqueness
α=0.916
TVE=34,904%
CR=0.896
PD15
PD16
PD17
PD19
PD20
2
Physical
Environments
Atmosphere
PEO5
Fashion products in West Java region has
distinctive brand compared to other fashion
products in other region
Fashion products in West Java region has
unique characteristics so could be easily
remembered compared to other fashion
products in other region
The use of brand name of fashion products in
West Java region reflected its fashion products’
distinctiveness
The use of brand names’ fashion products in
West Java region is more unique compared to
other brand names’s products
Logo of fashion products in West Java region
easy to recognize compared to other logo of
fashion products from other region
The use of the distinctiveness of fashion
products’ logo in West Java region reflecting its
product fashion’s quality
The use of typography of brand label of the
fashion products in West Java region is unique,
so that it is more attractive compare to other
fashion products
The use of typography of the fashion products
in West Java region showing West Java’s
distinctiveness
The use of typography of the fashion products
in West Java region is unique and different
compared to other products from other region
The variety of color of fashion product in West
Java region shows West-Java-fashion-products’
distinctiveness
The variety of color of fashion products in West
Java region reflecting value added of the
products in West Java region
The atmosphere of selling counter of fashion
products in West Java region is comfortable for
consumers who are shopping
Cronbach's
Alpha if
Validity
Item
Deleted
,641**
,705**
0.912
0.907
,725**
0.906
,758**
0.904
,709**
0.908
,685**
,725**
0.910
0.906
,689**
0.907
,733**
0.905
,671**
0.911
,670**
0.911
,802**
0.850
323
Quality
α=0.862
TVE=8,786%
CR=0.854
PEO6
PEO7
PEO8
PEO9
PD10
PD11
3
Service
Accessibility
α=0.886
TVE=7,098%
CR=0.789
PEO1
PEO2
PEO3
PEO4
MCT2
4
Knowledge on
Social media
usage
α=0.896
TVE=5,028%
CR=0.852
MCT3
MCT4
MCT5
MCT6
5
Visual Design
Attractiveness
α=0.714
TVE=3,918%
CR=0.800
PD4
PD8
The cleanliness of selling counter of fashion
products in West Java region is well maintained
The environment around the selling counter of
fashion products in West Java region is well
maintained
The general facilities outside the selling counter
of fashion products in West Java region is well
maintained
The parking facilities of the selling counter of
fashion products in West Java region is
provided for consumers
The distinctiveness of fashion products at West
Java region is from its design that always up-todate follow the changing times
Fashion products in West Java region is
available in the place that are easy to reach by
consumers
The selling of fashion products in West Java
region is located at strategical locations that are
easy to reach by consumers
The facilities of selling counter of fashion
products in West Java region is good in quality
that reflecting its service quality
Many public accesses i.e. city public
transportation to reach the location of the
selling counter of fashion products in West Java
region
Layout of the selling counter of fashion
products in West Java region is easy for the
consumers to get services
Fashion products in West Java region are
known have been using media such as
magazine and tabloid to promote its products
known have been using internet media such as
blogs and website in marketing its products
recognized widely in using internet media such
as blogs and website in marketing its products
Social media i.e. facebook is one of the media
that have been using to market fashion products
in West Java region
Social media i.e. twitter is one of the media that
have been using to market fashion products in
West Java region
Fashion products in West Java region does not
have distinctiveness compared to other fashion
product from other regions
The graphics design of the ads presentation of
the fashion products in West Java region in the
billboard are not attractive
,778**
0.820
,755**
0.818
,682**
0.827
,684**
0.849
,602**
0.883
,524**
0.865
,677**
0.855
,765**
0.861
,724**
0.855
,814**
0.875
,800**
0.903
,787**
0.853
,784**
0.865
,764**
0.865
,722**
0.877
,544**
0.651
,620**
0.661
324
Fashion products in West Java region does use
logo that is not attract consumers’ attention
Fashion products in West Java region does not
PD18 offer more various attractive color compare to
other various colour offered in region
Fashion products in West Java region is known
Familiarity On MCT1 have been using media such as newspaper to
promot its products
Advertising
Media
Usage
MCT7 have been using media such as radio to promot
α=0.734
its products
TVE=3,573%
CR=0.782
MCT8 have been using media such as TV to promot its
products
The design of the fashion products in West Java
PD3 region reflecting its quality product design that
is better than in other region
Perceived
Design Quality
The brand name used in fashion product in
α=0.718
PD7 West Java region reflecting the quality of its
TVE=2,858%
fashion products
CR=0.568
The design of advertising presentation of the
PD9 graphic design in the brochure in West Java
region is atractive
Note: TVE: Total Variance Explained; CR: Construct Reliability
PD12
6
7
,425**
0.653
,451**
0.642
,669**
0.715
,607**
0.591
,518**
0.632
,667**
0.565
,709**
0.579
,524**
0.731
The resulting seven dimensions and corresponding items were presented to five marketing academics familiar
with the research. This study adopted Klaus & Maklan’s (2012) steps in order to label the appropriate label
for each dimension. The expert panel was given the conceptual description of the seven dimensions and asked
to rate the seven dimensions description as either "very applicable," "somewhat applicable," or "not
applicable" relative to the dimension and its items. Dimension descriptions needed to be rated at least as
"somewhat applicable" to be retained. This procedure resulted in the labeling of the following dimensions of
regional branding.
Findings purification stage
After purification, 37 items in loaded into seven factors:
Factor-1 is composed of 11 items that stress the uniqueness of product design as part of the reflection of the
regional branding. The reflection of the regional branding of West Java from products designs were
measured by the distinctiveness of fashion products through the used of unique product (PD2), brand name
(PD1, PD5, PD6), logo (PD13, PD14), typograpgy (PD15, PD16, PD17), and color (PD19, PD20). This was
labeled the product design uniqueness (PDU) factor.
Factor-2 was defined by items that concerns physical environments atmosphere quality. These 5-item were
associated with the atmosphere of the selling counter of fashion products (PEO5), the cleanliness of selling
counter (PEO6), the environment around the selling counter (PEO7), the general facilities outside the selling
counter (PEO8), and the parking facilities of the selling counter (PEO9). This factor was labeled physical
environments atmosphere quality (PEAQ).
325
Factor-3 is composed of 6 items that focuses on to the accessibility of the products/services. This dimension
is characterized by what has been suggested by the literature the importance of service accessibility as brand
building components. The dimension incorporates evaluations of the distinctiveness of fashion products as
always up-to-date follow the changing times (PD10), the availability of the products in the place that are
easy to reach by consumers (PD10), strategic locations that are easy to reach by consumers (PEO1), the
facilities of selling counter of fashion products is good in quality that reflecting its service quality (PEO2),
many public accesses i.e. city public transportation to reach the location of the selling counter of fashion
products (PEO3), layout of the selling counter of fashion products is easy for the consumers to get services
(PEO4). This factor was labeled Service Accessibility (SA).
Factor-4 was defined by items that concerned the customer's assessment of all the interactions with the social
media. This dimension includes statements strongly associated with the perception of the customers about the
fashion products as known as have been using media such as magazine and tabloid to promote its products
(MCT2), using internet media such as blogs and website in marketing its products (MCT2), the recognition
of customer of the fashion products’ promotion using internet such as blogs and website in marketing its
products (MCT4), as known as have been using social media i.e. facebook (MCT5) and i.e. twitter (MCT6)
to market fashion products.This factor was labeled Knowledge On Social Media Usage (KOSMU)
Factor-5 was strongly the reflection of the items that measures the attractiveness of the visual design. The
emphasis of this dimension is the importance of the distinctiveness of the fashion product as compared to
other fashion product from other regions (PD4), the graphics design of the ads presentation of the fashion
products in region in the billboard (PD8), logo to attract consumers’ attention (PD12), and various attractive
color of the fashion products in comparison to other various colour offered in region (PD18). This factor was
labeled Visual Design Attractiveness (VDA).
Factor-6 was defined by items that concerned customer’s famililarity on the use of media such as newspaper
to promote fashion products in region (MCT1), the use of such as radio to promot its products (MCT7) and
the use of media such as TV to promot its products (MCT8). This factor was labeled Familiarity On
Advertising Media Usage (FOAMU).
Factor-7 was strongly reflected on the design quality of the product design. This dimension describes the
customer's assessment of all the interactions of the customers with the quality of the design of the fashion
products (PD3), the brand name and the design of advertising presentation of the graphic design (PD7) and
the attractiveness of advertising design presentation of the graphic design in the brochure in region. This
factor was labeled Perceived Design Quality (PDQ).
Stage 3: reliability and validity assessment of measure
The EFA has some major limitations such as items loading on more that one factor, and items are statistically
correlate with one another but cannot be explained theoretically (Ahire et al., 1996 in Voon & Lee 2009). To
overcome the inherent limitations of the EFA, the CFA is recommended. In this study, the CFA was
performed by carrying out path analysis using a structural equation modeling. A measurement model was
specified and the model’s overall fit was assessed to determine the degree to which the model is consistent
with the empirical data. A wide range of goodness-of-fit indices is used to assess the model from three
perspectives, namely overall fit (absolute fit), comparative fit to a base model (incremental fit) and model
parsimony. Table 5 and Table 6 shows the fit indices for the proposed models: Goodness-of-fit Index (GFI),
Adjusted Goodness-of-fit Index (AGFI), Root Mean Square of Approximation (RMSEA), Normed Fit Index
(NFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Parsimony Normed Fit Index (PNFI), Parsimony Goodness-of-Fit Index
(PGFI).
This study considers GFI, AGFI, TLI, and RMSEA as measurement of model fit that is commonly
performed. The Goodness-of-fit (GFI) and Adjusted Goodness-of-fit (AGFI) indices are also Absolute Fit
326
Indices-with 0.85 considered acceptable. Lievens and Anseel (2004:301) quoted Medsker, Williams, and
Holahan, (1994). “The goodness-of-fit index (GFI) as well as incremental fit statistics such as the
comparative fit index (CFI) and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used. For both
GFI and CFI, values > .95 constitute good fit and values> .90 acceptable fit”. Furthermore Lievens and
Anseel (2004:301) quoted Browne & Cudeck (1992) “For the RMSEA, it has been suggested that values <
.05 constitute good fit, values in the .05 to .08 range acceptable fit, values in the .08 to.10 range marginal fit,
and values > .10 poor fit”. Standardised Factor Loadings should exceed 0.50 and ideally be above 0.70, with
statistical significance, in order to demonstrate high convergence on a common point (Hair at Gallagher et al,
2008:267).
All the fit indices indicate that the regional branding scale is a seven-factor construct and the evidence
indicates that the full model of regional branding is valid.
Table 5
X2/df
GFI
1.827
0.89
Fit Indices of Regional Branding Scale
AGFI RMSEA
NFI
CFI
0.78
0.063
0.96
0.98
PNFI
PGFI
0.64
0.45
To further assess the degree of uni-dimensionality of the constructs and the convergent validity of the items
representing the constructs, measurement models were specified for each construct and the CFA was carried
out for the individual constructs. In other words, this is a procedure to check how closely the designated items
represent the construct (Thompson 2004). According to Ahire et al., (1996 in Voon & Lee 2009), ‘a goodness
of fit index of 0.90 or higher for the model suggests that there is no evidence of lack of uni-dimensionality’
(Ahire et al., 1996, p.38 in Voon & Lee 2009). Table 3 shows the results of the CFA on the individual
constructs. CFI value of 0.9 and above testifies strong scale unidimensionality, Δ value of 0.90 and above
testifies strong scale convergent validity (Sureshchander et al., 2001 in Voon & Lee 2009).
Table 6
Fit Indices of Regional Branding Components
No.
Range of
No. Dimension
of
Std
chi/df RMSEA GFI AGFI CFI
Items Regression
11
0.62 1.360
0.042
0.870 0.810 0.890
1 PDU
0.79
5
0.66 0.772
0.000
0.980 0.940 0.990
2 PEAQ
0.82
6
0.63 - 0.83 1.521
0.050
0.950 0.880 0.960
3 SA
5
0.65 - 0.90 2.156
0.075
0.940 0.830 0.960
4 KOSMU
4
0.59 - 0.65 1.087
0.055
0.980 0.900 0.960
5 VDA
3
0.59 - 0.78 0.000
0.000
1.000 1.000 1.000
6 FOAMU
3
0.53 - 0.77 0.000
0.000
1.000 1.000 1.000
7 PDQ
Note: BBC: Bentler-Bonnet Coefficient
BBC
Coef.
∆
0.860 0.860
TLI
0.980 0.980
0.940
0.920
0.880
1.000
1.000
0.950
0.950
0.950
1.000
1.000
According to Hair et al. (1998 in Voon & Lee 2009), the sample size needed to conduct CFA is five
observations per scale item. Thus, the sample size for the validation stage of the study of 208 qualified
responses exceeds the requirements to achieve a high level of statistical power.
327
Convergent Validity. The convergent validity of the instrument can be determined using Bentler Bonnet
coefficient (Voon & Lee 20092 in Voon & Lee 2009). The Bentler-Bonnet coefficient represents the ratio of
the chi-square value of the specified measurement model to that of a null model, which has no hypothesized
item loading on a construct. Scales with this coefficient value of 0.90 or above demonstrate good convergent
validity. The results of the Bentler- Bonnet Coefficient for the various dimensions of regional branding
demonstrates good convergent validity (Table 4).
Concurrent Validity. Concurrent validity refers to the ability of the construct to distinguish between groups
that they are theoretically able to differentiate (Sekaran 2000 in Voon & Lee 2009). In this study, the
concurrent validity was established by using the independent sample t-test, comparing the differences in price
perceptions scores (more expensive and affordable). Customer price is defined as expensive and affordable
using the median of the average score of the respondents’ responses on two items measuring the fashion
products’ price. The results of the t-tests (Table 7) indicate that for all the seven dimensions of regional
branding, there are significant differences between the two groups (expensive and affordable). The
respondents belong to the ‘expensive price’ group posses higher mean score for all the seven dimensions of
regional branding compared to those in the ‘affordable’ group. This is an evident of good concurrent validity.
However, only the dimension of visual design attractiveness provides insignificant differences.
Table 7
Dimenssion
PDU
Affordable
Expensive
PEAQ
Affordable
Expensive
SA
Affordable
Expensive
KOSMU
Affordable
Expensive
VDA
Affordable
Expensive
FOAMU
Affordable
Expensive
PDQ
Affordable
Expensive
No.
Item
Mean
Concurrent Validity
Std.
t-value
Deviation
p-value
11
3.366.619
3.822.690
5.022
.000
5
3.319.662
3.791.759
4.783
.000
6
3.512.690
4.076.646
6.081
.000
5
3.355.732
3.890.730
5.285
.000
4
3.064.609
3.214.764
1.563
.120
3
3.467.675
3.730.823
2.516
.013
3
3.385.680
3.717.778
3.279
.001
Discriminant validity. To test the discriminant validity, this study adopted the steps and the justification
presented by Voon & Lee (2009). Their test used the justification from Ahire et al., (1996) and
Sureshchandar et al., (2001). The discriminant validity of a measure is the degree to which the measure is
diverge from the measures that are theoretically not similar (Sureshchandar et al., 2001 in Voon & Lee 2009).
If it can be shown that the different components on the constructs actually measure different things, this will
328
be a sound basis to claim that the instrument posses discriminant validity. The chi-square difference test was
used to establish the discriminant validity of the instrument.
In this test (Tabel 5), the CFA was performed on selected pairs of constructs, allowing for correlation
between the two constructs and then the test was rerun again by constraining the correlation between the pairs
by fixing it to 1 (Ahire et al., 1996). Voon & Lee (2009) stated “The chi-square value for the free model is
defined as chi-a while the chi-square value for the constrained model is defined as chi-b. The chi-square
difference test assesses the statistical significance of the statistics ‘chi-a minus chi-b’ at p ≤ 0.01. A statistically
significant value of ‘chi-a minus chi-b’ demonstrates that the two constructs under consideration are distinct
(Ahire et al., 1996 p. 40). The procedure is then repeated for all possible pairs of constructs in the
instrument which gives a total number of mC2 pairs of constructs to be tested where ‘m’ refers to the number
of constructs in the instrument”.
Table 8 shows the result of the chi-square test examining the discriminant validity of the market orientation
scale”. The test concluded that regional branding comprises of the seven distinct dimensions: product design
uniqueness (PDU), physical environments atmosphere quality (PEAQ), service accessibility (SA),
knowledge on social media usage (KOSMU), visual design attractiveness (VDA), familiarity on advertising
media usage (FOAMU), and perceived design quality (PDQ).
Table 8
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
The Chi-Square Difference Test Assessing The Discriminant Validity The Scale
Is Fixed as 1
Regional Branding Scale
Is Free 2(df)
2(df)
*, **
112.54(103)
310.75(104)
when correlation from PDU to PEAQ
*, **
133.56(118)
352.72(119)
when correlation from PDU to SA
109.69(103)
344.67(104)
when correlation from PDU to KOSMU*, **
*, **
95.72(89)
162.68(90)
when correlation from PDU to VDA
82.84(76)
130.45(77)
when correlation from PDU to FOAMU*, **
*, **
87.53(76)
94.7(77)
when correlation from PDU to VDA
68.02(43)
156.32(44)
when correlation from PEAQ to KOSMU*,
**
2 when correlation from PEAQ to KOSMU*,
41.4(34)
242.75(35)
30.77(26)
15.36(19)
105.17(27)
53.86(20)
when correlation from PEAQ to PDQ*, **
when correlation from SA to KOSMU*, **
when correlation from SA to VDA*, **
when correlation from SA to FOAMU*, **
when correlation from SA to PDQ*, **
when correlation from KOSMU to VDA*,
19.16(19)
47.45(43)
40.43(34)
32.02(26)
44.99(26)
25.11(26)
57.86(20)
165.94(44)
109.62(35)
68.66(27)
72.35(27)
93.1(27)
2 when correlation from KOSMU to
FOAMU*, **
2 when correlation from KOSMU to PDQ*, **
2 when correlation from VDA to FOAMU*,
42.5(19)
97.77(20)
23.07(19)
9.95(13)
43.38(20)
75.86(14)
**
2 when correlation from PEAQ to VDA*, **
2 when correlation from PEAQ to FOAMU*,
**
2
2
2
2
2
2
**
**
329
23.88(13)
61.17(14)
2 when correlation from VDA to PDQ*, **
2
*, **
1.79
38.57(9)
 when correlation from FOAMU to PDQ
(8)
2
2
Note: * Significant (Sig. of  dif. Test); ** Sig. of  dif. P-Value
Dimensionality. The fit of the measurement and structural models examined was assessed through multiple
indices, as recommended by Hoyle and Panter (1995 in Klaus & Maklan 2012). Measures of comparative fit
index (CFI) and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used as indicators of acceptable
model fit. The recommended threshold of >0.90 was adopted as indicative of adequate model fit for these
indices (i.e. CFI). The accepted level for the RMSEA measure was <0.10, with lower values indicating better
model fit (Hair et al. , 1998, p. 772 in Klaus & Maklan 2012). Thus, regional branding's RMSEA score of
0.05 demonstrates an excellent model fit. The scale statistics indicate the robustness of the regional branding
model on the basis of the fit criteria established as the first research on regional branding scale.
As stated by Klaus & Maklan (2012), this study adopted their testing on the psychometric properties of the
scale through a comprehensive CFA. All items were tested in the same model and were restricted to load on
their respective factors. The results are a sign of high levels of construct reliability and average variance
extracted for all latent variables. All t -values were significant and the average variances extracted were
greater than 0.50, thus convergent validity was established. Stringent criteria for measuring the internal
consistency of a scale and its ability to measure a latent construct is adopted, and the establish construct
reliability is applied not exceeding 0.50 (Table 6). In the case of an exception, this study successfully applied
the χ2 -test for discriminant validity.
From the results, it is evident that the respective items indeed belong to the latent constructs as hypothesized.
H0 :  = 0 Loading factor (validity coefficient) equal to zero and H1 :   0 Loading factor (validity
coefficient) different with zero . Therefore it can be concluded that regional branding comprises of the seven
dimensions and the items representing each construct have a strong convergent validity.
Stage 4: conceptual framework, additional assessment (SEM) and connection to outcomes
Considering the above findings, the conceptualization of regional branding and the resulting reliable and
valid scale, this study offers the following definition of regional branding: regional branding is various ways
to form the distinctivenss of the region through product/service design (i.e. region name, logotype,
typography, colour and other visual element), various communication tools (i.e. printed media, electronics
media, and social media), physical environmental atmosphere (i.e. environmental design of the business
activities). The construct’s dimensions are product design uniqueness, physical environments atmosphere
quality, service accessibility, knowledge on social media usage, visual design attractiveness, familiarity on
advertising media usage, and perceived design quality.
Discussion
This study explored regional branding strategy using fashion products as the main driver in building regional
distinctiveness. It is aimed to describe the relationship between fashion products regional brands and their
corresponding attributes. The answers gained could provide fashion products producers and fashion products
sellers with a greater understanding of the strength of their own regional brands.
This study produced a seven-dimensional conceptualization of regional branding and the corresponding items
for each dimension by means of a scale development process. The resulting scale regional branding scale is
assessed through validity and reliability analysis of two scale data collections, assuring the sufficient
conceptualization of regional branding scale. The validity of the scale is established by linking the scale
dimensions and the overall scale to the visitors perceptions on West Java region. The regional branding scale
that used fashion products as the main driver as regional distinctiveness, was aimed to describe the
relationship between fashion products as a regional brand and their corresponding attributes. The answers
330
gained could provide fashion products producers and fashion products sellers with a greater understanding of
the strength of their own regional brands.
The findings suggest that customers base their perceptions of regional branding on seven dimensions: product
design uniqueness, physical environments atmosphere quality, service accessibility, knowledge on social
media usage, visual design attractiveness, familiarity on advertising media usage, and perceived design
quality. The findings improve our understanding of how visitors as customers, evaluate their regional
branding by linking their evaluation to distictiveness of the products design, marketing communications tools
and physical environment atmospheres.
Regional branding, and its empirically derived construct of regional branding, offer a stimulus and foundation
to advance branding literature and regional branding research, by presenting a measure capable of capturing
all facets of the construct of the regional branding. Moreover, this scale measures the distinctive drivers of the
regional branding on each of the components of the regional branding.
Managerial implications
Business owners should consider regional branding as an important strategic objective. Based on the
dimensions of regional branding, it was confirmed that components of regional branding could be controlled
by business owners of the fashion products i.e. :
 product design uniqueness (PDU),
 physical environments atmosphere quality (PEAQ),
 service accessibility (SA),
 knowledge on social media usage (KOSMU),
 visual design attractiveness (VDA),
 familiarity on advertising media usage (FOAMU), and
 perceived design quality (PDQ).
Managing regional branding is, therefore, different from managing product branding; moreover, product
branding would enhace the development of the regional brand. By investigating the regional branding as a
valid construct, this research challenges in validating the scale. The management’s interest in regional
branding would link regional branding as an important marketing outcome that could enhance the sustained
marketing performance. Regional branding scale provides a measure to help business owner, government and
professional to track the performance of the regional brand over time. More importantly, it illustrates a
detailed structure whereby business owner can determine which attributes of the customers' regional branding
are most strongly associated with the attribute the organizations are trying to achieve. The stronger the
perceptions on the regional branding, the more positive the response of the customers toward the region such
as revisit the region.
Limitations and directions for future research
This study focuses upon a particular regional setting in one country, with a sample of customers of fashion
products who were visitors of the region. This setting would become the limitation of the study. Other
researchers may investigate more comprehensive respondents from various regional areas. Further study also
could include cultural differences in consumers' assessment of regional branding by applying cross-industry
and cross-national respondents. These data would provide more holistic perspectives in the dimensions
studied and ultimately could be used to build benchmarking instrument. It would also be interesting to test the
regional branding scale for non-fashion products so the result would show more comprehensive findings.
This study recommends that future studies validate the scales on larger samples. It may be interesting to
investigate further variables relevant to be included in the regional scale i.e.:
331
 the element of events, aimed to explore the role of mega-events to the region where they are held or host
country co-branding (Heslop, Nadeau & O'reilly 2013; Wang, Xiaokaiti, Zhou, Yang, Liu, et al 2012).
 enterprises/business, intended to investigate the role of creative industry in shaping the regional brand,
 people, aimed to study the role of one stakeholder group in shaping regional branding (Vuorinen & Vos
2013; Merrilees, Miller & Herington 2012), the role of visionary people toward regional branding
development (Hakala & Öztürk 2013),
 online regional branding, aimed to study the role of region that internationally positioned using the internet
and online branding (Björner 2013; Alonso & Bea 2012)
 twitter, aimed to study the used of tweet about regional brand elements to build the regional identity and
image (Sevin 2013)
 behaviour, intended to explore the dimensions of brand experience in regions (Kazançcoglu& Dirsehan
2013)
 spatial planning, aimed to examine the relationship between spatial planning and regional branding
(Boland 2013; Muratovski 2012)
 promotional activities, intended to investigate the extent to which a region can increase its brand equity
Hakala & Lemmetyinen (2013)
 social urbanism i.e. housing upgrading programmes, aimed to explore the contribution of informal
settlements to a tourism strategy and to regional branding Hernandez-Garcia 2013.
Finally, the study on regional branding scale would also be measured in affecting business performance and
future research should tested the effect of the dimensions to certain marketing performance such as
profitability.
Conclusions
This paper is one of the very few empirical investigations in testing empirically a multiple-item scale for
measuring regional branding. This paper has employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to
understand customers’ perceptions about regional branding. The findings from the exploratory and
confirmatory factor analyses indicated that there were seven dimensions of regional branding. In other word,
the regional branding was determined by product design uniqueness, physical environments atmosphere
quality, service accessibility, knowledge on social media usage, visual design attractiveness, familiarity on
advertising media usage, and perceived design quality. With this detailed and reliable understanding of the
regional branding determinants, it is strongly believed that the customers as visitors value and expectations
can be managed more comprehensively. The scale developed in this study can be used to monitor the
perceptions of visitors toward the region. Although developed in the context of customers as visitors of the
regions, this instrument may be of interest to other companies in similar industries. The findings of the study
provide managers with valuable insight into the dimensions that reflect customers' regional branding
perceptions. This knowledge can subsequently be used to improve and manage regional branding. The author
hope that the scale will support additional research on regional branding development.
Acknowledgement
This paper is generated from the result of the study that was completed through government grant, namely
National Priority Reseach of the Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic
Development (Penelitian Prioritas Nasional Masterplan Percepatan dan Perluasan Pembangunan Ekonomi
Indonesia MP3EI), from Ministry of Education & Culture, Republic of Indonesia, 2013.
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336
THE IDENTITY OF ISAN MUD MEE SILK TO CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM IN
THAILAND
Faculty of Management Science, Khon Kaen University
Khon Kaen, Thailand
and
Donruetai Kovathanakul
Faculty of Management Science, Khon Kaen University
Khon Kaen, Thailand
ABSTRACT
As a result of the Eleventh National Economic and Social Development Plan (2012-2016) of Thailand
currently set guidelines to develop the country by differentiating of products and services, applying social and
cultural cost to be an integrated national strength and potential, these lead to national development in
accordance with Thai good cultural heritage that concentrated on the development of cultural cost in
commercial ways and the development of national economics by connecting with other types of cost. The
utilization of ISAN Mud Mee silk textile woven identity for promoting and developing cultural tourism,
therefore, is regarded as a concrete support on the national development guidelines. The important things
should be considered are: to let all stakeholders participate cultural tourism management, to make
communities who own those resources have awareness on the value and importance of their own cultural
heritage and to encourage consciousness to be proud on their cultural heritages. As mentioned above, these
are affected to ISAN Mud Mee silk textile woven, an indigenous cultural heritage on traditional fine arts, for
conserving their significant value to use as Thailand cultural tourism cost for further attracting tourists.
Key word: Cultural, Cultural Heritage Tourism, Cultural Heritage Significant, ISAN Mud Mee silk
Introduction
ASEAN countries currently realize that tourism industry has its strategic role on the growth of national
economics; variety of physical, social and cultural identity including abundant natural resources of tourist
locations in each member that are attracted to tourists for their continuous visits. It’s the same as Thailand,
the country with several of tourist resources, whether natural or arts and cultural tourism of people.
Thai silk is regarded as the most important cultural heritage on handicraft of Thailand with long historical
background. This indicates local identity related to cultural way of living, especially E-san Thai silk in
“Mud Mee or Ikat” patterns caused by applying traditional knowledge with living conditions in surrounding
social of people in E-san area to maintain and inherit from generation to generation. There are many
producers and retailers of Thai silk, which can make good income for Thailand. The official information in
1988 showed that Thai silks were exported at 1.5 million meters and sold for tourists at 12 million meters
(The Thai silk association, 2011). A special Thai silk so-called “Mud Mee” is promoted by Her Majesty the
Queen’s Project on the promotion of Thai silk weaving that makes it be popular among consumers. Due to
337
the identity of E-san Thai silk with differences from silk of other countries: hand weaving, soft, shiny, rough
and light weight fabric; Thai silk is currently interested and attracted by general people. The valuable and
beautiful E-san Thai silk is not only tailored for wearing, but also be applied for multipurpose objectives as
decorating or fitting together with other materials as well as value adding as souvenirs for tourists.
The most patterns appeared on those E-san Thai silks are related to way of life, surrounding environment,
belief and favor of local people. That is to say that all patterns on each cloth come from imagination of
weavers who have their expert on remember and create those traditional patterns without any drafting. This
kind of Thai silk, an indigenous cultural heritage of the northeastern region, is a significant example of
culture made with local creative thinking. Thus, related agencies should play their roles on participating in
utilizing such cultural cost, planning and creating activities of cultural tourism together with communities
(Preeda Poonsin, 2012).
Objectives
1. To study the cultural heritage characteristics of E-san Thai silk that has been inherited from ancestors.
2. To study the value and importance of cultural heritage on E-san Thai silk affected to tourism.
3. To suggest the guidelines for managing indigenous cultural heritage on E-san Thai silk.
Methodology
This study was conducted by collecting data and information from documents, books, articles and related
researches. Types and significance of cultural heritage were studied and analyzed under the theory and value
of indigenous cultural heritage.
Literature Review
Cultural Tourist
World Tourism Organization (WTO, 1985 : 131) defines “Cultural Tourism” as a travel of persons under a
cultural motivation such as a travel for art exhibitions and other kinds of culture included visiting of festivals,
cultural occasions, monuments or cultural sites, natural resource sites or making a pilgrimage. Poria et al
(2001) recently defines a meaning of “Cultural Tourism” by focusing on tourists’ motivation as “…cultural
tourism is a subgroup of tourism which has main motivation on cultural characteristics of those places
according to tourists’ understanding about such places.”
According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2003, the
protection of cultural heritage is divided into 2 types:
-
Tangible Cultural Heritage.
-
Intangible Cultural Heritage.
338
The intangible cultural heritages are inherited from generation to generation. They are usually created by
communities and groups of people to meet their own environments, to interact among them to nature and their own
history (Eleonora Lupo, 2007) as well as to make people feel that they have their identity and continuity and
respect on cultural diversity and human creativity.
In conclusion, “Cultural Heritage” has wide meaning and correlation among human and nature
(UNESCO, 2011). The cultural heritage has its meaning not only visible things as ancient sites, buildings or
natural parks that are "Tangible Cultural Heritage" (Marilena Vecco, 2010), but also invisible things as skill,
knowledge and competency of person or groups of person, way of life, belief and tradition that are
"Intangible Cultural Heritage (Department of Cultural Promotion, 2010). These indicate local wisdom,
expression, skill and creative method for showing local identity and reflecting of social development and
culture of communities (Office of the National Culture Commission, 2009).
Thai Intangible Cultural Heritage
Department of Cultural Promotion (2556: 36) defines the word of “Intangible Cultural Heritage" as a
practice, expression, knowledge, skill, instrument, material, invention and cultural area related to those things
that people, community or individual accept as a part of their own cultural heritages. Indigenous cultural
heritage is inherited from generation to generation. They are usually created by communities and groups of people to
meet their own environments, to interact among them to nature and their own history as well as to make people feel
that they have their identity and continuity and respect on cultural diversity and human creativity.
Since UNESCO lets each country uses its consideration to indentify and set details on the category of
indigenous cultural heritage without depending on UNESCO convention. In 2003 Department of Cultural
Promotion identified the indigenous cultural heritage into 7 categories (Department of Cultural Promotion,
2013).
1. Language means an instrument for communicating people's way of life.
2. Folk Literature means literatures that have been transferred in folk's way of life.
3. Performance Arts mean performances, music, dancing and story plays.
4. Social Regulation, Ritual and Festival
5. Traditional Skilled Craftsmanship means wisdom, skilled craftsmanship, selection of materials
and creative techniques that shows local identity and reflecting of social development and culture of
communities.
6. Knowledge and Practices Related to Nature and Universe mean body of knowledge, method,
skill, belief and expression developed from interaction between human and environment.
7. Thai Indigenous Sports mean recreation, sports and martial arts that reflect Thai way.
339
From the categorical identification of indigenous cultural heritage by Department of Cultural
Promotio

INTERNATIONAL ANTALYA HOSPITALITY TOURISM AND TRAVEL

Transcription

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