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The great quantity of travel products available online has increased demand for travel product recommendation system. Due to the relatively high value and time cost of travel products, users consider more factors (personal preference, social preference and seasonality factor etc.) in making this type of low-frequent purchase decisions, compared to other products (e.g. music, movies or news). Thus, recommending travel products generally faces sparsity and complexity problems. In this study, we propose a two-stage multiple-factor aware method named TSMFA. In the topic stage, a user-topic matrix is constructed using travel products’ topic attributions to alleviate sparsity problem, while a preference-aware topic selection is introduced to consider both social and personal preference in recommendation. In the product stage, seasonal prevalence is employed to adjust the recommended product order to incorporate seasonality factor. The proposed method is validated with real transaction dataset from a leading OTA (Online Travel Agent) website in western China. The experimental results demonstrate that it outperforms the state-of-the-art recommendation methods in terms of effectiveness and usefulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-experiment is used to examine the dynamics of the shared decision-making process by observing couples in real time as they make decisions about an overnight stay at a luxury resort. Observations and video recordings of the decision processes of 24 couples were coded and analyzed. The time to final decision, number, and type of tactics used were found to vary with couples' length of experience with one another. Observation indicated that couples with greater travel experience together relied on "predealing" based on their experience together to avoid conflict, while less-experienced couples' decisions were more likely to yield winners and losers. These findings and those related to the use of persuasive tactics by members of the couple dyads provide the basis for specific recommendations for marketing travel products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When exploring the interactions between e-shopping and store-shopping, most empirical studies regarded shopping as a transaction, but did not consider internet use in other stages of the shopping process, which has transportation implications. Few studies have conducted comparative analyses between different types of products. Using 952 internet users in two cities in Northern California, this study explores the interactions in the shopping process for two types of products: search goods and experience goods. We find that for internet buyers, clothing is more likely than books to be associated with store visiting for both information search and product trial. Online pre-purchase behaviors were more likely to facilitate cross-channel shopping than those at a store. A comparison with an earlier study shows more similarities than differences between the two studies, suggesting a certain amount of spatio-temporal generalizability of relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops three hypotheses regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of the hotel industry. First, the study examines a ranking of consumers’ perceived importance of the four CSR dimensions proposed by Carroll’s hierarchy of CSR in 1991, expecting the following orders: philanthropic, ethical, legal, and economic dimensions, from most to least important. Second, the study investigates the relationship between consumers’ perceived importance of and their overall support for CSR. Third, the study introduces the type of hotel (for example, economy, mid-scale, and upscale) as a moderator to provide a better explanation of the relationship between consumers’ perceived importance of the CSR dimensions and support for CSR. Contributions to the CSR literature in general, and also specifically relating to the hotel context, and managerial implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of social media offers new avenues for understanding traveler information sharing behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore the patterns of traveler food sharing experiences on soial network sites, their triggers, and consequences as well as the inter-relationships among these factors. Thirty-three semi-structured interviews and subsequent thematic analysis revealed five major sharing motivation domains including Social and relational, Self-image projection, Emotion articulation, Self-archiving, and Information sharing, all of which were situated along the two continuums (self–others and psychology–functionality) of a two-dimensional plane. This research uncovers fresh insights that are unique to travelers’ food experience sharing and offers theoretical contributions as well as practical implications for destination marketers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of visa exemption in tourist decision-making using the extended model of goal-directed behavior (EMGB). Surveys were administered to Chinese tourists interested in traveling to South Korea. The structural equation model indicates that the inclusion of the expectation of tourist visa exemption enhanced Chinese tourists’ behavioral intention. Specifically, positive and negative anticipated emotions, perceived behavioral control, and the notion of a subjective norm were important antecedents of travel intention. Desire was the only significant factor affecting Chinese tourists’ travel intention. This study enhances our understanding of Chinese tourists’ intention to travel to South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores key content and themes from online reviews to explain major service attributes of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation sought by guests. The results from lexical analyses indicate that attributes frequently mentioned in guest reviews are associated with location (proximity to point of interest and characteristics of neighborhood), host (service and hospitality), and property (facilities and atmosphere). Reviews focusing on location and feeling welcome are consistently linked with higher rating scores, including accuracy, cleanliness, check-in, communication, value, and overall ratings. This confirms that P2P accommodation appeals to consumers who are driven by experiential and social motivations. Marketing implications are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the criteria considered by accommodation businesses on travel agency preference. The data was collected from the managers hired in Fethiye and Marmaris hotels using questionnaire technique and analyzed using the statistical package programs. The degree of the criteria affecting the choice such as the contribution of travel agency on hotel advertising, the price offered by travel agency, down payment of travel agency, relations between the hotel and travel agency, the nationality of travel agencies' guests visiting the hotel and so on were determined. This study aimed to contribute the travel agency managers on their marketing strategies needed in order to accomodate their guests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this study we consider the first-class passenger market to identify in-flight service-related triggers of customer-centric innovativeness, test the effect of customer-centric innovativeness on brand loyalty, and examine the moderating role of advertising effectiveness. A series of theory-based hypotheses was examined through structural equation modeling using empirical data collected from a sample of 205 first-class airline passengers in the United States (US). The results indicate that various experiential dimensions of in-flight service designs (including food, entertainment, physical environment, and flight attendant performance/physical appearance) in the first-class passenger market had significant effects on perceived firm innovativeness. In addition, advertising effectiveness moderated the effects of in-flight food services and flight attendant physical appearance on perceived firm innovativeness. These results clearly suggest that customer-centric innovativeness is a strong driver of brand loyalty in the first-class passenger market. The study provides a theoretical basis for future research and offers some effective management methods for enhancing first-class passengers’ loyalty in the airline industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aimed to offer insights into the relationship between tourists' previous experience and their evaluation of cognitive, affective, and overall images of a domestic tourism destination. Empirical data were collected in a popular domestic tourism destination in Indonesia – Weh Island. The findings of this study suggested that repeat tourists had a more positive evaluation of destination image towards Weh Island in relation to four dimensions of cognitive image (e.g. “quality of experience”, “infrastructure and attraction”, “value and environment”, and “comfort”) and an overall image. However, the previous experience with the destination did not influence the tourists' affective image of the destination. The study also discusses the managerial implications for Weh Island tourism destination marketing and positioning strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Human resources in tourism, in the form of service personnel, are vital for the success of a business, operate as a critical factor for the creation of a destination's image and affect its selection from potential visitors. Human resources and image are crucial issues in tourism and travel marketing. However, research connecting them is limited. Taking into consideration these points this paper tries to assess the tourism personnel's images held by tourists, prior and after the visit, in an attempt to reveal deviations from their expectations concerning the personnel's performance. The fact that there is limited evidence and research on the personnel as an element of the destination image renders the approach of the current study interesting and can offer suggestions for managerial and marketing actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research revisits an ecotourism-related article published in the early days of the Journal of Vacation Marketing. That study found its test population, Singaporean youth, to be generally disinterested ecotourism consumers. This replication, done a generation later, had findings consistent with the earlier work. However, by adding a second sample of Singaporean adults to the current study, the conclusion was reached that the purchase of ecotourism vacation products is likely more related to consumer life cycle than cohort. The findings apply to Singapore but can be considered for ecotourism providers and marketers wherever the product is promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel style has been shown to be a useful concept for understanding travelers. In this study it is argued that the portfolio of trips (specifically, the portfolio of various trip styles) one takes can be used to describe his/her overall travel persona. Network analysis was used to examine the structural relationships between types of trips based upon the assumption that each travel style may be considered as a 'node,' and its association with other travel styles may be represented by the links within the network. Analyses indicate that American travelers take on a wide range of different travel personae which, in turn, are related to their choices of places visited and their response to advertising materials. It was concluded that the framework provided by these findings along with new tools on the Internet offer the potential to develop highly personalized communications with existing and potential visitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this study were to identify the attributes that determine the attractiveness of a honeymoon destination and to determine the influential variables that affect the destination choice of honeymooners. The results indicated that 'safety,' 'excellent quality of accommodation,' and 'reasonable travel cost' were the three most important attributes determining the attractiveness of a honeymoon destination. Significant differences in perceptions of destination attributes exist across groups of different sociodemographic and traveling characteristics of potential honeymooners. Two sociodemographic variables (i.e., age, monthly income), two traveling characteristics (i.e., length of trip, travel budget), and three destination attributes (i.e., 'excellent quality of accommodation,' 'nightlife entertainment,' 'good place for shopping') are the significant determinants for classifying Taiwanese potential honeymooners by their destination choices. The findings of this study provide useful information for destination marketers in their efforts to segment the target market precisely and develop promotion campaigns effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]