Hospitality Administration and Management Commons^™

A Closer Look At Visitors' Immersion In China's Theme Parks, Xiaoxiao Fu, Carissa Baker

Rosen Research Review

Engaging life experiences can become deeply entrenched in the human memory, facilitating mind associations, stimulating the imagination, and inspiring rich storytelling. UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management's Associate Professor Xiaoxiao Fu and Assistant Professor Carissa Baker, along with their co-authors, recently collected the subjective accounts of 30 people who had visited renowned theme parks in China. By analyzing these first-person tales, the researchers were then able to pin-point patterns and processes that characterized the respondents' immersion in experiences at the Chinese theme parks.

Identifying Youth Appeals In Alcohol Alternative Social Media Content Through Framing, Melina Oneal

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Proposed regulations for alcohol advertising prevent beverage companies from targeting people under the legal drinking age. However, similar regulations for alcohol alternative beverages are less explored, which could allow alcohol alternative products to create awareness for alcoholic beverages among youth. Alcohol alternatives beverages, including no-alcohol and low-alcohol products, are increasing in popularity and can function as compliments to alcoholic products to decrease the total alcohol volume consumed or as substitutes for alcoholic products. Framing theory can be operationalized through the Content Appealing to Youth Index, an index of content elements found in research literature to be appealing to youth, to …

Social Tourism In National Policy Documents In Turkey, Nail Hoscan, Erkan Turkseven

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This research aims to investigate the significance and function of social tourism within Turkey's national policy documents. Since the conceptual emergence of social tourism in the 1950s, there have been several cyclical developments, such as the rapid spread of mass tourism worldwide, changes in the approach of the social state, neoliberal economic transformations, and the emergence of sustainability perspectives. For countries that have established Social Tourism as a part of public policy, its benefits are strongly asserted, and social tourism is included in the scope of public planning. These developments have been influential in the preparation and implementation of Turkey's …

Theme Park Knowledge Hub Of The Future, Carissa Baker

Rosen Research Review

The global attractions industry has grown in size and innovation in the last few decades. Encompassing theme parks and waterparks as well as cultural and natural attractions, this segment has diverse career opportunities and constant potential for growth in mature and emerging markets. Theme parks alone garnered a billion visitors in 2019. Post-pandemic, the industry bounced back quicker than expected, with most operators seeing increased attendance and revenue. The attractions industry continues to develop new concepts which provide amazing experiences for guests around the world. However, retirement during the pandemic, coupled with the industry's rapid expansion, created a greater need …

Just Looking: Tourist Gaze And The Theme Park Experience, Wei Wei, Yanyan Zheng, Nathaniel Line, Lu Zhang

Rosen Research Review

What makes a memorable theme park experience? New research led by UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management's Assistant Professor Wei Wei looks at how visitor experience is influenced by the 'tourist gaze'—the consumption of visual experiences, as well as other services, in a tourism destination. With important implications for theme park operators and managers, the study focuses on visitors' visual interactions with fellow visitors and finds they have a significant impact on visitors' emotions and the quality of their overall experience.

Theme Park Visitors Prefer Human-Like Robots In Customer Service Interactions, Ady Milman, Asli D.A. Tasci

Rosen Research Review

Service robots are becoming increasingly popular in many industries and social settings, including education, childcare, elderly therapy centers, and even theme parks. Tourism and hospitality industries are adopting robots enthusiastically and are being closely studied to observe guest engagement and reaction to robotic services. Service robots are becoming increasingly popular in many industries and social settings, including education, childcare, elderly therapy centers, and even theme parks. Tourism and hospitality industries are adopting robots enthusiastically and are being closely studied to observe guest engagement and reaction to robotic services. UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management researchers, Dr. Ady Milman and Dr. …

Strengthening The Southern Nevada Workforce Pipeline, Katie M. Gilbertson

Policy Briefs and Reports

This report analyzes the Southern Nevada employment ecosystem by utilizing occupational clusters recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor. The first section examines occupations in the tourism industry using three occupational clusters: hospitality and leisure; arts, audio/video technology and communications; and the transportation, distribution, and logistics. Next, this report utilizes the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance’s 2022 Workforce Blueprint to identify the top 15 in-demand occupations for Southern Nevada and occupational clusters. A case study of the MGM College Opportunity Program (COP) is presented to demonstrate an existing workforce training program that promotes upward mobility of leisure and hospitality employees …

Strengthening The Southern Nevada Workforce Pipeline, Katie M. Gilbertson

Student Research

Workforce development has been a keystone in the discussion of economic diversification of Las Vegas for decades. The leisure and hospitality industry is the lifeline for the Southern Nevada economy due to the reliance on tourism as the city’s main economic driver. The leisure and hospitality industry requires physical labor and more face-to-face customer interaction than other employment sectors. Thus, these jobs often do not require high educational attainment, but rather sharp soft skills like effective listening, nonverbal communication, and negotiation strategies. While these are valuable traits, the lack of educational attainment within the leisure and hospitality workforce suppresses employees’ …

Festivals And The City: The Contested Geographies Of Urban Events, Andrew Smith, Guy Osborn, Bernadette Quinn

Books / Book chapters

This book explores how festivals and events affect urban places and public spaces, with a particular focus on their role in fostering inclusion. The ‘festivalisation’ of culture, politics and space in cities is often regarded as problematic, but this book examines the positive and negative ways that festivals affect cities by examining festive spaces as contested spaces. The book focuses on Western European cities, a particularly interesting context given the social and cultural pressures associated with high levels of in-migration and concerns over the commercialisation and privatisation of public spaces.

The key themes of this book are the quest for …

Explaining The Economic Impact Of Covid-19: Core Industries And The Hispanic Workforce, Aaron Klein, Ember Smith

Policy Briefs and Reports

As the United States prepares for a COVID-19 recovery, policymakers need to understand why some cities and communities were more vulnerable to the pandemic’s economic consequences than others. In this paper, we consider the association between a city’s core industry, its economic susceptibility to the pandemic, and the recession’s racially disparate impact across six select metropolitan areas. We find that areas with economies that rely on the movement of people—like Las Vegas with tourism—faced substantially higher unemployment at the end of 2020 than cities with core industries based on the movement of information. Further, we find the hardest-hit areas have …

Florida's Natural Springs: Exhibit Sign, Emily Horne, Burak Ogreten

Rosen Library Exhibits

On display: January-May 2021

Featured items: materials on loan from Special Collections, including drawings, books, and photographs, along with books from the Rosen Library's permanent collections, and epoxy resin dioramas created by Emily Horne.

Primary Curators: Emily Horne and Barak Ogreten.

See more items from this exhibit

Florida's Natural Springs: Exhibit Brochure, Emily Horne, Burak Ogreten

Rosen Library Exhibits

On display: January-May 2021

Featured items: materials on loan from Special Collections, including drawings, books, and photographs, along with books from the Rosen Library's permanent collections, and epoxy resin dioramas created by Emily Horne.

Primary Curators: Emily Horne and Barak Ogreten.

See more items from this exhibit

Enacting A Culture Of Access In Our Conference Spaces, Adam Hubrig, Ruth Osorio, Neil Simpkins, Leslie R. Anglesey, Ellen Cecil-Lemkin, Margaret Fink, Janine Butler, Tonya Stremlau, Stephanie L. Kerschbaum, Brenda Jo Brueggemann, Anonymous, Cody A. Jackson, Christina V. Cedillo

Women's & Gender Studies Faculty Publications

The article offers information on periodical's rhetoric and writing studies conference held in September 2020. Topics discussed include prioritizing access in the service of love, justice, connection and liberation; proposing expansive frameworks for access in designing accessible writing classrooms and professional events; and major principles of definition of access, which reflect access's complexity and liberatory potential such as dynamic, relational and intersectional.

The Tourist And The Toured: How Hostel Owners Navigate The Age Of Global Gentrification, Brianna Bilter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the mid-1990s, numerous Moroccan riads, or traditional homes built around a central courtyard, have been converted into tourist accommodations in Morocco’s old medinas. This paper seeks to analyze the impact of riad-style hostels specifically on the medinas, as hostels are relatively new to Morocco and have various benefits and consequences for the community. Though hostels are often portrayed as a sustainable form of tourist accommodation compared to multinational hotel corporations, they have an acute impact by bringing tourists into previously residential spaces and exacerbating the effects of global gentrification. My research relies on interviews with hostel owners and employees, …

Sports Betting And Indian Gaming: Overcoming Barriers To Market Entry And Integration Of Sports Books Into Tribal Casinos, Steve Light

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision In Murphy v. NCAA (2018) permitting states to legalize sports wagering, the biggest brand-names in gaming worldwide were positioning themselves to capitalize on the fan base for America’s most recognizable sports leagues.

Sports wagering already is up and running in five states; analysts predict that more than half the states will legalize it within five years. Many will be among the 29 states that currently have casinos owned and operated by American Indian tribes in this $32.4 billion market segment.

There is no firm sense and little data pointing to …

Virtual Reality Technology And Customer Delight In Theme Parks: The Role Of Experience Quality, Chenge Jia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the rapid development of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, theme park companies are eager to apply VR technology to their attractions. Operating as highly hedonic consumption businesses, theme parks need to make sure that they offer unique and memorable experiences to customers in order to enhance their competitive advantages. However, empirical data is needed to understand whether and how VR technology will enhance visitors' experiences, including the quality of their experience, customer delight, and customer loyalty. Therefore, this study aims to examine how VR influences visitor's theme park experience quality, customer delight, and customer loyalty. Based on an in-depth literature …

Chinese Outbound Travel: Understanding The Socioeconomic Drivers, Songshan (Sam) Huang, Xiang Wei

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study used a national sample (N = 36,490) of Chinese urban residents to examine the relationship between outbound travel intention and some key demographic, economic, and geographic variables. Findings indicate that education, income, and paid vacation days significantly predicted outbound travel intention. Compared to residents in Tier-4 cities in China, those in Tier-1, -2, and -3 cities had higher probability of choosing outbound travel by 13.1%, 30.9%, and 15.3%, respectively. This study draws meaningful connections between Chinese outbound tourism and the social and economic realities in China and offers an alternative approach to understanding Chinese outbound tourism.

The Impact Of Casino Revenue-Sharing On Tourism Efforts In Niagara Falls Usa: 2006-2016, Anthony L. Astran

Public Administration Master’s Projects

This qualitative case study examines the intersection of a Native-owned casino, revenue-sharing with its host community, and the impact of tourism marketing efforts vis-à-vis funds provided to the community’s tourism agency. Specifically, this report studies downtown Niagara Falls USA from the time period between 2006 and 2016, and seeks to determine whether and how funds from Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino boosted tourism marketing efforts by Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation (NTCC). Background research and a series of elite interviews with city officials and tourism agency leaders uncovered overall positivity in terms of growth in Niagara Falls USA’s tourism efforts …

The “Singapore Model” In Gaming: Applications In South Korea, Young Gi Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The gaming governance system in Singapore is a very well-known and internationally renowned model. Singapore began to launch their gaming regulation system in 2005 by establishing a national framework on gambling prior to opening two integrated resorts in the country in 2010 (Winslow, Cheok, & Subramaniam, 2015). In contrast, the South Korean “model” is much less renowned. Though there have been discussions about introducing full-scale integrated resorts, the government currently allows South Korean citizens to gamble in only one property - Kangwon Land (Research, 2016). However, Kangwon Land’s situation is controversial in South Korea, with concerns about problem gambling issues …

Applying The Holistic Conceptual Conservation Framework For Sustainable Tourism, George Alexakis, Larry Rice

Journal of Tourism Insights

The tourism and hospitality industry has not always followed sound environmental stewardship. Increased awareness among tourists worldwide has prompted sustainabilit­y discourse encouraging long-term systemic approaches to planning and development. The research article proposes a holistic conceptual conservation framework that shows how a united tourism and hospitality industry can curtail the processes of environmental destruction and collectively offer authentic touristic experiences. Visitors can fully experience tourist destinations through integrated ecotourism, ethnotourism, and other related tangential offerings alongside those of larger tourism and hospitality providers. The conservation framework hypothetically strengthens the customer loyalty of tourists towards all industry operators and related practitioners, …

Research On Problem Gambling Websites, Chang Boon Patrick Lee

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

This is a continuation of a series of studies on problem gambling websites. It has been noted in prior studies that one avenue problem gamblers might look for help was to go online to perform a web search. Online help is practical as help can be located immediately and this can help to ease the gamblers’ concerns that they are left alone to handle their own problems. While there are some anecdotal evidences regarding the success of problem gambling websites, there have been few empirical studies that relate directly to the perceptions and usefulness of the websites for the problem …

Regulatory Barriers In The Field Of Gambling: How Much Virtuality Can A Bet Take?, Peter Naessens Mr.

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Bets are a special type of game of chance. In a certain sense, you could think of all games of chance as a bet (bet that the roulette ball comes to rest in number 7, betting on the correct result in the lottery etc.), but most countries have implemented a categorisation. A categorisation that is not only under pressure online, but just as much in the real world with the introduction of virtual bets.

In Belgium, virtual bets were accepted because bets are highly dependent on events, and players also like to make a bet when no events are taking …

Mandatory Pre-Commitment Loss Limits: Six Years’ Experience Shows It Works, Bjorn H. Hoffmann

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The Norwegian state owned company Norsk Tipping is a pioneer in the gambling indusrty with its secure player identification and mandatory registered play across all channels. Knowing who your player is and having a strong link between the player and his consumption of games across all channels (land based, EGM, web and mobile) is an important premise for having a credible responsible gaming platform.

Norsk Tipping introduced in 2009 EGM’s with both pre commitment tools and maximum loss limits. In 2014 we introduced our Internet casino with probably the best responsible gambling platform in the world, including mandatory loss limits. …

An Empirical Evaluation Of The Clubsnsw (Australia) Multi-Venue Self-Exclusion Program, Dylan A. Pickering, Alexander Blaszczynski, Sally Gainsbury, Rowan Cameron

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Few empirical studies have evaluated the effectiveness of self-exclusion programs. Research is required to identify factors contributing to decisions to enter and/or breach self-exclusion orders, or to self-excluded gamblers to seek additional treatment. Clinical characteristics of self-excluders remain relatively unknown in addition to factors that differentiate gamblers who do or do not breach. Limitations of current programs are that gamblers can self-exclude from only one or a limited number of venues. The Multi-venue Self-exclusion program, developed and implemented by ClubsNSW (Australia), is a centralised web-based system designed to help problem gamblers self exclude from up to 35 venues at a …

Best Practices For Self-Exclusion Reinstatement And Renewal, Alex Price

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

While many studies have examined self-exclusion few have focused on the processes through which gamblers return at the end of their agreements. In 2014, the RGC Centre for the Advancement of Best Practices examined voluntary self-exclusion reinstatement and renewal in an effort to develop evidence-informed best-practices for both land-based and online gambling operations. The presentation outlines the findings of the study and the recommended best practices for reintegration and ban renewal.

The study examined a range of practices around the world. In the end the study recommended an active reinstatement process in which all participants are required to apply to …

"Gravity Models" Applied To Projections For New Casinos: Techniques And Results, Will E. Cummings

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

All developers of new casinos prepare, or have prepared for them, projections for the likely gaming-revenue performance of those casinos; in many cases; regulatory authorities in North America also require or commission independent third-party assessments of such performance. These projections are very frequently based on "gravity models," applying techniques pioneered by Reilly and Huff to analyze other retail activities in relation to the geographic distribution of competitors and potential customers. In this paper, I review roughly 80 examples of such applications from recent casino-licensing procedures in the U.S., and compare their results.

Ready, Set, And Go Back: The Role Of The Judiciary In Brazil’S Bingo Ban, Luiza Jobim Llm, Toni Williams

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Brazil, the host of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, is known for strong competitive traditions in sports and games. It is also one of only three G-20 countries (together with Saudi Arabia and Indonesia) that currently bans non-state provision of gambling products. Bingo was a notable exception to this prohibition, after enabling legislation was enacted in 1993, with the intention that proceeds would help fund national sports development. The game quickly became very popular but there were persistent questions about, and contestations over, the capacity of the regulatory framework to control the dual risks of exploitation of …

The Future Of Gambling Spaces: Esports And The World Of Competitive Video Gaming, Brett Abarbanel, Bryce Blum, Chris Grove, Carson Knuth, Seth Schorr, Rahul Sood

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

eSports, or competitive video gaming, are a rapidly developing segment of sport and gaming. eSports are a unique cultural and economic phenomenon, and only recently is this nascent industry garnering substantial attention from gambling operators, regulators, and researchers. In 2015, an estimated quarter of a billion dollars will be wagered on eSports, a number projected to grow to $23 billion by 2020 (Eilers Research, 2015).

This panel presentation will provide a general overview of eSports, including some background on the industry, a description of the market and general business model, information about the gambling opportunities within eSports, sponsorship opportunities and …

Profiling At-Risk Gamblers, Tapio Jaakkola, Kari Vuorinen, Mirka Smolej

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The majority of gambling research has been concentrating on problem gambling and on the association between gambling behavior, game design and gambling harm. Much less attention has been directed at recreational gambling or on players that do not suffer from any gambling related problems. However, when it comes to preventing gambling harm we should also target those at risk as well those who are gambling moderately.

As a part of a project on prevention of adult gambling harm we did a study of at-risk gamblers in order to recognize and to define the socio-economic background of our target group. Prior …

Measuring Market Saturation In The U.S. Casino Industry: An Analytical And Empirical Analysis, Clyde W. Barrow, Alan P. Meister, David R. Borges

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The national and regional economies in the U.S. remain on a slow growth trajectory, while the casino gaming industry has seen a rapid and ongoing expansion. Consequently, states, Native American tribes, and gaming operators have increasingly shifted their attention from gaming expansion to the problems of regional competition, cannibalization, market maturation, and market saturation. The question of “market saturation” has become a salient point of public policy debate and a topic that is now frequently raised in the industry and media. This paper analyzes the concept of saturation in the context of casino gaming markets and compares several metrics for …