Tourism and Travel Commons^™

Profiling Food Festivals By Type, Name And Descriptive Content: A Population Level Study, Muhammet Kesgin, Rajendran S. Murthy, Rick Lagiewski

Articles

Purpose: This research aims to classify and describe food festivals and examine the patterns in food festival naming and festival descriptions in online media. Design: This research represents the first population-level empirical examination of food festivals in the United States using a purpose-built dataset (N=2626). Methodology includes text mining to examine food festival communications. Findings: Food festival size varies across local and regional spheres within the country. Food festivals employ geographical (place-, destination-based) associations in their names. Food festivals’ descriptions and online communications showcase a welcoming environment predominantly emphasizing family-oriented and live entertainment experiences. Food festivals across the country show …

Do Consumers Raise Their Voices Or Leave After Service Failures? Examining Angry Rumination, Distraction, And Brand Loyalty, Jungyun "Christine" Hur, Soocheong "Shawn" Jang

Journal of Tourism Insights

This study aims to investigate the influence of rumination and distraction on consumer complaining behaviors (e.g., voice, negative word of mouth, and exiting) in a service failure encounter, and further examine the role of brand loyalty in consumer complaining behaviors. The findings of this study suggest that consumers use rumination and distraction to cope with service failures, which has different influences on consumer complaining behavior. Angry rumination increases all three types of consumer complaining behaviors, whereas distraction reduces negative word-of-mouth only. In addition, these relationships vary across the level of brand loyalty. Loyal consumers are more likely to voice their …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Temple Stays: A Case Study From Koyasan, Japan, Ricardo Nicolas Progano

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on worldwide religious tourism, with wide repercussions for both visitors and local stakeholders. However, previous studies on disaster management and tourism do not address the impacts on religious destinations. The viewpoints and experiences of religious stakeholders are seldom studied. Therefore, using a qualitative approach, this research aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 on temple stays by utilising Faulkner’s tourism disaster management framework. The case study of the Buddhist complex of Kōyasan (Wakayama Prefecture, Japan) is taken, where 52 temples offer temple stay services. Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were first carried …

Travelling To The Inner Self: Tourism, Buddhism And Sustainability In The Alpine Area, Tatjana Thimm

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper examines the interdependencies of tourism, Buddhism and sustainability combining in-depth-interviews with Buddhism experts and non-participant observation in a mixed-method approach. The area under investigation is the Alpine region of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, since it is home to Asian and Western forms of Buddhism tourism alike. Results show that Buddhism tourism as a value-based activity on the one hand is not commercial, but since demand is rising, on the other hand tendencies towards more commercial forms can be observed. As a modest form of activity Buddhism tourism does not shape the landscape of the Alpine area and by …

Impact Of Social Media On Spiritual Tourism In India: An Sem Analysis Of The Critical Factors Impacting On Decision Making, Alpana Agarwal, Komal Kapoor, Sandeep Walia

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Over the last two decades, an exponential rise has been observed in the growth of spiritual tourism where travellers are preferring and visiting places of religious inclination seeking to align their body and mind. In the current fast paced life where stress, anxiety, insecurities and depression have become common place, travelling to certain places that provide connection with the almighty or peace to the traveller has become very important. Spiritual tourism in India has always been very highly valued and is active as an industry in a country known as the land of temples and gods. Many globally popular destinations …

Experience Dimensions Of Religious Festivals: Religion And Spirituality At Paryaya, Udupi, India, Senthilkumaran Piramanayagam, Partho Pratim Seal

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Festivals and events have been found to be an important motivation for travel, and are a significant component in a destination offering. All religious festivals, irrespective of religion and tradition, aim to develop spirituality. Experience is the core of festivals and events, and the experience is multifaceted. This research aims to analyse the impact of various experience dimensions of religious festivals on participants’ overall festival experience and behavioural intention at a biennial festival called ‘Paryaya’ held at Udupi, India, using the concept of the experience economy. The researchers have adopted a quantitative research approach for the study. The result obtained …

A New Look At The Arba’Een Mega-Event From The Perspective Of Iraqis As The Host Community, Ali Asghar Shalbafian, Neda Zarandian

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The present study explores the impacts of the Arba’een event from the perspective of the inhabitants in the host community, Iraq, as the key stakeholders. Arba’een procession is one of the forms of pilgrimage that has expanded significantly in recent years and has a special place among Muslims. Due to the huge number of pilgrims, this phenomenon can be considered as a mega-event with different effects. One of the best judges of these effects is the host community. To evaluate the judgements, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 Iraqis selected via convenience snowball sampling. The data collected from the interview …

Exploring The Motivations Of Millennials Opting For Temple Stays In India, Aruditya Jasrotia, Pooja Choudhary, Parvinder Kour, Vibha Yadav

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Millennials are the most promising consumer segment of the tourism industry and the fast pace of development and emergence of newer trends has led to a drastic change in consumer behaviour. Temple Stays are emerging as a significant source of tourism for sites that are transforming traditional religious practices into a complete hybrid of leisure and recreation. Considering this, the current research is framed to analyse the factors that motivate Millennials to undertake spiritual tourism activities, with special focus on Temple Stay programs at various Buddhist sites / monasteries in India and the revisit intentions of Millennials. The research is …

Can Spiritual Tourism In India Be Marketed Properly? Learnings From An Analysis Of Twitter, Veerasamy Senthil, Susobhan Goswami

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The tourism sector is an economic powerhouse for any country and tourism growth improves the quality of people’s lives by providing employment of diverse kinds. Electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) has emerged to become a highly influential strategy of modern marketing and a significant medium as harnessed by travel marketers. Sentiments are a representation of human emotions and present a wide spectrum of varying intensity. The objectives of this research paper are to examine what propels a spiritual traveller towards Indian sites of interest, to appreciate the function of beliefs and where does it yield fruits? It also analyses the …

The Role Of Communication Technologies In Restructuring Pilgrimage Journeys, Reni Polus, Neil Carr

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage has evolved alongside the evolution of communication technology. Emergent communication technology is changing how people present themselves and tell others about their experiences, including within the context of pilgrimages. Building upon this recognition, this paper examines how evolving communication technologies have changed pilgrimage using Victor Turner’s concepts of rite of passage and communitas. This conceptual paper recognises that technologies, such as the internet, mobile phones and social media, all influence the three stages of the pilgrimage ritual process: separation, liminality, and reintegration. This paper provides a conceptual clarification of the differences between how the medieval and the 21st Century …

Revisiting The Inner Self In Times Of Debilitating Distress: Gateways For Wellness Through Spiritual Tourism, Manpreet Arora, Roshan Lal Sharma, Sandeep Walia

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on our bodies, minds and souls. Having suffered it for more than a year now we know how crucial it is to tackle the pandemic at physical, psychological and spiritual levels. We have well-established Standard Operating Procedures alongside vaccines to deal with it at physical level, but equally crucial are mental and spiritual problems caused by COVID-19 (Chopra, 2020).

This paper seeks to explore certain gateways and possibilities of dealing with distress, despair, anxiety, angst, trauma and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in diverse arenas of human activities to ascertain how crucial …

Women’S Experiences In Religious Tourism: An Investigation Into Women’S Involvement In Sabarimala Pilgrimage, Kerala, Shyju P.J., A. Vinodan, S. Meera, Jithendran Kokkranikal

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Preparations for the Sabarimala pilgrimage involves devotees observing a 41 day period of austerity (vrata) during which they practice an ascetic life. Women between the age of 10 and 50 do not visit the shrine at Sabarimala due to long-established customs. However, women do play an important role during the 41-day austerity observed by family members preparing for the pilgrimage, which could be described as a non-participant involvement in the pilgrimage. While there have been many studies on the spiritual and secular experiences of pilgrims, research on this unique form of non-participant involvement in pilgrimages is not found especially in …

Drivers Of Spiritual Tourism: A Destination-Specific Approach, Bipithalal Balakrishnan Nair, M. R. Dileep

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

With a rising number of visitors worldwide, spiritual tourism is becoming more relevant than ever before. Spiritual tourism is defined as travel to discover the goal and significance of one’s life, thus, self-experiences are crucial for the transition of a person’s mind, body, and soul. Because of this, both the destination chosen and the inspiration and intention of the tourists involved play central roles. However, existing research on spiritual tourism mainly focuses on classification and motivation and explicitly focuses on the demand side. Given the recent increase of participation in spiritually-focused tourism, it is important to accurately grasp the practical …

Ijrtp Volume 9(V) Table Of Contents & Editorial, Sandeep Walia, Saurabh Kumar Dixit, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes, Kevin A. Griffin

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Efficacy Of Flotation Aids Attached To The Pelvis And Thighs Of Beginning Swimmers, Yasunori Watanabe, Shin-Ichiro Moriyama, Kohji Wakayoshi

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The study aimed to experimentally verify the efficacy of wearing flotation aids to add buoyancy from the pelvis to the side of the thigh on the swimming performance of beginning swimmers who were capable of swimming around 25 meters at a time. The study recruited seven male university students who were members of the Physical Education Department and who lacked experience in specialized swimming instruction. The study found statistical difference in prone flotation between the use of flotation aids (7.27±1.92 sec) and without flotation aids (3.50±0.72 sec). During swimming for distance in a 5 min. swim test, we found statistical …

Hines, Duncan, 1880-1959 (Sc 3623), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3623. Photographs (27) and accompanying narrative of an “adventure in good eating” of Duncan Hines and his wife Clara, consisting of a June automobile trip to restaurants and inns in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. They were accompanied by a photographer and editor for Look Magazine.

Risk Communication In The Tourism Industry, Lindsay E. Usher, Ashley Schroeder

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

This chapter focuses on risk communication in the tourism sector. Tourism organizations must communicate with a variety of stakeholders when conveying messages about impending severe weather or disasters, which are increasing due climate change and sea level rise. There is also an increased need to distribute information to tourism stakeholders about preparing for, continuing service during, and recovering from, disasters. Stakeholders involved with the tourism industry include business owners, government officials and tourists, all of whom have differing degrees of vulnerability in a destination when a threat occurs. Different messages regarding disaster preparation and recovery must be communicated to the …

Covid-19 And Tourism: Analyzing The Effects Of Covid-19 Statistics And Media Coverage On Attitudes Toward Tourism, Maksim Godovykh, Jorge Ridderstaat, Carissa Baker, Alan Fyall

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

COVID-19 has significantly influenced tourism, including tourists’ and residents’ attitudes toward tourism. At the same time, attitudes and consumer confidence are important for economic recovery in the tourism sector. This study explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s attitudes toward tourism by analyzing time-series data on the number of COVID-19 positive cases, vaccinations, news sentiment, a total number of daily mentions of tourism, and the share of voice for positive and negative sentiment toward tourism. The applied data analysis techniques include descriptive analysis, visual representation of data, data decomposition into trend and cycle components, unit root tests, Granger …

Impacts Of Covid-19 On Chinese Nationals' Tourism Preferences, Songshan (Sam) Huang, Yuhong Shao, Ying Zeng, Xinyi Liu, Zhiyong Li

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper examines the impacts of COVID-19 on Chinese nationals' tourism preferences. Employing a mixed-method research design, two rounds of nation-wide online surveys were conducted, one in February 2020 when COVID-19 cases started to peak in China and another one in June 2020 when COVID-19 was a global pandemic; both survey studies were accompanied with semi-structured in-depth interviews and altogether 37 interviews were conducted in two stages. Based on both quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data, the research identified that: 1) COVID-19 significantly reduced Chinese nationals' preferences to travel to countries with high infection numbers, and geographically faraway, administratively …

In Pursuit Of Happiness: Impact Of The Happiness Level Of A Destination Country On Chinese Tourists' Outbound Travel Choices, Ziyao Huang, Sam Huang, Yang Yang, Ziyan Tang, Yutao Yang, Yijun Zhou

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study examines the impact of the national happiness level of a country on Chinese tourists' travel choices using panel data of 113 countries from 2012 to 2017, controlling for other factors that contribute to Chinese outbound tourism. The results show that the happiness level of a destination country is positively and significantly associated with Chinese tourist arrivals in that country. Examination of the moderation effect reveals cultural distance plays an important role in the impact a destination's happiness level has on Chinese outbound tourism. The influence of a destination's happiness level decreases when the cultural distance increases.