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Humour for children has received attention from various academic domains. However, the topic is a less explored area in the field of tourism. Addressing this research gap, the present study aims to firstly, identify the main themes of humour which are discussed in the academic literature about children, and secondly to outline how the identified themes can be applied to children's learning experiences in tourism settings. The study employs content analysis to systematically review 190 relevant publications from multidisciplinary fields sourced from ScienceDirect and Scopus. Five overarching themes were identified across studies of various disciplines: social, parents, play, teachers, and characters. The emerging themes were interpreted through the lens of Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory to develop a conceptual framework for children's learning experiences in tourism contexts. The paper enhances our understanding of the children's literature in the context of tourism by providing both theoretical and practical insights. It specifically focuses on how humour can be utilised to enrich children's learning in the realm of tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many governments and NGOs have argued for using tourism, especially community-based tourism (CBT), as a development tool. While this tourism option is often described as more sustainable in terms of contributions to destination community well-being, there is only a limited understanding of the processes that actually underpin CBT and its outcomes in peripheral destinations. This article argues that one reason for this limited understanding is that research into CBT has typically been conducted from a Western perspective with little consideration given to historical and political contexts of colonization and disempowerment. This article reports on a research study that used an alternative, culturally appropriate research methodology with 12 rural PNG villages that had self-initiated CBT ventures and that specifically sought to give these village communities a voice in understanding how CBT can be developed to be one part of larger sustainable community development processes. Major findings included: a positive view of tourism as an additional source of income that fitted well with existing sustainable livelihoods; strong connection between development decisions and the core Melanesian values of clan identity, leadership, and support from elders, community cooperation and reciprocity in the successful maintenance of tourism activities; the need to manage the entire supply chain and not be limited by the actions and power of external tourism operators and agents; the need for education and training in many aspects of tourism to enhance entrepreneurial approaches and greater returns from the supply chain; and the challenge of gender issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism researchers are beginning to explore the implications of the “New Mobilities Paradigm” for improving our understanding of several aspects of tourism. This paper employs a study conducted at the intersection of this new mobilities paradigm, a consideration of destination community well-being, and the analysis of tourism sustainability through an examination of its positive and negative impacts on destinations. It describes a qualitative investigation of tourism impacts on community well-being in three Australian destinations that revealed six distinct types of tourists each characterised by different patterns of mobility. Types included Archetypal Tourists, Grey Nomads, Green Nomads, Backpackers, Temporary Workers and Amenity Migrants. The study found that patterns of impacts could be connected to these distinct types of tourists. Four key themes were identified and described – the consistent linkages between mobility variables and tourism impacts, the perceptions of tourists and tourism as providing resources for destination communities, the modification of impacts as a result of the physical, social and economic characteristics of destination communities and the emergence of conflicts and collisions between different types of tourists and residents in shared spaces. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for sustainable tourism planners and researchers, and especially for resident perceptions research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current research is to study the importance of destination image to products and distribution partners in the tourism system. It also examines the perceived contribution of various image creation factors in stages of the consumer buying process. The study examines the opinions of management from travel products located in Australia and active marketing in the US and management from travel wholesalers marketing Australian travel products in the US. Results of the study highlight the importance of destination image to destination image stakeholders. It concludes that image creation factors play different roles during the consumer buying process. The study recognizes the perceived importance of Australian Tourism Commission (ATC) brand development strategies. The Australian branding experience in the US provides insights for destination marketing organizations (DMOs) seeking to maximize their impact on destination image creation by leveraging "word of mouth," public relations, e-marketing, and stakeholder marketing efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is an ongoing theme in the tourism literature and is a growing concern in the wider area of business studies. As a consequence, there has been growing recognition of the need for sustainability education in programs for business and tourism students. The development of such programs needs to be based on a sound understanding of the existing values and attitudes of current students. This article reports a study that explored the environmental attitudes of a sample of Generation Y students in a business and tourism program using the New Environmental Paradigm Scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Values are implicit in our education systems and practices-they are reflected in the choices that we make about what to teach, how to teach, and who to teach it to. Values education is about making values explicit and about focusing education on a particular set of values. This article reports on part of such an initiative within tourism education in universities and colleges, the Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI), the development of tools to measure values. In particular it reports on an exercise conducted with university students to develop a pool of items for the development of a TEFI Values Inventory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a growing body of work on destination branding in general, particularly at a country or nation level, there has been little investigation of whether or not tourists do attribute brand personality characteristics to tourism destinations and whether or not tourists' perceived self-image and the "brand personality" of destinations are related. The aim of the study presented in this article was to explore the relationships among four key constructs proposed for destination branding and choice process: tourist travel motivations, destination brand personality, self-congruity, and visitation. The study involved a survey of tourists' perceptions of a branded regional tourism destination--the Whitsundays--in Queensland. Australia. Data were collected from a total of 277 participants yielding a response rate of 62%. The results provided general support for the proposal that tourists ascribe personality characteristics to destination. Furthermore, the study found that there is a level of congruity between tourists' self-image and their perceptions of the destination brand personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel research consistently shows the importance of word-of-mouth (WOM) information sources in the travel decision-making process. Friends and relatives have been identified as organic image-formation agents, and it has been emphasized that this WOM information is one of the most relied-upon sources of information for destination selection. While there has been recognition of the importance of WOM information sources on consumer behaviour in tourism, little has been performed to understand more specifically how and what behaviour is influenced. This study examined the differing influences of friends and relatives vs. other travellers on the travel choices and behaviours of 412 visitors to the North Queensland Region in Australia. More specifically, the present study compared the following four groups of respondents: those who indicated that they obtained travel information from friends/relatives and other travellers ( n = 70); those who obtained information from friends/relatives only ( n = 121); those who obtained information from other travellers only ( n = 105); and those who obtained information from neither (i.e. no WOM) ( n = 116). The results indicated that there were significant differences across the four groups with respect to demographic characteristics, other information sources used, accommodation and transportation used, and travel activities in the destination. However, the groups did not differ in their image of the destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a growing body of work on destination branding, there has been little investigation of whether or not tourists attribute brand personality characteristics to tourism destinations and whether or not an emotional connection exists based on tourists' perceived self-image and the ‘brand personality’ of destinations. The aim of this study is to explore the links among four key constructs proposed for the destination branding and choice process-tourist needs, destination brand personality, self-congruity, and intentions to visit and satisfaction with a visit. The results indicate that where tourists can make an association between a destination and a destination brand personality, and where this association is consistent with their desired holiday experience, a high level of congruity will exist between the tourists' self-image and their perceptions of the destination. In turn this self-congruity was related to satisfaction with a visit to the destination but not to intention to travel to the destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a number of current debates in the academic and management literature about the benefits and costs of introducing technology into tourist experiences. The debate is an important one for those who manage tourist attractions when making decisions about which directions to take in the development of visitor experiences. A review of the relevant literature in tourism suggests that very little attention has been paid to tourists' perceptions of, and interest in, the use of technology to create and enhance their experiences. This study sought to address this gap by surveying visitors to an Australian aquarium and asking them about their support for the adoption of various forms of exhibits. The results indicated that tourists can be grouped according to their support for the use of technology in visitor experiences and their levels of use of technology in general. A general model of tourist technology adoption is proposed and explored and implications of the results are discussed both for tourist attraction management and for future research into this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]