Gastro-Tourism Well-Being: The Interplays Of Salient And Enduring Determinants, Muhammet Kesgin, Irfan Onal, Ihsan Kazkondu, Muzaffer Uysal

Articles

Purpose-This research developed and tested an integrated structural gastro-tourism well-being model consisting of food-related lifestyle and leisure attitude as precursor of the consumption enjoyment of the gastro-tourism experience with satisfaction, life domain outcomes, tourism autobiographical memory and life satisfaction as outcomes of the consumption enjoyment. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual model was assessed with quantitative data collected from tourists based on their deliberate and incidental gastro-tourism experiences (N=617). Findings – Findings indicated that enjoyment of gastro-tourism consumption experience significantly influences satisfaction, life domain outcomes, life satisfaction, and tourism autobiographical memory. Life domain outcomes and tourism autobiographical memory have enduring influence on …

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 …

Making Memories: A Consumer-Based Model Of Authenticity Applied To Living History Sites, Muhammet Kesgin, Babak Taheri, Rajendran S. Murthy, Juilee Decker, Martin Joseph Gannon

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Purpose: Underpinned by the consumer-based model of authenticity (CBA), this study investigated whether leisure involvement, object-based and existential authenticity, host sincerity, and engagement stimulate positive memorable visitor experiences in a distinctive commercial hospitality setting: a living history site. Methodology: Quantitative data were gathered from living history site visitors (n=1004), with partial least squares structural equation modelling used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings: The results confirm the inclusion of the hypothesized relationships between leisure involvement, sincerity, and authenticity, relative to engagement and subsequent memorability. The findings suggest that engagement can be a predictor of positive memorable experience, contingent on CBA …

Residents As Destination Advocates: The Role Of Attraction Familiarity On Destination Image, Muhammet Kesgin, Rajendran S. Murthy, Linden Pohland

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Purpose – Emphasizing the role of residents as destination advocates, this study investigates the influence of residents’ familiarity with, and, favorability of attractions on destination image. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods research strategy was employed using fifteen individual in-depth interviews and a survey questionnaire with a sample of N=364. The study utilizes an attraction familiarity index to classify respondents into four groups based on high, average, and low familiarity and examines the characteristics of each in the relationship between informational familiarity, experiential familiarity, and favorability and destination image. Findings – The study reveals resident perceptions of attractions within the tourism …

From Dreaming To Believing: A Review Of Consumer Engagement Behaviours With Brands’ Social Media Content Across The Holiday Travel Process, Dean Creevey, Etain Kidney, Glenn Mehta

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This paper reviews social media user engagement behaviours with brands and proposes a new stage within the travel process. Specifically, the pre-trip stage is examined and investigation into a two sub-stage split is proposed; pre-purchase and post-purchase. Dubbed the Believing phase, this paper calls for research into the patterns of engagement behaviour towards hotel brands’ content at this currently under-researched stage. Current social media-focussed research examines influence on purchasing decisions of users, social media usage on-site, and post-trip evaluation. There remains a conceptual gap highlighting the behavioural patterns of users during the period between initial purchase and subsequent departure.

Towards A Decision Making Model For City Break Travel, Gerard Dunne, Sheila Flanagan, Joan Buckley

Articles

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the city break travel decision and in particular to develop a decision making model that reflects the characteristics of this type of trip taking.

Method

The research follows a sequential mixed methods approach consisting of two phases. Phase One involves a quantitative survey of 1,000 visitors to Dublin, from which city break and non city break visitor cohorts are separated and compared. Phase Two entails a qualitative analysis (involving 40 in-depth interviews) that specifically examines the decision making behaviour of city break visitors.

Findings

City break trips were shown to be …

Motivation And Decision Making In City Break Travel, Gerard Dunne

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The demand for city breaks has been one of the major growth areas in travel and tourism in recent years. The city break product is generally considered to be different from other holiday products, particularly in a spatial and temporal context. However marketing strategies targeting this important tourism niche continue to be based on data that is often anecdotal and frequently inaccurate. This book explores the distinctive characteristics of this form of travel and in particular the motivations and decision making involved in taking such trips. The book presents a decision making continuum that highlights the variation that exists between …

City Break Motivation: The Case Of Dublin, A Successful National Capital, Gerard Dunne, Sheila Flanagan, Joan Buckley

Articles

This paper investigates why people take city break trips. The main objective of the study was to reveal the underlying push and pull motivational factors associated with taking a city break holiday to Dublin. In-depth interviews with 40 city break visitors uncovered six push factors and eight pull factors. The main push motives involved were, ‘escape,’ ‘socialising,’ and ‘self esteem (gift giving).’ City breaks were generally viewed as active or ‘doing’ holidays, with the ‘relaxation’ motive hardly featuring at all as a reason to visit. Pull factors were found to be particularly important in terms of the travel decision. Factors …