Business Commons^™

Perceptions Of Walt Disney World: Antecedents To Return Visits, Tiffani A. Cosson

Honors Theses

Walt Disney World is an extremely popular tourist destination that attracts millions of visitors each year. Scholars have researched Walt Disney World and there are many different written articles on the subject, however there are very few that delve deep enough into the subject to generate quantitative data about visitors rather than only opinions about the parks. Due to its popularity and prominence in America, it is important to determine which demographic segment prefers to visit Walt Disney World. This can be used for both the parks themselves as a marketing tool, and consumers as well by knowing when the …

Can The Demand Problem Be Fixed? The Effect Of Economic Crisis On The Lodging Sector Of The Tourism Industry., Kirsten Costello

Honors Theses

While hospitality started with small inns and bed and breakfasts run out of a family's home, the first hotel was a 73-room property in New York City, which was astronomically larger than consumers were accustomed to, (Withiam, 2000, p. 2) and is considered small by today's standards. Throughout life, at one point or another, most have stayed at a bed and breakfast, timeshare, motel, or hotel. Most enjoy the experience, but few realize what happens to lodging properties when there is an economic downturn. During times of economic crisis, families and businesses tend to spend more time controlling expenses, which …

Examining Revenue Management Practices In Las Vegas Casino Resorts, Arun Tanpanuwat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The overall goal of this study was to examine Revenue Management (RM) practices in Las Vegas casino resorts. A great deal of research has been done on RM in the hospitality industry. The academic research has examined RM in hospitality in general, but not specifically in casino resorts, which gain their revenue from both rooms and resort amenities. Moreover, the academic literature often show high-level mathematic-based solutions or statistical applications, but not necessarily pragmatic techniques for practitioners. This qualitative study investigates the extent to which the essential fundamentals of any RM system are implemented successfully by casino RM professionals and …

What Is Mission Critical In The Hotel Guest Room: Examining In-Room Guest Empowerment Technologies, Pelin Nasoz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined 18 in-room technologies and identified the ones perceived to be mission critical for the hotel guests. It also determined the differences in guest empowerment technology preferences and expectations across generations, purpose of travel, and travel frequency. Moreover, it investigated whether the quality of in-room technologies impacts guests' decision in choosing a hotel.

The data were collected through an online survey. A total of 508 people responded to the survey. An importance and performance analysis was utilized to identify the mission critical in-room technologies for the hotels. The analysis indicated that in-room movie on demand services, in-room wireless …

The Jasmine Revolution And The Tourism Industry In Tunisia, Mohamed Becheur

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction:

The tourism industry is one of the most important industries in the world since it employs “more than 250 million people worldwide” (Coshall, 2003, p. 4). This industry, which includes transport, lodging, and catering, is expected to generate $12,119 billion of revenues and 279,346,000 jobs in 2016 (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, 2006). The tourism industry worldwide is also expected to indirectly and directly contribute 10.9% to Gross Domestic Product (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, 2006). However, the tourism industry is an extremely sensitive and vulnerable activity which can be impacted significantly by important events such as terrorism, political insecurity, and natural disasters …

A Sense Of Place: Examining Music-Based Tourism And Its Implications In Destination Venue Placement, Richard Bret Campbell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Music, and the ability to make it, understand it and interpret it, is one of the characteristics that make us uniquely human. However, when it comes to seeing the performance of live music, there are other variables that come into play when determining where to see a concert. The potential connection between people, music, and a “sense of place” are explored in this examination of music-based tourism. Based on information from journals and related news media, and using parallels to the sports tourism industry, the paper found a distinct connection between humans and music in the context of human development, …

Understanding The Decline Of Sales Of Destination Club Products, Heidi Goetz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to identify and confirm factors leading to the decline of sales of Ritz-Carlton Destination Club products.

The Viability And Necessity Of Desertxpress And The Future Of Las Vegas, Charles Alexander Wellington

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose

The purpose of this professional paper is to determine the effects of the DesertXpress, an interstate high-speed rail which will connect Las Vegas, NV and Southern California and will provide critical information as to the viability and economic strength that the high-speed rail will bring to the region.

Vegas Keys Vip Business Plan, Michael Ferreira

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to create a business plan for Vegas Keys. The business plan will focus on ways in which the company can generate revenue/profit while establishing it for years to come. Through research the paper will determine who are the main competitors, how much investing is needed to fully establish the company in Las Vegas and how much revenue would the company have to generate to be considered in the top five of companies in Las Vegas. The problems the paper will solve is how to solve the disconnect between groups and nightlife companies, …

Credit Fluctuations And Lodging Firms: An Investigation Of The Differing Capital Structures In The Us Lodging Industry, Dipendra Singh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study empirically investigates the effect of credit availability and firm size on the leverage of lodging industry in United States using a 3 X 2 factorial Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). Three time points of differing credit availability (Low, High, and Average) were identified using Case-Shiller home price index. Leverage, Net Leverage, and Short-to-Long-Term debt ratios of large and small US lodging firms were analyzed at these differing credit availability time points to assess any significant differences. Specifically, this study attempts to find whether there is an interaction effect of credit availability and firm size on the leverage of …

Cultural Acceptance And Its Effect On Tourism, I-Hsuan Shih

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This professional paper examines the relationship between cultural acceptance in conjunction with social perception and cultural tourism promotion strategies. It provides a matrix to evaluate the likely success of promoting a specific cultural aspect of a destination and suggestions for ways of dealing with a lack of cultural acceptance or negative perceptions. It underscores the need for tourism strategic planners to take into account the cultural acceptance of a proposed project by the host community before proceeding.

Bartenders Know Best: An In-Depth Analysis Of The Impact Of Tourism On Local Barbadian Culture, Pearl E. Jurist-Schoen

Honors Theses

The purpose of my thesis is, through my own field research, to analyze the impact of tourism on local Barbadian culture. Caribbean tourism draws strong criticisms from anthropologists due to the region’s geographical location and environmental landscape, its history of colonialism, and the economic vulnerabilities that result from the wealth discrepancy between the local people and the tourists that vacation there. On the very small and densely populated island of Barbados, nearly every person is impacted by tourism. The focus of my ethnography is the cultural exchanges between guests and hosts, most specifically bartenders. A bar harbors many important elements …

Lovetoleave.Com: A Website About Niche Online Dating In Angeles City, Philippines, Marlei Martinez

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The global community is quickly growing due to the constant advancement of telecommunications across the land and sea. No longer do people have to settle for dating within their hometowns; now, they can simply sign up online, create a dating profile and search for their soul mate with just the click of a mouse.

Niche online dating is a very personalized form of internet romance. Men and women can now sit in front of their computers, type the words, “I want to date an Asian girl/guy” in the Google search bar, and dozens of ‘Asian’ dating websites will appear. This …

Financial Performance And Capacity Analysis For The Mice Industry In Las Vegas And The United States, Li-Ting Yang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The meetings, incentive travel, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) industry is comparatively young and diverse. As a result, there has been limited research conducted in this field, especially from the financial performance and capacity management perspective. The purpose of this study is to fill the gap by analyzing the MICE capacity optimization issue in Las Vegas, a leading MICE destination, and in the U.S., a leading MICE country in the world. The findings and results of this study should help industry practitioners better understand the current status of the U.S. MICE industry in terms of assets efficiency, operational costs, and profitability. …

Exploring The Feasibility Of Converting The Mardi Gras Hotel And Casino Into A Casino Boutique Hotel, Patrick Brennan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction:

The topic of my Professional Paper will be the feasibility study of renovating the Mardi Gras Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Currently the Mardi Gras is operating as a Best Western and is looking to expand into the boutique hotel market. With the maturation of the Las Vegas hotel market, it is vital to think forward in new methods of design and marketing to attract the next generation of convention attendees and visiting tourist.

Purpose:

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of converting the Mardi Gras hotel and casino into a destination casino …

A Content Analysis Of Indonesian Hotel Website, Irene Hidayat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this professional paper is to develop an effective content model for the Hotel Tentrem website. The content model will be obtained and modified from literature review. This study will also utilize content analysis to analyze five-star hotel websites in Indonesia to identify the common problems associated with the hotel websites, justify specific measures to build a successful website and provide suggestions on the potential areas of improvement.

An Analysis Of How Self-Efficacy Relates To The Driver’S Of The Active Sport Tourist, Debey Grimes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The active sport tourist is a subset within the tourism industry that can be further analyzed to understand this type of traveler. The driver’s of such a tourist include Risk Theory, Individual’s view, Geographical Approach, Role Theory, Consumer Behavior and Group Based Nostalgia. These drivers are compared and analyzed to self-efficacy and how a sport decision or destination relates to self-efficacy. The sources of self-efficacy are defined and an analysis of the active sport tourist’s relationship through the cognitive, motivational, affective and selection processes are explored.

Cultural Tourism Products: A Case Study In The Xi’An City, Yining Zhang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nowadays, culture has been a major driver of tourism. Cultural tourism is another form of tourism by involving cultural elements. Some people traveled specifically to gain a deeper understanding of the culture or heritage of a destination. In order to satisfy tourists’ cultural needs and wants, cultural tourism products typically attracts consumers by the cultural attributes. A cultural attest is not a cultural tourism product unless it transforms itself into products that could be consumed by tourists. The market value of cultural tourism can be realized by cultural tourism products. This paper is to explore the development and evaluation of …

Identify Key Business Strategies To Target The Mass Market In Macau, Chia-Li Chen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Statement of Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to examine Macau’s present gaming environment and identify factors that will contribute to the success of a mass gaming market in Macau. The study intends to provide economic justification and tourism policy considerations which support the growth of Macau’s mass gaming market by taking advantage of the booming Chinese economy and the fast growing popularity of gaming in China. In addition, this study will examine literature supporting Macau’s transformation from a simpler gamblers’ destination into a Las Vegas style international gaming, entertainment, and tourism destination, as well as arguments for sustaining …

Identifying Green Meetings In The Hospitality Industry, Shin Yi (Felicity) Chiou

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to identify what constitutes green meetings in the hospitality industries with special attentions on the applications of modern technologies and marketing strategies. This professional paper will search and collect the related literature reviews and existent practices with green ideology in hospitality to clarify the myth and difficulties of being green and help the readers or potential advocates better understand green meetings and adopt them.

The Gaming Industry Developing Concept In Taiwan-From The U.S. Experience, Jean Ling Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the recent success experience of gaming-related investments made in Macau and Singapore, it also can be a good inspiration of developing the gaming industry in Taiwan. As the passing of the new legislation from the Taiwanese government, Taiwan could be the next potential country to join the Asian casino gaming market. The purpose of this study is to determine the appropriate direction of developing the casino gaming industry in Taiwan, according to the successful experience from U.S. The findings indicated that the six factors of developing gaming business in Taiwan are geography environment, accessibility, human resource, tourism resource, tourist …

Explore The Phenomenon Of Buddhist Temple Stay In South Korea For Tourists, Wei Wang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Temple Stay program is a newly developed but comparatively mature tourism product in Korea, which is to accommodate and cater tourists in Buddhist temples and have them experience over 1700 years Korean traditions of Buddhism and culture. As a product of compromise between Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the most influential Buddhist organization Jogye Order, Temple Stay program was first launched in 2002 during FIFA World Cup to receive excessive international tourists. Through almost ten-year systematical development, Temple Stay program turns out to be a distinctive phenomenon which successfully establishes a unique identity of Korean culture and tourism, …

Quantifying The Impacts Of The 2007 Economic Crisis On A Local Tourism Industry And Regional Economy, Yun Ying Zhong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to explore the accuracy of the Input-Output model and its derivative, the Occupation-Based model in investigating the impacts of the 2007 economic crisis on the tourism-related industries and the local economy in the Metro Orlando Area, Florida. The 2007-2008 total visitor expenditure change is taken as an initial shock from the economic crisis on the region's tourism-related industries, and the total impacts are measured in terms of industry output (sales), employment and annual occupational wage. The estimation results are compared with the actual data to verify the accuracy of the modeling results. Paired-sample T …

Attributes Influencing Meeting Planners' Destination Selection A Case Of Orlando, Fl, Adi Hayat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) industry generates billions of dollars in direct and indirect spending annually, and is considered one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry. Destinations that want to capitalize on this industry must understand what drives its planners. The current study used Orlando, Florida as a case study, and investigated whether there are differences between the three meeting planners' types (association, corporate, 3rd party) in regards to destination selection attributes and the recent recession impact. The study further identified attributes that affect future bookings to Orlando. Data was collected from a nationwide survey …

Toward A Better Understanding Of Motivations For A Geotourism Experience: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective, Mamoon Allan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Motivation theories and studies play a vital role in understanding why tourists travel and the kind of activities they engage in whilst away from home. By reviewing the literature, it is apparent that previous tourism studies pay scant attention to the issue of why people travel to geosites and this important issue is still an undeveloped area of study. Therefore, investigating the motivations of tourists undertaking a geotourism (geology and tourism) experience reflects an urgent need to bridge the gap in the geotourism literature. The purpose of this study is to explore the different motivations behind tourists engaging in a …

Take Me Out Of The Ball Game: The Efficacy Of Public Subsidies In The Success Of Professional Sports Stadiums, Jonah Chodosh

CMC Senior Theses

This paper weights the relative advantages of multiple factors that lead to the success of professional sports stadiums in major markets, though a discussion of the arguments for and against public subsidies towards these projects. Using a logit statistical model, the paper determines that the two factors determining the highest likelihood of venue success include multiple tenants and access to mass transit. The analysis demonstrates that public subsidies towards stadiums don’t generate sufficient economic returns, and that successful stadiums can be created without using taxpayer funds.

Hotel Manager Attitudes Toward Environmental Sustainability Practices Empirical Findings From Hotels In Phuket, Thailand, Sivika Saenyanupap

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the attitudes of hotel managers in Phuket, Thailand, in an attempt to identify whether their attitudes influence their utilization of environmental sustainability practices. Due to the increasing number of visitors to Phuket, Thailand, the consumption of natural resources has increased in the region, causing serious environmental problems. A sustainable way forward is needed for the tourism industry in the region in order to maintain quality of service while reducing environmental damage. The data analyzed in this study came from self-administered questionnaires that surveyed hotel managers in Phuket, Thailand, with a sample of 243 respondents. Research results revealed …

Community Based Tourism In Cambodia : Exploring The Role Of Community For Successful Implementation In Least Developed Countries, Sotear Ellis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Sustainable tourism has been identified as a potential tool for development in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Specifically, at the community level, Community Based Tourism (CBT) has emerged as an effective model to promote the development of sustainable tourism which produces meaningful benefits for all sectors of the community while protecting the longevity of the tourist product, and encouraging environmental and cultural conservation. The practical implementation of sustainable tourism in LDCs via CBT models faces many challenges. The source of these challenges is the complex stakeholder environment in which the theoretical and practical elements of CBT exist. Stakeholders have influenced the …

An Exploratory Study Into Stakeholder Perceptions Of A Proposed Geotrail In The Perth Hills, Lauren M. Norrish

Theses : Honours

Geotourism is a form of natural area tourism that can include natural and human-made sites of geological significance. This new form of tourism provides destinations with an opportunity to provide a unique product to visitors. The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of tourism stakeholders on a proposed geotrail in the Perth Hills. Due to the limitation of appropriate frameworks and models surrounding geotourism development, Steps 1 to 5 of Gunn's (2002) Site Design Steps was used for the identification and development of individual geosites within a proposed geotourism trail in the Perth Hills. Fourteen tourism stakeholders …

An Exploratory Study To Develop A Geotourism Typology Model Based On The Experience And The Importance Of Geotourism In The Decision To Visit A Destination, Hasoly P. Hurtado

Theses : Honours

This study develops a typology model for geotourism to address the existing gap in the literature regarding who is participating in geotourism. As geotourism is a new concept, the literature is not only lacking in this area, but there is also a conflict of definitions available from scholars and organisations. This study defines geotourism in accordance to the definition of Newsome and Dowling (2010). It also aims to reduce the gap in literature by providing a starting point to the development of future geotourism typology models through the adaptation of McKercher's Cultural Tourism Typology Model (2002). Participants eligible for this …