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Drawing on work on the “more knowledgeable other” (MKO) and the mere exposure theory (MET), this study envisaged that visitors' engagement and interaction with key informants, along with their perceptions of the attractions visited, affect their image of and satisfaction with the destination. Findings drawn from two studies indicate that interaction with MKOs and perceptions of attractions determine cognitive, affective, and conative image along with overall satisfaction. Events held in local attractions that promote visitors' interaction with MKOs are proposed for tourists to gain better insights to the place and its locals.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed This article investigates how the perceived threats caused by COVID-19 affect consumers’ travel choices and actions by influencing their intentions to seek variety. Four studies show that the perceived threat of COVID-19 increases variety seeking in travel choices. Study 1 finds that travelers who perceive a greater threat of COVID-19 tend to undertake more varied activities during their travel. Study 2 shows that the main effect exists only for individuals who have previously visited the destination. Study 3 replicates the moderating effect of previous visiting experience by using a different way to manipulate the perceived threat of COVID-19. Study 4 illustrates the moderating impact of another important factor: the number of travelers included in the companies’ communication messages. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.

This article attempts to empirically test a model to explain the hypothesized relationships between important constructs such as emotional experience, personal involvement, destination image, destination satisfaction, and place attachment as antecedents of the future intentions of mature/senior diaspora tourists. The hypothesized relationships were explored using a sample of 419 mature/senior diaspora tourists visiting Ghana. A three-step process was used to explore, confirm and test the interrelationships between the constructs. The results showed that emotional experiences related to joy and love influenced personal involvement. While other hypothesized relationships were supported, unpleasantness and positive surprise did not have a direct effect on personal involvement. Future studies can apply this model to understand other types of tourism.

Robots and artificial intelligence represent a newly emerging trend in tourism and hospitality. However, studies examining how cultural perceptions influence tourists’ experiences interacting with service robots are lacking. In response to the industrial trend, the experiential components of robot-staffed hotels are assessed in this study. A qualitative approach is adopted to compare the semantic networks of Japanese and non-Japanese tourists’ online reviews, using 1,498 reviews from nine robot-staffed hotels in Japan. The results indicate that hotel guests’ interaction with robots is one of the main experiential components in robot-staffed hotels. The semantic network analysis results demonstrate noticeable differences, with Japanese reviews demonstrating more emotional responses to human-robot interaction and non-Japanese reviews valuing the functional and technical aspects of robot-provided services more.

Combining conceptual perspectives from emerging research on COVID-19, safety-seeking motivations, and extremeness aversion in choice (i.e., compromise effects), we examine how and why the perceived threat of COVID-19 affects consumers’ choice and decision making in the hotel and restaurant domains. Across seven studies (two studies from secondary data sets and five experimental studies), we provide novel evidence that the perceived threat or threat salience of COVID-19 amplifies the general tendency to select compromise options, avoiding extreme ones, within a choice set. We highlight the role of safety-seeking motivations as the underlying mechanism in the relationship between perceived threat and extremeness aversion in choice. We further document a boundary condition that the extremeness aversion effect is stronger for leisure travelers than for business travelers.

Local food is a motivation that drives international tourists to visit a certain destination and to enrich their experiential quality. Although considerable effort has been exerted in investigating the relationship between the importance of local food and satisfaction and future intentions, no study has explored gastronomical experience by using fuzzy set analysis. The present study aims to explore the influence of local food attributes on customer satisfaction and intentions to recommend through a fuzzy set analysis. This study uses empirical data from 1,376 international tourists visiting Hong Kong. Findings suggest that the attributes of local food and their influence on the intentions to recommend vary in accordance with the type of restaurants operating in Hong Kong. The results of this study shed practical implications, such as the development of different symbolic meanings of gastronomy and service for international diners at different restaurants. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This study assesses the benefits of hiking for visitors to the Jeju Olle Trail on Jeju Island in Korea, which has been designated as a World Heritage Site. Data were collected from a total of 318 tourists visiting the Jeju Olle Trail. The study focused on comparing the benefits sought by first-time visitors and those of repeat visitors. Analytical results found that first-time visitors and repeat visitors sought different benefits from their hiking experiences. First-time visitors sought to observe nature and interact with people. For first-time visitors, benefits that delighted them were buying unique souvenirs and enjoying educational experiences, whereas repeat visitors demonstrated a good assessment on interactions with new people and buying unique souvenirs.

This study aimed to identify variations of three types of perceived image including affective, cognitive, and overall image over three points in time and to test the efficacy of image in explaining satisfaction, knowledge, and attachment with a destination. Although previous studies used results collected through a cross-sectional survey, this study surveyed the same samples at three different times, that is before, during and after travel, to enrich our understanding of how image develops through the three key stages of a trip. The findings indicate there is significant variation in perceived image domains, extracted as a result of factor analysis, and overall image across time. To predict satisfaction, attachment, and knowledge, “vividness” of the affective image domains and “diverse tourism attraction” of the cognitive image domains showed significance on regression models. Interestingly, “developed tourism industry” was not reported being significant predictor in any model. The results suggest that future studies need to measure destination image over time in line with traveller’s movement.

This study examined the antecedents and consequences of rapport between customers and salespersons in the context of duty-free shops. Specifically, this study proposed six sub-dimensions of service-dominant orientation (i.e., relational, ethical, individuated, empowered, concerted, and developmental interactions). These dimensions have a positive influence on rapport. In addition, rapport is hypothesized to aid in the formation of customer satisfaction and brand preference, which in turn positively affects word-of-mouth communications. Data were collected from 649 Chinese shoppers who have purchased a product in a Korean duty-free shop. In addition, this study employed confirmatory factor analysis to check the adequacy of the measurement items and structural equation modeling to test 11 hypotheses. Data analysis results indicated that five sub-dimensions of service-dominant orientation, excluding individuated interaction, play an important role in the formation of rapport. Furthermore, rapport has a positive effect on customer satisfaction and brand preference, which in turn positively affects word-of-mouth communications. The findings of this study offer valuable insights for managers of duty-free stores into the most effective methods for managing their operations and providing an appropriate blend of products. Furthermore, this paper contributes to theoretical understanding in this area by improving the acceptability of a commonly believed shopper behavior model.

This study explores how familiarity and attachment, along with cognitive and affective image explain destination loyalty across visitors with divergent degrees of frequency of visitation (low vs. high). Serbians (n = 401) who have previously visited Greece comprised the sample population for this study and were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. Findings reveal that overall familiarity shapes cognitive and affective destination image, while each image component uniquely explains destination loyalty (R2 = 0.51). Differences also exist in the magnitude of the relationships tested among the two groups. Implications for theory and practice, along with limitations and research directions, are discussed.

This exploratory study, based on 316 questionnaires completed by mainland Chinese tourists in Hong Kong, investigates whether certain conditions are sufficient to motivate tourists’ decisions to buy luxury products. The results of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis reveal that a combination of four conditions (emotional attachment, fashion leadership, prestige sensitivity, and social value) is sufficient to influence tourists to shop for luxury brands. It must be pointed out, however, that the four conditions are unnecessary in some social and shopping contexts, and thus the findings do not reject the possibility that alternative conditions may also influence luxury shopping decisions. This study using fuzzy-set theory demonstrates that tourists who score highly in all four conditions constitute an almost perfect subcategory of luxury shoppers. Therefore, it is recommended that other scholars examine the conditions that are sufficient to influence tourists rather than concentrating on other factors.