Tourism and Travel Commons^™

The Pandemic Changed The Face Of Retail. Here’S How Center City, Philadelphia — The State’S Leading Job Market — Is Faring On The Road To Recovery, Francisco O. Velasquez-Turcios

Capstones

The pandemic changed the face of retail. Here’s how Center City, Philadelphia — the state’s leading job market — is faring on the road to recovery.

Link to capstone project: https://franvela033.github.io/Capstone/

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 …

Advertising And Social Media Strategy For America’S National Parks: A Case Study Of Congaree National Park, Abigail Gallup

Senior Theses

Advertising for America’s National Parks comes in many different forms but is highly limited for national parks with lower visitation rates and less funding. Congaree National Park located just outside of Columbia, South Carolina has a small budget for advertising and goals to increase their visitation rates and visitor diversity. Particularly, Congaree rangers hope to increase visitation from the local Black community which surrounds Congaree National Park. Rangers at Congaree mainly use social media to advertise but have also investigated other forms of advertising and fundraising as well, including a Friends of Congaree Swamp license plate. This thesis will show …

Futurizing Gastronomic Experiences In Natural Environments, Francesc Fusté-Forné

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

The current pandemic accentuated the need for a more responsible tourism system, where local food production and consumption become a cornerstone of sustainable tourism futures. Experiences embedded in natural environments are neither new nor recent, but the pandemic urged tourism stakeholders to look at nature again as a source of inspiration for tourism regeneration. The research analyses the configuration of gastronomic experiences in protected areas through the philosophy of a gourmet restaurant located in a volcanic setting in Catalonia, north-eastern Spain.

Exploring The Influence Of Touch Points On Tourist Experiences At Crisis Impacted Destinations, Nina Krey, M Claudia Tom Dieck, Shuang Wu, Paraskevi Fountoulaki

Rohrer College of Business Faculty Scholarship

Customer journeys in tourism are becoming more complex, often including multiple touch points that can influence expectations, experiences, and travel behaviors. The management of these different interactions is further complicated if tourist destinations face natural or man-made crises (e.g., financial crises, COVID-19). The current research takes a comprehensive look at how negative word-of-mouth (WOM) shapes pre-consumption expectations that drive actual tourist experiences and subsequent satisfaction behaviors. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), findings from 188 tourists confirm the influence of uncontrollable, negative WOM on destination image. Yet an actual, positive experience negates these negative pre-trip influences. Tourism managers …

Importance-Implementation Of Disability Management Practices In Hotels: The Moderating Effect Of Team Orientation, Zakaria Elkhwesky, Islam Elbayoumi Salem, Mona Barakat

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of disability management practices (DMPs) and the level of implementation from the viewpoint of food and beverage (F & B) managers, F & B entry-level employees, working in F & B departments, and human resources (HRs) managers in five-star hotels in Egypt. It also analyzed the moderating role of team orientation (TO) between the importance and the implementation of DMPs. Data were collected from 400 respondents. The association between the importance and the implementation of DMPs is significant, moderate, and positive. The results also exhibited that the correlation between the …

Advances In Global Services And Retail Management: Volume 2, Cihan Cobanoglu, Valentina Della Corte

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the second volume of the Advances in Global Services and Retail Management Book Series. This volume has the following parts:

• Part 1: Hospitality and Tourism
• Part 2: Marketing, E-marketing, and Consumer Behavior
• Part 3: Management
• Part 4: Human Resources Management
• Part 5: Retail Management
• Part 6: Economics
• Part 7: Accounting and Finance
• Part 8: Sustainability and Environmental Issues
• Part 9: Information Technology

ISBN: 978-1-955833-03-5

Hospitality and Tourism

• Significance of VR in the spa: A spatial analysis
  • Irini Lai Fun Tang, Schultz Zhi Bin Xu, and Eric Chan
• Social media marketing in rural hospitality and tourism destination research
  • Samuel …

Proceedings Of The Global Conference On Services Management: Volume 2, Cihan Cobanoglu, Valentina Della Corte

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the second volume of the Global Conference on Services Management Proceedings Series.

ISSN: 2641-5062

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

Articles

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 …

Tourism-Related Climate Change Perspectives: Social Media Conversations About Canada’S Rocky Mountain National Parks, Farshid Mirzaalian, Elizabeth Halpenny

TTRA Canada 2021 Conference

This study employed quantitative social media big data analysis in conjunction with qualitative analysis of postings to better comprehend online lay discourse of climatic change issues in a nature-based tourism destination, Jasper National Park, Canada. Such mixed methodological approaches to big data enable tourism researchers to not only study unstructured social media big data for future-proofing purposes but to address some methodological concerns often raised about solely using corpus linguistic or thematic analyzes. This study unearthed divergent themes regarding tourists’ perceptions of climate change upon visiting JNP, with the most significant discourses on climate grief, education and interpretation, pro- environmental …

Walt Disney World As A Model For Brand Marketing: An Imc Approach To Build Brand Loyalty, Sarah Camille Blankenship

Honors Theses

The Walt Disney Company has an estimated brand value of $61.3 billion and a brand revenue of $38.7 billion according to Forbes’ 2020 World’s Most Valuable Brands (Swant, n.d.). As number seven in the world’s most valuable brands and the only leisure brand in the top fifty, the Disney brand is often used as a business model and inspiration for many companies (Swant, n.d.). Its success can be attributable to the high degree of brand loyalty they create among their customers. Among its approximately 157 million visitors who visited Disney Parks globally, there was a 70% return rate of first-time …

A Study On The Impact Of Social Media Marketing In The Event Industry: Executing A Marketing Plan, Adrian N. Bradley

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Marketing is a large part of growing one’s business or event. The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of how social media marketing increases brand loyalty, attendance, and engagement within current and potential guests over traditional event marketing methods. Through this study a data collection survey for the University of Arkansas’ Hospitality Management annual event Students Mastering the Art of Hospitality (SMASH) to gather information on the effectiveness of e social media marketing’s influence on their attendees. Unfortunately, due to a global pandemic SMASH was canceled and the researcher and honor’s committee thought it to be best …

The Satisfaction Of Bangladeshi Pilgrims: Service Gaps In Spiritual Tourism Based On Gender And Expenditure, Mohammad Mominul Islam

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study sheds light on the satisfaction of pilgrims and service gaps of tour operators. Data were gathered from 236 Bangladeshi pilgrims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Mecca and Madina and in Bangladesh in 2019. The results reveal that 94.9% of the tourists were satisfied with air services, followed by food, accommodation, Hajj- training, sightseeing, stone-throwing, Arafa, Mujdalifa, Meena and transportation services (75.8%, 61.9%, 56.8%, 54.3%, 54.3%, 53.4%, 52.5%, 51.3%, and 43.2% respectively. Under the Mann-Whitney U test, pilgrims’ perceptions of tour operators’ services significantly differed based on gender and expenditure of respondents. The results show that satisfaction …

Building City Identities: A Consumer Perspective, Delphine Godefroit-Winkel, Marie Schill, Cristina Longo, Martin Chour

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This study complements current knowledge on city identity and city attachment through a phenomenological inquiry among 22 Casablanca consumer residents. Five Casablanca identities emerge: City of Escape, Busy Isolating City, Clustering City, Small City, and Dark City. The findings illuminate (1) how consumers build specific types of city identities; (2) demonstrate city identity as the outcome of interplays between various consumption experiences, perceived characteristics of spaces and places, and ambivalent emotions; and (3) update current knowledge on city attachment. This work further provides valuable recommendations to public authorities who are willing to leverage specific identities.

The Value Of Social Media Advertising Strategies On Tourist Behavior: A Game-Changer For Small Rural Businesses, Nory B. Jones, Patti Miles, Tanya Beaulieu

Marketing Faculty Scholarship

Nature-based tourism represents a growing sector within the tourism industry, and these interests could help improve the conditions of economically disadvantaged rural communities. The new digital landscape, including Internet and social media usage, represents a critical strategic opportunity to inform, educate and reach these tourism segments. The present research examines the impact of social media advertising on nature-based tourism within rural communities. In this research, we utilize the COBRA (Consumers’ Online Brand-Related Activities) model (Muntinga et al., 2011) of consumer behavior to assess the impact social media advertising plays in generating Pre-Consumption, Consumption, Creation, Contribution, and Engagement in rural business. …

Modeling Austrian Consumer Responses To A Vignette Television Commercial Drama For A Vacation Resort Destination, Ozcan Kilic, Michael Stoica, Andreas Nachbagauer, Darryl Miller

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Abstract- This project involved the formulation and test of a model of Austrian consumers' cognitive and affective responses to a vignette television commercial drama for a vacation resort area, the Halkidiki region of Greece. Results indicate that response to the commercial was both cognitive and affective with sympathy and empathy, mediating the influence of verisimilitude on attitudes toward the ad and brand. These results were consistent with what was expected from a sample of consumers from a low power distance and moderate individualistic culture such as Austria. Results suggest that to promote tourism services effectively, a commercial's production value and …

An Analysis Of How The Goodyear Rubber And Tire Company Should Navigate The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicholas Zubek, Alexander Morgan, Alyson Pekkola, Kayla Jancewicz, Thomas Rovnak Iii

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world in an unprecedented way with many countries being forced to shut down all non-essential businesses. A majority of people were laid-off or forced to work from home while the state mandated quarantine regulations. Due to fewer people and employees commuting on the roads, tire usage has decreased drastically. Companies, like The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, depend on high transportation and automobile usage and thus have been heavily impacted. In the nine months since 2020 began, Goodyear has reported sales of $2.367 billion dollars lower than their sales in 2019, which mostly came …

What Factors Predict A Consumer's Willingness To Purchase A Subscription-Based Airline Program?, Sean R. Crouse

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Introduction: Many services offer subscription-based sales models. The aviation industry has not widely attempted to market a subscription-based service through their airline for ticketing purposes. This study developed a regression equation to determine predictive factors for the type of individual who would purchase a subscription-based airline ticket.

Method: A two-stage approach was used where the participants (N = 521) answered demographic information, flight habits, and the same scenario with a perceived value scale and willingness to purchase scale.

Results: Stage 1 found perceived value, employment status, and early boarding preference all to be significant factors, accounting for …

Customer Service 2.0: The Effect Of Ryanair's Policy Change, John C. Griffith Ph.D., Donna L. Roberts Ph.D.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Customer perceptions of Ryanair and Southwest were evaluated to compare two data periods; 2012-13 and 2016-17 to determine differences in passenger perceptions between and within airlines. Quantitative data and open area comments were analyzed. A replication of a previous study for 2016-17 data indicated that customer perceptions of Ryanair improved since the implementation of a customer service program. Survey results indicated Ryanair and Southwest did not have statistically significant differences in overall ratings; a change from 2012-13 data where Southwest was rated significantly higher. Additionally, 2016-17 Ryanair customers indicated they would recommend the airline at a significantly higher rate than …